INSIDE THIS ISSUE President s Message Canada Games Congratulations VP of Competitve Message Development Coordinator Update VP of Recreational Message Onside Performance Technical Director Update 2018 Photo Gallery PRESIDENT S MESSAGE MARY-LOU PAETZNICK On behalf of the TASA Executive, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our members a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It seems as if we just began the hockey season, but here we are, halfway through another year. We have been working very hard to ensure all our players have an enjoyable hockey experience and are very excited with our success to date. We are looking forward to our continued success during the second half of the season. I would like to thank all our members for the time and hours put into our great association. Without all of you, TASA would not be the success it is. I would also like to thank all those who volunteer their time, for without you our children would not have the benefit of the great hockey experience that they enjoy. It has been a difficult fall for many TASA families due to the loss of a loved one. Please know, you are in our thoughts and prayers. Good Luck to all teams as they play in their Christmas Tournaments. 1
A MESSAGE FROM YOUR VP OF COMPETITIVE KEVIN BAILLIE As we quickly approach the half way mark of the minor hockey season, I would like to take this opportunity to commend all coaches on a job well done. There has been considerable skill development from the beginning of the year to now, and this is evident with how well TASA is doing within the various Central Minor leagues, at all levels. A big thank you goes out to all the managers and parents. You are the ones that help make the hockey season a success for our kids. Lastly, I encourage all teams to continue to take advantage of the exceptional experience of our TASA Technical Director, Kyle MacDonald, whenever you can. I wish all teams a Merry Christmas and we look forward to your continued success in the second half. Kevin Baillie Competitive VP A MESSAGE FROM YOUR VP OF RECREATIONAL CHERYL MCMANUS As teams near the finish of their regular season and look towards the playoffs I want to take the time to thank all coaches and managers for the time and effort they put in to ensure our young players have the best hockey experience possible. A big shout-out to the Bantam Ducks who took home the Gold at the Lewisville Bantam tournament in Moncton, NB this month. HOUSEKEEPING Refer to the MMHL website for protocol if you feel you need to cancel a game due to inclement weather. Please review the AP Policy on the MMHL website. This is very important, especially during playoff games. Coaches, Managers and Parents: Please DO NOT contact MMHL or Hockey Nova Scotia directly. All inquiries regarding rescheduling of games, and suspensions, are to be directed to me. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our TASA families a Happy Holidays, and the of best of luck to any teams participating in Christmas tournaments over the holidays! Cheryl McManus VP Recreational Hockey 2
Congratulations are in order to our TASA Alumni, Jacob Goobie, Davis Cooper and Cameron MacDonald, on their success with making the Canada Games team! Way to go boys! Enjoy every moment of this exceptional accomplishment. TASA KIDS LIVING THEIR DREAMS! A MESSAGE FROM YOUR TECHNICAL DIRECTOR KYLE MACDONALD There has been a lot of great moments around the rink during the 2018 season. Our teams have done an excellent job of representing themselves, and TASA, in their leagues. I want to thank the coaches up to this point for their efforts to provide quality instruction, and an environment where the players can succeed. Lastly, thank you to the parents for your dedication to the game. As an association, we are continuously looking for programs to provide our players with the essential skills for player development, and to also entice more players into the game. As we enter into the last few months of our season, it is important we do not allow winning to get in the way of player development. Winning will often become a by-product of the overall improvement of each player, and a complete team effort where all members are contributing to the best of their abilities. I hope that the 2019 hockey season will be filled with fun, new friendships and great hockey. I would like to wish everyone a great holiday, and I hope to see you at the rink in the new year! Kyle MacDonald Technical Director 3
A MESSAGE FROM YOUR DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR DAVE BENNETT Dear members, I wanted to take a minute to give you a quick update on Development Initiatives at TASA so far in 2018 and give you a little preview into 2019. As stated previously, as an Executive, TASA agreed to place a significant focus on three areas of development for 2018-2019. SKILL DEVELOPMENT Our Skill Development camps have been running since October. Our Technical Director, Kyle Macdonald, has been leading sessions that have placed focus on core individual skill development. We have been alternating between all age levels, and while turnout has been good, considering these sessions are free to members, we would like to see increased participation from our members. I encourage all players to consider attending these sessions and continually working on your game. POWER SKATING Power skating started October 15 and consisted of a 10 week program. We are fortunate to have Technical Director Kyle Mac- Donald leading these sessions; he has exceptional experience in this area as experienced by those players who have attended one of his sessions. The program has worked on all areas of skating with an particular emphasis on edge work. Feedback on the program has been overwhelmingly positive, and I am pleased to report that the results are evident. GOALTENDING TASA has partnered with FinnGoalie and has been running goalie session on Saturday mornings. The turnout has been heavy and the goalies at TASA participating have been pushed to improve both movement and technical skills. As well FinnGoalie lead instructor, Jack Hartigan held a goaltending coach clinic where 15 coaches at all levels of TASA were certified by Hockey Nova Scotia as Level 1 Goaltender Coaches. On Saturday Dec 22nd, TASA as part of its development program, offered 2 hours of free goalie training. Development weekend was a success and again we focused on skill development at all levels. Turnout was great and feedback was positive. As an executive we are always looking for feedback and ideas from our members. Technical Director Kyle MacDonald has been attending various practices at team levels and I encourage all coaches to use Kyle as much as possible. Kyle is excellent with the kids and has a tremendous background that can be utilized to help improve your teams overall game. A fresh and different perspective is always well received by players. What s on Deck in 2019? 10 week power skating and stick handling program Continue to provide skill development sessions on Saturday mornings, rotating through all age groups Goalie training sessions will again be offered on a weekly basis Please feel free to contact myself at development@tasa.ca if you have any questions or concerns. Merry Christmas to all players and their families! Dave Bennett - Development Coordinator 4
The TASA Minor Hockey Association is proud to announce its official partnership with OnSide Performance Centre in Bayers Lake. As a partner, OnSide Performance Centre is the official training facility for all teams that are part of the TASA organization. The team at OnSide specializes in dryland training for athletic teams, with a focus on improving speed and power along with injury prevention. By focusing on off-ice imbalances, the training staff are able to improve athletic performance and longevity within the sport of hockey. 3D-110 Chain Lake Drive Halifax, Nova Scotia B3S 1A9 902.404.5647 info@onsideperformance.ca As the New Year approaches, it s time to reflect on our performance from 2018. Where can we improve? What were our weaknesses on the ice? At OnSide Performance Centre we ve been tweaking and honing our programming for 2019 so that we can help young athletes perform even better in the new year. From recovering faster to moving safely, we ve got all sorts of exciting new things in store this coming year to ensure that every TASA athlete we see can have their best year of hockey yet. From the whole team here at OnSide Performance Centre, we d like to wish the entire TASA family Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We can t wait to see everyone in 2019! 5
What a great year for our TASA teams! Let s take a look at some of the great moments of 2018! 6 TASA Bantam A takes time out to celebrate the holiday season with Santa in Moncton, NB. TASA Knights anxiously awaiting high 5 s from the Halifax Mooseheads during Minor Hockey night at Scotiabank Centre Atom B Black with the toys they collected for Adsum House TASA Bantam C Ducks celebrating their Gold Medal win at the Lewisville Bantam Recreational Tournament in Moncton TASA Bantam C Storm, Silver Medal Winners, cheering on the Fredericton Bantam Team at the Memramcook-Dieppe Bantam/Midget Tournament (Dec 7th-9th) TASA PeeWee C Thunder at the Tantallon Library helping out the Shoebox Project in support of Family Shelters in Metro.
TASA PeeWee C Thunder at the Tantallon Library helping out the Shoebox Project in support of Family Shelters in Metro TASA PeeWee AAA at the Pink Tape game with Chief JM Blais and his son TASA PeeWee AAA - 2018 Jordan Boyd Tournament Champions TASA PeeWee AAA 2018 Buster Harvey Tournament Champions Novice Purple Puck Stealers enjoying a visit from Q104 on November 22nd. Quite a experience for our female hockey team! TASA Atom C Knights all decked out in pink to support the 2018 Anti-Bullying Campaign 7