OUR HISTORY
The Wings Hockey Club was founded in 1973. It began through the efforts and dedication of Bill Newlin-Wagner who, with the assistance of Ward Doerschuck and Peter Gall, fielded a team in the Nassau H.S. Hockey league during the 1973-74 season.
In the Certificate of Incorporation, the purpose for the formation of the team was "to teach and develop skills in the sport of ice hockey among the youth of Garden City High School and generally encourage amateur hockey in the community." Over the years the team has more than lived up to these goals, having competed very successfully in the league. More importantly it has developed the spirit of teamwork and success in many of the players that have passed through the program. Bill Newlin-Wagner put it best in addressing the team in its early history. He said "the essence of teamwork is character, friendship, unselfishness, excellence in skating, stick handling, and tactics. My modest attempts at teaching you were, and always will be, not only how to win but also how to bear it when you lose.
Over the years the organization has been funded primarily from the parents of the players. In addition, we had enjoyed the generosity of The Men's Association of the Garden City High School. Without their encouragement and support we would have great difficulty in running our program and we thank them for all their help.
The club currently participates in both the Middle School, Junior Varsity and Varsity divisions of the Islanders High School Hockey League of Nassau County, Inc. The league comprises club and fully sanctioned school teams. Games are played at ice rinks throughout Nassau County.
The program is open to all players in the 6th through 12th grades who live in the Garden City / Herricks / Mineola school districts.
The club celebrated its 50th anniversary in the 2022-2023 season. It was a year in which both the organization was able to field Middle School and Varsity teams. The Varsity team made playoffs for the first time in 10+ years losing in the first round to the ultimate state champion, and Middle School made playoffs as well, losing in the semi finals. At the end of each season, former players under Coach Peter Gall honor the Varsity Rookie and MVP of the year at an awards ceremony
We encourage anyone with pictures, statistics, or articles from prior years to submit them for publication on the website.