MSHC – About us…

The Michigan Sting Hockey Club is about hockey first, but what many of its members have come to know, it really is about many other things.  First and foremost, our group has developed the base for the best senior hockey club in our State, if not the entire region.  In that process, we have focused on fun, fellowship, friendship and the development of a most competitive system and structure.  Our charter promotes “healthy lifestyle” and education & skills development concepts.  Our primary membership is comprised of seniors (players over 50) however, we have many younger players who participate in many of our activities and are members of the club.  We especially promote having family involved, including sons, daughters and other family members who may want to participate in our drop-in skates.  It is always appreciated when wives, family and friends support our tournaments and other activities.

What many people would not know, if it were not for this website forum, is how the Michigan Sting Hockey Club originated.  Although the club has had support along the way from many people, it began as an outgrowth of the initial efforts of Phil Parrinello.  Phil organized a team to participate in the first ever Michigan Senior Olympics in 2000.  Phil will agree discussing that team, its accomplishments, or the lack thereof, is not anything to elaborate about.   

It wasn’t long after that experience, the same core players had an interest and need to improve their skills and they began moving in that direction.  They began by looking for clinics and a forum where ice would be available on a regular basis. That format didn’t exist anywhere, especially for seniors.  Although these ideas were some of what the group wanted, there was a bigger picture to be addressed.  Creating a structure to include; safe ice hockey for recreational seniors, with the ability to leverage the elite hockey talent in the State, has proven to be the right approach for what was a largely unstructured venue. 

Marty Miller took a turn in helping the group organize for one of the early National Senior Olympics.  He introduced several players who have brought several other players into the Club.  Many of those players have made contributions in many different ways, to help the Club evolve to where it is today.  

The accomplishments of our group speak for themselves.  Almost everyone will agree, one of the highlights was the winning the World Cup, in April at the 2004 World Championships in Ottawa Canada.  Prior to it, the Sting won the Gold Medal at the 2003 National Senior Olympics.  It is likely our club may be the only group in the Country to hold the distinction, to have captured both the National and State Gold Medals in the same year, 2003.  It would also be remiss, if we didn’t mention another great off ice accomplishment, it being the development of our MSHC website.  Thanks to the efforts of one of our own, Mr. John Randall, we have a unique tool that just may be “one-of-a-kind” for senior hockey. 
WWW.michigansting.com could easily become THE website for senior hockey in the State of Michigan.  We collectively have much to be proud of.    

These accomplishments among others have not come about without great support and commitment of both time and effort on the part of many people. These days, Phil Parrinello continues to play a role on and off the ice.  He is responsible for running our weekly skates with both communications, scheduling, and making sure everyone is happy afterwards.  Phil has played a part in many tournaments supporting teams in any way he can.  Brian Pettit is our rag man.  From even before we began, Brian has always played a role in making sure everyone was properly dressed and equipped.  He plays a part before every tournament to make sure his part of our appearance comes off without a hitch, every time. 

Leveraging our group means, we must welcome everyone to our group.  The idea of having the best players comes with welcoming all players, because everyone has a place.  We need a volume of people to make our program work the right way.  For example, to have ice on a regular basis and at a fair price takes a volume of people.  Having a league and holding regular ice times year around also gives us strength.  By developing a larger need for ice, it gives the club leverage to get better ice times.  Larger numbers, more activities and year round programs all feed, the different needs of all players, and it gives us a unique ability to leverage getting the things we need.  The key point of this is that we have created a solid working foundation.  That gives the club the ability to put into play a “one-of-a-kind” 52 week program for seniors going forward.  Our weekly skate programs are extremely unique, offering flexibility, cost effectiveness, and regular availability for our members.  However, we are and we will continue to be something more than just a club.  We are building a structure, methodology and philosophy for the future of senior ice hockey in our region.

We are please to have our membership now exceeding 100 players.  Because of our structure and multiple activities, we have the ability to accommodate more players.  Creating a central structure and two-way communication ability, will give us the unique ability to get our members to clearly understand ahead of time, what their options are.  Regionally, we are organized as the Michigan Sting with several sub-group teams.  Over the past two years, we have had players from several different teams join our group, to take advantage of the host of activities we offer.  In 2004, several good teams became officially affiliated with the group, they include: Utica, Southfield and the Fogs.

In 2004, the Michigan Sting Hockey Club set up a structure to give us non-profit status.  We are pleased to announce the appointment of the following Officers and Directors who will serve our club initially, beginning in 2005:

We are very pleased that these officers and Directors have accepted and are willing to serve our group during our first two years as an official non-profit organization.

On behalf of our Board of Directors; I would personally like to express my appreciation to all of our members, for their support to our club and its activities, and in helping create something we will all be very proud of for years to come. 

I will also take this opportunity from a personal standpoint, to express my personal appreciation for that same support.  I am also very pleased, to have met so many people who have become friends.  That has been a personal blessing for me.

I am also pleased to have been a helping hand in this process.

Sam Cupp

As we are in the building phase of the website we would appreciate any and all suggestions concerning the content of the site. Please feel free to contribute to the quality of our site by pointing out any omissions or mistakes so that we can correct them.