Welcome Back, Natick Comets!
Welcome Back, Natick Comets!
The wait is over—the new Natick Comets youth hockey season is here, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead! After a summer filled with sunshine, family time, vacations, camps, and plenty of fun away from the rink, it’s time to start getting back into hockey mode. Our players have also had some great opportunities to get back on the ice, brush up on their skills, shake off the summer rust, and build some momentum before the season officially gets underway. Now, with the puck about to drop, we’re looking forward to an exciting season filled with growth, teamwork, development, and plenty of great memories. And as the season rolls on, it’s only going to get bigger and better.
Let’s drop the puck and get started, Comets!
What Looks Different This Year
You'll notice that our program structure is built around each player's desire to get better, rather than binding them exclusively to a travel team "silo" placement. Players will still have the same access to travel team practices while being offered a wide variety of additional on-ice development opportunities throughout the season, including mixed-age/ability sessions, controlled scrimmages, and other training environments. Players are now in the driver's seat and can participate in the experiences that best match their stage of development, their schedules, and their desire to improve.
What Does This Mean for Ice Time?
It is MUCH more than prior years. Players will still have designated travel team practices all season, but there will be many supplemental sheets where players can get MORE ice if they would like:
Weekly Free Girls Development Sheets for any girl on any of our coed or girls teams (Sign up HERE)
Friday night "Development League" all season
Multiple hours of Goalie clinics per week
September Tactical Clinic: Defensive Habits and Details! (12U and older)
LTP/Meteor/Mite Jamborees (sign-up coming soon!)
FREE Weekly "Comet Mom" practices (SIGN UP OPEN)
AND MORE
Bottom line: We will keep the players buzzing at all practices, and we will have multiple options to keep the rink rats fed. Your Minnesota peers are getting 5-10 hours of ice time per week, and we will have a program structure that allows kids to get on the ice far more than in year's past. We want EVERY Comet to be able to develop at their maximum rate regardless of current ability or experience. If your player wants 5+ hours of ice time per week...reach out to our In-House Director Scott Kleekamp and we will do our best to find ways to make that happen.
Why Does It Look Different?
The Comet's are dedicated to giving our members the maximum opportunity to develop over time, giving flexible options to suit many different needs, and delivering the best value for their membership dues. We have learned from prior year member surveys (thank you for your feedback!), as well as from more successful town and club programs around us. We are dedicated to closing the gaps between how we used to operate and how best-in-class USA Hockey affiliates operate.
The biggest takeaways we've learned are this:
Nothing beats quality time on ice. Our new program structure will deliver FAR more ice to our players than ever before. With far less travel time and cost per skate. Players don't develop unless they are getting thousands of quality reps all year.
Practice philosophy, coach coordination, and curriculum are really important. This is how players learn habits, communication, and how to play together. You will see far more coach collaboration and coach education in the past. Our best and most engaged coaches will be taking more of a lead role in program design so that ALL players, regardless of where they are at now, will benefit from our best coaching resources.
Every player needs LOTS of diverse ice environments. Small-area games create more decisions and more puck touches. Mixed-ability groups challenge players in different ways than same-ability practices by allowing for overloading and underloading. Scrimmages allow players to apply skills in high pace, game-like situations without the fear of being yelled at by adults and "making mistakes". Each of these on-ice environments develops a different part of the player that they will need of they aspire to ever play the game at the MIAA Varsity level or beyond.
Families Need More Options To Fit Busy Schedules: Families will be able to take part in an enhanced structure that gives every Comet the opportunity to follow a better development path while allowing each family to decide how much and when they want to participate. This will minimize schedule conflicts due to other outside commitments.
How Are Team Practices Handled?
Travel teams are still our core offering, and they will continue to practice together. Team identity, chemistry, systems, and preparing for games remains a primary part of the Comet experience. The difference is that team practices are no longer expected to accomplish everything. They become one piece of a much larger development model instead of carrying the entire workload.
We all know that players develop and mature at different rates. Sometimes a player has a summer growth spurt. Sometimes they are a late-birth year 7th or 9th grader and would benefit from occasionally playing with their grade level peers instead of ONLY playing with kids 1 and 2 grades ahead. Our revised format prevents players from being trapped in a narrow team silo all season when they are hungry and capable for more. Every family will have many options that they can choose from to build a path that best suits their developing child.
How Does This Program Design Benefit Players?
One of the biggest advantages is simply more engagement. Instead of standing in lines or waiting for repetitions for a choreographed drill, players will spend more time skating, making decisions, handling the puck, and competing. More touches, more repetitions, and more decisions lead to faster learning.
Equally important, players will gain access to training environments they normally wouldn't experience. Skating with different teammates, different ages, and different ability levels will expose them to new challenges and accelerate their growth. They will also meet more of their peers than ever before.
Bottom line: Long Term Development is about consistently putting players in the right environment for the skill you're trying to develop. That's the philosophy behind our new structure, and it's the direction we're excited to take the Comets.
I would like to get on ice and help kids get better. How do I do that?
Please reach out to Teddy Efstathiou, our Coaching Director (teddy.efstathiou@natickcomets.com) and he will help you get certified to be a USA Hockey Coach so you can help the kids.
I would like to help off the ice so the Comets can continue to help kids get better. How do I do that?
Please reach out to Kate Dukat, our Director of Parent Coordinators (kate.dukat@natickcomets.com) and she will help you find a role where your strengths can be put to work!
I have questions on how this format will affect my child. Who do I talk to?
Please reach out to Scott Kleekamp, or Director of In-House Programming (cell: 617-827-7197, email: scott.kleekamp@natickcomets.com)
Check natickcomets.com often for new updates, events, and program releases!