Bill Greim Presented with 2018 CGHL Leadership Award

The Connecticut Girls Hockey League (CGHL)presented Shoreline Sharks’ Co-Founder and Board Member Bill Greim with the LaChance Leadership Award at its annual coaches meeting. The award is given to a CGHL member who is empathetic, intuitive, and shows passion for improving girl’s hockey.

Gary LaChance, also a Co-Founder of the Shoreline Sharks and CGHL, presented the award to Greim and said, “This recognition is extremely well deserved and long overdue. Bill has demonstrated time and again over many, many years his ability to perceive positive change is needed and selflessly takes action to make it happen. Without folks like Bill Greim, the CGHL would not exist. He’s done so much to strengthen our organization and the girls’ hockey community.”

Greim’s extraordinary vision, persistent action, steady leadership, and advancement of the sport of girls’ hockey at the local and regional levels were demonstrated through his many accomplishments:

1998: Partnered with a small group of parents to form, and help coach, the first Guilford High School Girls’ Hockey Team. Over the past 20 years, hundreds of Guilford girls have proudly worn their Indians’ jerseys on the ice.

2000: Co-founded the Shoreline Sharks, realizing the need to give girls an opportunity to play ice hockey in a supportive and positive environment. He served as president for 17 years, with his vision and purpose strengthening the organization’s player development model and girls-only focus. Bill continues to serve on the Board and as Clinic Director for the Learn to Play Hockey program. He now welcomes some of his former players back as coaches – passing on his love for the game to a new generation of players!

2005: Believed in the importance of establishing a Connecticut-based hockey league dedicated to girls, becoming a founding Board Member of the CGHL, on which he continues to serve. His critical thinking and commitment to bettering the game have shaped policy and created more opportunities for girls in the state.

According to Shoreline Sharks President, Ed Rodham, “The Shoreline Sharks would not exist without Bill Greim. He continues to shape girls hockey in Connecticut through his leadership, moral compass, and unwavering commitment to providing a place for girls of all levels to play hockey. Bill’s selfless dedication to the Sharks and girls hockey provides all of us with a shining example of the best that youth sports represent.”

About the Shoreline Sharks

Started in 1998, the Shoreline Sharks is a non-profit organization dedicated to offering developmental and competitive hockey programs for girls ages 3-19. It is the largest and fastest growing girls’ hockey program in Southern Connecticut and is known for building a passion for hockey in a fun, challenging environment.

Over 225+ girls are registered for the 2018-19 season with girls living in Cheshire and Hamden to the North; Stratford to the West; New London to the East; and most of the towns in between.

The organization fields 11 travel teams ranging from U08 to U19, with varying levels of competitiveness from developmental to national tournament bound. The Sharks are affiliated with the Connecticut Girls Hockey League (CGHL), the Connecticut Hockey Conference (CHC) and the New England Girls Hockey League (NEGHL).

The Shoreline Sharks won a USA Hockey National Championship for the past two years, becoming only the 15th and 16th CT-based girls’ team to win the title since the tournament started 40 years ago. Additionally, the association has been recognized by USA Hockey as a model organization for their leadership in growing participation in the sport with girls 8 and under.

For more information, visit shorelinesharkshockey.com or email marketing@shorelinesharkshockey.com