Wow... Ice hockey is considered America's new pastime... throw out baseball, all the kids are at the hockey rink now! Parents love hockey because their kid is safely monitored in a controlled environment and has a low injury rate in comparison to other youth sports. Look at the statistics... baseball numbers have dropped dramatically in the past 20 years, soccer has taken over the masses, hockey appeals to the more dedicated and affluent athletes, because it takes a huge financial and time commitment to learn how to skate and play. NHL teams have swarmed over the South.. Nashville has the Preds, Thrashers are in Atlanta, Canes in Raleigh, Lightning in Tampa, Stars in Dallas, Panthers in Miami are all a reflection of the newfound fanbase in the South, that doesn't count all the minor league hockey teams in Knoxville, Memphis, Huntsville, Gwinnett in Atlanta and lots of other cities... Kids eat hockey up because it's fast paced, super fun and challenging game while juggling a combination of skills. In hockey, you have to read the play, skate, handle the puck, dodge your opponent, react, protect yourself and try to score all at the same time. Imagine playing football on skates with no huddles, or full-contact basketball on ice skates. Kids put on all that armor and feel invincible on the ice, changes their personalities.. my 8 yr old son was a quiet introvert until he suited up in hockey gear from head to toe.. he became the hulk in his new outfit on the ice and he loved to wack the puck and other kids and not get into trouble.
Roller hockey is typically the starter sport for kids to learn how to play hockey, almost every city kid has inline skates and learns to skate in his driveway or on the sidewalk, they eventually pick up a hockey stick and start hitting tennis balls into a net, playing pick-up hockey in their neighborhood cul-de-sac... from there they graduate to ice hockey so they can play on an organized team.
Greater Nashville Association of Scholastic Hockey (GNASH) was created and organized with the idea that it would eventually be approved and accepted as a TSSAA sanctioned sport. All of the by-laws and operating procedures follow TSSAA protocol in the hopes it will someday be approved as a mainstream sport in Tennessee. The majority of the high schools in the Nashville area have teams. There are currently 24 high schools that participate in GNASH, although some schools are forced to double-up and co-op to have enough quality players to make a team. There are currently 18 high school "club" teams in Middle Tennessee, 4 teams in Memphis and 4 teams in Knoxville. The Nashville Predators sponsor the Predator Cup in March to determine the Tennessee State High School Champion. The website for GNASH is www.gnashockey.com
The top high school ice hockey programs in Nashville are Father Ryan, JP II, Ravenwood, Brentwood, Centennial, Montgomery Bell Academy, Station Camp, Hendersonville and Mt Juliet. The league is broken down into a top half and lower half. All of the teams listed above are in the top half. The top team out of Memphis is Collierville, top team out of Knoxville is Bearden.
High School ice hockey is much larger in Atlanta area. Also, Huntsville and Birmingham Alabama have high school ice hockey programs as well.
The majority of the high school ice hockey coaches are former college, junior or minor league players.. all have to pass a background screen process and be registered and insured by USA Hockey.
If you ever get a chance, come out to a high school ice hockey game up in Nashville, Atlanta or Knoxville and you will catch the fever too.. it's awesome! I would love to see Chattanooga get an ice rink and give the kids down there a chance to play ice hockey! They would LOVE it!