Welcome New Families!
Welcome to Minneapolis Titans Hockey. We are excited to create an opportunity for all children to learn a new skill. We hope your kids will develop a passion for the game of hockey and develop life long friendships with their teammates.
INFO FOR NEW HOCKEY PARENTS
Click HERE for information from Minnesota Hockey, our state governing body for ice hockey. With over 65 years of experience of providing youth hockey programs in this state, and Minnesota Hockey is dedicated to empowering families with everything they need to know about getting started in hockey.
USA Hockey Registration
All skaters and volunteers must register with USA hockey prior to registration with an association. There is a fee associated with USA hockey. Once registered with USA hockey, you will receive a USA hockey number that you will use for the remainder of the year. This process must be repeated every year you participate in youth hockey. You may use that number to register with your home association.
Click HERE to register with USA Hockey,
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All new players must submit a scanned copy of their birth certificate to our registrar at registrar@minneapolistitanshockey.com
- If you do not live within our boundaries, a waiver is required from your home association. Please contact our president at president@minneapolistitanshockey.com
Mentorship
Every new registered family will be assigned a mentor from their team. This mentor will reach out to you and walk you through the season to make sure you and your child are comfortable.
Clothing and Gear
Your player's comfort and safety starts with their clothing and gear. Fortunately, we have most of the needed gear available to loan, and you won't need any special clothing to get started.
For new gear, Play It Again Sports on Snelling will provide a 10% discount to all Titans and Starwhals.
Larson Dental will provide a free custom mouth guard to all Titans and Starwhals.
Every kid is different, but here are some recommendations for clothing from the ground up.
| Indoors | Cold Weather | |
|---|---|---|
| Feet | Thin socks often work best. Some kids prefer cotton, others synthetic or something like a thin Smartwool. Sweaty feet tend to get cold, so avoid socks that are too warm for the venue. | Smartwool is usually the way to go. Too thick and feet sweat and are cold or skates are tight and cut down circulation. Avoid cotton |
| Legs | Most young kids wear track pants or leggings because they don't like the shin guards against their skin. Others don't care and wear shorts. Older kids may choose to get hockey shorts or pants. | Track pants or leggings. Maybe snow pants over gear if it is really cold for an outdoor practice. |
| Torso | Short or long-sleeve shirt. Synthetic works great, but cotton is fine, too. Elbow pads can be itchy, so consider long-sleeves | Layers. Long sleeve synthetic shirt under gear, sweatshirt over gear, under jersey. Coat over everything if needed at practice. |
| Head | Long hair should usually go in a ponytail | A thin, synthetic balaclava works great if it is really cold. A thin headband that covers ears works great, too. Warm hat might be called for if you can fit it under the helmet. |
How does all this gear go on?
Hockey has lots of gear. Pretty soon it'll feel completely natural to your skater, and they'll be putting it all on (minus skates) by themselves. This is the order to put gear on that works best for most kids.
Shin guards, Hockey Socks (most use sock tape and/or hockey shorts to hold them up), Breezers (that's what the padded pants are called, which is weird), Skates (sorry parents, you'll be tying these for a long time!), Neck Guard, Shoulder Pads, Elbow Pads, Jersey, Mouthguard/Helmet (mouthguard required!), Gloves.
Skates will need sharpening routinely. Talk to your coach to determine how often. Most stores that sell skates will have sharpening services.
