There is only one ice rink in Mid-Missouri.
That rink, Jefferson City's Washington Park Ice Arena, is home to the University of Missouri club hockey team. But it's also home to a group of younger Tigers.
The Mid-Missouri Tigers is a hockey club made up of nearly 65 kids from the ages of 5-18. The Tigers have been carving up the ice at Washington Park since 2009. Before that, there were two hockey teams in the area: the Jefferson City Capitals and the Mid-Missouri Eagles. Those teams merged to form the Tigers.
In the past season, which ended just a few weeks ago, the Tigers took home state championships at every age level in which they competed.
Sgt. Pat McCutchen, a Jefferson City police officer, coaches the 10 and under age level of the Mid-Missouri Tigers. McCutchen said he receives great joy from coaching the team. He is playing a part in growing the sport of hockey in the area and teaching kids valuable skills that will stay with them long after they step off the ice.
McCutchen grew up playing hockey. It's different from most other sports, he said. The non-stop nature of the game forces kids who play it to be in great physical and mental condition.
"The game goes, and it's constantly evolving," McCutchen said. "It gets them thinking faster."
The physical and mental workouts the players receive from the Tigers' twice-a-week practices are good for everybody, and McCutchen said it is important each individual gets a chance to play.
"The goal is to keep all the kids active and not standing in line waiting for their turn on a drill," McCutchen said. "We want everybody moving all the time."
But the benefits to participating in hockey are not trapped within the oval confines of the rink. McCutchen said what he teaches his players will greatly benefit each of them later in life.
"Being on a team, and they don't see it right now cause it's just all for fun. But when you do get into a work environment, especially the environment I'm in, this is a team," McCutchen said. "We look after one another all the time."
The team has created camaraderie among the kids, and a community has formed because of the sport. McCutchen, whose son plays for the Tigers, says he has gone to more birthday parties for the team than he ever has for his son's school friends.
"The whole club is treated like one big family," McCutchen said. "It's a good time. It really is."
The Tigers hope to grow as a hockey club. James Greer, president of the Tigers, said the key to growth is the club's younger players. Greer said the Tigers have a large number of young players who are growing together on the ice.
McCutchen and Greer both said the goal is to get enough players to have two teams at each age level.
Greer said the Tigers are still a few years from that level of growth, but the success in the state championships this past year will help immensely.
"Kids go to school, and they talk to their friends about it," Greer said.
McCutchen also said he hopes to see a larger number of players because of how well his team performed. And he couldn't be more proud of what his kids have accomplished.
"Here we are in Mid-Missouri, hockey is not known. And yet we can field a team of kids and go to St. Louis and win state championships against St. Louis teams, where hockey is pretty important," McCutchen said. "To me, that's a huge accomplishment."