USA Hockey Magazine

January 2013

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out of a mix of abilities and backgrounds. Dan Brennan is USA Hockey���s manager of the Coaching Education Program and has worked with the sled team since 2006. Over the years he has seen the talent pool continue to grow, not only from hockey enthusiasts looking to try a version of the game suited to various physical challenges, but also from military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and trying sled hockey for the first time as part of their recovery from injuries suffered in combat. ���This is the best group of people I���ve ever been around,��� Brennan said. ���The military dynamic brings instant leadership to the team. They go headfirst into everything, pushing each other and encouraging everyone on the team to work harder and harder.��� In the Americans��� last international competition, the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver, they went 5-0-0, with five shutouts, and claimed the gold medal. Believe it or not, they���re aiming even higher in the future. ���As a team and as a program, this is the most talent we���ve ever had, which is pretty scary,��� said Taylor Lipsett, a forward from Texas renowned as one of the top stick-handlers in the world. Like many American players, he has been delighted by what Sauer���s coaching brings to the program. ���He���s been amazing. I���ve probably learned more from Coach Sauer in the past year than I had in the previous eight years in this program,��� said Lipsett, who has dealt with brittle bones for much of his life, but says that ironically, he���s had far fewer injuries and fractures since he started playing sled hockey a decade ago. ���[Sauer] makes the game so simple in the way he talks to players. He never blows up, and brings a much more constructive With more than 50 years of college coaching experience between them, Jeff Sauer and Mike Sertich brought a wealth of knowledge to an already talented and experienced U.S. Sled Hockey Team, that includes veteran players such as Taylor Lipsett. USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM January. 2013 35

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