Kirkwood Youth Hockey Association (KYHA) launched the 2012-13 youth hockey season with its inaugural Icebreaker Weekend on Sept 8th and 9th, demonstrating their leadership in adoption of USA Hockey’s American Development Model (ADM) - a system designed to help players achieve their fullest potential by focusing on age-appropriate skill mastery instead of wins/losses.
Over the weekend, KYHA provided its 15 teams four hours of on-ice practice & dryland training, as well as nutrition, conditioning & film instruction to showcase innovative training methods. The weekend culminated with an all-club picnic in Kirkwood Park.
Special guest speaker, St. Louis Blues strength and conditioning coach Nelson Ayotte, talked to the young players, ranging in ages from six to fourteen, about how the Blues incorporate daily nutrition and fitness programs into their training regimen.
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“In addition to being a ton of fun for the kids, KYHA’s Icebreaker Weekend helped our teams begin the season with some great instruction and it was an awesome way for our families to see the various ADM training components in action,” said KYHA coaching director John Luetkemeyer.
In 2013 it is Kirkwood's goal to be USA Hockey's first ADM-certified organization in the Midwest. This long-term athletic development model is considered the future of successful youth sports and, according to Luetkemeyer, Kirkwood is “proud to be helping break new ground through its innovative approach.”