If you pass the Greater La Grange YMCA on a Monday night you may hear a lot of whooping and hollering.  That would be the members of the Hockey Club at Lyons Township High School.

   Since the club began meeting in September the 19 members and their director, Doug Bosse, have been gathering at the Y every other Monday night for a variety of activities, including yoga and spin.  The class the boys seem to enjoy the most is spin.

   Bosse said he initially approached Karen Dziagwa, director of health and wellness at the Y, about the team participating in a yoga class so the boys could get a different type of workout then what they would normally receive on the ice.

   “I wanted them to get a different cardio workout, along with team building, that they could enjoy off the ice, as well as to participate in yoga,” Bosse said.  “Yoga teaches them proper breathing and stretching (exercises) as well as helping them center themselves.”

   The experiment was a huge success because what was supposed to be one or two classes has grown into a season-long excursion.

   “I think at first they weren’t sure what they were getting into,” Bosse said of the team’s reaction to the “off-the-ice” workouts.  “But every time we go they keep asking for more.  Spin is fun and it helps them move, but the whole experience has been great.  The classes have pushed them to their limits.  They haven’t worked this hard” on the ice.

   It may be hard work, but the boys are enjoying it.  The shouts and laughter coming from the La Grange Park building are certainly proof of that.