Junior Killer Bees find passion on the ice

Ryan Glenn was always a natural athlete. Four and a half years ago, he became an athlete with passion.

The 15-year-old used to play some baseball and some basketball, but there was never any sport in particular that captured his attention. Ryan's talents were obvious, but the spark was missing.

David Duff knew a little ice was all it would take to light a fire in him. The coach of the Rio Grande Valley Junior Killer Bees approached Ryan's father.

"(Duff) said, ‘I know your kid's a good athlete. I'd like for him to play hockey,'" recalls Jay Glenn. "So (Ryan) came out and played hockey for two or three weeks and just decided. He said, ‘I quit everything; I just want to play hockey.'"

That's how Duff has made believers of his operation - one person at a time. He built the program on foot, in person and through word of mouth. The Junior Killer Bees remain in development five years after the team's conception, but the days when only a handful of kids participated are long past.

Since its beginning, the team has joined the South Texas Youth Hockey League, which is comprised of teams from Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Laredo and Austin. It also has four different divisions and almost 75 participants.

Many in the 18-and-under age division have been with Duff since the beginning. They now glide gracefully on the ice at Dodge Arena, the same surface they slipped and skidded on while learning to skate.

Joining the Junior Killer Bees was an opportunity to pick up some smooth moves, if nothing else. Others, like Ryan Glenn, found something far greater.

"He'll be the last one off the ice," said Ryan's father, who is also the Killer Bee's dentist, as he watched his son scrimmage with other players. "Just wait and see; they'll have to drag him off."

Duff understands the pride Jay Glenn feels for his son very well - it's why he started the team.

"I wanted people for my son to play with," he said. "So I worked really hard to create leagues."

Duff admits he had big dreams for the league in the beginning, before reality sunk in.

"When I first started, I wanted to have 300 kids, but the Valley is not ready for 300 kids, and I've tried my best to get them," he said. "But it's an expensive sport."

Equipment costs upward of $1,000 for the average player; goalies pay even more.

For Duff and parents like Jay Glenn, however, it's been worth it. Duff finds himself especially attached to his older kids, and to his role as a teacher. Many on his team will be done with hockey after they depart the Junior Killer Bees for college. Some are in no hurry.

Practice is over. The bleachers have emptied of the five or so spectator parents. Two arena workers prepare the zamboni; it will resurface the ice before that night's Killer Bee's game. As his dad promised, Ryan Glenn is the last one off the ice.

Sandra Gonzalez covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4427.