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14 20 17 20 19 20 20 20 son Mark who plays with the Winnipeg Jets. ���There will always be inherent risks with sport, but also with free play. It���s part of life. Our job is to reduce that risk to the best of our ability, and also try to eliminate catastrophic injuries, which have such lifelong consequences.��� ���Ron DeGregorio, USA Hockey President 18 20 ���What excites me more than anything is what we���re doing with the American Development Model, making sure all of our stakeholders have a shared vision on how player development should operate.��� The Best Is Yet To Come When Ron DeGregorio took over the reins as USA Hockey president from the iconic Walter L. Bush, Jr., in 2003, he put forth his vision for not only the future of the organization but also for the sport. In less than a decade under his leadership, USA Hockey has already exceeded many of his loftiest goals. ���I think we���re moving in a very good direction. I know we���re getting great accolades for doing so well in international competitions,��� DeGregorio says. ���All that is well and good, but what excites me more than anything is what we���re doing with the American Development Model, making sure all of our stakeholders have a shared vision on how player development should operate.��� And still, for all that has been done, there is so far to go. The programs that have taken root today will be in full bloom in seven years, and new programs will make the leap from the drawing board and on to the ice. When that happens, DeGregorio expects to see the fruits of everyone���s labor showing up from the grassroots to the highest levels of the game. ���By 2020 I would like to see USA Hockey as the premier hockey country in terms of its performance in international competitions across the board, and have at least one world championship under our belt in the [men���s] senior division,��� he says. ���That is our ultimate goal.��� N ���I hope it���s more difficult to make a National T eam at every level in 2020 than it is today. It makes my job harder, but it���s a good problem to have,��� says Jim Johannson, USA Hockey���s assistant executive director of Hockey Operations and a member of the 1988 and 1992 U.S. Olympic T eams. ���I can tell you right now from even five years ago, it���s much more difficult to make our team, and if I think back far enough thank God it wasn���t this tough when I was playing.��� Don���t think for a second that the rest of the world hasn���t noticed what���s happening on American ice. Hockey directors from other countries have applauded USA Hockey���s efforts while expressing concern that it could lead to stiffer competition for years to come. A Safer Game For Everyone Skill development is only one element of the game that USA Hockey has been focused on. Another is making the game safer for all its participants, which is a huge barrier to expanding its ranks. USA Hockey continues to work with inside and outside entities to keep the game safe, both on and off the ice, with innovative programs such as the recently launched SafeSport initiative. That leads to the realization that USA Hockey and its board of directors can create 20 JANUARY. 2013 programs designed to make the game better and safer, but enforcement has to start at the grassroots level. ���As the old saying goes, ���you can lead a horse to water but you can���t make him drink,������ says Mark Tabrum, director of USA Hockey���s Coaching Education Program. ���We have a lot of good materials and we continue to create new ways to get it into the hands of coaches through the online modules, the coaching app and our clinics. We���re giving them a lot of information. ���But again, we can give them lots of materials but that doesn���t mean they���re going to open the book or watch the DVD.��� Still, there are a number of strides made in the issue of safety, especially in the important issue of concussions in youth hockey, says Dr. Michael Stuart, USA Hockey���s chief medical officer and a physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Stuart and his team held a Concussions in Ice Hockey symposium in 2010, and featured leaders from throughout the hockey and medical community who came together to discuss this important topic. ���Concussions are clearly a problem in a variety of sports ��� and so it���s a concern, but I���m optimistic because USA Hockey with its SafeSport initiative is addressing the risk of injury in our sport,��� says Stuart, the father of four hockey-playing children, including USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM Photos from USA Hockey Magazine Archives