skip navigation

Shooting for the Stars in Northeast Metro

By Minnesota Hockey, 07/15/15, 4:00PM CDT

Share

With the recent success of Hill-Murray, including back-to-back Class AA State titles and the emergence of Lee Stecklein (Roseville) and Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights) as world class players, the north metro is gaining a reputation as a hotbed of talent in girls’ hockey.

Looking to carve out their own place among the north metro’s top programs, three years ago Tartan Area Youth Hockey Association (TAYHA) initiated a complete makeover for their girls’ hockey program. The changes centered primarily on putting a renewed focus on growth, enhancing hockey development, creating a more invigorating hockey environment and promoting girls’ hockey in their community.

Rebranded as the Northeast Metro Stars, the association's program is now the recipient of USA Hockey’s Female Honors Award for the Minnesota District. The annual award, which is designed to recognize hockey associations that are leaders in growth, development and promotion of girls’ hockey, was announced at the 2015 Minnesota Hockey Summer Board Meeting.

“When Tartan and North St. Paul combined their girls program into the Northeast Metro Stars, they implemented a comprehensive plan with goal of really placing an emphasis on girls’ hockey in their communities,” said Doug Foster, USA Hockey’s Girls’/Women’s Hockey Representative for the Minnesota District. “Seeing the changes that have been taking place in the area, there’s no doubt their plan is starting to show dividends.”

The improvements the association has made have come in a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from an overhaul of their development philosophy to the addition of recruiting events like Try Hockey for Free Day and a pre-season hockey carnival.

“Our annual Girls Hockey Day was a huge hit,” said TAYHA Girls Director, Mark Herzog.  “All of our teams play a home game that day.  The stands are full all day long with parents, grandparents, friends, etc. as we celebrate Girls Hockey.”

Key changes have also included smaller team sizes, higher quality coaching, more formal goalie instruction and strict adherence to a number of ADM principles such as practice-to-game ratios, travel limits and more small area games. Perhaps most importantly, the association instituted season kick off meetings with parents at every age level to educate them on why these changes were going into effect and the positive impact they would have on their kids’ hockey experience.

With three teams making it to Regions in 2015, the Northeast Metro Stars have already started experiencing the benefits of their adjustments in relation to skill development.

“Over the past three years, our girls’ hockey program has taken significant steps forward,” said Herzog. “We feel our players are having more fun than ever, developing at a higher rate and are more competitive overall.”

With the noticeable boost of overall awareness and excitement around their girls’ hockey program throughout the community, TAYHA leaders are looking forward to seeing even more girls join hockey in the coming years. 

Most Popular

With the recent success of Hill-Murray, including back-to-back Class AA State titles and the emergence of Lee Stecklein (Roseville) and Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights) as world class players, the north metro is gaining a reputation as a hotbed of talent in girls’ hockey.

Looking to carve out their own place among the north metro’s top programs, three years ago Tartan Area Youth Hockey Association (TAYHA) initiated a complete makeover for their girls’ hockey program. The changes centered primarily on putting a renewed focus on growth, enhancing hockey development, creating a more invigorating hockey environment and promoting girls’ hockey in their community.

Rebranded as the Northeast Metro Stars, the association's program is now the recipient of USA Hockey’s Female Honors Award for the Minnesota District. The annual award, which is designed to recognize hockey associations that are leaders in growth, development and promotion of girls’ hockey, was announced at the 2015 Minnesota Hockey Summer Board Meeting.

“When Tartan and North St. Paul combined their girls program into the Northeast Metro Stars, they implemented a comprehensive plan with goal of really placing an emphasis on girls’ hockey in their communities,” said Doug Foster, USA Hockey’s Girls’/Women’s Hockey Representative for the Minnesota District. “Seeing the changes that have been taking place in the area, there’s no doubt their plan is starting to show dividends.”

The improvements the association has made have come in a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from an overhaul of their development philosophy to the addition of recruiting events like Try Hockey for Free Day and a pre-season hockey carnival.

“Our annual Girls Hockey Day was a huge hit,” said TAYHA Girls Director, Mark Herzog.  “All of our teams play a home game that day.  The stands are full all day long with parents, grandparents, friends, etc. as we celebrate Girls Hockey.”

Key changes have also included smaller team sizes, higher quality coaching, more formal goalie instruction and strict adherence to a number of ADM principles such as practice-to-game ratios, travel limits and more small area games. Perhaps most importantly, the association instituted season kick off meetings with parents at every age level to educate them on why these changes were going into effect and the positive impact they would have on their kids’ hockey experience.

With three teams making it to Regions in 2015, the Northeast Metro Stars have already started experiencing the benefits of their adjustments in relation to skill development.

“Over the past three years, our girls’ hockey program has taken significant steps forward,” said Herzog. “We feel our players are having more fun than ever, developing at a higher rate and are more competitive overall.”

With the noticeable boost of overall awareness and excitement around their girls’ hockey program throughout the community, TAYHA leaders are looking forward to seeing even more girls join hockey in the coming years. 

Most Popular