ROCHESTER, N.Y. — “This way,” yells the woman in the grey sweatshirt, standing at the bench gate at Genesee Valley Ice Arena in Rochester. She lets two chirps from her whistle fill the April Saturday morning at the city of Rochester’s rink.
“She’s why everybody’s here,” said one parent watching her son prepare for the program’s last morning of action. “We wouldn’t have any of this without her.”
Florence Clemmons commands a rink with the ease of a Calder Cup champion coach. She’s a self-and hockey mom who can sling hockey equipment back over her shoulder as easily as a laptop attaché.
When she laces a pair of skates on a 10-year-old she smiles and chats up the child with the kind of banter you’d hear from an old-time hockey trainer.
Then again, “Flo” as everyone at Genesee Valley Ice Arena knows her, knows every kid in her youth hockey program. Most, she found through referrals and word of mouth. She did not recruit them for their talent.
“What we’re about here is giving children and giving families a chance to experience a game that, because of its cost, because there are not a lot of people of color who play it, is not considered an option for youth from neighborhoods like the ones around here,” said Clemmons. “It’s an opportunity. And we expect the kids and the families to respect it.”
Clemmons and her legion of volunteer staff at the Genesee Valley Youth Hockey program have been hitting the ice with kids for 18 years.
From 5-year-olds to high school students, most who turn out have never skated before, much less know the game.
“Some have never even seen the game before. But we fix that. Some have played games like soccer or basketball. We help them realize it’s just another game,” Clemmons said.
The cost of playing hockey keeps many from experiencing it. Cost is not an obstacle with Flo’s program. Handy-me-downs from travel and high school programs keep an equipment room filled. Families are given a bag full of gear for the season. Players keep it if they follow the program’s expectations for their behavior with their parents and coaches.
“She’s tough. She makes everybody work hard,” one player said.
“Helping kids set goals is not just about hockey. Being a good steward of the community. And how to give back; that’s as important as learning to skate, learning to pass and score,” Clemmons said.
“That was one of the things that drew me to her,” said Denise Mulando of Rochester, whose 9-year-old daughter Jayla skates in Flo’s program. “She’s always behind the parents. 'Are you doing, like are you doing what your mom told you?' That’s important to us.”
Flo and her husband help raise donations for the program. They’ve shared their own resources, too. It’s a commitment they made after their son Elliott, went from ankle skater to high school and travel player, to college forward at Endicott College.
“Some kids, they grow in the game. They want to do better. We’ll have some children go on to school and travel hockey. And if that happens, great,” said Clemmons. “But that’s not why we’re here.”
Rochester Americans Alumni Association members join college and high school players in providing on-ice instruction and oversight. Amtrak’s greats Steve Langdon rounds up Hall of Farmers like Jody Gage and Jim Hofford, who feed off Flo’s energy.
“It’s incredible to watch her,” Hofford said. “She is such a role model for the kids. She has such passion; a real force of nature.”
One grandparent watching his grandson skate through drills on the program’s final Saturday morning believes the hockey program at Genesee Valley plays an important role for youth living in a community where crime and violence are part of growing up.
“It’s a great thing, not only to broaden their perspective, but to make a contribution to the sport,” he said. “We (Black Americans) are under-represented in a sport that is a major presence in the culture of the place where we live.”
As many as 80 kids have taken part in the program, which drops the puck in October, runs a session in December, then runs a long season from January into April.
“It’s a blessing to see how these kids who I have gone after or have just made them aware of the opportunity,” said Clemmons. “They don’t have to know how to skate. We show them everything they need to learn. I love to see the new faces every year. And the parents, who probably ask themselves some Saturdays: 'why am I bringing my child into this cold arena in the winter?'"
With the city now funding this program, Flo has no intention of stopping now.
“That’s what keeps me coming back," said Clemmons "And knowing that maybe, this kind of experience, it’s not basketball, it’s not soccer, it’s not an easy play; maybe the commitment these families make can help kids grow.”