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Clinic will give area a taste of hockey
By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Sunday, July 12, 2009 | No comments posted.
There won’t be any ice, but big-time hockey players are coming to Coos Bay this week to put on a clinic for South Coast boys and girls.
The Winterhawks Amateur Hockey Association is holding a floor hockey clinic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon.
Several members of the Portland Winterhawks, a minor league team, and several Division I women hockey players will be at the clinic, instructing children on techniques from 9 to 11 a.m. A tournament will be held from 1 to 3 p.m., said Jerry Moss, a Winterhawks official who is coordinating the event.
The cost is $3 and all boys and girls in grades 1 through 8 can participate.
“They will learn the same mechanics that we go over in training camp — stick handling, puck handling, passing and shooting and an overall strategy on the court and ice,” Moss said.
The Winterhawks have been doing a number of clinics in the Portland area and also are holding a few in other outreaching areas of the state.
It’s part of the team’s focus on community involvement, Moss said. New owner Bill Gallacher, who took over the team last fall, and Doug Piper, the team’s president, changed the attitude of the organization, Moss said.
“They have instituted a new attitude about the Winterhawks role in the community,” he said. “This is an example of that. We’re going out there. We’re all over the state. It’s been refreshing.”
The team feels teaching floor hockey is a way to get kids active, battling child obesity and an increase in juvenile diabetes in Oregon, Moss said.
“Floor hockey is something that everybody can enjoy,” he said.
So far, team officials have noticed that no players seem to have a natural advantage, even if they are long-time athletes, and that younger players pick up the game quicker.
“It develops hand-eye coordination, and it develops a team perspective,” Moss said. “It also develops being physically active and having fun while doing it.”
So far, about 1,500 kids have taken part in clinics put on by the team.
The Winterhawks wanted to make a stop in Coos Bay as a way of thanking the local Boys & Girls Club officials for bringing a group of students up to a game in Portland every winter.
“The Boys & Girls Club has supported the Winterhawks by coming as a group once a year,” Moss said. “We wanted to return the favor.”
The Winterhawks Amateur Hockey Association is holding a floor hockey clinic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon.
Several members of the Portland Winterhawks, a minor league team, and several Division I women hockey players will be at the clinic, instructing children on techniques from 9 to 11 a.m. A tournament will be held from 1 to 3 p.m., said Jerry Moss, a Winterhawks official who is coordinating the event.
The cost is $3 and all boys and girls in grades 1 through 8 can participate.
“They will learn the same mechanics that we go over in training camp — stick handling, puck handling, passing and shooting and an overall strategy on the court and ice,” Moss said.
The Winterhawks have been doing a number of clinics in the Portland area and also are holding a few in other outreaching areas of the state.
It’s part of the team’s focus on community involvement, Moss said. New owner Bill Gallacher, who took over the team last fall, and Doug Piper, the team’s president, changed the attitude of the organization, Moss said.
“They have instituted a new attitude about the Winterhawks role in the community,” he said. “This is an example of that. We’re going out there. We’re all over the state. It’s been refreshing.”
The team feels teaching floor hockey is a way to get kids active, battling child obesity and an increase in juvenile diabetes in Oregon, Moss said.
“Floor hockey is something that everybody can enjoy,” he said.
So far, team officials have noticed that no players seem to have a natural advantage, even if they are long-time athletes, and that younger players pick up the game quicker.
“It develops hand-eye coordination, and it develops a team perspective,” Moss said. “It also develops being physically active and having fun while doing it.”
So far, about 1,500 kids have taken part in clinics put on by the team.
The Winterhawks wanted to make a stop in Coos Bay as a way of thanking the local Boys & Girls Club officials for bringing a group of students up to a game in Portland every winter.
“The Boys & Girls Club has supported the Winterhawks by coming as a group once a year,” Moss said. “We wanted to return the favor.”
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