50 YEARS! 1976-2026
A PLACE FOR KIDS TO PLAY HOCKEY!
The Origins of the Fitchburg Street Hockey League
In the mid-1970s, a group of passionate young organizers came together with a simple vision: bring organized street hockey to the city of Fitchburg.
A newspaper article titled “Street Hockey Planners” documented the newly formed Fitchburg Street Hockey Association, which began planning a permanent playing facility for the growing sport in the community.
The founding organizers pictured in the article included:
- Diane LeBlanc – Secretary
- Bryan Araujo – Chairman
- John Jeffrey – Vice Chairman
- Mark LeBlanc – Activities Manager
- Jeff Blake – Treasurer
These volunteers began working with city leaders and community members to make street hockey a permanent part of Fitchburg recreation.
Their goal was ambitious: raise $12,000 to help build a dedicated street hockey rink for the city’s youth.
Building the First Street Hockey Rink
Their efforts quickly gained momentum.
A second newspaper article announced the dedication of the new street hockey rink at Coolidge Park, scheduled for Friday, July 16 at 7:00 PM.
The project was supported by the City of Fitchburg Board of Park Commissioners, and construction was made possible through federal funding provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Program.
The total estimated cost of the rink was approximately $33,500.
Once completed, the facility included lighting for day and night play, making it one of the few dedicated outdoor street hockey rinks in the region at the time.
A Community Effort
The dedication ceremony was planned as part of the Fitchburg Bicentennial celebrations, reflecting how important the project had become to the community.
Local leaders and volunteers helped organize the event, including:
- Chris F. Bicuoles – General Chairman of the Dedication Committee
- Victor Sidilaskas – Park Commissioner
- Douglas Jackson – Park Commissioner
- John Hackett – Park Commissioner
- Stephen Richard – Park Commissioner
- Hedley Bray – Mayor of Fitchburg
- Connor DiGeronimo – Bicentennial Committee Chairman
The ceremony included a ribbon-cutting and the first official street hockey game played on the new rink.
The Early Leagues
Early street hockey leagues in Fitchburg included divisions for players of all ages, creating opportunities for youth and adults alike.
Divisions included:
- Penguin Division – ages 7–9
- Beaver Division – ages 11–13
- Cadet Division – ages 13–15
- Junior Division – ages 15–17
- Adult Division – ages 18+
These early programs laid the foundation for what would become one of the most enduring youth sports organizations in the region.
50 Years of Street Hockey
From those humble beginnings in the 1970s, the league continued to grow thanks to the dedication of volunteer coaches, families, sponsors, and players.
Today, the Fitchburg Street Hockey League stands as a symbol of community pride in Fitchburg and throughout North Central Massachusetts, continuing the mission started by those early founders:
to provide affordable, accessible hockey for generations of kids.
Nearly 50 years later, thousands of players have stepped onto the rink at Coolidge Park and beyond, carrying forward the legacy built by those original street hockey planners.
And as every generation of players hears when the ball drops…
The game goes on.
50 Years of Street Hockey in Fitchburg
In 1976, a simple idea took root in the city of Fitchburg — give kids a place to play hockey.
From those early days on rough asphalt rinks to today’s modern dek surfaces at Coolidge Park, the Fitchburg Street Hockey League has grown into something far bigger than a game. For half a century, FSHL has been a volunteer-driven, non-profit league dedicated to giving kids and adults a place to compete, learn, and fall in love with the sport of ball hockey.
But the real story of FSHL isn’t just the rinks or the games.
It’s the people.
For 50 years, coaches have volunteered countless hours teaching fundamentals, discipline, and teamwork. Parents and families have filled the sidelines cheering on their kids. Sponsors and local businesses have stepped forward to support the league and keep the game affordable for generations of players.
Thousands of kids have grown up here — starting as beginners learning to hold a stick, and finishing as confident young athletes representing Fitchburg with pride. Every season adds new names, new friendships, and new memories to a legacy that has now spanned five decades.
The league has hosted youth tournaments like the Raider Cup and continues to run seasonal youth and adult leagues each year, proving that the passion for street hockey in Fitchburg is still alive and thriving.
Through snowbanks in April, blazing hot summer tournaments, and crisp fall nights under the lights, one thing has always remained the same:
A community coming together around the game.
Coaches. Volunteers. Players. Families. Sponsors.
Every one of them has helped carry the torch since 1976.
Fifty years later, the sound is still the same — the slap of the ball, the scrape of sneakers on the rink, and kids laughing between shifts.
This is more than a league.
It’s a tradition.
It’s a community.
It’s Fitchburg.
Here’s to 50 years of the Fitchburg Street Hockey League — and to the next generation of players who will carry the game forward.
1976 – 2026
50 Years of Ball Hockey in Fitchburg
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