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Developing a passion for the game at the youngest level will not only get more kids involved in hockey but keep them playing longer. We need kids first and foremost to be passionate about ice hockey. — KEN MARTEL, DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT MODEL the 2010-11 season. That number will likely rise in the coming years. kids into our sport by breaking down the barriers that will allow them to try hockey," Kelleher said. "Our focus has been on bringing new try hockey is only half the battle. Once they're in the door, the old way of think- ing believed that the game would sell itself. No longer content to leave that to chance, USA Hockey, with support from the National Hockey League, created the American Development Model to ensure that kids today have every opportunity to reach their full potential, whether that means becoming a future Olympian or a recreational player for life. Not only does that mean working on the skills needed to be the best, it's also about creating a fun environment where kids of all ages can develop a passion for the game that will burn long after the Olympic flame Getting kids and parents to agree to is snuffed out. "We need kids first and foremost to be passionate about ice hockey," Martel said. "If they don't love it they're not going to play it and they're certainly not going to excel at it. And those images that the Olympics create for our kids are images that help develop that love for the game." To the casual fan, international competi- tion is what USA Hockey is all about. But to the players, coaches, volunteers and national office staff who have been involved with the organization since their Mite and Peewee days, the international success achieved in an Olympic year is the result of hard work done on a daily basis by dedicated individu- als from coast to coast. they have a lot of other programs on the drawing board." Many of the plans in place today, along with some that are still in the incubation stage, were hatched in USA Hockey councils and committee rooms and town hall meet- ings at Annual Congress. It's people like Falmouth, Mass., native Paul Moore, who will receive the Wm. Thayer Tutt Award, and Peter Karmanos, who will deservingly be awarded the USA Hockey Distinguished Achievement Award at the 75th Anniversary gala celebration, who have helped shape the game as we know it today, and they, along with countless oth- ers will plot its course into the future. Still, the best-laid plans will die on the drawing board without the commitment of grassroots volunteers, who carry out the mission of USA Hockey with tireless dedica- tion. These volunteers go about the business of hockey in anonymity, spending countless hours in local rinks, forming the building blocks that will help young girls and boys become better hockey players and even bet- ter people. "As Americans, we work hard to justify our existence on the world stage," the late great Herb Brooks said after leading the U.S. to its last Olympic silver medal in 2002. "USA Hockey has tremendous pro- grams and people in place right now, and The success that U.S. teams have enjoyed on international ice over the years can be shared by thousands of proud Americans who do so much for hockey every day. Their success is our success. Their on-ice exploits have opened a new window for the next wave of American players. N USA Hockey 75TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PROGRAM 55