THE CHILL EFFECT: PROGRAM DETAILS

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Our Mission is to ensure that any child, regardless of age or ability, can experience the magic of gliding across the ice, the thrill of shooting a goal, the bond of being part of a team, and the mentorship of our experienced teenage ice hockey coaches. Lives of all kids - skater and coach - are forever bonded and changed.  COME EXPERIENCE THE CHILL EFFECT!

Developmentally challenged children of all ages are welcome.  However, we recommend a minimum age of 7yrs old. Once in the program, none of our kids "age out"... whether 9...15...29 years old. We are here to create and offer a continuum of adventure, learning opportunities, social experiences and personal successes for everyone who enters our program. We recommend parents and kids come observe the CHILL in action and talk to our team managers, most of whom have played ice hockey and/or coached athletes with physical challenges for decades. 

Depending on your child's mobility, balance, cognitive and verbal abilities, we customize their introduction to the ice. Most first-time players are partnered with one or two coaches to start, and are paired with an individual mentor-coach for the duration of the season. Hearing challenges? No problem! Several of our teen coaches know ASL, and we make sure they wear clear face shields so your player can see facial cues and lip-read.  

Help us help your "ice groms" have a positive, enriching, and boundary-breaking team experience. Watch them learn to glide across the ice, on their own accord, feeling confident and exhilarated. Watch lasting bonds develop between skaters and coaches. That's the CHILL EFFECT. 

Well - the coaches are just awesome. San Diego Chill partners with local high schools that already have a strong ice hockey and social responsibility presence. ALL of our team coaches are high-schoolers who have at least three (3) years of USA Hockey experience, in addition to coaching experience. This is important to our mission because it ensures that our volunteer coaches are comfortable and talented enough on skates to support your child. 

We regularly bring in child developmental experts so our teen coaches learn about your child's specific developmental needs, helping them individualize and tailor their coaching approaches. Talk to any of our coaches, and you will learn that through your children, they are changed forever. That is the CHILL EFFECT.

We are proud partners with La Jolla Country Day High School, who wholeheartedly support our mission, and provide us with fantastic coaches from their robust hockey program. 

Our Team Managers - the adults who oversee the entire process - are your immediate advocates. We make sure our coaches are accountable, enthusiastic, prepared and available to you and your little warriors at all times. All our managers and board members have decades of ice hockey, special needs/challenges, athletic and coaching years behind them. 

With the help of donations and grants, the San Diego Chill  provides nearly all of the necessary ice hockey equipment for all our players. Through our partnerships with local sports retailers and other hockey organizations, we are able to provide most equipment, and pass on significant savings for everything else. 

To start your child out, the UTC Ice Rink provides free skate, helmet and hockey stick rentals. Once your child has taken to the sport, we simply ask that you provide your own helmet, skates and stick. Anything else, we will figure out together.

We strive to make this program as accessible as possible to all skaters. Most of our funds come from sponsorships, fundraising, etc. We do ask for a voluntary donation of $300 per skater per season to help us offset ice time and equipment costs.