Houston Junior Aeros Build Bikes to Support Local Students
Players in the Houston Junior Aeros organization are used to competing on the ice.
Those players recently faced off in a different kind of competition: bike building.
On Sept. 12, the Junior Aeros gathered at a local brewery to build bikes, which were then given to elementary school students in the Houston area.
“It was an amazing day and the energy was electric,” said Mike Zeibaq, president of the Junior Aeros. “It was a great day for our organization and most importantly, for the kids and the community.”
“We started the season in August, but this is a good opportunity to get away from hockey and get away from pressure on the ice,” said TC Lewis, hockey director of the Junior Aeros. “This is a fun environment; they’re less focused on what the coaches are telling them, and they can use their creativity to figure out and solve problems.”
In the past, the organization kicked off the season with an off-ice event, including Texas barbecue, wiffle ball, cornhole and other party-style lawn games intended to build camaraderie.
This season, the Junior Aeros decided to build bikes as a kickoff to the season. Lewis said one of the coaches within the organization did the same for his company and brought the idea to the team.
“We thought this was a really neat idea of getting the kids to work together and create something,” Lewis said. “We hadn’t done that type of team-building event before and we wanted to do it with the whole association. It’s very civic-minded. We thought this would be a good event to get the teams working on something that will eventually benefit the community.”
The event involved about 200 players spread throughout 12 different teams, from 10U to 18U. The goal was to pair older players with younger players and serve as mentors throughout the process.
“We want the older kids to be a good representative to where the younger kids eventually want to go,” Lewis said. “We want the younger kids to look up to and idolize the kids who are a few years older than them, so this gave them a great opportunity to interact … almost like a big brother where they have to work together.”
The players built 100 bikes, and now that they’re completed, they will be returned to CYCLE, Changing Young Children’s Lives through Education, a nonprofit in Houston.
The bikes will be delivered to second-grade students in Title One schools who are actively working to earn their bicycles through the organization’s literacy and character-building programs.
“To me, in the end, that’s what I hope the kids get out of it,” Lewis said. “The team-building aspect is huge, but I want them to recognize that they did something good for children in the community who might be less fortunate than they are.”
Zeibaq was proud of the way the organization stepped up for the community.
“We had tremendous support from the players and parents, and it was really rewarding to see everyone come together for the Houston community,” Zeibaq said. “When you see the organization come together like this for the community, that’s what the sport of hockey is all about.”
The Junior Aeros, the lone Tier II travel program in the city, plays its games in the Texas Hockey League and was formed in the late 1980s. Lewis said this is the biggest number of teams and players the Junior Aeros have ever fielded heading into a season.
“It speaks to the depth of hockey in Houston, and how it’s getting better,” Lewis said. “The size of the Junior Aeros getting bigger is an indication that hockey is getting bigger and obviously we’re thinking NHL.”
The prospect of an NHL franchise in Houston is entirely possible, as the league is in the process of exploring the potential of adding a 33rd team.
“It’s very much talked about in town and all the hockey players in the city are excited that we might get a team here,” Lewis said. “Hockey is getting bigger and the size of the Junior Aeros program is growing, too.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
