Matthew Jeans, the head of the Special Education department, is working to bring back a co-ed hockey team, which dissipated due to a lack of interest and ability at the school. After a long wait, the team is finally making a comeback this year and sign-ups are ready. Any students interested in joining the potential team can stop by Jeans’ office in room 1203 and add their name to the list.

“The goal is to get the group of kids first and then figure out from there what we need to fill out the team,” Jeans said. “From there, we’ll figure out what the structure of the administration is going to be, all the way from the board down to the coach, whoever’s going to be that person.”

Having coached at FHN for three years before actually working in the building and actively coaching three hockey teams at the Chesterfield hockey club means that Jeans knows the game well. While they have organized some players, they’re still working to get enough for a full team.

“I have to have 12 [players] minimum to even think about taking another step,” Jeans said. “Ideally, we like to get up to 17 kids on a roster, preferably 20.”

Iain Lyle, a sophomore at FHN, has been playing hockey for five years and reached out to one of his teachers to try and get the sport going at the school again. One of the main reasons he wants to have a school-sponsored team is because of the connections that can be built, both on the ice and with other students and fans in the community.

“Club hockey is not boring, but only your parents show up,” Lyle said. “But if we run it through the school, we get people over here to come in, and it’d be cool.”

While the team is looking for any players who want to join, there is also a question of safety and training. Students who have never played hockey before aren’t discouraged from joining, but the pressure of starting a new team and having to train lots of players are two hurdles that are best faced one at a time.

“I would prefer to have kids with hockey experience, because there’s a danger factor putting a kid out on the ice that’s never skated in a game before at this age,” Jeans said. “High schools are notorious for putting fans in the stands by having a little bit more brutality on the ice.”

While still a tentative schedule, there are two options that the team can take advantage of. The Varsity hockey season takes place Nov-Feb, and, if possible, the JV/B-team season will take place March-May. There is a lot of work behind the scenes involved to get this team started, including contacting Mid States Club Hockey Association (MSCHA), which is a governing board of hockey for high schools in St. Louis.

“We need a hockey team,” Lyle said. “Every high school has a hockey team around here, even Howell and Central do, and I think it would be really fun to build that community here.”