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STOPs & STARTS USA Hockey News & UPDATES Rolston Gets Shot With The Sabres W hen it comes to developing American hockey talent, few coaches have the credentials to match Ron Rolston. Now the Fenton, Mich., native will have an opportunity to show what he can do at the NHL level. Rolston was named the interim head coach of the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 20, taking over for long-time bench boss Lindy Ruff, who was the longest tenured coach with the same NHL team. Rolston, who spent seven seasons with the National Team Development Program, is the first former NTDP coach to earn an NHL head coaching job. He spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Rochester Americans, the Sabres AHL affiliate. "I was extremely happy when I heard he was even a consideration. To see him move up so quickly is well deserved," said St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who played for Rolston in 2005-06 and 2006-07. "I loved him as a coach. As young kids he taught us how to be professionals, how to approach everyday, and he held us all to a high standard and that was a pretty important thing going forward." While developing future pros such as Shattenkirk, Phil Kessel, Nathan Gerbe, Peter Mueller and Jack Johnson was Rolston's primary focus at the NTDP, he also led U.S. squads to three gold medals at the IIHF World Under-18 Championships. Rolston also served as head coach for the U.S. National Junior Team at the IIHF U20 World Championship in 2007 and 2009. In 2007, he led Team USA to the bronze medal. "Having him as a coach was pretty fantastic," said Blues defenseman Ian Cole, another NTDP alum. "Just being able to get such a high quality coach at such a young age and be submerged in such an absolute all-hockey-all-the-time culture was great for me." Ron Rolston brings his passion for developing players to the highest level as he takes over as the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. They said it "It fascinates me to hear and see all of the commentary that I'm against going to the Olympics. We've gone to the last four Olympics, and if somebody has to take the blame or the credit for that it's me." —NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on NHL players competing in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia 06 April/May. 2013 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM New Skating Manual Sets Kids Off On Right Foot When it comes to skating skills, any coach knows that if you can't get from here to there then you're going nowhere. In an effort to provide beginning players with a firm foundation on the ice, USA Hockey has teamed up with its friends at U.S. Figure Skating to create a comprehensive new manual to provide coaches with the tools to teach basic skating skills. This new manual is now available at USAHockey.com and on the new Mobile Coaching App, which is available for the iPhone, iPad and Android Smartphones. The Learn to Skate curriculum consists of four practice plans for a total of 12 sessions. Session 1 focuses primarily on the basics of skating, with a series of fun drills designed to improve agility, balance and coordination. Session 2, which consists of four practice plans plus two age appropriate fun game days for a total of 14 sessions, introduces hockeyspecific skills such as learning how to hold the stick, basic stickhandling, passing and shooting skills. Repetition and appropriate progression for beginners are extremely important at this level. That is why USA Hockey recommends that each practice plan should be instructed three consecutive times before moving to the next practice plan. Each practice consists of six different drills working on fundamental skating skills. Most practice plans will have suggestions for advanced progression for those players who develop a little faster than others. It is recommended that beginning players start with a Learn to Skate program to gain the basics before moving on to a Learn to Play or Mite league program. "This program is designed to get a kid mobile before they join a hockey program," said Ken Martel, technical director of the American Development Model. "It will provide beginning players with the foundation of basic skating skills so that they can go out to have some success in a hockey program." The new Learn to Skate manual, which was created by USA Hockey and U.S. Figure Skating, provides coaches with a comprehensive program to teach all aspects of skating. Photos courtesy of Getty Images (2); USA Hockey