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 SYHA Player Development Programs
Success in hockey comes from a combination of technical skills as well as team and game concepts. To develop players technical abilities experts recommend that 85% of the players practice time be focused on developing the core technical skills.
To support this, Shrewsbury Youth Hockey provides an array of Player Development Programs that include:
1. Learn to Skate Program
2. House League Hockey
3. Competitive Player Development
All programs take place at Charles J Buffone Arena on Lake Avenue in Worcester.
The sections below provide a brief outline of each of these programs. If you have further questions, please contact the following individuals:
Learn to Skate Program Bill Nemes
House League Program Dan Sullivan
Competitive Player Development Sessions Herb Lade
Learn to Skate Program
SYHA has partnered for many years with John Dillon and his ice and hockey skating specialists to offer a Learn to Skate program. John has been working with young Ice Hockey and Figure Skaters for many years. SYHA will have its Learn to Skate program on Sunday nights from 6-6:50. Go to the Learn to Skate section of our web site for more details.
SYHA’s House League
The House League is for players aged 4 to 7. This 17 week Learn to Play Hockey program is run on Saturday and Sunday mornings from November through February. Learn to Skate is not a pre-requisite.
House League sessions are a combination of practices and cross ice scrimmages incorporating elements of the Learn to Skate program. The ice is sectioned into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. The season schedule is divided as follows:
1. November/December - both Saturday and Sunday sessions are focused on practice time.
2. January - Saturdays are practices, with games on Sundays.
3. February - both Saturdays and Sundays are games. The ice is split into a 1/3 sheet where beginners continue to play cross-ice scrimmages. The remaining 2/3 sheet of ice is used for the intermediate and advanced players offering them a larger game surface.
The season ends with an amazing trophy ceremony and a family public skate afterwards.
Competitive Player Development Program
For our competitive teams, SYHA offers a comprehensive player development program. The program is comprised of 3 main components:
1. Player Development Program – Skaters & Goalies
2. Goalie Clinics
3. Team Practices
Player Development Program – Skaters & Goalies
SYHA has partnered with Puckmasters of Marlborough, MA to develop an 11 session Skater and Goalie Development Program. The program spans Mite through Bantam teams and is focused on developing skating, stick handling, shooting and passing skills in our competitive skaters and stance, angles, stick work and butterfly techniques for goalies . The program builds from basic skills early in the season, to complex, multi-skilled drills mid-season and closing with sessions that emphasize overspeed training and team concepts. Small Area Games are used at each session to emphasize the skills covered in that session.
Goalie Clinics
The position of goalie is critical to any successful competitive team. To enhance our development of this important player, SYHA has partnered with John Binkoski again this year. John is currently the Head Coach of Shrewsbury High School’s Varsity Hockey team. John was a goaltender at UMASS Amherst and brings an extensive background in goalie development at the high school and college level. John also runs local goalie skills development programs for all ages.
The SYHA program is geared to educating both goalies and coaches on the core skills necessary for successful goaltending. All team goalies are encouraged to attend.
The 6 Session Goalie Clinic schedule is still under development.
Team Practices
Along with the above programs, SYHA includes weekly team practices for its competitive teams in a mixture of full-ice and half-ice formats. These sessions build on the player skills while adding individual and team concepts. Along with a regular game schedule, they also build the camaraderie and team spirit that make hockey such a great sport!
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