Story Summary
A three-day ball hockey clinic in Kingston has given Jamaica a fresh, practical push toward broader participation and a potential youth pipeline for future ice development. Hosted by the Women of Colour Hockey Collective with the Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation, the July 24-26 event combined elite coaching, donated equipment and NHL support to teach more than 60 boys and girls core hockey skills in a non-ice setting.
Key Facts
- The camp took place July 24-26 at the National Arena in Kingston and involved more than 60 boys and girls, roughly half of them girls.
- The event was organised by the Women of Colour Hockey Collective (WCHC) in collaboration with the Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation (JOIHF).
- Nearly a dozen WCHC members and proteges attended, including Saroya Tinker (WCHC founder), Sophie Jaques (Vancouver, PWHL; Canada women’s Olympic silver medallist), Chase Rutty, Katelynn Charlton, Dayton O’Donoghue, Kianna Saillant, Teagan Gray, Sienna Bullen and Deija Houston.
- Sophie Jaques described the rapid progress of the campers: “Literally, the second they grabbed the sticks, they started playing around, started passing balls,” and said the growth over the clinic was “truly incredible.”
- JOIHF president Don Anderson said organisers plan to select about 20 children from the camp for the next programme and that the IIHF has approved a “grow the game” project for Jamaica before the end of the year.
- The camp was supported by the NHL and NHL Players’ Association through the Industry Growth Fund, created under the Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2013 to increase participation and fan development.
- Swift Hockey donated about 75 sticks and apparel. The company was founded by Zechariah Thomas, a 23-year-old retired minor-pro defenceman who played for Jamaica and who attracted attention after a Dragons’ Den deal and inclusion on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List 2026.
- Jamaica has been an IIHF associate member since May 18, 2012, and competes in tournaments such as the Amerigol LATAM Cup and the Challenger Series, with a men’s programme largely composed of players of Jamaican descent based in Canada and the United States.
IHM Discussion
The Kingston clinic was a compact example of how hockey grows where a full ice ecosystem does not yet exist. The most visible outcome was simple: children who had never held sticks before learned passing, receiving and basic game instincts quickly when given focused coaching and the right gear. That speed of learning matters because skills and curiosity form the early architecture of any sustainable programme.
There are several layers to the story. First, the presence of recognised players – an Olympian, collegiate standouts and former pros – creates instant aspiration. Sophie Jaques’ appearance did more than validate the event; it changed the campers’ expectations of what hockey could look like for them. Second, the mix of ball and potential inline development turns cost and access constraints into an advantage. Roller surfaces and ball play allow repetition of puck skills, spatial awareness and decision-making without the capital expense of ice.
Finally, institutional backing from the NHL and NHLPA’s Industry Growth Fund and a tangible equipment donation reduce two of the main barriers: visibility and affordability. Those elements together produce the practical conditions for follow-up programming, which JOIHF intends to pursue by selecting about 20 campers for the next stage.
IHM Tactical Outlook
From a coaching and development perspective, ball hockey camps are a pragmatic first act. The skills with the highest transfer value to ice are stickhandling under pressure, passing and receiving on the move, angling and pattern recognition in attack and defence, and rapid decision-making in limited space. Coaches at the Kingston clinic emphasised these fundamentals and small-sided games, which accelerate repetition of game-like choices.
Inline hockey can be the intermediate training surface, especially for islands where building and maintaining an ice sheet is a multi-year project. The case of Jaxon Cover, an inline player drafted into the NHL, illustrates that players can convert roller-honed timing, edge control and puck support into on-ice success given the right pathway. For Jamaica, a staged plan – ball drills to teach hands and vision, inline play to bridge skating balance and edge awareness, then targeted ice exposure – is the clearest route from first touch to competitive ice hockey.
Why It Matters
Beyond the immediate joy and learning, the Kingston camp advances several structural goals that determine whether hockey takes root. It demonstrates demand among girls and boys, offers a model for low-cost skill development, and supplies the beginnings of a selection pipeline. Those are the essentials for justifying further investment, whether that investment is coaching education, sustained equipment provision, or the long-term work to secure an ice surface.
There is also a cultural element. When local role models and visiting players who look like the campers participate, hockey stops being an abstract northern import and starts to feel like an option for Jamaican families. That matters for retention. If a child sees a pathway, they are more likely to show up the next week. If communities can follow the JOIHF plan and IIHF project approval with consistent programming, Jamaica can build a generation of players who combine island athleticism with hockey-specific skills.
Fan Pulse
Would you prioritise inline rinks or a community ice sheet as the best next investment for Caribbean hockey growth? What is more important for sustained development: equipment access or consistent coaching?
Mini Q& A
Who organised and ran the Kingston camp? The Women of Colour Hockey Collective partnered with the Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation to host the camp at Kingston’s National Arena.
How many children took part and what was the gender mix? More than 60 boys and girls attended, with roughly half of the campers being girls.
What support did the programme receive? The clinic was supported by the NHL and NHL Players’ Association through the Industry Growth Fund and received about 75 sticks and apparel from Swift Hockey.
What are the next steps for JOIHF? JOIHF plans to select about 20 campers for the next programme and has IIHF approval for a “grow the game” project to be implemented in Jamaica before the end of the year.
Coach Mark Comment
From a coach’s viewpoint, a ball hockey camp like Kingston’s is less about spectacle and more about establishing reliable motor patterns and decision routines. In a short time frame you can intentionally teach hand-eye synchronisation, passing on the move, support angles and how to read pressure – those are the repeatable skills that survive when a player later goes on to ice or inline. The quicker you make those elements habitual under game-like stress, the more likely they are to be executed instinctively when skating is added to the equation.
Practically, drills should be staged in three progressive layers. Start with closed-skill reps: stationary passing, forehand/backhand control and simple receiving. Move to pattern work that emphasises timing and spatial awareness, such as give-and-go sequences and angling to create shooting lanes. Finish with constrained, small-area games that prioritise quick reads, support timing, and decision speed. These stages force players to combine puck skills with cognitive tasks – recognising seams, choosing support lanes, and managing the puck under pressure – without the complexity of edges and stride mechanics.
If inline is available, use it to add a second layer of transfer training. Inline play teaches balance under momentum, sustained edge pressure and continuous support positioning, which are all useful when players finally step onto ice. Coaching language needs to be simple and consistent – labels like “pocket the pass,” “create the support angle,” or “use the wall” give players reference points they recognise across surfaces. One clear coaching test of future ice readiness is how a player shifts their feet while protecting the ball; effective footwork on the ground often predicts how quickly they will adapt to on-ice balance and stride sequencing.
IHM Final View
The Kingston camp was more than a feel-good outreach. It was an operational blueprint for how non-traditional hockey nations can bootstrap player pathways: start with accessible forms of the game, supply credible role models and equipment, and lock in follow-up selection and programming. If JOIHF converts initial interest into sustained coaching and inline or ice opportunities, Jamaica could create a steady stream of players who bring island athleticism into international hockey. The clearest single takeaway is practical: skill, habit and opportunity matter far more than geography. Give kids sticks, consistent coaching and a next step, and hockey grows.