TOP CHEEZ Swag

Most kids never quit hockey.

They never get the chance to start.

That’s why we created GIVE A STICK.

This summer, Hockey Without Boundaries is introducing hockey to kids across Aurora who never imagined this sport could be for them.

No ice.
No expensive gear.
Just sneakers, a stick, and a chance to say:

“I CAN PLAY THIS.”

Give A Stick Count: 76/1000

Help us get sticks into the hands of 1,000 kids.

DONATE:
topcheezswag.com/give-a-stick

This Memorial Day, I pause to honor my fellow veterans, those still with us, and especially those who gave everything in service to this nation.

The uniform may come off, but the bond, sacrifice, and memories never leave us.

To all who served and sacrificed, we remember you. We thank you. We honor you.

Never forgotten. 🇺🇸

These stories never get old. 💪

It’s always a good time for street hockey! ⏰ Mark Fraser (@mark.fraser.2) played on the playground, in the driveway, and in the snow. Bring NHL STREET to your community at NHLSTREET.com.

Awesome success story.

Never imagined I’d “get to” do this with my life! This will always be of the best lessons I’ve learned from @jongordon11 - turn your “have to’s” to “get to’s”

Why Colorado Is Built for the Growth of Ball Hockey

Colorado may quietly be one of the best places in America to grow youth and adult ball hockey and eventually revive grassroots roller hockey.

At first glance, that might sound surprising. Hockey has traditionally grown in expensive ice-rink markets, colder regions, and wealthier suburban communities. But Colorado offers something different: a younger population, active families, growing communities, and the kind of outdoor culture that makes grassroots sports thrive.

Colorado remains one of the youngest states in America, with a median age around 38, younger than the national average. Nearly a quarter of the state is under 20 years old, while another large portion falls into the young-family demographic.

That matters because sports growth follows people, especially young people.

At the same time, youth sports participation continues to rise nationally, while traditional hockey becomes harder to afford. Ice time, travel teams, equipment costs, and private training have pushed hockey further away from many working families.

That’s where ball hockey changes the equation.
You don’t need ice. You don’t need expensive facilities. You don’t even need thousands of dollars to start.

A stick, a ball, sneakers, and a place to play.
And Colorado already has the infrastructure: outdoor rinks, basketball courts, recreation centers, school blacktops, and parks that can become hockey spaces with very little investment.

Places like Aurora, Adams County, and Colorado Springs are filled with young families and athletic kids who play nearly every sport imaginable, but many have never been introduced to hockey in a way that feels affordable, local, and made for them.
That creates a real opportunity.

Not just to grow youth ball hockey, but eventually adult leagues and the return of roller hockey itself.
Because the truth is, roller hockey didn’t disappear because people stopped loving it. The youth pipeline disappeared first. As fewer kids entered the sport, adult participation slowly became all that remained.

Bring kids back into hockey, and the rest can follow.

That’s where the TOP CHEEZ Sports Initiative fits in.
Through Hockey Without Boundaries, free and affordable programming, community-center leagues, and a long-term scholastic model, the goal is simple: rebuild grassroots hockey in Colorado by making the sport accessible again.

Not through expensive systems.
But through community.
The opportunity is here.

The question is whether Colorado is ready to embrace it.

E

Our man in the field spreading the word for youth hockey growth. Way to go, Jack!

Psyched to be @topcheezswag Ambassador! Top Cheez is dedicated to growing community-based hockey by breaking down financial, geographical, and cultural barriers. Our initiative brings accessible street, roller, and ball hockey to neighborhoods through clinics, leagues, and the Open Rink Pro Tour. Check the links in my bio to learn more and to check out @topcheezswag & @biscuit_balm products!

When Youth Sports Stop Being Built for Kids

At some point over the last decade, youth sports stopped feeling purely recreational and started resembling an economic ecosystem of subscriptions, travel schedules, private instruction, tournament circuits, and escalating financial commitments. For many families, participation no longer feels as simple as signing a child up to play. It increasingly feels like navigating an industry.
That shift is now drawing national attention.

Across the country, parents have begun voicing frustration over rising costs, privatized development systems, and what many believe has become an increasingly commercialized youth sports culture. Lawsuits involving pricing structures and organizational practices have surfaced in certain sectors of youth athletics, while lawmakers in Washington have introduced legislation aimed at examining affordability and fairness within the broader youth sports landscape.

The concern is not necessarily about investment itself. Better facilities, stronger operations, and expanded programming can absolutely benefit young athletes. The larger question is whether youth sports, in some cases, have drifted too far away from their original community purpose and too close toward a model that increasingly rewards financial capacity above all else.

For many households, the costs have quietly accumulated over time. Club fees, tournament registrations, travel expenses, hotels, private lessons, equipment upgrades, and year-round participation expectations have become normalized across multiple sports. Families often feel pressure to remain fully committed out of fear that stepping away, even briefly, could place their child behind competitively.

What once felt seasonal now feels constant.
And hockey may be one of the clearest examples of this broader cultural shift.

Long before private equity firms and large-scale investment entered the youth sports conversation, hockey already carried some of the highest barriers to entry in American athletics. Ice time, travel requirements, specialized equipment, and elite development structures gradually pushed participation further away from many working-class neighborhoods and underserved communities.

The issue is no longer simply whether hockey is expensive. Most people already understand that it is. The deeper issue is what happens culturally when entire populations grow up seeing a sport as financially distant from their everyday reality.

In many communities across the United States, hockey remains largely invisible. Not because children lack interest in competition or athletic identity, but because the infrastructure surrounding the sport often feels inaccessible before participation even begins.
That disconnect matters.

Youth sports have historically functioned as more than recreation. They create identity, belonging, structure, friendships, and local pride. They connect neighborhoods. They give young people a place to physically gather in an increasingly digital culture. But when entry pathways narrow financially, participation naturally becomes concentrated among smaller demographics with the resources to consistently absorb rising costs.

Eventually, sports stop feeling communal and start feeling selective.

At the same time, a quieter counter-movement has begun emerging in various cities and grassroots spaces across the country. Smaller community-based organizations are experimenting with different participation models built less around exclusivity and more around local accessibility. Public outdoor courts, community centers, low-cost programming, simplified equipment requirements, and neighborhood-based play are slowly re-entering the conversation.

That approach may ultimately become more important than many people realize.

Because the long-term future of youth sports may not depend solely on how effectively elite systems continue expanding. It may depend on whether ordinary families continue believing there is still room for them inside the experience at all.

And for hockey specifically, that may become one of the defining questions of the next generation.

This hoodie buys 2 sticks for 2 kids that never played before.

Donate at topcheezswag.com

You'll feel good you did.

Youth sports was never supposed to become a luxury item.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped asking, “How do we get more kids playing?” and started accepting a system that asks families, “How much can you afford?”

Across America, more families are being priced out of youth sports due to rising costs, pay-to-play models, expensive club structures, mandatory travel, facility monopolies, and increasing corporate influence. In many communities, youth sports has shifted from local recreation and development to a business model.

Now, lawmakers are beginning to take notice.

A new proposed federal bill, the “Let Kids Play Act,” aims to curb the growing influence of private equity firms in youth sports amid concerns that Wall Street-backed ownership is driving up costs and reducing access for everyday families. The conversation is no longer fringe. Parents, coaches, and community leaders are asking a serious question:

At what point did youth sports stop being about kids?

This is exactly why grassroots organizations, community programs, local nonprofits, and mission-driven sports leaders matter more than ever.

We don’t just need more programs.

We need more affordable programs with real value.

Programs that focus on development over profit.
Community over exclusivity.
Participation over prestige.

Youth sports should not require a second job for parents to afford.

A kid who wants to play should have a pathway to play.

Whether it’s hockey, basketball, soccer, football, or any sport, the future belongs to organizations willing to think differently and put access first.

Because sports should still belong to the kids.

TC