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Founder's Story
To understand the significance of a “pond hockey” tournament, you’ve got to appreciate the deep meaning of pond hockey to men and women who grew up in cold-climate states such as Minnesota.
Pond hockey enthusiasts grew up playing hockey on frozen ponds in their back yards, on a neighborhood creek or in a local park. They cleared the ice with shovels, not zambonis. Instead of $149 pads, they protected their shins with old magazines held with duct tape. Wooden boards with small holes served as goals, eliminating the need for a goalie. No frustrated parents on the sidelines berated the coaches or the kids.
It was hockey the way nature intended –– outside in the elements during the absolute coldest time of year.
Fred Haberman
Fred Haberman and his daughter Celeste on the pond
Only a few people have kept the game alive into adulthood. One of them is Fred Haberman, co-founder of Haberman, a brand public relations firm.
Crashing headfirst into mid-life crisis in 2005, Fred had a vision: create a national pond hockey tournament. Fred perfected the idea as he painstakingly shoveled and smoothed his own backyard pond on a peaceful creek.
“Pond hockey is my religion,” said Fred. “There’s nothing better than being a kid again, skating with wild abandon, free from the pressures that dog hockey players and parents these days. But the ultimate rush is playing with others who love the game.”
In 2006, the first-ever U.S. Pond Hockey Championships drew nearly 120 teams of pond hockey players from across the nation to Minneapolis to play on 25 rinks. Tens of thousands of spectators cheered them on. And, the tournament proudly donated a portion of its profits to youth hockey charities, The Herb Brooks Foundation and DinoMights.
Today, the tournament has grown in size and national notoriety. ESPN.com has listed it as one of the "101 things sports fans must experience before they die." Sports Illustrated called the event "perfect in every detail.” It was the subject of a Jeopardy! question. And now, the tournament will live in infamy in its very own board game: Pond Hockey-opoly.
Handing Off The Golden Shovel
The TST Media crew enjoying a lunch session at Logan Park in NE Minneapolis
In 2010, after a successful five years and some of the best times of their lives, Haberman passed off the Golden Shovel to a passionate group of hockey fanatics that now carry on the pond tradition: Justin Kaufenberg, Carson Kipfer and TST Media.
Justin Kaufenberg started skating in the same month he learned to walk. His grandfather, father and three brothers were all accomplished hockey players, so it was only natural that his "job" throughout his teenage years was that of the Lions Park Outdoor Rink Attendant. The old-timers still joke that Justin was the only rink attendant in Shakopee history to spend more time in the warming house than in the classroom—but with a fold-up bed stashed above the old zamboni room, there was no reason to be anywhere else. Even as Justin went on to a successful high school, junior and collegiate hockey career, his treasured winter highlight remained reuniting with old buddies on the pond for a day of pickup hockey, the way it was meant to be played. Full of camaraderie, creativity and laughs.
Meanwhile a state away in central Wisconsin, a large majority of Carson Kipfer's childhood and adolescent waking hours over the winter months were spent on his parents’ backyard pond, nestled between picturesque banks of towering pines. The Kipfer family back porch resembled a crude hockey superstore, with enough skates and miscellaneous gear to outfit even the most ambitious Saturday morning crowd. A fire pit and dilapidated picnic table on the shore offered brothers, cousins and friends a place to warm their hands before tightening their skates and heading back out on to the pond to shovel the ice clean and once again pursue their quest for glory.
Justin and Carson's stories collided while attending college at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, where they instantly shared a bond fueled by their passion for the sport of hockey. The two comrades, inspired by their love of the game and their newfound "fancy college educations," set out to create a software company that catered to the needs of hockey organizations. From its humble beginnings in a dorm room, TST Media has grown into a successful web software company that now empowers thousands of sports organizations, events and businesses around the world... including Justin's alma mater, the Shakopee Youth Hockey Association. The company, headquartered in Northeast Minneapolis, still lives and breathes hockey the way nature intended it, with Justin and Carson heading up lunch-hour hockey games with the rest of the TST Media staff at nearby Logan Park.
In an event of destiny, Justin, Carson and the rest of the TST Media team stepped forward to be the new stewards of the Golden Shovel and the beloved tradition of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. Their passion for the purity of the sport along with their commitment to excellence are sure to make this year's tournament the best pond hockey tournament ever. They have heeded the call and have pledged to protect the spiritual sanctum that is The Pond.
. . . now that’s pond hockey.
