Rob Jenkins is driven to make the experience of playing hockey as an adult a memorable one in a non-traditional market.

Due to his efforts, and the significant growth displayed throughout a highly successful adult league in Louisville, Kentucky, in the last 25-plus years, Jenkins is being recognized with USA Hockey’s John Beadle Adult Member of the Year Award.

“It was pretty humbling,” Jenkins said. “It feels real nice. It was definitely unexpected, and I didn’t see it coming.”

The award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions during many years of service to the ice hockey community as an adult player or volunteer. In 2020, USA Hockey renamed the award to honor John Beadle, who served as vice president of USA Hockey and chair of the organization’s Adult Council for 27 seasons.

Tom Cline is the current chair of USA Hockey’s Adult Council and is a vice president for the organization. In 2013, Cline won the Adult Member of the Year Award.

“He’s an example of what it means to be a leader in the sport without a title,” Cline said. “He’s doing our work for us by generating more players to the sport. He’s able to provide a platform where people can play, have fun and meet others. It’s remarkable that someone would do it for that long and at the same time he’s seen the fruits of his efforts.”

Jenkins started the Louisville Adult Hockey Players Association in 1999. It was designed to enhance and improve the four-team, 40-player in-house league. Now, the LAHPA consists of more than 40 teams and 500 players.

Keith Kenitzer plays in the league, and he’s known Jenkins for more than 20 years.

“We have hockey almost every day of the week in Louisville because of what Rob has done,” Kenitzer said. “We have leagues with teams that have a waiting list. This is great and he is very deserving.”

Louisville is famous for horse racing and basketball and hasn’t had a professional hockey team in the city since 2001 when the Louisville Panthers competed in the AHL. But Jenkins has helped carve out a niche for hockey.

There are 17 different leagues within the organization, some which include a waiting list. The LAHPA welcomes players who are true beginners, who cannot skate and don’t understand hockey, all the way to players who have played at the college and professional level.

“He has his ear tuned to the market and he understands how to offer opportunities for people,” Cline said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into it to the point where you have waiting lists for leagues. He’s succeeded in exemplary fashion.”

The Never Ever league is for players who have no hockey experience. The league is 10 weeks, with a half-hour session to learn the basics of the game, followed by an hour on the ice.

“Growing up, I wasn’t a super experienced player, so I injected all of my passion into that,” Jenkins said. “I wanted to help beginners play this game. My biggest challenge with the beginner league is that next year the guys who were beginners are much better, and they don’t belong in that league anymore. I really try to keep it competitive throughout all the divisions.”

Jenkins didn’t play organized ice hockey while growing up in Detroit, though he went to high school across from one of the local hockey rinks. After college, he started playing roller hockey while the Detroit Red Wings were winning Stanley Cups in the late 1990s, intensifying his love for the game.

“Joining a hockey league as a beginner and an adult was very challenging and not a friendly place,” Jenkins said. “I loved the game and persisted through the ridicule from others due to my limited abilities.”

Jenkins later joined a league in Louisville, but it was poorly organized.

“You would show up and your game time would have been changed without your knowledge,” Jenkins said. “You would hardly have a referee and if you had two goalies, you were ecstatic. I didn’t like driving across town and not having a game, or refs, or goalies, so I approached the owners of the arena and volunteered to run the leagues.”

At first, the owners said no, but they eventually gave Jenkins a shot and in 1999, the LAHPA was born. Jenkins published schedules on the internet, organized team captains, referees and made sure there were consistent goalies.

“I loved the game, and I wanted to get better,” Jenkins said. “But I also wanted to bring some organization to something that was second hand to the rink, so I started running the league. I embraced it and the internet was new in the early days back then, but I had websites going.”

After several years, Jenkins improved as a player but never forgot how difficult it was to start playing as an adult. That’s when the idea of the Never Ever league came to mind, a place where somebody with zero experience could learn and play hockey with others just like them.

The Never Ever league started in 2006 and has introduced thousands of players to the game.

“My best days of hockey were yesterday, but this makes me feel like I’ve done something to help,” Jenkins said. “Players feel like leadership cares, and it organically grew.”

As for Jenkins, he still plays at 55-years-old, but he’s currently out of action after undergoing hip replacement surgery in April. No matter how long Jenkins plays, his impact on the game will be felt for years in Louisville.

“If you have a product that is good, that’s organized, well-run and disciplined, the word gets out and people want to be part of it,” Cline said. “He’s been able to sustain that and not lose the culture while expanding. A lot of times, the details get lost, and you lose some of that, but clearly that’s not the case with Rob. He’s still laser focused as if it were a startup operation and that’s part of his success.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

During the summertime, State College is largely quiet and many Penn State clubs are on break, with no meetings or events.

However the Social Dance Club is still holding open-door lessons for various styles of dance throughout the summer at either the State College Municipal Building or the HUB-Robeson Center from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on most days.

Isabella Ramirez, the president of Social Dance Club, said the club has had to alternate between the two locations due to scheduling conflicts during the summer regarding their availability.

“It’s just a little lighter I guess,” Ramirez, a third year studying biotechnology, said. “We have a few days that we’re in and out of the municipal building as well as the HUB just because scheduling gets a little bit difficult and just to give people a break.”

Ramirez also said instructors were “in and out,” and that attendance is more “free-flowing” during the summer when compared to the fall and spring.

Hugo Ayala, an instructor for the Social Dance club, said holding  summer lessons allows for there to be a distraction from other stressors for both students and community members.

“There’s a distraction for them during the summer as [compared to] just doing research and work and also members of the community can go there and just use the time to have an extra hobby to do,” Ayala, an assistant research professor in the Eberly College of Science, said. “It does help to have a little bit of dancing sometimes, just so that people can practice what they already learned during the semester.”

CJ Witherell, treasurer of the Social Dance Club, said the continuation of lessons into the summer — despite the fluidity of attendance — allows community and club members still in State College to stay connected through the club.

“The group is run by a combination of grad students and undergraduate students.” Witherell, a PhD student studying mechanical engineering, said. “A number of our members are graduate students and community members who continue to live in State College over the summer and we just really want to see our friends and continue to work on our dancing.”

They said due to the turnover of members across semesters there were some challenges with organizing lessons, training new executive members, scheduling the room for lessons and determining the availability of instructors.

Witherell said despite these challenges being able to offer others the ability to dance is something that fills them with great joy.

“Dance is the thing that has always brought me the most joy in my life and that’s where a lot of my deep friendships stem from and so it’s just really important to me that it’s accessible to other people,” Witherell said. 

Erin Blose, another instructor for the Social Dance Club, said while summer lessons see smaller attendance than the fall and spring, they allow for greater flexibility with how she carries out lesson plans.

“During summer, since we have generally less attendance because people are not in town, we will match it to who’s there so we’ll show up with a thought of a lesson.” Blose, a Penn State alumna, said. “If brand new people are there, we will do brand new things. If people show up who have been going all year for the last two semesters, that topic that we’ve thought of — we’ll try to find ways to apply it in a more advanced manner.”

Blose also said the more relaxed nature of summer lessons allows for instructors to provide a more open and approachable atmosphere compared to the fall and spring semesters.

“We try to be so friendly and open and willing to work with whomever shows up because we’re just happy to dance with anybody who’s there,” Blose said. “Anybody who wants to dance should be able to dance and we’re happy to work with wherever you’re at.”

MORE CAMPUS CONTENT

“You coach a person, not a sport”  — John O’Sullivan

School is over or ending just about everywhere, and the multi-billion-dollar summer camp industry is about to begin in earnest.  According to IBISWorld (Industry, Business & Investment Services) the U.S. camp industry, which includes sports and recreational camps, has a direct and indirect economic impact of $70 billion. That’s not chump change.  

Given the sheer size of participation around the country, and the globe, it begs the question of just who is running all these camps and to what end? Having spent the better part of my career engaged in 7-10 weeks of hockey camps every summer, I have seen a lot of really good camps, and my share of poorly run camps where the operators are simply trying to make as big a profit as possible.

It is why every one of the camps I was supervising promised much more than sport-specific skill development and Xs and Os. I wanted to make sure our camps had a life skills component as well as an academic component, and I wanted the participants to have fun. Given the changing landscape of NIL, I worry that more and more camps will morph into nothing more than emphasizing elite performance and “win at all costs” mindsets, and that parents will shell out ridiculous amounts of money in pursuit of the brass ring.  

The brass ring, of course, used to be a college scholarship to get a free education that could help set up student-athletes for a great post-sports career. It’s much more than that these days, and if NIL is allowed to go on unchecked, I worry about the unintended consequences for young kids, impressionable teenagers and overly eager but equally naïve parents. The temptation for unscrupulous coaches and private instructors to make crazy amounts of money selling unsuspecting consumers on false hopes genuinely concerns me.

Don’t get me wrong, I realize that the sports industry as a whole has changed and is growing, and that is creating jobs (increasingly so in women’s sports, especially). And that’s not all bad.  But with this rapid growth comes greater responsibilities, and color me skeptical, but given the lack of control and the “Wild, Wild West” mentality in who is actually running college sports these days, I’m a tad concerned.  The vast majority of these athletes are not getting life-changing NIL deals, and even the ones who are may be woefully unprepared for the sudden wealth they have come into.

So let me focus for a minute on the people actually responsible for the instruction that happens on fields, courts, ice, water or whatever space your kids are in — and that includes band, dance, art and academic camps. Who are the teachers, coaches, instructors and counselors and what is their motivation? Do they have your child’s best interest at heart or are they simply filling you up with unrealistic expectations, so you’ll keep paying their fees? I know there are many legitimate coaches and private instructors out there but do your due diligence to ensure you are being told the truth.

I’m going to zero in on the impact of coaches, because at least teachers and most non-sports-related staff have some level of formal training and need a certification to do their jobs. That is not always the case with athletics. Just like the volunteers who coach most youth sports teams, many of the people possibly working at your own kids’ camps may simply be former athletes with no formal coaching training. That’s on you, Mom and Dad, to do your homework.

I think it’s important that coaches understand the impact they have on young people‘s lives. With USA Hockey, coaches are made to attend at least the first three levels of the coaching certification program before they’re allowed to be a head coach. This doesn’t mean that every coach “gets it” just because they went through a certification process, but it certainly gets them started on the right path.

In his book “Every Moment Matters: How the World’s Best Coaches Inspire Their Athletes and Build Championship Teams,” John O’Sullivan talks about creating an athlete-centered environment. He describes great coaches as the ones who understand that coaching is about relationships and that sport specific knowledge, while important, is not sufficient. He says, “You don’t coach a sport, you coach people. And for kids, it starts with their hearts.” 

But even at the adult level I have witnessed “coaches” who suck the joy right out of their players. They place the emphasis on the wrong objectives, taking what is supposed to be a fun experience and turning it into something it’s not supposed to be. We remember the impact the great coaches made on us. But we also remember the scars of those who had the wrong priorities and never cared about us as people.

I am happy to say that in my own children’s experiences, they were blessed with youth coaches who, for the vast majority of their time, had the kids’ best interests at heart. With one very notable exception of a coach who was into coaching for all the wrong reasons, our State College youth and school sports memories are good ones. Great coaches teach life skills and make the experience joyful. Sports, done right, breaks down cultural barriers and promotes diversity while building bonds that can last a lifetime.

I believe it’s critical that coaches at all levels need to make getting the right training to learn HOW to coach a priority. I am a big believer that we should never stop learning and that “iron sharpens iron.” I recently attended the Pro and Collegiate Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) conference at Texas Christian University (TCU)  in Fort Worth, Texas. It was both an inspiration and a call to action to me. We get to see and hear the stories of the successes, for sure. But when you also hear about the challenges, and in some cases the tragedies, it makes you stop and ponder who is running this show. After you share ideas and experiences with these people who are actually working with the professional and elite college athletes you understand even more the importance of helping them build a strong moral and spiritual foundation.

The speakers at the conference included FCA directors Nobles Darby IV, the team chaplain of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Browns; Patricia Hollowell of Maryland; Desmond Cook of the Miami Dolphins; Reggie Hutchins from Florida State; Mike Blanc of Auburn; Chauncy Franks from TCU; Tony Overstake of Oregon; Latosha Ramsey of Miami; Jim Black of Stanford; Chris Morgan of Louisville; Richard Lopez of Arizona; and Fleceia Comeaux of the Houston Dash and U.S, women’s soccer team. Topics included “Be Strong and Courageous,” “Get off the Fence,” “Presence,” “NIL and Transfer Portal,” “Growing a Healthy Ministry,” and “Board and Donor Advancement.”

Of course, half of the learning that takes place at these conferences is the casual conversations at meals, during socials and in between sessions.  I even found time to catch up with an old friend from Penn State football, Coach Brian Norwood, who is now at TCU.  Our kids went to school together in State College and I’m sure State High fans will recognize the names of the Norwood kids, especially Jordan, who played football at Penn State before going on to a career in the NFL. The bond of friendship shaped by sports is real and it is strong.

While I am no longer coaching a team, I am still involved in teaching hockey camps and leading FCA “Huddles” with more than 100 high school and college coaches and athletes for football, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, soccer and even one school band. I consider it one of the most important roles I have been honored to have during my sports career.  

I take my role very seriously because I am totally aligned with the philosophy so elegantly described by Rev. Billy Graham:

“A coach, in one year, will impact more people than the average person will in a lifetime.”