On September 7-9, Minnesota Hockey and USA Hockey hosted over 90 coaches, hockey directors and player development leaders in Plymouth, MN for the 2018 Hockey Director Conference.
Designed to provide training and best practices for executing world class youth hockey skill development programs, the conference featured presentations, on-ice demonstrations, small group and panel discussion on a variety of subjects.
“The conference provided a unique opportunity for our association player development leaders to learn the latest in development principles and concepts from experts,” said Minnesota Hockey President Dave Margenau.
USA Hockey ADM Regional Manager for Minnesota, Guy Gosselin, took it one step further.
“It was really an awesome event,” emphasized Gosselin. “Not only did we have great presenters, but there was great ideas and interaction coming from the participants too. It’s exciting because everyone there showed a passion for the game and a desire to learn more about doing the right things for kids.”
Here are a few highlights and concepts from the weekend:
“Now, attendees are tasked with the challenge of applying what they learned to improve upon their association’s player development programming,” said Margenau. “Minnesota Hockey was excited to announce the Minnesota Model Association Program during the conference to help associations accomplish that goal. This new program will recognize and reward associations for putting into practice the elements of the Minnesota Development Model.”
Additional details on the Minnesota Model Association Program will be announced publicly in the coming weeks.
“People should be excited about what we’re doing and implementing for player and coach development,” said Gosselin. “Minnesota is a special place to grow up playing hockey, and events like this keep moving the ball forward.”