About Wellesley Youth Hockey
The Wellesley Youth Hockey Association, Inc. (WYHA) is a not-for-profit corporation that was founded in 1961. Players, aged four and a half through seventeen, parents, coaches, and program leaders and volunteers comprise the WYHA and run it for the purpose of promoting sportsmanlike competition, team and individual values, and respect for the rules of play in the great game of ice hockey. Nearly 500 children participate in our program to learn skating and hockey skills in both a recreational and competitive atmosphere.
In accordance with USA and Massachusetts Hockey Guidelines, the WYHA strives to provide a safe and healthy environment for all to learn and to grow as individuals and teammates in the game of hockey with an equal opportunity to play at an appropriate level and without an undue emphasis on winning. The WYHA endorses the Core Values of USA Hockey: Sportsmanship, Respect for the Individual, Integrity, Pursuit of Excellence, Enjoyment, Loyalty, and Teamwork.
The WYHA is officially a part of Massachusetts Hockey’s District III (Norfolk County), and the WYHA is a USA Hockey participating program. USA Hockey is federally legislated to govern the sport of ice hockey in the United States. WYHA adheres to the rules set forth by these governing regional and national organizations.
Our players generally live in Wellesley, but may also live in Weston, Wayland, Dover, Sherborn and Holliston, where formalized youth hockey programs do not exist. Players participate at one of seven different levels depending on their age, from Learn to Play Hockey to Midget, and compete in the Valley Hockey League, the Middlesex Yankee Conference (Girls League), the Town Line League, and the Premier Hockey League of New England. Our teams participate in tournament play primarily in Massachusetts, but also occasionally throughout the Northeast and Southern Canada. Our teams practice in Wellesley at the Boston Sports Institute located at 900 Worcester Street in Wellesley.
The WYHA is governed completely by volunteers, from Directors, Officers, Coaches, and Committee Members, almost all of whom are parents of WYHA players. The WYHA is an independent organization and is funded solely by the membership fees of its participants, by revenues from fundraising, and by the generous support of our corporate sponsors. The WYHA receives no funding or administrative support from the Town of Wellesley, and no town facilities are used for games or practices. The nine members of the Board of Directors meet monthly and oversee the WYHA, its Officers, and its four committees: the Nominating Committee, the Discipline Committee, the Advisory Committee, and the Special Events Committee.
