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1970
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Meramec Youth Hockey Club was founded by Mr. Harry Bayens who
was an ice hockey coach at the infamous Winterland Rink on St.
Charles Rock Road. The original blue and green
colors used by Meramec Youth Hockey Club were from the Vancouver
Canucks who were an NHL expansion team that same year. No ice
was available in South County, so the club skated the first
season in St. Charles and 9 teams were formed that were
declared at the A and B levels. Coaches were far and few
between, so Mr. Bayens coached all 9 teams.
1971 -
The club's second year saw a move to Arnold into the old
Kozeny Wagner building, which was converted into an ice
rink. The club grew to 14 teams and played in the
Arnold Ice Rink for 2 seasons until this building
was converted into a concert hall called the Concert
South Facility.
1973 -
With the closing of The Arnold Ice Rink, the Meramec
Youth Hockey Club moved to Ballwin, yes Ballwin,
where the Meramec Youth Hockey Club ran the rink as well
as the club. The old West County Flyers shared the rink
with the Sharks and other teams that skated at Ballwin
were The Rainbow Rockets, The Blues, and The Billikens.
It was also 1973 when the Meramec Youth Hockey Club took
more league championships than any other club in St
Louis
1974 - The
club moved again to the new Kennedy Recreation
Complex (South County) located on 6050 Wells Road.
1980s - In
the late 1980's the club was so pressed for ice, the
Meramec Youth Hockey Club skated at 4:30am with 3 teams at the
same time on each sheet of ice. It was very difficult to try and
develop an interesting practice plan using just one-third of the
ice and if it was your teams turn to have the neutral zone as
your practice ice, there were no goals. The club skated quite
often outdoors at Cahokia, Webster Groves, Kirkwood (neither
Webster Groves nor Kirkwood were indoors back then), Florissant
Civic Center, Granite City, and Shaw Park.
2003 -
Through all the changes, the club continued to grow
strong, remain competitive, and by 2003, featured the
largest Learn To Play program in the St Louis area. In
the Fall of 2003, the Meramec Youth Hockey Club began a
new chapter with the opening of their own ice facility
called The Shark Tank located in the All American
Sports Complex in South County
2009 –
The club topped 500 players in 2009
- with over 350 skaters and 24 teams
participating in the 2009 Travel and House Fall
programs, and 150 new Sharks putting on the skates for
the first time in the Learn To Play program. In
addition, the club added 4 on 4 and Select programs in
the Spring
2010 –
In June of 2010, the Sharks moved to the
FSI Shark Tank,
located at 6297 Lemay Ferry Road. With the opening of this new
facility, the Sharks began offering year round programs. The
Summer of 2010 included the inaugural cross-ice 3 on 3 league,
weekly skills clinics, weeklong camps, and lots of Stick n Puck
sessions. In addition to the on-ice benefits of the new rink,
the FSI Shark Tank is home to the Schutz n Scores hockey store
featuring exclusive Shark gear.
    
If you are interested in learning
more about The Meramec Youth Hockey Club or what it
would take to become a Shark, contact the Club Registrar
by any of the below methods or contact any of the
members of The Board of Directors.
Meramec Hockey Club
6297 Lemay Ferry Road
St. Louis, MO 63129
314.487.1711
or email the
Club Registrar at: registration@meramecsharks.com
Club Bylaws and
Rules
The Meramec Youth Hockey Club Policies (which includes
the Member Contact Team or MCT individual assignments),
Bylaws and Rules are available. Select the proper link
below:
Club Bylaws and Rules
The Richard
Stanko Memorial Fund
To find out more about this Meramec Shark exclusive
program, select the link below:
Richard Stanko
Memorial Fund
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