Erie Icemen Organizational Philosophy

The Erie Icemen organization was established in 2006 to offer a unique opportunity to young hockey players and their families in the Erie County region. The focus of this program is the development of the athlete’s skills both as a player and a person. Only 1 in 5,000 hockey players in the United States have the opportunity to play at a professional level. Based on this our goal is to provide a positive learning environment that enhances the importance of teamwork, sportsmanship and discipline. Skills that we believe will be of value long after these players leave the arena to deal with the rigors of life.

We believe players only improve by playing the game. Therefore our coach’s work under an 85 -15 rule. We strive to have equal ice time eighty-five percent of the time and provide the coach with limited flexibility to meet the varied demands of each game for the balance of the time. To those who doubt that you can be competitive under such a format you only need to look at our game results over the past two seasons to validate our philosophy.

Finally, we believe the families are an integral part of the process in the association. We encourage their involvement and communication. The organization can only develop and improve by listening to its members. We believe this is about the player’s long term development physically and emotionally and that the great game of hockey is the vehicle to facilitate it

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