North Park Hockey Association
Developmental Mite Program Summary
Birth Years 2010-2013
Description: This is the entry level program at North Park, providing an introduction to hockey, with a strong emphasis on developing skating skills. The primary goal of the program is to create a fun experience for the children and build a foundation for a lifelong love of hockey.
Coaching: The weekend practices at Bryant Park are led by a team of experienced coacheswho have been leading the North Park Learn to Skate & Play program for many years: Earl Rix (Head Coach, 16 years w NPHA), Neil Bacon (11 years w NPHA as coach, also a NPHA alumnus), Michael Bruno (4 years w NPHA), and Richie Carbone (3 years w NPHA as coach, also a NPHA alumnus). These are volunteer coaches with accomplished careers off the ice, which we believe creates a differentiated level of coaching focus and maturity for this age group. On occasion, Coach Earl’s team of coaches will be joined by other North Park coaches, including North Park Head of U8 Mites Lada Majkusand head coaches of older teams. These coaches are also at times supplemented with parent-coaches to maintain a maximum player-to-coach ratio of 6:1. All coaches, including any parent-coaches, must hold a Level 1 USA Hockey coaching license.
Practices: The coaches have worked closely, in person, with the USA Hockey Regional ADM Director to develop a practice program that adheres to the American Developmental Model (ADM). Because of the attention spans at the Developmental Mite age group, the coaches will separate the players into small groups based on age and skill level, identified by separate, colored pinnies. After a brief warm-up, the players gather for instructions and begin station drills that rotate every 6 minutes. Stations might include stopping & turning, skating forwards & backwards, swizzles, freeze tag, mini games with pucks or balls, puck handling & passing, etc. Each group will do several rotations at each station, with occasional water breaks, and practices will generally conclude with a final team-wide drill such as four corners loop and/or with off-ice chalk talk regarding the rules of hockey. Practices are well-organized, with proper equipment and safety of paramount importance. Parents and siblings also have the option to skate with their children in the Public Free Skate at Bryant Park, at no extra charge, immediately following the conclusion of practice.
Weekday Practices: Tuesdays and/or Thursdays 4p-450pm LIC-ICE in Long Island City. The program runs from the last weekend in September until the last weekend in February, excluding holidays. Lada Majkus will run these practices. We will keep these sessions to 10 skaters maximum, with priority given to the Level II Developmental Mites. Please arrive in time to start promptly on ice at 4pm.
Weekend Practices: Saturdays and Sundays at 7am-8am at the Winter Village at Bryant Park. The program runs from the last weekend in October until the last weekend in February, excluding holiday weekends. Located conveniently in the heart of Manhattan, with exceptional ice conditions, Bryant Park is a truly special setting to learn hockey, and North Park is the only hockey program with access to the rink. Practices at Bryant Park are subject to weather-risk, and cancellations will be determined by 10pm on the prior evening. North Parkalso has blocks of ice time at Cutting Edge Ice Academy in Elmwood Park, NJ, on weekend mornings, which ourTravel Mites use regularly for practices and games, but which offer the Developmental Mites a back-up indoor option on weekendsin the event of a rain-out at Bryant Park. Note weather-related cancellations are rare, with some seasons having no such cancellations.
Size of Program: North Park targets a player to coach ratio of 6:1, and 15 players per birth year, with new skaters receiving more individualized attention until comfortable on skates. Please note that participation in the Learn to Skate & Play program does not guarantee an eventual spot in the Travel Mites program.
Games: Developmental Mites will be provided with optional opportunities to play intra-club Green vs White Games. These games will be played at Cutting Edge Ice Academy, and generally take place in the latter half of the season. Cutting Edge offers a 2/3rds scale ice rink ideally suited to the mini-Mite and Mite levels. Players must attend all Bryant Park practices on any weekend in which they are playing in a Green vs White Game. The games will be in a 3v3 or 4v4 format, in an optimized space, to maximize the ice time and quality of experience for each player. Intra-squad scrimmages will be overseen by parent-coaches with Level 1 USA Hockey coaching certification. We will also look to provide the Developmental Mites with a fun “away” game or two against other local programs.
Program Fee:
Level I – Learn to Skate & Play (Birth Years 2012-13): $1,500
Level II – Developmental Mites (Birth Years 2011-12): $2,500