The summer months have been great to The Neepawa Natives, as a record number of visitors have been frequenting neepawanatives.com. The team is currently working very hard at making itself more media friendly through its use of neepawanatives.com, as well as with its online broadcast of all home games. The team has also been embraced by local media outlets. The effort can be a massive undertaking for staff members and volunteers, but the organization is committed to become even more accessible to the public through consultation with all-net.ca - its site host. 

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At a time when fishing rods, cold beverages and the crack of a baseball bat  are supposedly the norm, The Neepawa Natives are bringing a little winter into the hot summer.

 

The team, through the use of its website - neepawanatives.com - is finding that surfing its website for hockey news still has a place in the lives of people in the summer months.

 

One simple statistic shows it.

 

This past month, neepawanatives.com  had 16,303 visitors - a 221 percent increase over last June.

 

Natives general manager Bryant Perrier says the number is easy to explain.

 

"We keep our site relevant, we keep it up to date, and we really take pride in giving people a place to keep up with MJHL hockey," Perrier said. "We really take a lot of pride in it."

 

A number of contributors are responsible for the site's upkeep and content.

 

"We work really hard at keeping it up to date."

 

During the season, people can look forward to updates and game summaries within minutes of the games ending - a feature unrivalled by many teams at the amateur level.

 

According to Perrier, it is a lot of work.

 

"The organization has designated people who are able to get game reports and articles up immediately," he said. "It is actually not a simple process."

 

Following a game, Perrier and his staff realize there are many readers who are waiting to hear the thoughts of the staff - therefore, he and the staff always take time to make themselves available to the designated webmaster for each game.

 

Just like on home game internet broadcasts, Perrier and his staff are always ready to answer questions and give an honest answer - even when it is tough to do so.

 

"Sometimes you just want to say nothing and see nobody," he said. "But, you have to be available all the time."

 

Whether it be on Natives internet broadcasts, to the local media, or to the team's internet site, the club has committed itself to be media friendly and available to the public as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

 

The results speak for themselves.

 

"Our web traffic is going through the roof, our broadcasts are growing in numbers for our internet productions, and we are really getting great coverage from the local media."

 

"We are really glad to be able to provide a great product in all three phases, whether it be our website, our online game nights or our availability to the media."

 

All of which is only going to grow bigger and bigger, according to the coach.

 

"We are looking at expanding our media services," he said. "Our provider (all-net.ca) is just amazing to deal with and they are really helping us with our continued plan to be more and more media available."

 

Look for even bigger and better things from neepawanatives.com in the upcoming months.