Winning the NHIAA Division I boys’ hockey championship was a monumental victory for Concord High last month and one that will be talked about for years to come.

Seniors Tyler Fennelly and Rowan Arndt, homegrown products of Concord’s youth hockey programs, played a large part in the victory, but what few people know is how much they have been giving back to Concord hockey.

Since their freshman years, the two have volunteered at the Concord Youth Hockey Association’s Learn to Skate and Learn to Play programs for boys and girls ages 4 to 9 from October to March.

Having the patience to organize kids on the ice at that age is difficult, but Fennelly and Arndt said they could not be happier with the experience. Watching the children improve week to week in gear that weighs as much as they do, from pushing around crates to learning how to hold a stick and move with a puck over time, has in many ways kept their passion for the sport going.

“Some kids just have such a love for the game that they don’t want to step off the ice. I think a big part of it comes from the kids,” Arndt said. “I think that the ability we had to give the kids a little more love for the game, to see what they really could turn into, was a big part of it, too.”

On top of skating nearly every day for the Crimson Tide, the two have dedicated countless hours every weekend to passing down the sport to the next generation of Tide skaters. Many other Concord hockey players, both girls and boys, also have helped the programs and collaborated with the CYHA to promote the sport.

“It was honestly just fun teaching them how to play and made me feel really good about ourselves and the community,” Fennelly said. “The little kids, being able to watch them grow as skaters even from last year, they’re the ones pushing kids on chairs and stuff. It’s just awesome to see.”

Learn to Play coach Kyle Poirier spoke glowingly of the two young men. Poirier grew up in Concord’s youth hockey system and was coached by Dunc Walsh, as Arndt and Fennelly have.

They were already a constant presence on the ice when Poirier joined the program, and he believes that it has done wonders for hockey in the area. He credited Wes Riley, the director, and Samantha Schecter for getting the program started, but it wouldn’t be the same without the effort put in by the high school players.

“These young men are the ones that make it a reality,” Poirier said. “So individually, I think that Tyler’s best-contributing factors would be his enthusiasm, creativity and the fun he brings to the drills and to his coaching. With Rowan, he’s cool, calm and collected. He offers a lot of encouragement for the young athletes, and he is able to get the kids to their potential.”

They come by their leadership skills in Concord’s locker room honestly.

They still remember being those little kids watching the big kids through the glass, and they remember the senior players who guided them through championship runs as freshmen.

At the state championship in SNHU Arena, the scene was the same as it had been all season at Everett Arena – the little ones waited near the entrance to high-five the boys and held up signs to cheer them on, even when it seemed that the Tide might lose.

“Growing up going down to Everett watching these kids and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, their shots are so hard,’ and to be one of those kids and have like the younger kids looking at us, it’s just an honor,” Fennelly said. “Having people throughout the community just come to games without any skin in the game.”

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com.