The Little Tournament That Could!

Imagine less than 30 days before an annual event, that’s taken months to organize and prepare for, a sudden need to change venues happens! For 5 consecutive years, the Kids Hockey Advancement Society has held its annual Fundraising Golf Tournament at the Inglewood Golf and Curling Club. With the devastating June floods affecting Inglewood, the staff diligently did all they could to restore the links to their previous pristine quality; but alas, the damage to the back 9 was incredible and Inglewood had to shut it down for the remainder of the 2013 season.

Thankfully, Chestermere’s Lakeside Golf Club graciously stepped in, with little notice, and provided us with their venue for the event. Now imagine, for 8 months, the Kids Hockey Advancement Society has advertised the tournament at a specific venue, on a specific date, starting at a specific time… not only are we dealing with a location change, but now we have a date and time change as well! With a great amount of appreciation, every golfer committed to the tournament, prior to the changes reaffirmed their participation; and it turned out to be a glorious day, although maybe a little windy for some!

The Kids Hockey Advancement Society is proud to announce that we raised $21, 925 for KidSport Calgary that day. Despite the fact we had 17% less golfers this year; we increased our sponsorship donations and gladly wrote a cheque for $20,000. At our Live Auction, Tuck the KidSport Bear was sponsored for the year by the great staff of Professional Skate for $1,400, and will sit comfortably in KidSport Calgary’s Corporate office. Through our 50/50 ticket sales, the cash winner generously donated the funds back to KidSport.

With a tremendous amount of esteemed gratitude, the Kids Hockey Advancement Society would like to thank the Following:

The Golfers: For staying committed and attending the event even with the last minute changes!

Event Sponsor: Tucker Hockey; Rex Tucker

Co-Event Sponsor: Tourmaline Oil; Mike Rose

Gold Friends of the Society Sponsor: Dundee Wealth; Chris Heaman

Silver Friends of the Society Sponsors: Shaganappi GM; Gary Sartorio and Western Securities; Sean O’Connor

Hole-in-One Sponsors: The Co Operators, Dundee Wealth and Scotia Inspire; Arfan Devji, Chris Heaman and Ed Evans as well as The Investor’s Group; Mark DeJong

Cart Sponsor: Westcor Creations; Corey Molengraaf

Golf Ball Sponsor: SeisWare International; Murray Brack

Beer Hole Sponsors: RARE Oilfield Services; Rob Allendorf and Rob Gryba as well as Optimus US Real Estate Fund; Arthur Wong

Arrive Safe Sponsor: Valentine Volvo; Paul Valentine

Gold Hole Sponsor: Telsec; Kris Van Grieken

Silver Hole Sponsor: B. Dean & Associates; Simone Mersereau

Lunch Sponsor: Spolumbo’s; Tony Spoletini

Tournament Donors:

Aspen Properties; Liz Davis

Bank of Montreal; Robert Hayes

David Burton

Calgary Flames; Peter Hanlon

Calgary Hockey Magazine; Rob Suggitt

Paul & Betty Cammack

CIBC; Clint Buckler

Dundee Wealth; Chris Heaman

GPS Central; George Valentine

Hockey North America; James Kelly

Investor’s Group; Mark DeJong

Keith Nicholson

Vinson Pang

Bradley Pederson

Pre Pak Meats; Jim Hepburn

Professional Skate; Josh Esler

Rob Pryde

Tim Hortons; Richel Manning

Tom Raptis

UFA Co-Operative Ltd.; Tammy Mitchell

Michael White

Tim Woolley

Live Auction Donors:

Hockey Canada; Bob Nicholson

KidSport; Mark Kosak

KHAS; Rex Tucker

Molson Coors Canada; Travis Rhine

Pre Pak Meats; Jim Hepburn

Real Canadian Superstore (Deerfoot Meadows); Rick Froese

Stuart Olson Dominion Construction; Cheryl Ballerini

Tucker Hockey; Rex Tucker

WestJet; Fraser Neek

Michael White

Graphics & Signage Sponsor:

Bissett Resources; Russ Brown & Michael Valenzuela

Titan Mapping; Mohammed Hassoun

Printing Services:

Calgary Instant Printing; Quinn Mach and Amy Chan

Photography:

KHAS Official Photographer; Murray Dejager

Master of Ceremonies:

Hamilton & Partners; Scott Coe – For the 6^th Consecutive year you stepped up for us Scotty! Your charm and wit definitely entertained a tired bunch of golfers at the banquet!

Honored Guests:

Former NHL Player & Flames Radio Personality; Mike Rogers – Thanks Mike for taking the time to answer a few questions and entertaining us as our Live Auctioneer!

KidSport Ambassadors; Val & Sydney Hokanson – Thanks Ladies for sharing your story with us. Female Hockey Players Rock!

Inglewood Staff:

Head Pro; Jeff McGregor – Thanks Jeff, it’s been a great 5 years!

Lakeside Staff:

Owner; John Wilson

Food & Beverage; Stephanie & Brett Beninger

Head Pro; Jay MacLeod

To all of the Golf Course Staff, Marshals, Pro Shop Staff, Kitchen Staff and Servers, you all deserve a huge round of applause for all of the hard work and dedication to the Society in helping us provide a great event for our participants.

Kids-Hockey.ca Website Coordinator:

Critical Mass; Andrzej Milosz

Event Day Volunteers:

Barb and Jim Hepburn, Ashley Chartrand, Matt Heseltine, Mark Kosak, Chelsey Molengraaf, Lisa Parham, Sandie Smith, Brie Stangeland, Rex and Marcela Tucker, Michael White, Christine Walker and Ron Wong

Without your generous donation of time, the Tournament would not have run well, nor have been such a success!

Thanks again everyone for donating your time, dollars and energy to our worthy cause. Without your generosity our tournament wouldn’t be as successful as it’s been over the past six years.

In addition to the money donated to KidSport, the Kids Hockey Advancement Society will also be working on a pilot project this year with a Minor Hockey Association in Calgary, providing much needed funds towards the skating and skill development of its minor players. Should the project be successful, the Society plans on branching out to other Associations in the future, creating a greater skill development foundation for the kids playing at the grassroots level of hockey.

Mark your calendars, because the Society is already looking forward to next year’s tournament, scheduled for September 15^th, 2014 at the Lakeside Golf Club in Chestermere. We plan on expanding our golfer capacity, increasing sponsorship and donating more funds; all the while having fun doing it!

Tucker Tips - The Importance of Ankle Flex in Skating

Many minor and adult players as well as minor parents, who lace up their kids skates, often do not realize the importance that ankle flex plays in skating.

Skates are often laced incorrectly. Also, players and parents have the bad habit of wrapping laces and tape around the skater’s ankles. The skates should support the feet, not act as a cast and inhibit good movement. Wrapping the laces and sock tape around the ankles should be avoided.

Wrapping the ankles inhibits the foot mobility needed for proper edging on the ice. Also, when forward striding to obtain maximum efficiency, it is important to begin extension from the hip through the knee, ankle joint to the toe when performing a stride. If there’s no ankle flex, a skater doesn’t have a complete and efficient stride.

For good skating performance, lacing up one’s skates properly is a top priority prior to stepping on the ice. Good lacing will firmly support a player’s feet while allowing the player to comfortably roll his or her ankles and skates inward and outward without restriction.

Unfortunately, many skaters over tighten their laces; this limits foot mobility. Boots laced too tightly may cut into a player’s flesh and a player will experience uncomfortable lace burn on the front area of their foot. If the laces are too tight at the top, bending your knees and ankles becomes difficult. In addition, circulation to the feet may be cut off, causing numbness and foot cramps.

The toe area and the area high above the ankles should be tied so they are moderately snug or even on the loose side. The tightest area of lacing should be from a point above the ball of the foot back to a point just above the ankle bone i.e. the top 2 or 3 eyelets. This is where the most support is required. Some players choose not to lace the top eyelets at all especially if their new pair skates are really stiff.

In conclusion, if you make sure you have better ankle flex; you will enhance your skating performance especially with the edges and forward striding aspects of skating.

COACH REX'S FAVORITE DRILL – OUTSIDE EDGE CONTROL AROUND THE PYLONS

The Outside Edge is the weak edge in skating. It is truly amazing how many players progress through the minor hockey system often up to the midget level and above without having good control of his or her outside edges. As a result, it adversely affects a player’s stopping, turning, crossovers and overall skating agility. Many minor hockey coaches do not teach this skating skill will enough and often players as well do not practice outside edge skating skills properly. Players will often practice an outside edge drill without getting out of his or her comfort zone. A player is reluctant to push on the outside edge to the point of falling so as to stretch his or her game. As a result, a player will develop a deficiency in his or her overall skating which continues to follow the player through out his or her hockey career. Many players are cut during try outs due to in adequate skating which is supported by a weak outside edge!

Balancing on the outside edge is initially more difficult than balancing on either the flat or the inside edge. Regardless of difficulty, it is an essential aspect of skating on a curve.

One of Coach Rex’s favorite skating drills is to have players practice and hone their outside edges by slaloming through a group of pylons. Players approach the pylons on their inside skate to the pylon. For the player to get on his or her outside edge and navigate tightly around the pylon the player must do the following:

Start balancing on one skate early, bent the knee, keep the butt down, open up the hip to get on the curvature. To navigate the turn tighter, a player will need to push down on his or her knee more and gasp more control of the outside edge. If the player is making a wide turn, or slipping / sleighing -   they are on the flat of the skate blade.

A progression to this drill is to have the players go forwards around the pylons with a puck on their stick, for even more extreme edge control – have the players go around the pylons backwards or touch the ice with their inside glove to the pylon while keeping their butt down and the head up.

The outside edge, the neglected weak edge in skating, must be mastered in order for a player to become a balance and strong skater. An excellent skater has in his or her skating tool box strong tight turns, forward crossovers, backward crossovers and forward two foot stops in either direction.

A Look at Quadrant Hockey in Calgary - Missing the Cut – What’s Next?

The majority of players, who have ever laced on a pair of skates, have dreamed about playing in the NHL. They have emulated their favorite players. When I grew up, I idolized Bobby Hull and Bobby Orr.

Today’s youth, look up to Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Jarome Iginla etc.  It’s another generation but each young player follows the game with the same interest and many the same passion and dreams.

The odds of playing in the NHL are roughly 1 in 10,000. However, some players have beaten the odds!

Many graduates of the local minor hockey systems do go on to play semi pro in North American or European leagues. Also, many obtain college scholarships, receiving a good education and later transfer into the business world. Besides establishing a career, many of these former players learn valuable life skills such as team work, dedication, perseverance, hard work and overcoming adversity / setbacks, which mold good citizens of society.

When looking at the local minor hockey system, kids progress through the approximately 15 - 16 community hockey associations from the initiation / tyke level, to novice, to atom and to the peewee level. After peewee the next step in elite hockey advancement, which is a very big step, is quadrant hockey. Unfortunately, many players and parents are not educated about the workings of quadrant hockey and the very competitive nature of the hockey pyramid /system.  

The City of Calgary consists of 4 quadrants. The SE , SW, NW and NE quadrants fall under the umbrella of the Calgary Buffalo Hockey Association, (www.calgarybuffalohockey.ca), South West Athletic Association,   (www.calgaryroyalsaa.com),Calgary North West Athletic Association, (www.nwcaa.ca)and the North East Athletic Association ( www.calgarynorthstars.ca) respectively.

Each quadrant will ice ten teams each season.  Two Bantam AA, one Bantam AAA, two Minor Midget  AAA, two Major  Midget AA , one Major  Midget AAA and two Junior B teams.

To have a future in competitive hockey, players generally enter the quadrant system at the Bantam age and progress to Midget AAA in order to have success playing in the Western Hockey League ( Major Junior ) or the Alberta Junior Hockey League - Tier 2 Junior systems. There are a few exceptions but the majority follow this feeder system.

Playing in either the WHL or AJHL league provides opportunities to enter the NHL draft. As well, the AJHL provides opportunities to secure an NCAA scholarship. If a player decides to play in the WHL, he relinquishes his scholarship opportunities.

Each quadrant is professional operated by a very dedicated, loyal, hard-working and passionate group of parents, who either had or currently have their kids in the quadrant system.

At the start of the season upwards of 150 – 175 players may tryout for 60 Bantam positions in any particular quadrant. For many players, it will be their first time being cut from a team!

Players can get cut from quadrant hockey for a number of shortcomings such as:

1)      Lacking speed and slow reacting to the play

2)      Questionable desire / work ethics

3)      Poor conditioning / preparation for tryouts

4)       Lack of size – players are bigger, stronger and more physical at this level

5)       Not the right fit / role player for certain teams

6)      Just bad luck - misfortune

7)      And yes - even politics!

If a graduating Peewee player tries out for first year Bantam AA and misses the initial cut and gets out of the AA system, it’s difficult to get back into quadrant hockey for a number of reasons such as:

1)      Players get labeled as community players

2)      Players often lose their drive & ambition to play at an elite level

3)      Players experience a lower level of play in community hockey

4)      Players receive often a lower quality of coaching in community hockey

5)      During the competitive season, quadrant hockey players are on the ice 6 times per week  with games & practices, plus dry land training vs. community hockey players who are only on the ice 3 or 4 times per week at best

6)      As well there are often other off ice distractions such as girls, experimentation with substances, and participation in other sports which may, on occasion, distract a player’s focus and commitment to elite hockey playing

If a Bantam age player doesn’t make the first year cut, how does that player get back the next season to make the team?  I believe the following will help improve his chances:

1)      Work at extra off ice conditioning – hockey specific weak areas in the season / off season – especially foot speed and strength

2)      Work at extra on ice training – elite power skating, overall conditioning and 1 on 1 sessions in the hockey  season as well as off season

3)       Analyze and tweak overall game skills – know your strengths and weaknesses

4)       Work on the mental part of the game – toughness, self confidence and self esteem

5)       Be better prepared next time - showcase one’s skills better in tryouts – get noticed the next time round.

Often players and their parents are not ready for the big step from community hockey to quadrant hockey and unfortunately they go away being very disappointed and discouraged with the end result.

For example, looking at the Southeast Quadrant - Calgary Buffalo Hockey Association for the 2008- 2009 season, there were two Bantam AA teams consisted of 19 players each. Looking at the teams the players played on the year before reveals the following hockey backgrounds. Note: This is not a scientific study but an observation of player backgrounds from one particular season in one random selected association.

Bantam AA Blackhawks – 1 player    from Bantam AA Last Year

                                            6 players   from Bantam Div 1

                                            2 players   from Bantam Div 2

                                            2 players   from Bantam Div 3

                                            8 players   from Peewee Div 1

Bantam AA Rangers    -   3   players from Bantam AA Last Year

                          6  players from  Bantam Div 1

                          2  players from  Bantam Div 2

                          8   players from Peewee Div 1 

Bantam AAA Bisons    – 10   players from Bantam AAA Last Year

                                        4    players from Bantam Div 1

                         1      players  from Bantam Div 2

                          4    players from Peewee Div 1

So if a player doesn’t make one of the Bantam AA teams in his first year eligibility, in the second year he must compete with the last year’s Bantam AA/ AAA players as well as the Peewee Div1 players from the current year. So the odds are against the player making the team….. it is not impossible… but quite a challenge due to the competition and the factors listed above. There are only a few players each season  who graduate out of community bantam level hockey, and succeed and go on to play quadrant hockey. This challenge becomes even greater in community midget when trying to make Midget AA and especially Midget AAA.

Many players breeze through community hockey up to Peewee Div 1 on talent alone, however hard work is required to get to and excel in quadrant hockey and beyond in more elite hockey levels. Note: Almost all graduates from the peewee level are from Div 1 - in the above case - all are Div 1 players. The pyramid effect of the hockey system begins to take shape and it becomes more and more difficult to advance at each higher level of hockey.

When we look at NHL players with their specific hockey equation - of talent and hard work, I cite the following examples: Ryan Smith - more hard work than talent; Jason Spezza - more talent than hard work; when you look at Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin - they display equal amounts of talent and hard work. That is why they are the NHL’s best!!

Therefore, if a player aspires to play quadrant hockey and as well dreams of playing in the NHL someday and beating the tough odds, it will require a strong combination of both talent and hard work to advance up the pyramid of hockey.