The Eden Prairie Hockey Association (EPHA) is pleased to announce the completion of Phase I of a state of the art dryland training area at the Eden Prairie Community Center.  The construction of the training area was fully financed by a grant from TRIA Orthopeadic Center and gifted to the City of Eden Prairie by the EPHA.

Designed by Becker Arena Products of Savage, MN, Phase I of the training area includes a mini-rink for stick handling, passing and positional coaching and four enclosed puck shooting lanes.  There is an area for stretching and “Russian Boxes” for strength training. A Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting was held on February 11th during the Eden Prairie HS Boys hockey game vs Hopkins HS, where over 200 EPHA players, parents, City of Eden Prairie officials and representatives from TRIA Orthopaedic Center launched the training area.

John Wiedman, EPHA Board Member and Dryland Project Manager, stated, “We’re very excited to be able to provide this facility to our athletes as a way to improve their skills and success on the ice.  When our kids have more confidence in their ability, the more fun they experience while playing a great game, which is why we’re here.”  He added, “To be able to do this in cooperation with TRIA and the City of Eden Prairie makes it even more gratifying by building a special public/private partnership.”

“Beyond providing orthopaedic and sports medicine coverage to our local communities, we strive to develop strong relationships throughout our communities,” said Dr. Alan Markman, orthopaedic surgeon at TRIA Orthopaedic Center. “Partnering with the Eden Prairie Hockey Association provided TRIA an opportunity to engage with youth hockey through educational programming for athletes, parents, and coaches and build the new dryland training facility to keep kids active and safe while participating.  It’s been a great partnership and we look forward to many more years in Eden Prairie.”

Valerie Verley, Eden Prairie Community Center Manager added, “The Eden Prairie Community Center is thrilled about the addition of the hockey dryland training area within our facility! We appreciate the great partnership between our organization, EPHA, TRIA, and all involved parties that came together to make this project a reality. The dryland area not only adds great value and benefit to our facility, but even more importantly to the youth of Eden Prairie.”

As part of the agreement to fund Phase I of the facility, TRIA is providing a number of services to the EPHA.  Phase II is in the planning stages with completion targeted for the 2017 season.