Elementary students Skate to Success with smiles, thanks to Worcester Railers

Joe McDonald, Worcester Telegram & Gazette

WORCESTER – Patricia Seward hasn’t been on skates since she was a young girl growing up in Boston.

The 32-year-old mother of two stood at the glass Tuesday morning at the Worcester Ice Center and watched her daughter, Jaielle, learn to skate, thanks to the Worcester Railers.

Nearly 60 fourth grade students from City View Elementary School participated in Skate to Success, which is the flagship community outreach program for the Railers.

“It’s awesome,” Seward said. “It’s nice to see the community give back. Look how easy (the kids) fall, but they’re able to get right back up and keep trying. It’s great. It’s a really good program for them, especially for the kids who aren’t able to do these types of activities, so to expose them to different things is the best part.”

Seward’s oldest daughter participated in the program a few years ago and still talks about how much fun it was for her and her friends. On Tuesday, the students lined up in the foyer at WIC, waiting to be fitted for skates and helmets before they hit the ice.

The Worcester Railers Foundation, along with sponsors UMass Memorial Health, Fallon Health, Worcester Business Development Corporation, Peace, Love, Shelter, AA Transportation, Hampton Properties, LLC, MassLive, M&T Bank, Boston Private and Bay State Brewing Company, cover all the cost for equipment, transportation and lunch for the kids.

It’s a massive collaborative, and several volunteers make sure the kids’ skates are tied and their helmets are snapped properly. Railers players, coaches and staff all help the kids learn to skate.

Before construction began on the Worcester Ice Center, the team discussed ways to connect with the community, which has been a hockey hot bed for generations, so it was an easy decision to begin this program.

“We started small and it’s grown into something really special,” Railers chief operating officer Mike Myers said. “We’re just happy to be able to provide something like this and something that’s sustainable. It’s been a lot of fun for the staff, the players, the kids, the teachers, the parents and the volunteers. We all have a blast.”

The program runs for 22 weeks for 35 schools. The few hours the kids are on the ice are filled with laughter, smiles, a few tears, a couple of bumps and bruises, but all leave with an immense amount of satisfaction and joy. Myers enjoys watching the kids slowly progress during the session.

“Kids start off sitting on a bucket, or on one of the developmental seals, but by the end, they’re getting around,” Myers said. “Then they’re coming up to us, saying: ‘I learned how to do it.’ It’s such a great age, and it’s why we chose fourth grade. They really try hard and they learn when you fall you’ve got to get up.”

Mackenzie Satalini is a teacher at City View, and she witnesses firsthand the impact the program has on the students.

“It’s great,” Satalini said. “A lot of the kids haven’t been skating before, so it gives them all an opportunity to do something that they wouldn’t necessarily do, and it’s awesome that it’s connected to the Worcester Railers. It gives the kids a sense of pride in the city, too. We love it.”

Before the fourth graders left school this morning, many of the fifth graders told Satalini they were jealous they couldn’t go this year.

“Oh, they love it. They talk about it for years. They’re all pumped because they remember it for years.”

This unique program is one reason the Railers have won the ECHL’s Community Service Team of the Year Award four years in a row. The program also has reached more than 5,000 students since its inception in 2017.

“It shows they’re willing to invest in the city,” Satalini said. “They care about the experience the kids get across the city.”

Railers community relations coordinator Delaney Galbraith can’t wait to arrive at work on Tuesdays.

“It has been the most incredible thing ever,” she said. “Seeing the kids gets so excited about being on the ice makes us so happy. It’s just really special to have the kids have a fun field trip. I just love it, and the kids are ecstatic to be here. I have the best Tuesdays ever at work, which is really cool. Most everybody else is stuck in their office, and I’m skating with fourth graders, and it’s the coolest thing ever.”

Introducing and teaching the kids to skate is not a one-time venture. The Railers hope the kids enjoy it so much and gain confidence and continue to skate, not only at WIC, but other rinks in Central Mass, including the outdoor oval behind City Hall.

“It’s their city. It’s their rink,” Myers said. “This is something they can do, and my favorite part is watching the program grow into something all the kids look forward to and talk about.”

The program has built a solid reputation in the city, and it continues to grow. It was evident as the kids and teachers exited the ice Tuesday morning at Worcester Ice Center.

“Wow, that was really slippery,” a fourth grader said as he stepped off the ice. “But it was really fun.”

Then it was time for pizza.