The St. Louis Blues win is likely to have an impact on generations to come
LEBANON, Ill. (KMOX) — A dozen kids as young as 5 are skating on and off the ice at the the McKendree Metro Rec Plex. CEO and majority owner Dean Oelze says the Blues win has increased their enthusiasm.
"The Blues have such a strong fan base on the Illinois side as well as the Missouri side. You could see that on the kids faces as they came in today,” Oelze said.
He expects the Stanley Cup win to further increase interest in kids and adults who want to learn to skate. He says they are prepared to add more 'learn to skate' classes if and when demand grows.
"I can't imagine where the Stanley Cup will visit in the coming year,” Oelze said. “It's going to be exciting to watch and we're excited that maybe the Stanley cup may make an appearance here."
McKendree does host an annual Blues Alumni game against the schools' college players and Oelze hopes the Cup will make an appearance at that game in September.
He says the 2-year-old facility has had other impact as well by enabling McKendree University to expand its ice programs and add a women's hockey team, go Division I with men's hockey and add a second Division II men's team. And because the facility includes an aquatics center, McKendree has added men's and women's swimming, water polo and a men's diving program.
Oelze believes the success of the rec plex is due in part to having two NHL-sized hockey rinks and a championship sized pool available for members. The learn-to-skate programs for children usually sell out. The next session begins July 23, but he says they are prepared to add more if demand is there. There are also learn-to-skate programs for adults.
University Junior Tyler Estermyer skates for the university men's team and teaches kids at the rec plez. He went to some Stanley Cup playoff games and says the championship win was surreal.
He actually took up the sport when he was 3. He grew up playing roller hockey with his brothers before turning to ice. While his dream is to play professional hockey overseas or in the U.S., it’s a dream to play the sport he loves in college as well.
Estermyer says playing in the same region as the now-Stanley Cup champs is an inspiration for his other goal — to win the national college title. This summer Estermyer is teaching ice skating at McKendree Metro Rec Plex to elementary school students. He also hopes the Stanley Cup will come to the rink during the annual Blues Alumni game against McKendree hockey players in September.
He says the message of the Blues season to him is, "Never give up on your dreams. If you do, you're just giving up on yourself and what your family has done for you. If you keep going, even if you don't make it to where you want and you achieve some of your goals, at least you've achieved something."
