ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) - The Orr family is OK with being a little bit cliche.
So OK, in fact, they built a hockey rink in their backyard.
The whole idea of building a backyard hockey rink is arguably the antithesis of cliche, but Tom and Matty Orr, both North Dakota natives and avid hockey players and fans, really just wanted to create a space for their kids to play hockey.
“Tom and I grew up with hockey, both loving it and playing it,” Matty Orr said. “So we always figured our kids would be hockey players. When we moved here to Aberdeen and it would get cold enough to have a rink, it was something we thought of.”
The Orrs took advantage of some excess boards and glass from the local hockey association and some combined ingenuity to build a small hockey rink in the family’s back yard.
The rink soon became the talk of the neighborhood and the subject of a short documentary film called “Sandlot Hockey,” which has made stops at the South Dakota Film Festival and several other film festivals, Aberdeen News (https://bit.ly/2iwtLdD ) reported.
While the film has gained traction on the festival circuit, the Orrs said they had something more “wholesome” in mind when they built the winter arena.
“It’s spreading the idea of community and having a purpose and a cause behind it of trying to get kids to enjoy wellness,” Tom Orr said. “Being in the outdoors and being hardy and having fun and giggling and being resilient. Learning a lot of things on the ice. Some of the things you don’t get playing video games.”
Admittedly, the family’s “little boring rink” has become something more than just that, however. The family routinely entertains their kids’ friends or students from Northern State, where Tom Orr teaches. Most recently, nine students from the Montessori school in Aberdeen stopped by for an afternoon of skating.
Still, the rink’s first and most obvious function remains backyard hockey with a side of community.
“It was just created as a place for our kids and for us to share as a place to play hockey for whoever wanted to come by and play in a small setting,” Matty said. “It’s just fun to have people come over, especially if they’ve never experienced hockey. The joy and the laughter and getting to talk about different things that have happened in their lives. When the international students come over, it’s fun to hear about their culture and how it’s different or how it’s the same.”
Matty also noted that, unlike basketball or volleyball, hockey can be cost-prohibitive, particularly for players who aren’t sure if they want to keep going.
“I don’t know what the rate is, but it’s a hundred bucks to sign them up and 10 hours of volunteer time and $200 worth of tickets, which is great if you know your kid is going to stick it out,” she said. “But if your kid just wants to try it just a few times, it’s hard to get that experience. So for some of these kids, it’s their chance to play in a pick-up game.”
Both Tom and Matty said the film, which took nearly two winters of filming and several more months of editing and stitching before it hit the festival tour, is a side benefit.
“I hope that it’s inspired people to share what they like to do and to bring people in,” Matty said. “It’s not just for an individual, it’s for as many people as you can bring in. I hope people have watched it and thought, ’Hey, we can do that.’”
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Information from: Aberdeen American News, https://www.aberdeennews.com
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