Before you come to the clinic, you should have a basic knowledge of skating skills. The skills are roughly what you would get having played organized hockey for at least one year. You should skate at least once within a week of the clinic start date. This will help ensure your equipment fits and help you regain your balance if you have been off the ice for a while. Get a good night’s sleep before the clinic, and arrive early to get familiar with the surroundings and relax. These will aid in the learning process.
Laura Stamm clinics focus on technique instruction and skill development. We strive to teach the players how to skate more effectively and more efficiently. We do this first by slowing the players down, teaching each technique in detail, and then bringing them back up to speed in a progressive format. The skills are usually presented in a general manner, then broken down into their component parts for more detailed study.
The most important part of the clinic is the discussion the instructor has with the class on how and why we do each skating technique. If the player develops a firm grasp of the concepts behind each technique, they can practice these whenever they are on the ice until they become second nature.
The player’s focus should be on learning to do each technique correctly, not on beating the other players in a race or getting a good workout. A tired skater is more likely to use incorrect technique and is more prone to injuries.
Every hockey clinic you go to will have players of differing skill levels. Do not try to compare yourself to anyone else on the ice. Rather look to improve your own abilities.
How do you get the greatest benefit out of a class? If you are a beginning skater, you should focus on the general concepts of each technique. Practice the technique at a slower pace until you gain an understanding of how and why you are doing that particular technique.
The advanced skater should focus on the details of each technique presented. Practice doing each technique perfectly. Then can you do it without thinking about it? Then add a level of difficulty. Do this until each technique becomes second nature. When you get the move down cold, ask the instructor what you can do to improve it. Don’t be surprised if they say you need to work more on the basics. The exact same thing the beginning skater is working on only in more detail. With the proper attitude, everyone can benefit from skill instruction, or review, in all hockey clinics.
Feel free to discuss your player’s development with our staff during off-ice free time, usually before or after the daily session.
All Classes require FULL HOCKEY/RINGETTE GAME GEAR & STICK. Referees can wear their game gear or player gear as they prefer. Goalies may mix and match player and goalie gear and stick as they desire. Coaches and other adult non-game attendees either need to wear player gear for the clinic or contact us for allowable options. The instructor has the final say in who is allowed on the ice. A HELMET IS MANDATORY FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS.
Once you’ve determined which clinic and class you’d like to participate in, our registration system will ask you to create an account and a skater profile if you haven’t already before you can add that class to your cart. You can add multiple participants and/or multiple classes to your cart before checking out.
At checkout, you will be given payment options, including options to pay over time, and asked to read and sign the waiver. Once registration is complete, you’ll receive a confirmation email with the details of your order.
Two weeks before the clinic you will receive a reminder email which will include information about the date, time, location, what to wear/bring, and any special notes that we have at this time. Any updated information will be reflected in this email.
If anything changes after you register for the clinic, due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather, class/clinic cancellation, date/time or location changes, etc. We will send a notification email to everyone who has registered with the details of this update as well as update the information on the website and social media. Please make sure that you receive your order confirmation email and/or check the website before the clinic to make sure you have the most up-to-date information.
If a change happens to your class that prevents you from attending please let us know as soon as you can and consult our refund policy
All Classes require FULL HOCKEY/RINGETTE GAME GEAR & STICK. Referees can wear their game gear or player gear as they prefer. Goalies may mix and match player and goalie gear and stick as they desire. Coaches and other adult non-game attendees either need to wear player gear for the clinic or contact us for allowable options. The instructor has the final say in who is allowed on the ice. A HELMET IS MANDATORY FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS.
About an hour before the first session, an instructor will be available at a table in the rink to check the skaters in. Skaters will receive a name tag, be checked into our system, directed to the locker room(s), which ice sheet, and we will point out when/where the pre-ice meeting will take place. Be sure to arrive with enough time to get dressed in full equipment with a stick (hockey or ringette) before the pre-ice meeting. (Goalies, referees, and coaches see details)
The pre-ice meeting is for parents and skaters and will introduce the instruction team, explain a bit about their experience with the system, go over any specific notes for this class (e.g. ice resurface times, breaks, etc.), and answer questions.
All sessions begin with a warm-up that includes balance and edge exercises so that learning begins right away. We then proceed to a review followed by the topics for this session. Towards the end of the final session, we will perform an evaluation/skills test that all skaters will participate in.
Note: Pucks are only used in the elite class and instruction takes place on the ice.
During the evaluation, the instructor will monitor the skater’s performance and determine their current skill level along with a couple of items to focus on. Don’t be overly concerned with the performance during the evaluation itself. The instructors are watching the entire clinic and will have a pretty good idea of where everyone is ahead of the evaluation. After the clinic ends, please meet the instructor at the table to receive the patches for your rank, discuss what techniques and drills to focus on before the next clinic, and get a recommendation for which class you should take next in your progression.
Please be aware that we take photos at these clinics for posting on social media. By default, we do not name or tag any participants. However, if you’d like a shout-out or to be tagged you can request this in the follow-up email/survey we send after the clinic.
After the clinic, you will receive a follow-up email with some notes, an opportunity to request a shout-out or tagging in social media, and a survey.
Please remember that learning and improving these techniques does not stop at the end of the clinic.
In most cases, we recommend that you participate in 1 hockey clinic each year. For competitive athletes who want to progress as fast as possible, more classes can be beneficial if they are spread out and time is dedicated to practicing drills and techniques between clinics. The instructor can help with recommendations specific to each player at the discussion after the clinic for when and what to take next.
This is the best way to progress through the ranks and become an Elite Skater!
Our assistants and our instructors come from participants in our programs. If you’ve attended a few times, achieved a high skating rank, and/or are interested in becoming an assistant or instructor please reach out to us.
