11-year-olds save hockey rink from pickleball

Young girls help sway town council to keep their community rink.

PHILADELPHIA — Natalie Van Druff and Lilly Walter became best friends on the hockey rink.

The 11-year-old girls, who live in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, play dek hockey together — a variation of hockey played in sneakers on a flat, dry surface, typically an outdoor rink.

Dek hockey can help make the game more accessible and affordable for players and more convenient for communities.

The Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League regularly run ball hockey and dek hockey programs over the summer for youth across the region.

Lilly and Natalie regularly play at the New Hanover Community Park hockey dek.

“We built a stronger friendship coming to that dek,” Natalie said. But a few months ago, the girls found out that their community’s rink was in jeopardy.

Pickleball invasion

This past October, Kate Van Druff, inspired by her daughter’s love of the sport, came up with the idea of starting a pickup dek hockey group for moms and kids at the New Hanover Community Park.

Noticing the dek only had one net, she reached out to the township to donate a second net, only to be told the town actually was planning to turn the rink into pickleball courts.

It’s not an uncommon story, as pickleball has swept the nation over the past few years.

For the kids who regularly use the New Hanover hockey dek, the planned construction would eliminate a local, free place to play outdoor pickup hockey.

It isn’t like there’s a lack of pickleball courts nearby — Boyertown Community Park, a 10-minute drive from New Hanover, has three courts.

“This dek can be here for many generations, for kids that want to learn how to play hockey, that have it near them,” Lilly said. “And they can learn how to play, making friends, learn how to win and lose.”

Coincidentally, the first pickup game Kate’s group scheduled turned out to be on the same day that the township was set to meet on the pickleball issue.

After the game, Natalie and Lilly, along with other players and parents, headed to the meeting — still wearing their hockey gear — to speak to the recreation committee.

Their advocacy, plus a petition that racked up more than 900 signatures, helped sway the committee.

Kate and Natalie received a letter in the mail from the township Manager Jamie Gwynn, saying the dek would stay.

Much-needed makeover

The newly saved rink does need some renovations.

There’s a large crack in the middle of the concrete that needs to be repaired. It’s also surrounded by fencing, rather than hockey boards.

Recently, Natalie and Lilly presented these suggestions at a meeting at the New Hanover Township municipal building to three council members.

Their plans included the costs of incorporating a tile surface, boards and a scoreboard to the dek.

The council members told the girls their presentation is set to move on to the next round, where they’ll present again in a meeting with the board of supervisors, set for March.

In the meantime, they’re on the hunt for sponsors for the rink.