The loss of a great man and coach

2010-01-05

BYH mourns the death of George Alsfeld, a wonderful man who coached rec and travel teams for the Stars

George Alsfeld, a native New Englander who coached rec and travel teams of different levels for Baltimore Youth Hockey during the last decade, has died.  George grew up in Cranston, Rhode Island and started youth hockey at a young age in the Edgewood Hockey Association (EHA).  He went on to play for Cranston High School East in a competitive high school league that sent many players to Division I college hockey and even a couple of kids to the NHL.  He left his high school team to play in the New England Junior Hockey League.  After that George "retired" from hockey for about 25 years, until he discovered roller hockey here in Maryland, and then coaching ice hockey with BYH.
In 2003 and 2004, George assisted Bob Goodwin and Wayne Hedrick with what was then the BYH North Stars peewee rec team. 
George was from a hockey family. His dad coached Bantam travel for about 20 years for EHA, long before George's older brother started playing and long after George stopped.  
When recruited to coach with BYH, George said: "I have had a lot of good experiences growing up playing hockey, and have met a lot of wonderful people. My best friend to this day was the goalie for our Peewee rec team.  I would like to pass the torch, and see if I can help some young players have fun, acquire a better appreciation for the game, and develop better skills -- for hockey and for life."