USA Hockey has released the details on the 2 and 2 Challenge for the 2013-14 season.  The 2 and 2 Challenge is a national program conducted in partnership with the NHL that guides youth hockey administrators through the three phases of growth: retention, acquisition and conversion.

The 2 and 2 Challenge focuses on building the foundation of every youth hockey association, the eight and under players. Research has shown the majority of players start playing hockey before turning nine and over 90% of players age 9-14 continue to play hockey.  That means the most effective path to growth revolves around making kids age four to eight years old the center of your recruiting and retention efforts.

The first step in the 2 and 2 Challenge is to try to retain two additional players each year. To achieve that goal, USA Hockey has established Welcome Back Week.  Associations that participate in the Welcome Back Week program will ensure all of their 8U players receive an email reminder about registration from USA Hockey (Sept. 24, 2013) and a recorded phone call from an NHL or Olympic player (last season was Zach Parise in MN) on Oct. 2nd.  Then, the association will be provided a list of players that should receive a personal phone call during Welcome Back Week, October 14-20, 2013.

The second goal of the 2 and 2 Challenge is to acquire two more players than the previous season and integrate them into the association’s programs.  The primary tools for acquisition are two national Try Hockey For Free Days on November 2nd, 2013 and March 1st, 2014.  Then, associations are recommended to invite them to participate in a low cost, low commitment conversion program that facilitates their transition into hockey.

USA Hockey provides associations with a considerable amount of resources for these acquisition and conversion programs.  Examples include national marketing in coordination with the NHL, jerseys, goodie bags, online registration tools, on and off-ice guidelines for organizing the events, and local marketing tools like Halloween themed invites, a social media calendar, posters and more.

There have been a couple of changes and additions to the 2 and 2 Challenge for the upcoming year.  The most popular of those is sure to be the membership discount program.  For the 2013-14 season, all participants (ages 7-12) in the Nov. 2nd Try Hockey For Free that register with USA Hockey by Dec. 31st will have their $50 registration fee waived.  USA Hockey will also be providing Olympic themed marketing resources leading up to the March 1st Try Hockey For Free, which is the first Saturday following the closing ceremonies.

Encourage your association to sign up for the 2013-14 2 and 2 Challenge. Associations that accept the challenge and complete it will receive a series of rewards.  For more information, visit www.2and2Challenge.com or check out the digital booklet.