FEBRUARY 2012 NEWSLETTER
Now that we are settled into the New Year, we come upon Valentine’s Day. Sure you can get that special someone a box of chocolates and flowers, but how about changing things up this year and give your sweetheart the gift of skating. Enjoy time on the ice as you skate hand-in-hand to smooth tunes and share some smiles and laughs…and because of our location at the Westfield UTC Mall, buy him/her something nice and then head out to dinner to one of many close and convenient restaurants.
If you still haven’t heard of how fun our Friday nights are, come check it out for yourself. Our Teen Chill Out nights are full of fun and music that is hosted by Ice Town’s very own Live DJ that plays today hottest music along with your own personal song requests. Print out a copy of our flyer or pick one up at the box office to receive $2.00 off your next Friday Night admission.
Haven’t skated before? NO PROBLEM! Every Saturday Ice Town has a FREE 30 minute try-it class for first timers. This is your chance, or your little one’s, to take to the ice for the first time and learn the skating basics by Ice Town’s professional coaches. Class begins at 11:15am and we suggest
arriving 40 minutes early as spaces are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. We’ll see you there.
Also, if you’re new to skating and want to ensure some quality fun without fear of old, rusted skates, no worries here! Ice Town is proud to inform you of our new Rental Skates! You can’t get a good skating experience without the proper equipment, that is why Ice Town is dedicated to ensure that you enjoy your time with us by providing your feet with the comfort and quality they deserve.
Hockey Tip of the Month
The Forward Stride
You must be able to move forward in a straight line as fast as possible. There are many game situations when straightaway speed without the puck is important: when racing for loose pucks, when chasing an opponent, when forechecking, when backchecking or when trying to get open for a pass.
The motion of he drive skate is a important factor in the speed of the skater. Start in the hockey position. With both skates parallel and under the center of the body, point your feet straight ahead. Make sure that the blades of both of your skates are flat, which will allow for maximum glide on your glide skate and maximum push off the drive skate. With a deep knee bend, begin to rotate the toe of your drive skate out and away from your body. At the same time, push the entire inside edge of the blade of your drive skate into the ice and away from your glide skate. Do this using both the ball and the heel of your drive foot to produce a uniform push across the entire blade. The glide skate will move forward while you push the drive skate on the ice and extend your drive leg. When you push you are rotating or opening up your hip and knee as you extend and straighten your leg. You will need to rotate your hip and knee enough so that the angle of the drive skate relative to your line of travel increases progressively, reaching a maximum of 90 degree to your direction of travel at the end of your stride. Remember, that as you drive, you are not only directing
a surge of power toward your glide skate, you are also transferring your weight to the glide skate. At the start of the stride there is an initial transfer of weight to the glide skate, and more weight is progressively transferred to the glide skate as the stride continues. Transferring body weight to your glide skate, coupled with a balanced glide leg, allows you to be in the proper linear body position throughout the stride – your weight over you knee which is over the ball of your glide foot.
At the end of your stride, when your leg is almost fully extended and your drive skate is 90 degrees to your line of travel, push off the ice. Start the push using your full blade and end the push by extending your ankle down into the ice, away from your body. The extension will give you an added thrust to your stride. Your ankle extension and final thrust should be off the inside edge of the ball of your foot. Remember to extend your leg completely as you finish your thrust.
Throughout the stride, keep your head and torso as still as possible. Keep your shoulders square to your line of travel and your back straight as you lean your body forward. At all times, your glide skate should remain in a straight line and on a flat blade in line with your direction of travel. Use a deep knee bend to keep your body weight forward, over your glide skate. The knee of your glide leg and the hand of your glide arm should be over the toe of your glide skate.
After you make the final thrust off the ball of your drive foot, you must bring it back to the glide position, as your glide foot will then become your drive foot. You must do this as quickly as possible so you’re other skate can begin to stride and thus keeping you moving forward as quickly as possible. The speed of your recovery crucial to executing the most strides in the shortest amount of time. Recover as quickly as possible by fully transferring your weight to your glide skate during the drive motion. As well keep your drive skate up off the ice but as close to the ice as possible, after the final thrust and during recovery.
Next month we will discuss the important points of the forward glide.
Player of the Month
The Player of the Month for February is Benjamin Deckhut, the high scoring left winger in his third season of Jaguar travel hockey as a member of the Peewee A team. Ben came to the Jaguars after playing his first few seasons with the San Diego Saints and immediately became a valued member of his team. As a member of the Conehead Line Ben can be seen forechecking, backchecking, scoring, blocking shots and setting up his linemates, sometimes all in the same shift. One of the Jaguars’ Ten Commandments of Hockey is There is No I in Team and Ben is a perfect example of what this means. Ben will gladly and energetically do whatever is asked of him by his coaches including acting as
the team’s backup goalie if needed. He is an excellent role model; so young Jaguars pay attention, the next time you get a chance to watch the Peewees play pay special attention to Ben and then try to play the way he does. When he is on the ice Ben is in perpetual motion and that is the way hockey should be played. Ben is a pleasure to coach and is a respected member of the Jaguars and we are glad he is part of our
organization. Good luck the rest of the season and congratulations Benjamin Deckhut on being Jaguar Player of the Month!
Youth League Hockey News
With the youth travel season coming to end in the next month we thought this would be a great time to inform our youth players of the programs we will be hosting for the Spring and Summer months.
Icetown will be hosting the La Jolla Select League for the Spring and Summer. The Select League levels will be the Mites (2004 and 2005), Squirt (2003 and 2002) and Peewees (2000 and 2001). The La Jolla Select League is for travel and tournament players and those players ready to make the step up for the next travel season. The league will begin in April go until the start of August. In the Select League the players get play to in a fun and unstructured environment. Our first season was a great success and we hoping to continue to build on that success in our second season.
We will also host travel skills clinics at Icetown throughout the Spring and Summer months. If you want to improve your skills through the spring and summer then these clinics will be of great value to your hockey player. There will be a clinic for Mites and Squirts and another clinic for Peewees and Bantams.
The San Diego Metro league is always a great option for fun and development for the spring and summer months and all levels of players are welcome to join. We will be hosting teams in the Mini Mites, Mite, Squirts, Peewees and Bantams. The new Spring Summer season will start on the weekend of March 23-24, 2012.
The Goalie Gauntlet Clinic will be returning in April for the Spring and Summer months. This clinic last year was huge success and we plan to continue to build on that success. This clinic will be open to all goalies at any level.
The Robby Glantz power skating camp will be returning to Icetown in the early part May 2012. For further information please view the website: http://www.robbyglantz.com/
We are also really excited to announce that Icetown La Jolla will be hosting the Pro-Ambition Hockey camp from Monday August 13 – Friday August 17, 2012. For further information please view the website: http://www.proambitions.com/
With all the programs scheduled, youth hockey at Icetown will be full swing for the spring and summer months. Detailed information about all our spring and summer programs will be posted on our website soon and information will be available in our box office.
In the meantime if you have any questions please feel to call our Youth Hockey Director Dan Haney at 949-683-4092 or email him at dhaney@icetown.com
Adult League Hockey News
Icetown will be hosting a Adult hockey skills clinic for the spring and summer months. The clinic will work on individual skills such as skating, stickhandling, passing and shooting. The clinic will be starting on Thursday April 5, 2012 from 6:20PM – 7:20PM. The clinic will run every week
throughout the spring and summer with a few exceptions. The cost for the clinic will be 20 dollars per session or you can buy ten sessions for 150.00 dollars. The clinic is open to all adults 18 years or older and to all ability levels. Additional information about our adult clinic will be posted on our website and available in our box office in the next week.
Our adult hockey leagues are starting to prepare for playoffs with the Gold League opening up the playoffs on Monday February 5, 2012. Please check out Pointstreak to view the playoff schedules and standings:
http://www.pointstreak.com/players/players-leagues.html?leagueid=959&seasonid=7712
Good Luck to all teams in the playoffs.
Our spring and summer adult seasons are set to start up in March 2012. If you are looking to get on a team please contact our Adult Hockey Director, Mike Duffey at 949-683-9249 or email him mduffey@icetown.com .
In the Crease:
What are warm ups?
How many did I stop? Did I stop them all? How did that one go five hole? Why do I keep getting beat glove side?
Is that what’s going through your head during warm ups? Are you worrying about how badly you’re going to do during the game? Clear your head and let all that go.
Warm ups are for preparing your body and your mind for the game or practice. You do not have to stop every shot. You are there to find your rhythm. You are there to find your comfort with getting hit with pucks again. You are there to forget everything else, even your doubts about your skills as a goalie, and get ready to get in front of the puck.
That means checking in with your form, seeing how your body feels as you move, checking in with your angles, making sure your save execution feels right. It’s not about stopping 100% of the shots. In fact, in a good warm up, your players should be trying to hit you so you can get used to the feel of the puck. If you notice your body isn’t moving right or something doesn’t feel quite right, go off to the corner for a few seconds and
see if you can figure out what’s going on. Is a strap loose? Did you injure yourself? Double check your gear, stretch out your body and then get back in the crease when you’re ready.
In warm ups, don’t worry about getting beat on a 2-on-0 or breakaway that your teammates set up. Let them feel good about their fancy play (they need to practice scoring goals!). Focus on yourself. Limber up, get used to the feel of the puck, quiet your brain down, and get set because the game (or practice) is about to begin!
http://hockeygoaliegearguide.com
Director’s Words
JR. Nationals Update:
2011 was an exciting year for Ice Town! We had three skaters make it to the Junior National Championships in Lansing, Michigan this past December. Harrison Wong, Jarred Druzinski and Max Lake did us proud when they qualified for this prestigious event back in October.
Harrison Wong did not only qualify, but was the first skater from San Diego to receive a National medal in years! He arrived in Lansing as one of the favorites, having won the Regional Championships just a few months earlier. Placing 4th, he received a pewter medal for his awesome performances!
Jarred Druzinski had a great skate and will take his Nationals experience with him back to Ice Town as he pushes himself for the upcoming competitive season!
Max Lake, a young talented athlete, realized his goal of qualifying for Nationals and then surpassed everyone’s expectations by making it to the final round! At only 9 ½, Max placed 12th in the Country at his first ever Nationals! We’re looking forward to watching him develop in to one of the sports future stars.
How amazing is it that all three athletes got their start right here at Ice Town? Yes that’s right, they started in our classes only a few years ago and look at them now! With hard work and dedication Ice Town knows you can achieve all your goals too! Stay tuned for our spring Ice Show as our National Competitors will be skating alongside you in this exciting event!
If you were wondering where or when to watch skating, check out www.icenetwork.com!
Here is the TV schedule: http://web.icenetwork.com/events/schedule.jsp?mode=tv!
The next ISI test session will take place on February 8th! Good luck to our ISI testers!
Good luck to our ISI competition team as they make their way to Anaheim for the Anaheim Ice Annual ISI Open over President’s Day weekend!
Sign ups for our show, “Broadway On Ice!” begin this month! Join Ice Town as our skaters take you through Broadways’ best productions from Marry Poppins to Wicked! The show is set to take place May 20th at 7:30pm and there is a part for everyone! Early bird registration is due by February 18, so sign up now to save $20! After February 18 the cost is $150 and the deadline to sign up for the show is March 3!!
Private lessons are a great way to help your skater master the skills in his or her level, as well as learn new and exciting aspects of figure skating. Inquire in the office about private lessons, or ask your Academy class instructor for more information. One-on-one instruction will help skaters earn those difficult stickers for their button and is a great way to get into competitions!
Learn more about ISI at http://www.skateisi.com/site/Sub.Cfm?Content=what_is_isi!
Learn more about USFS at http://www.usfsa.org/default.asp!
Skater of the Month
Hillary McDonald
Hilliary McDonald is 8 years old and from Cardiff, CA. She is in 3rd grade and attends Ada Harris Elementary School and she LOVES to ice skate!! Hillary has been taking lessons from Dana Economou and classes at Ice Town since the early 2011. She has entered into two competitions, Toy Story on Ice and participated in the 2011 Holiday Ice Show!
Besides ice skating, Hillary also likes to ride her bike, go swimming, snowboarding, go to the beach and hang out with her family. She lives with her dad, mom and older brother Julian, who plays baseball. Together they like to go camping, fishing, and take hikes. They just traveled to Utah for Christmas break where they played in the snow, went snowboarding, fished and went ice-skating at an outdoor rink!
Coach of the Month
Jane grew up in San Diego where she began ice skating when she was seven. She decided to start skating at Ice Town after she saw how much fun her older cousin having on the ice. She began competing at age 8, and continued to do so for many years, usually focusing on artistic programs. While in high school she realized the competitive track wasn’t for her and began to focus on moves in the field.
When Jane was 15 she started working as a coach at Ice Town, where she now works to share her passion for skating with as many people as she can. Jane attends UCSD and is working towards two Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Cognitive Science.
Epic Edge
Keep up to date with our synchronized skating teams at: http://www.epic-edge.org/!
Tip of the Month:
Falling Down
All figure skaters fall down, even the very best. When figure skaters begin to learn new jumps or spins, they may fall hundreds of times. If a skater falls in an ice skating competition, points are deducted.
If You Are Going to Skate, You Are Going to Fall:
If you are a figure skater, you must understand that if you are going to skate, you are going to fall. That's a fact. Practicing falling over and over again is the only way to learn how to fall safely.
How To Fall On the Ice Without Getting Hurt:
It may help to practice falling when you are off the ice. Then, practice falling on the ice from a standstill, then while moving slowly, and then while moving more quickly. Wearing gloves may help.
Don't Lean Backward:
If you anticipate a fall, do not lean backward, but try to move your body and head forward. Relax. Do not stiffen up; allow your body to go limp.
More Falling Tips:
Beginning ice skaters can practice falling from a dip position.
To do a dip, first glide forward on two feet and squat down as far as possible. Fall to the side and lean a bit forward. Do not lean back, or you may hit your head. Put your hands in your lap and not on the ice. If you leave your hands on the ice, another skater could skate over your fingers!
Don't Cry When You Fall Down:
All figure skaters should remember that falling down is part of our sport. If possible, avoid crying after a fall.
In addition, the skater should return to the ice as soon as possible and do the move on which the fall occurred.
The skater should remember to get up from a fall as soon as possible. Remaining sitting or lying on the ice poses a danger to both the skater and to others. It is important to get up quickly.