The Richmond Retriever’s mission is to offer the community an adaptive ice hockey experience for children ages 5 and up with diverse developmental/physical disabilities or impairments to be part of an all inclusive team. Our focus is to build confidence, socialization, and self-expression while exercising gross and fine motor skills in a safe and supportive environment.
SkateNation Plus is the official home ice rink of the Richmond Retriever, located at 4350 Pouncey Tract Rd. Glen Allen, VA 23060. We also enjoy playing at the Richmond Ice Zone and the Powhatan Ice Den!
The Richmond Special Hockey Program practices consist of 1 hour of ice time with a 30 minute gear up window. We offer 1 on 1 coaching for every player ages 5 and up (no age cap!), which includes helping to gear up the players and full assistance throughout the entire practice. Our volunteers also maintain good communication with parents to ensure all needs are met. Parents must be present for the entire practice.
Our ice time structure consists of fun skating drills, the use of innovative props to aid in fine and gross motor skill building, free skating for self expression, and plenty of breaks in between. Every player is ensured any adaptive support they may require to access their environment. Custom visual narratives are also available for all players.
We offer a non-competitive hockey experience, where players are encouraged to focus on their own self growth. Competitive physical contact such as checking, roughing, high sticking, fighting, etc are prohibited. Parent shaming, bullying, and any sort of harassment are also prohibited with a 0 tolerance policy. Our team is a safe haven for our players and their parents alike. The Richmond Special Hockey Program is less about hockey and more about community. Hockey is for everyone.
All of our volunteers go through a screening process with our program director as well as a complete background check and a Child Abuse Prevention Training Certification Course with the American Special Hockey Association. Everyone (volunteers, parents who want to participate on the ice, and players) are required to register with under our team with the American
Special Hockey Association at specialhockey.org. Any parents that would like to access the ice during practices are required to go through the same process as our volunteers. The safety of our team is our main priority.
The Richmond Retrievers gives a BIG thank you to our sponsors!
Resources for Independent Living Inc. is the Richmond Retrievers Top Non-Profit Partner and Sponsor for the 2023 Season. Please visit and read more about their generous work here.
Richmond Retrievers 