KidSport Calgary - Text to Donate

Tucker Hockey wishes to pass along this very important message from KidSport Calgary:

KidSport Calgary is pleased to announce the launch of a holiday season fundraising campaign that will give donors, supporters and virtually anyone with a cell phone, the convenience and ease of being able to make a small donation to help low income kids this year in a matter of seconds.

By texting the word PLAY to 45678, cell phone users can donate $5.00 to KidSport Calgary on any cell phone carrier. The donation will appear as a charge on the user’s next cell phone bill.

The goal of the campaign is to raise $25,000 from a minimum of 5000 donors until December 31, 2011. Achieving this target would make KidSport Calgary’s campaign one of the most successful Text-to-Donate ventures since the concept was introduced in Canada in 2009

KidSport Thank You Breakfast

Wednesday, (November 23, 2011) I had the privilege of being invited to a special breakfast held by KidSport of Alberta for all of its major donors from the past year. I was excited by the prospect of listening to their special guest speaker, Kelly Hrudey!

But as the morning unfolded, I finally got the true message of why I was actually there… It’s about the kids… DUH!

What struck me were the real “Special” guest speakers, Sheila, Mathew and Mitchell. Sheila was the recipient of KidSport funds, allowing all 5 of her kids to participate in soccer as her and her husband struggled to make ends meet while he tried to find work after being laid off, I cried by the way, she touched me so deeply. And Mitchell and Mathew, two brothers who by the way are 12 and 9 who have such a philanthropic look at life that they’ve dedicated countless hours to raising funds and equipment for KidSport and other organizations in Calgary. I mean 12 and 9, what kids do that? When they can be out playing their own sports, not worrying about any other kids struggling to find the money or equipment to play.

These people truly touched me, and I felt blessed to have had the opportunity to be there. Sure Kelly was good, but Sheila was better!

 
So the message here… charitable organizations need your help, even if it’s only $5. I only had $10 in my wallet yesterday, I’m an interact kinda gal, but I gladly put it in the donation envelope on the table. And if I wanted to I could have filled out a card and signed my name and KidSport would have mailed me a receipt for income tax purposes. But I didn’t care, that wasn’t why I was donating, I didn’t want anything in return, it just felt good to give… anonymously!

Christyne

Tucker Hockey's Checking Philosophy

Checking is a tactic aimed at gaining possession of the puck, not injuring an opponent. The purpose for our checking program is to introduce players to proper techniques and tactics so as to give as well as receive a body check. It includes a five step progression from the basics of skating, to position angling, to stick checking, to body contact/confidence to body checking. The program covers a list of the following checking "Do's and Don'ts", emphasizing safety first.

Tucker Hockey Checking Rules:

• Don't get caught in the danger zone (2 to 4 feet from the boards) - stay close to the boards
• Be aware of where your opponents are on the ice
• Always keep your head up
• When you are checked use your hands and arms as a cushion
• When you are checked, turn your body so your shoulders hit first
• Don't turn your back on an opponent when along the boards
• Avoid taking suicide passes from teammates
• Practice being in a good hockey stance - wide stance, knees bent with a low center of gravity
• Practice stability on your skates - strong edges as balance
• Never cross check an opponent into the boards
• Never push or trip an opponent into the boards
• Never carry your stick up in the air towards an opponent
• Never butt end an opponent with your stick
• Never hit an opponent from behind
• Always respect your opponent - play safe - play by the golden rule

Note: Tucker Hockey offers checking programs throughout the hockey season to minor hockey associations and teams. As well, we offer a Summer program to the public as well as sessions to small private groups year round.

Coach Rex's Story - Part 2

Growing up during the 1960’s and 70’s in a community of less than 500 people on picturesque Little Bay Island in Newfoundland my fondest childhood memories relate to skating and playing outdoor hockey. 
 
Little Bay Island is a small remote island 2.5 miles long by 1.5 miles wide off the Northeast Coast  of Newfoundland. As the crow flies, my home town of Little Bay Island is only about a mile off the Newfoundland Coast, but it’s a 45 minute ferry boat ride. For all intents and purposes this ruled out youth community hockey for my hometown - a small fishing village. Since our small fishing village did not have an artificial rink or even an outdoor rink my friends and I played every chance we could get on the natural salt water harbor or the Island’s 5 fresh water ponds.

Skating came naturally to me. I was somewhat gifted compared to my friends and quickly discovered at the age of 7 that I loved to skate. I fell passionately in love with skating and later with playing hockey. You could say I became a hockey fanatic who found myself in an area of the world without a rink, a minor hockey association, coaching or even money to buy equipment.

When the temperatures dropped in the fall each year usually around early to mid October one of the local freshwater ponds became our childhood playground. It was a worrisome time for my loving Mother who was quite concerned about me falling in and drowning while skating on a local pond. Since I nearly drowned at the tender age of 6 while playing on the harbor shoreline, it did not help matters much! During the fall and winter season living in such a small community - where you knew everyone – word got around quite quickly about good places to skate.

Taking my skates, a stick, a puck and any hockey equipment - usually I had only gloves and shin pads - my friends, Roy, Kevin, Jerry, Dennis, Otto et al and I would head off to the local pond. We didn’t have parents dedicated to dropping us off and picking us up. If we wanted to get there we had to walk. Using a small tomahawk axe, we would cut a hole in the ice to measure its thickness. Placing a hand down in the hole, if the ice measured 5 inches thick or more we were good to skate – game on! The hole in the ice would later serve as our drinking source when we got thirsty from playing.

If by chance we arrived late on the pond we could hear the voices of friends playing and the sounds of blades cutting the ice, handling the puck….such sweet sounds from hockey playing. We couldn’t wait to get out on the ice and participate in the shinny game. Everyone played; kids, teenagers and even some adults – it was a mixed group and the groups varied in size each day. When playing on the pond with all the noise and activity, on many occasions the pond would make a loud cracking sound – this would get our attention and everyone would stop playing for a few brief moments. We would look around and quickly realize that everyone was safe – no one in the water - and carry on with our game! Often while playing hockey or skating on the pond we could see right through the ice to the bottom of the pond....see the lily pads and the occasional dead frog!
On weekends, we often arrived at 9 am in the morning and stayed and played all day. Many times we would forget to eat lunch and stagger home when it became dark with our hockey stick and skates over our shoulders. Our legs felt like rubber, buckling on the half mile walk home because we were so tired from playing all day. We were often very weary. However, I felt such a great sense of peace from doing something all day that I loved!  Although dead tired in the evening, I couldn’t wait to go back next day and play.


Later in the season, during December and January, we played on the natural salt water harbor when the ice grew to be a foot thick. At times the temperatures would rise and we would have a rain storm. I would ask my Dad if the temperatures would drop – praying that they would dip so the fresh rain water on the harbors surface would freeze over. My Dad would check the weather glass on our kitchen wall and when he said it would drop I went to bed with great anticipation for a great day of skating the next day. The occasional winter rain would visit for just a few hours until the temperature plummeted again and the storm blew through.  What was left in the wake of Mother Nature’s Zamboni was my “rink of dreams”; pure glare ice for a couple of thousand feet in any direction to skate on, and or play shinny. Waking up in the morning and looking out my bedroom window at 6 or 7 am and seeing a beautiful glare of ice was such a wonderful feeling – it warmed my heart! Since our house was only 30 feet from the ocean, it offered a big playground in our backyard. Often I played on the harbor ice in the morning 30 minutes before going to school, 30 minutes during lunchtime, an hour or so after school / before dark, have supper, do my homework and later skate at night.

On occasion the daily temperature during a freeze dropped to the -10 to -20C degree range and also factor in a little wind chill as well it was quite cold! Undeterred, we bundled up as best we could and braved the elements. However, after skating and maybe playing hockey for an hour or so many of my friends would pack it in. Often I stayed longer - out on the ice by myself. Not able to handle the elements any longer, I was forced to come in out of the cold, take my skates off and thaw out….with my feet near the warmth of the kitchen woodstove oven. I felt extreme pain when my forehead, cheeks, ears and toes began to thaw out. Tears flowed down my cheeks. After thawing out, believe it or not I still wanted to play again! I would say to my concerned parents, I’m going outside again. My parents thought I was nuts and probably maybe I was…. but I just loved to play…….the pleasure I received from skating and playing was worth the severe pain forthcoming.

Throughout the winter months the weather conditions would make our playing schedule very irregular, often going days, weeks or a month without an opportunity to play. Often the weather conditions were semi kind and our lovely skating surface would only be covered in snow. My friends and I would gather up a few shovels, plywood sheets and diligently remove the snow and create a good size playing surface for ourselves on the harbor. We placed a couple boots down at each end of the ice to create goals, throw sticks in a pile and pick teams and enthusiastically play…often challenged to find our puck when it traveled into the snow banks.

Whenever there was a sheet of ice I was often the first person on and usually the last one off. Sometimes I was the only skater on the ice – feeling a great sense of solitude and peace. Growing up materially, we were relatively poor but we didn’t really know we were poor because we were so rich and blessed in other ways. Looking back I feel fortunate to have such a care free childhood - to play, develop my skills, have fun, with no pressure from coaches or parents, just pure love and passion for playing shinny hockey.  It was a simpler time in society and offered a playful childhood to grow a true love and passion for the game of hockey.  Today, especially in the urban areas, fewer kids enjoy the freedom and outdoor pleasures of playing hockey on a frozen pond. For Coach Rex, it’s one of my experiences in life which I have treasured – an opportunity to play outdoor hockey!

Coach Rex's Favorite Drill: Sculling

One of my favorite skating drills to help hockey players improve on / develop their balance, edge control and knee bend is sculling. What is sculling? Sculling is a forward edge control skating technique.

Sculling can be practiced by pushing off with the inside edge of either skate blade. It's important to be in a good hockey stance - head up, stick on the ice, two hands on the stick with a deep knee bend.

Keep both blades on the ice and alternate the pushing - combine a left skate scull, then a right foot scull, alternating as you move down the ice. Begin at one end of the rink and push by making a C-cut with either blade to start movement forward. Focus on the deep knee bend and maintain it throughout the drill.

This can be a very effective skating technique in a game. Rather than striding and gliding - push down on the inside edges and keep both blades on the ice. It can improve the effectiveness of your gliding in a game. For example, sculling can help you maintain and increase your speed as you drive to the net with the puck from the outside to inside on a defenseman. Also, sculling can improve the strength of your forward cross-over / glide turn when you push on the outside skate inside edge and cross-over  the inside leg with the outside skate.

Good sculling can help take your skating ability to a higher level. It can result in practically effortless skating - where a skater uses less energy but maintians good speed. Paul Coffey was very skilled in this area of skating while rushing the puck from behind his net. Today, Sidney Crosby is one of the best at sculling. Crosby will often protect the puck and create scoring opportunities by maintaining his skating speed by sculling on his outside skate and go around his opponents.

2011 Kids Hockey Advancement Society's Fourth Annual Fundraising Golf Tournament

Dear Friends,

Tucker Hockey is proud to support the Kids Hockey Advancement Society’s 4^th Annual Fundraising Golf Tournament, as the Event Sponsor. We fully endorse the Society as it endeavors to raise funds for such a great cause. Tucker Hockey is committed to contribute the volunteer time and the effort as required to ensure the continuing success of the Society.

We look forward with great anticipation to this year’s tournament, scheduled for Wednesday July 27th, 2011, at the Inglewood Golf and Curling Club.

The Kids Hockey Advancement Society was incorporated to provide an opportunity for children to play, to develop their skating and hockey skills and to participate in organized hockey – the nation’s greatest sport.

The benefits to these children in terms of physical fitness, mental health and well being and social development are significant and well documented. The benefits to society as these children mature into exemplary and responsible citizens are even more significant.

 In July of 2010, the Society raised $15,000 to help children acquire hockey gear and register for organized hockey through Kidsport of Calgary. An additional $5,000 was raised which will directly sponsor deserving children through the Society’s own program, which was launched in 2010.

The goal in 2011 is to once again provide funds to Kidsport of Calgary. The funds will create an opportunity for children to play hockey.  The Kids Hockey Advancement Society will also expand its own program which sponsors deserving children directly. Thanks to a solid base of wonderful loyal sponsors since the Society’s inception and the addition of amazing new sponsors that came on board in 2010, the Society experienced incredible growth over a short span of just three years! The Society’s fund-raising efforts produced $10,000 in 2008 and doubled to $20,000 in 2010! We are confident that new records will be set again this year!

 We are asking for your support with this fun golf tournament. Your participation in this event will contribute to the success of this valued fundraiser.

Support the Society By:

• Golfing – register as an individual or as a foursome. Bring your clients, friends, fellow workers and anyone that may be interested in providing the opportunity for deserving kids to participate in organized hockey.
• Being one of our valued sponsors – such as a Day Sponsor, a Cart Sponsor, a Hole Sponsor, etc.
• Donating tournament and  live auction prizes
• Volunteering for the organizing committee or the event day itself

Please call Nick Radmanovich at 403 - 829 - 2993 / Tournament Director if you have any questions regarding this year’s golf tournament or if you require additional information.

Please get involved and feel good about giving back! 

Rex Tucker

President, Tucker Hockey

Calgary Flames - Year End Review

In the Winter 2011 Hockey Zones edition I wrote the following:

The Calgary Flames have been inconsistent; especially at home…It does not make the Saddledome a feared building to play in. The home record must improve if the team wishes to be a playoff contender... How far will the Flames go this season? This writer believes the Calgary Flames will be in a dogfight to make the playoffs…The team needs to play a stronger game from start to finish...They must also improve on their speciality team play particularly at home - this is critical…When the Flames play a skating, up tempo and puck pressure game they are very competitive and can be victorious on most nights, but this rarely happens. A consistent team effort will ensure a much needed winning streak…..…

 Now…after not making the playoffs for the second season in row, the Calgary Flames have some important questions to answer……

Should Jay Feaster become the new General Manager?

Prior to Jay becoming the “Acting” Flames General Manager, life around the Saddledome under the Darryl Sutter regime appeared to be too serious and uptight. When Jay took over, he brought with him a fresh set of ideas and a new philosophy which consisted of a better cycle of communication between management, coaching staff and players. He hired Craig Conroy in a management role and this connection to the locker room gave Jay an in depth view of the Flames as a team as well as the players on an individual basis.

Does Jarome Iginla stay in Calgary?

He is “Mr. Flame”, the face of the franchise. While he is one of very few players on the roster today with a trade market value, there doesn’t appear to be an upside to moving the captain of the team. At the age of 34, he is still one the top goal scorers in the league, 3^rd in the league this year, and Jarome still has at least another 4 years of high level production in him.

How to stickhandle around the Salary cap?

It is speculated that next season’s salary cap will expand to $61M. The current Flames salary cap hit is $56M. In order to create room under the cap, buying out a number of players and moving others is critical. It is important to create salary cap space to re-sign some of the Flames unrestricted free agents, as well as creating breathing space for potential trades, either in the off-season or at the trade deadline.

What Free Agents do the Flames re-sign?

The Flames have two restricted free agents, Brendan Mikkelson and Ryan Stone. They should re-sign Stone and let Mikkelson explore free agency. The unrestricted free agents are Karlsson, Babchuk, Staios, Pardy, Carson, Morrison, Tanguay, Glencross, and Modin. They should re-sign Babchuk, Karlsson, Pardy, Carson, Tanguay, Glencross, and Morrison and let Modin and Staios test the free agent market.

Is it time to buy out contracts?
Without a doubt, it’s just a question of how many and for how much. However, it will be a tough decision for the Flames ownership to sink monies on buyouts. It’s hard to say what the value / cost of that option will be in the end.

It’s short term pain for long term gain. From a practical perspective the odds of trading Kotalik @ $3,000,000, Hagman@ $3,000,000 and / or Stajan @ $3,500,000 are quite slim – what market value do they have   - after this season’s poor performances. Getting them to agree over the spring and /or summer to play in Europe until their contacts expires, or ship them to the farm team in Abbotsford come September time are other salary cap clearing options. Whether to buyout or not this decision needs to be made prior to July 1^st – timing is critical and there’s no room for mistakes.

 Who should stay on defence and who goes?

Jay Bouwmeester is making $6.7M. He is a great skater and logs enormous minutes, but his offensive output does not justify his salary. Moving him would create much needed cap space and/or high value draft picks. Giordano, Regehr, Sarich, Babchuk, Pardy, Carson, and are all effective defensemen at reasonable prices. The two prospects, Brodie and Erixon, are waiting in the wings to make the step up to the big show.

 What to do with the goaltending situation?

Keep Kipper. Along with Jarome, both are the faces of the franchise. He is still in his prime and he showed that down the stretch with some incredible performances. However reduce his workload to 55 – 60 games next season.

 Any help from the farm system?

The Flames have only one pick in the first 100 selections come draft day. In the system they only have Backlund, Bouma, Nemisz, Brodie, Erixon, and Irving. After that, roster improvements will have to come through free agent signings or trades. The Flames now are one of the oldest and slowest teams in the NHL considering the speed of today’s game. They often fall into the trap of letting the opposition dictate the pace of play. This needs to change next season.

 In Conclusion:

The Flames don’t need to “blow it all up and start over”. The salary cap restrictions limit what they can do for the time being. Freeing up space under the cap should be a top priority so management can resign their own free agents, especially Tanguay and Glencross respectively. Players such as Kotalik, Hagman, and Stajan should be jettisoned for salary cap relief and Bouwmeester could be traded for draft picks or another solid defenseman. The Flames should also inject more youth into the team. Kids like TJ Brodie should be given an opportunity to play and develop at the NHL level and Michael Backlund should also be given more ice time and a more important role next season. Yes indeed, Jay Feaster is the man who can tinker and tweak with the current Flames roster and salary structure to get this team into the playoffs next season.