Strathmore celebrates Hockey Day in Alberta

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

With Ron McLean and Don Cherry taking over Corner Brook, N.L., for Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada, coincidentally, the Strathmore Family Centre played host for the second annual Hockey Day in Alberta.
“Last year, we focused on a celebration of female hockey in this province. This year, we branched out into six different regions for a celebration of the novice-level programs in this province,” said Darcy Steen, consultant for the regional centre Calgary for Hockey Alberta. “We feel like this event encompasses hockey in Strathmore.”
Kids from Strathmore, Chestermere and Indus got together for a day jam-packed with on- and off-ice hockey related activities. Kids were split up into five groups, each group consisting of 30 to 35 kids.
“We wanted to focus this year on the innovation in the novice programs,” said Steen. “We want to do a great job working with kids and minor hockey coaches in that age group.”
Other Hockey Day in Alberta locations, such as Brooks, High Level, Paradise Valley, Red Deer and Westlock, are joining Strathmore in celebrating some of the youngest levels of hockey this province has to offer.
Strathmore was chosen to host the Calgary region mainly due to the larger ice surface of the Gold Arena. Hockey Alberta instructors were able to divide the rink into sections with more room for activities with the kids.
Beginning early in the day, teams rotated in and out of the Gold Arena, working with coaches and Hockey Alberta instructors in small groups designed for better teaching conditions.
“This has been an awesome opportunity for the kids to learn, see some different drills and do some dryland training,” said Adam Vetter, who coaches the novice C Storm in the Strathmore Minor Hockey Association. “So far we have done a lot of small area stick handling drills, working with the kids about their game in small spaces.
“They’re having a blast.”
In between ice sessions, the kids jumped over to the Strathmore Civic Centre, where they were run through a series of drills to work on their lateral movement and agility.
“This is a really good program,” said Indus Hurricanes novice B Coach Jamie Jones. “For the most part, the kids are never on the same team as the Chestermere kids. So for them to share the ice and make new friends with a new hockey team is great, too.”
On the ice, stickhandling, puck possession, body position and controlling the puck in tight windows were the skills that were worked on.
“Any chance you get, you should put the kids into a game-like scenario,” said Steen.
“We want to develop their learning in the small areas of the game, while having as much fun as possible.”
It wasn’t all about the kids. In the afternoon, the coaches of the representative programs were put through a series of clinics, on and off the ice, from Hockey Alberta instructors who helped showed them new drills to implement in practices of their own.
“We’re picking up things like different strategies for different players, changing up the practice routines, and (learning) that working in smaller groups is more effective and manageable,” said Jones.
Hockey Day in Alberta wrapped up in the late afternoon, just prior to puck drop between the Strathmore Wheatland Kings and Okotoks Bisons, with several future hockey stars in attendance.