Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/101613
20 20 20 19 20 17 20 18 By harry thompson As We Look To The Future, How Will Today���s Programs Impact How The Game Is Played Tomorrow? H appy New Year, 2013. Here���s wishing everyone in the USA Hockey family a safe and prosperous new year. Just think, in seven short years���84 months, 364 weeks, 2,555 days, 25 million minutes, give or take a few hundred thousand���we will be popping the cork on New Year���s Day, 2020. We may be jumping the gun, but time flies when you���re having fun. If you want to know what the future has in store, look no further than the present. The programs that are in place today will be in full stride by then, and the fruits of everyone���s labor will be ready for harvest. With the help of some of the most influential people in USA Hockey and around the hockey world, USA Hockey Magazine takes a look at where we���ve been, where we are today and most importantly, where the game is heading thanks to some of the innovative new programs established by USA Hockey. When the National Hockey League opened its checkbook in 2009 to support new USA Hockey programs, the money was earmarked to improve the growth and continued development of the organiza- tion���s programs, from the National T eam Development Program to new initiatives to grow the game. Since then, USA Hockey has worked hard to prove to the league���s board of governors that it has been money well spent. Working with the 23 NHL teams based in the United States and the 34 Affiliates and 12 Districts within the USA Hockey family, the past three years have marked a period of unprecedented growth, not only in terms of the number of new kids coming into the sport but also the quality of the skills these players have developed. All ADM, All The Time The cornerstone of the skill development improvement is the American Development Model, or ADM for short, which is the driving force behind everything being done around the country, creating a single-minded focus on improving the skills and overall experience for kids coming into the game. ���Long-term athlete development and the ADM is the lens which we���re looking at all of our programs through. How does it affect the athlete versus how we���ve looked at things in the past?��� says Ken Martel, the driving force behind the program since its inception in 2009. The buy-in, while not complete, has been overwhelming as parents and coaches have seen the benefits of long-term athlete development, focusing more on skill acquisition and less on competition, especially at the youngest age levels. While there���s no doubt that the ADM has changed the face of hockey at the younger age groups, according to Kevin McLaughlin now who oversees the program, it���s only scratched the surface in terms of impacting the game at all levels. ���There���s no way we���re turning back,��� says McLaughlin, the senior director of hockey development for USA Hockey. ���It���s gaining momentum quicker than we ever thought it would, and the people who have been in Mite programs and have experienced well-run ADM programs, there���s no way they���ll accept anything less. And as the word spreads, the ones who are now participating at Mites and Squirts are wondering what���s ahead at other levels.��� That same feeling is spreading through the Squirt and Peewee ranks as well, with the implementation of the progressive body checking skills program. By pushing back the start of legal body checking until the Bantam age level, parents and coaches are witnessing more skill development as ���It���s gaining momentum quicker than we ever thought it would, and the people who have experienced well-run ADM programs, there���s no way they���ll accept anything less.��� ���Kevin McLaughlin, senior director of hockey development USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM january. 2013 17