It is with regret that we announce that a member of our Executive Committee passed away on November 19. Paul Puchalik joined the Atlantic District board in the 2000 season as VP of Tournaments. In addition to the District position, he also held positions on the board of the New Jersey Youth Hockey League and our Girls league, MAWHA. Paul's full time job was rink manager at the Loucks Ice Rink at the Lawrenceville Prep School. Paul will be sadly missed by all.
USA Hockey Season Date Change In January, the USA Hockey Board approved different dates for the season.
This was done to satisfy the needs of our member programs, provide an opportunity for new
members to try hockey during the summer months and to simplify the registration process for
individuals. Unfortunately this change was perceived by some as not receiving a full seasons
worth of membership.
To address those concerns, USA Hockey President Ron DeGregorio has
ordered the following changes:
• Return to the September 1-August 31 regular playing season and registration period for
all renewing memberships. This means that there is no change from previous years for
your membership period.
• Open online registration for the upcoming season April 1 for registration for all members
(this is an important need for many of our local programs).
• Membership for new members is effective from the date of registration with full benefits,
including insurance, when participating with a member program.
• Membership for all participants is through August 31st of the regular playing season for
which they are registering.
• The benefit is that all new members can complete registration for a member program as
early as April 1 without having to register again on September 1 of the same year. Of
course, renewing members will be able to register as early as April 1 for the following
September 1 season, easing the administration for our hockey programs.
• For example, a new member registering from April 1 through August 31 will receive
membership throughout the summer months along with a full season registration from
September 1 through August 31. When a renewing member whose current registration is
in place through August 31 is directed by their program to register early (between April 1
and August 31), they will be registering for the upcoming season of September 1 through
August 31.
• As always, your local program will instruct you when to register for the upcoming
season.
What this means to your program:
• 2009-10 season registrations are valid through August 31, 2010
• Online registration will be available for 2010-11 beginning April 1, 2010
• Registration software for the 2010-11 season will be available in May 2010
• Registrations processed from April 1 through August 31 will allow that participant
to register in a current season program and in a ‘next season’ program. In other words, your 2009-10 software will accept 2010-11 confirmation numbers.
• Programs have the option to operate through the summer months using either the 2009-10 or 2010-11 software.
This solution helps our programs register participants as early as is necessary while addressing concerns expressed by some participants. If you have any questions or
need additional information please contact Rae Briggle at raeb@usahockey.org
New Jersey Devils Youth Hockey Night
The NJ Devils and the Atlantic District are working together for youth hockey and specials are being given to our players. The next Youth Hockey Night is Friday, January 8, 2010 at 7 p.m. as the Devils take on Tampa Bay. Get a $56 ticket for only $35!
Sports LearningEdge Sponsors Atlantic Hockey
Sports LearningEdge Offers Kids Instant Improvement in Ice Hockey Patent Pending Online Learning System Addresses Unique Learning Needs Of Today’s Global Youth
Wayland, Mass. October 23, 2009 - Sports LearningEdge LLC (SLE), the leading provider of advanced online sports skills learning to kids worldwide, announced today it has made 24/7 access to the latest in online skills learning for hockey free. Hockey organizations can now offer their players of all age’s unlimited free access to hours of valuable, world-class learning content. SLE’s powerful On-Demand Sports Learning™ system lets kids choose to learn what they want, when they want, and in the learning style they want to learn it in.
The Hockey PlayersEdge (www.slehockey.com) was developed by Sports LearningEdge in collaboration with experts in video gaming, youth sports, online learning, and professional ice hockey. SLE is dedicated to making all sports learning more accessible and immediate for young people and their parents around the world. The Hockey PlayersEdge was created to be the one-stop resource providing the online tools a young hockey player, their coach and parents would need to quickly improve their skills on-and-off the ice.
“There are many cool sites on the Internet that deal with various aspects of hockey. Sports LearningEdge has the only one we’ve seen that allows kids of all ages to improve at their own pace and in their own learning style.” said Hal Tearse, Coach in Chief, Minnesota Hockey. “The site is also a great resource for parents and coaches to get additional learning tools for helping their kids become better hockey players, athletes, and individuals”.
“We are excited to provide free access to this unique and valuable content.” said Peter Banhazl, Sports LearningEdge Managing Partner and Co-founder. “We obviously feel strongly that assisting major professional and amateur organizations to provide kids with the skills learning geared towards their unique learning needs will help more kids play hockey better and longer.”
About Sports LearningEdge LLC SLE harnesses the extraordinary reach and influence of sports to work with sports’ stakeholders to provide the youth sports community – kids, coaches and parents –the online learning tools to help kids play sports longer, live healthier and have more fun. Each sport’s customer-branded sites can deliver free On-Demand Sports Learning in multiple languages. SLE provides its customers, partners and their corporate sponsors a powerful new vehicle to reach young sports participants worldwide to directly influence brand loyalty.
USA Hockey and
the NHL Partner together and produces the "ADM" - American Development Model
"We're extremely pleased to share the news of the revolutionary
American Development Model that will be available for local associations to
utilize beginning with the 2009-10 season. The ADM was endorsed by the USA
Hockey Board of Directors at its 2009 Winter Meeting and has also been endorsed
by the National Hockey League. The American Development Model furthers our
growth and development efforts as it will provide our member associations -- for
the first time ever -- an optimal development blueprint for youth players that
will lead to a better experience for our current players and also help attract
new players to our sport.
It's hard to put in words the excitement and buzz that has been
and will continue to be generated by this new initiative. It will take time for
local associations around the country to educate their constituents on the
merits of adopting the American Development Model, but there's no doubt that the
principles of the program are right for kids." (Ron DeGregorio, USA Hockey
President)
At the annual meeting in June, USA
Hockey representatives came in from Colorado and presented to our members an
outline on how to acquire and retain youth hockey players within the Atlantic
District. Our membership growth, acquisition and retention in the district
was a surprise to all when the actual figures were given to us.
Suggestions have been made by USA Hockey to help us and we are glad to give all
of our clubs and rinks this information. Please read over it and help us
to keep the sport of ice hockey growing in the Atlantic District! > Download
file to help grow the sport
Attention All
Ice Rinks - Opportunities Available!!
Hockey Weekend Across America
has been a big success as a national platform to celebrate the game and in 2010,
the event will have a stronger focus on growing the game. USA Hockey is
seeking at least 200 rinks offering a free trial of hockey on Saturday, January
30th. All hosting rinks are required to hold the free trial at a
consistent time of 11:00 am - 12:00 pm local time. The final goal is to
get as many first-time players on the ice and later transition them to each host
site's full time programs.
Host facilities will be listed with their address
and website posted on the Hockey Weekend Across America website.
Additionally, free trial programs will be promoted to the public in all Hockey
Weekend Across America media. USA Hockey will provide all host sites a
template to make customized posters and flyers promoting the event to their
local market. For further information and a sign up form for this great
event - click here!
The Atlantic District will again be hosting a Men's Senior A limited travel league for the 2009-2010 season.
Games will be played against other rinks in your area for the season with a
District tournament to be held in March to declare the champion for the league!
If your rink is interested in joining, please email us at
info2007@atlantic-district.org
and let us know! We will soon be holding a conference call to confirm all
information so don't delay in telling us your rink is on board!
Dates for the Atlantic District 2010-2011 tryouts have been set!
Tier I - 10&U, 12&U, 14&U, 16&U, 18&U: April
13, 2010 after 5:00 PM
Tier II- 8&U, 10&U, 12&U, 14&U, 16&U, 18&U:
April 20, 2010 after 5:00 PM
All Girls/Women:
April 13, 2010 after 5:00 PM
All Non -USA Hockey tournament bound clubs:
April 27, 2010 after 5:00 PM
