StormYouth Hockey

President’s Report

April 26, 2018

Joseph LaChance

Another year of hockey has passedfor the Storm. This year has been a successful one, encompassing yet again,many changes. Our House Hockey program completed its third full year, allowing kids of all skill levels to participate in low cost and local hockey without the burden of travel or long weekend hours. Our five travel teams competed, with one state runner up among them. Our organization incurred $107,743 in expenses, playing in 138 games/scrimmages both at MRC and away, and our volunteer coaches coached 444 practices.

Highlights from the year:

U6 and Learn-to-Play Programs: MRC took over the U6 program in 2016, which was a natural fit with the Learn-to-Play program that the rink already offered. There were 87 unique registrations amongst the three sessions that were offered this season. In addition, 15 players took part in the Learn-to-Play program.23 players who participated in the U6 program are eligible for the Storm’s U8 program for the 2018-19 season, which bodes very well for the continued growth of our association.

Registration: Hockey on the Maine coast is alive and growing!There were 112 registeredplayers this season. With MRC registering U6 players with USA Hockey, our total youth hockey head count has expanded by 32 registered players over last year. This is a 19.2% growth in total hockey player head count in the 2017-2018 season - the largest growth in player head count in over 5 years.

U8 Program:We had the largest U8 group this season than we’ve had in several years.Wecreated four house teams that practiced two times per week and scrimmaged each other on Saturdays. Through a grant submitted to MEAHA we were able to have half the cost of two new U8 nets and four sets of goalie gear.

Girls Program: We continued our girls program for the second year, fielding a Tier IV U14 team of 14 players. Players ranged in age from 9 to 14 and consisted of players from the Tier III U10, U12 and U14 teams as well as players who only played on the girl’s team. The team had a fun and successful season, playing22 games. In the coming year we will continue to have a travel girls program and may also layer in a Tier II tournament team opportunity for older girls through a partnership with the Brewer association(dependent upon numbers). Our RallyMe fundraiser earned $3,048 when we include our matching funds drive. I hope this is the first of many crowd-funding opportunities the Storm creates and the next one should be focused on the whole organization.

House Program: This program continued to grow in its third year, allowing us to offer hockey programs for players at all skill levels. Players attended skills practices two times a week and played in games thatincluded players from the U10 and U12 travel teams. We went to afour-team system this year and with tremendous parent coach support had a great season. We will continue to grow and improve the program next season. Team organization will always be dependent upon our numbers.

U10 – U12 – U14 Programs:Based on the number and skill levels of players, we fielded one Tier III team at each of these three age levels. The coaches worked hard to provide a fun, challenging and rewarding experience for each and every player. Our U12 team placed second in the state tournament.

U16/U18: This was ourthird season fieldingU16/U18 teams at both the travel team and development team levels. Both teams had solid seasons beginning in September.

Goalie Clinics:We offered goalie clinics two times per month to our goalies at all age levels and are looking to expand our goalie development program this coming season.

Budget: We continued to maintain a budget for line items that are critical to our needs, limiting unnecessary expenses and seeking alternative ways to generate revenue. Although tuition increased slightly, we were still able to keep it affordable and considerably lower than most other associations in the state. We awarded $4, 590 in scholarship funds to families who needed tuition assistance.We also spent $6,484 on 160 new jerseys, sporting our new logo. Often MCSA or ‘the team from Rockport’ was how we were referred to and we moved to change that this year with a little rebranding and focusing on our name…. The Storm.

Coaches:We had 36 registered coaches this year, which is on par with last year. We added some new coaches, and some of last year’s volunteers moved to the U6 program. Coach level breakdown is below:

  • 4 Level IV coaches: Devri Byrom, John Magri, Peter Clapp, and Neil Delehey
  • 15 level III coaches
  • 4 level II coaches
  • 16 level I coaches

Additional highlights:

  • Our coaching staff has over 500 hours of classroom certification time and over 500 hours of online module education - 1,000 hours of total training.
  • The average coach spent about 7 to 10 hours per week in practices, games, or preparing for both (that’s three practices a week, and one to two games per weekend).

Thank you to all of thecoaches who gave their time and efforts to the association – these special volunteers give us their time, patience, and skill so that our kids can become better players, teammates, and people.

Next Years travel head coaches are:

  • Lower U8 – Phil Bellows
  • Upper U8 – Ethan Shaw
  • U10 – Fred Lilly
  • U12 – Bart Hotchkin
  • U14 – Andrew Marshall
  • Girls U16 TII (dictated by numbers) – Anna Cushman
  • Girls U12 – Darryl Townsend
  • U16 and U18 Development – John Magri

New coaches and Level 4 coaches are reimbursed 100% for the cost of their coaching classes.

Spring Tryouts:Approximately 60 players attended the state-mandated spring travel tryouts for theU10, U12, U14 and U16/18 Tier III teams.

Fundraising and Sponsorship:

Fundraiser / Amount Made
Bob Marley / $2,975
Raffle ticket sales / $5,194
U12 state tournament basket raffle / $745
Sponsorships/Donations / $4,106
MEHA (U12 state tournament and grants) / $8,046
Flatbread/LuLaroe / $1,650
RallyMe girls program fundraiser / $3,048

Sponsors included (*denotes a new sponsor)

  • Gunn’s Sports
  • Viking Lumber
  • Machias Savings
  • Mathews Brothers
  • The First National Bank
  • Amazon Smile program

The following businesses purchased banners (*denotes new banner this year)

  • Five County Credit Union
  • New Leaf Construction
  • The Study Hall*
  • EBS Building Supply
  • Machias Savings
  • Blake Vet
  • Rock Coast Heating & Plumbing*
  • Side County Sports*

In closing, our small non-profit organization lives and dies with our volunteers. Every hour of time that we can put in to the betterment of the organization is directed at only one thing - being good stewards of a great sport. Hockey is challenging on every level. For the beginner it is hard to stay upright on skates, for the average U12 travel player it is difficult to find poise and confidence in the short time that they posses the puck on the ice, and for the most advanced U18 player the difficulty is the chess match of hole selection on a wrap around played against the other team’s goalie that occurs in four tenths of a second.

We strive to serve all of these players, to bring them the game, so that they can bring their best game. To accommodate the obstacles that individual families face, to guide strong will into strong strides, to teach the patience of being a good teammate, while maximizing each child’s development.

Every year hockey becomes more expensive and more specialized, with parents feeling an internal pressure that the right camp or investment will give their child an opportunity they would not have had otherwise. I believe quite the contrary. The purity and the root of the game is in the community that fosters each child’s first moment on a frictionless surface. Our collective hockey culture will determine the grit, sportsmanship, and work ethic of our youth, with obstacles that when overcome, will provide them with life tools for the more difficult obstacles ahead.

Looking forward we have many new members on the board this year.It has been a pleasure to serve the members of this non-profit and has been an honor to do so since I joined the board in 2014.

GO STORM!!!

Joseph LaChance

President

Maine Coast Storm