Ice Hockey in Harlem

Ice Hockey in Harlem (IHIH) is a New York City nonprofit youth-development organization that uses ice hockey as a vehicle for academic support, personal development, healthy recreation, and community engagement. Its primary constituency is children from Harlem and nearby communities, particularly young people who might otherwise face economic, social, or geographic barriers to organized hockey. Rather than treating hockey solely as a competitive sport, IHIH combines on-ice instruction with classroom learning, literacy work, character development, and structured after-school activity. The organization began in the winter of 1987 with 40 children between the ages of nine and twelve. Participants were expected to attend weekly classroom sessions as well as a weekly skating session. The initial educational work used hockey-related subjects—including player statistics, rules, and the cities associated with professional teams—to make mathematics, reading, and geography more engaging. On the ice, the participants trained at Lasker Rink, an outdoor rink at the northern end of Central Park. The early program operated with donated or second-hand equipment and relied heavily on volunteer instruction, including assistance from former New York Rangers player Pat Hickey. IHIH expanded during its first several seasons. By its fifth year, enrollment had reached approximately 125 children, and the program had grown to include several weekly ice sessions, clinics, a six-team intramural league, and an all-star touring team. Fundraising enabled participants to attend summer hockey camps in the United States and Canada, while scholarships helped some graduates attend preparatory schools. The increasing scale eventually led the board to conclude that a fully volunteer structure was no longer sufficient, prompting the development of a paid staff that included hockey and events responsibilities. The organization’s hockey offering has included introductory instruction for beginners, learn-to-skate and learn-to-play activities, age-based skills sessions, scrimmages, intramural competition, and exhibition or travel games against teams from the wider New York metropolitan area. Equipment and skates have been made available to participants, helping reduce the cost barriers associated with ice hockey. Depending on age and ability, students progress from basic skating and game awareness to structured skills development and competitive play. Education remains central to the model. Students in the core educational program attend weekly classroom sessions as a condition of participation in the hockey program. The curriculum has addressed reading, writing, mathematics, geography, history, and social studies through hockey-related material such as statistics, literature, player biographies, team histories, rules, and professional hockey cities. A book club for older participants has further emphasized literacy and reading enjoyment. The organization’s educational motto is “Education is our Goal.” IHIH has also developed fundraising and community events to sustain its programs. Its Benefit on the Green, later expanded to include tennis, has brought together NHL players, alumni, sponsors, and supporters for golf, tennis, receptions, auctions, and dinners. The organization has also partnered with the New York Rangers on winter sports fundraising events involving memorabilia auctions, raffles, and appearances by current and former players. These relationships have helped connect a Harlem-based youth program with the wider hockey community. Since its founding, thousands of boys and girls have participated in the program. IHIH has described its broader purpose as helping young people build confidence, improve school attendance and academic performance, adopt an active lifestyle, and develop into responsible members of their communities. It has also been associated with the National Hockey League’s Hockey Is for Everyone initiative and has maintained a long relationship with the New York Rangers. The organization is best understood not as a conventional sports club or commercial hockey brand, but as a community-based youth-development institution whose public identity is built around access to hockey and educational opportunity.

Ice Hockey in Harlem was established in the winter of 1987 by Dave Wilk and Todd Levy as a program intended to introduce Harlem children to ice hockey while supporting their academic and social development. The first cohort consisted of 40 children aged nine to twelve. Participation required both weekly classroom attendance and skating instruction, reflecting the founders’ intention that sport should be linked to learning rather than treated as an isolated activity. The earliest classes used hockey as an organizing theme for academic subjects. Students worked with mathematics, reading, geography, statistics, team information, and hockey cities. On the ice, they learned basic skating, passing, shooting, and game concepts at Lasker Rink, an outdoor facility at the northern end of Central Park. The program initially depended on volunteers, donated resources, and mismatched second-hand equipment. Former New York Ranger Pat Hickey assisted the founders with coaching during the formative period. After the first season, fundraising made it possible to send one participant to a summer hockey camp in California. The program expanded steadily, and by its fifth year it served about 125 children. Its activities then included three nights of clinics, a six-team intramural league, and an all-star touring team. Support from the New York Rangers included a mid-season clinic and fundraising assistance. Participants also began attending summer camps in the United States and Canada, and two students received IHIH scholarships to attend preparatory schools. The increase in enrollment and program complexity eventually exposed the limits of the volunteer model. Before the organization’s seventh year, its board decided that expansion required dedicated staff. IHIH consequently developed full-time hockey and events positions, creating a more durable organizational structure while retaining its community-oriented mission. Over time, the program grew beyond beginner hockey instruction. Its on-ice activities came to include learn-to-skate and learn-to-play sessions, age-specific skills training, scrimmages, intramural games, and exhibition or travel games involving teams from New York City, Westchester, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Equipment and skates were supplied to help make participation possible for children from families with limited financial resources. Instruction was organized for a broad age range, from young beginners through teenagers. The educational component remained a defining feature. Students generally attended weekly classroom sessions as a requirement of hockey participation. The curriculum connected hockey with geography, history, social studies, mathematics, reading, and writing. Literacy became a particular focus, and a book club was created for participants aged approximately nine to sixteen. This approach supported the organization’s stated principle, “Education is our Goal,” and positioned hockey as a means of building confidence, discipline, school engagement, and broader life skills. IHIH also built a fundraising and partnership network around its mission. For more than two decades, it hosted the Benefit on the Green, a golf and later tennis event involving NHL players, alumni, sponsors, auctions, and donor activities. It also collaborated with the New York Rangers on winter sports fundraising events that included sports memorabilia auctions, raffles, and interactions between children and hockey players. IHIH became a member program of the NHL’s Hockey Is for Everyone initiative and developed a reputation within the hockey community as an example of access-oriented youth programming. The organization’s long-term impact has been described in terms of thousands of participants, many of whom grew into adults who continued to live and work in Harlem. Its mission combines athletic participation with academic support, safe after-school activity, community service, and character development. Although its programs and event formats have evolved, the central strategy has remained consistent: use hockey to create educational opportunity, strengthen self-esteem, and help children become capable and responsible members of their communities.

• 1987

  Program founded

  [1]Ice Hockey in Harlemen.wikipedia.org

  Ice Hockey in Harlem begins in winter 1987 with 40 children and a combined classroom-and-skating format at Lasker Rink in Central Park.

• Expansion to league and touring activities

  [1]Ice Hockey in Harlemen.wikipedia.org

  By the fifth year, enrollment reaches approximately 125 children, with clinics, a six-team intramural league, and an all-star touring team.

• Dedicated staff introduced

  [1]Ice Hockey in Harlemen.wikipedia.org

  The board adds full-time staffing after determining that the expanding program exceeds the capacity of an all-volunteer organization.

• Literacy programming strengthened

  [1]Ice Hockey in Harlemen.wikipedia.org

  IHIH develops a book club and places increased emphasis on reading and literacy within its educational programming.

• Long-term NHL community partnership

  [1]Ice Hockey in Harlemen.wikipedia.org

  IHIH becomes associated with the NHL’s Hockey Is for Everyone initiative and continues longstanding activities with the New York Rangers.

Community-based nonprofit youth-development organization using ice hockey, education, and structured after-school programming to expand opportunity for children in Harlem.

• Youth hockey instruction

  Learn to Skate/Learn to Play

  An introductory program for children learning to become comfortable on the ice and understand basic hockey skills and rules. Participants receive access to hockey equipment and skates, reducing the cost and equipment barriers that can prevent beginners from entering the sport. The program emphasizes confidence, familiarity with skating, and a positive relationship with coaches and teammates.

• Hockey development

  Age-Specific On-Ice Programming

  Skills sessions and game-based activities organized by age and ability for children and teenagers. Participants progress from foundational skating and puck skills to scrimmages, intramural competition, and exhibition or travel games against teams in the wider New York metropolitan region. The structure provides both recreational access and a pathway toward more advanced hockey participation.

• Education and youth development

  Academic and Literacy Program

  A classroom and after-school program serving school-age participants through lessons in reading, writing, mathematics, geography, history, and social studies. Hockey statistics, literature, rules, cities, players, and team histories provide the instructional context. The program also includes literacy-focused activities such as a book club and links participation in hockey to academic engagement and character development.

• Fundraising event

  Benefit on the Green

  An annual fundraising event combining golf and, in later formats, tennis with receptions, awards, dinners, and live sports auctions. NHL players and alumni, corporate sponsors, private supporters, and community members participate. Proceeds support IHIH programs and help provide children with meaningful athletic and educational experiences.

• Fundraising and community event

  Winter Sports Celebration

  A fundraising event conducted with the New York Rangers and Rangers alumni. Activities have included live and silent memorabilia auctions, raffles, autograph opportunities, and interaction between program participants and hockey supporters. The event links IHIH’s youth mission with the professional hockey community.

• Benefit on the Green

  New York metropolitan area · United States

  A long-running golf and tennis fundraising event featuring NHL players and alumni, sponsors, receptions, auctions, and awards activities.

  Outcome. Raises funds for hockey, educational, and youth-development programming.

  Source
• Winter Sports Celebration

  New York City · United States

  A joint IHIH and New York Rangers fundraising and community event involving program children, current and former Rangers, auctions, raffles, and memorabilia.

  Outcome. Supports IHIH programs while introducing participants and supporters to members of the professional hockey community.

  Source
• Hockey Is for Everyone participation

  United States

  IHIH participates as a member program of the National Hockey League’s Hockey Is for Everyone initiative, aligning its community work with broader efforts to expand access and inclusion in hockey.

  Outcome. Extends the organization’s visibility and connection to national hockey inclusion efforts.

  Source

• Move from volunteer administration to dedicated staffingStrategy

  Background

  Enrollment and programming had expanded beyond what the organization’s all-volunteer structure could reliably support.

  Action taken

  The board established full-time staff positions, including hockey and events responsibilities.

  Aftermath

  The change provided a more durable operating structure for the growing youth program.

  Source

• Integrate academics with hockey participationStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought to improve school engagement and make educational subjects relevant to participants.

  Action taken

  IHIH required weekly classroom attendance and used hockey-related statistics, geography, literature, history, and social studies in its curriculum.

  Aftermath

  Education became a defining part of the organization’s identity and operating model.

  Source

1. 1Ice Hockey in Harlemen.wikipedia.org