Belfast Giants Junior Development…

Posted on Monday, May 4th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

As General Manager of The Belfast Giants I would like to assure parents, current players, former players and prospective players that the Belfast Giants Junior Development Programme will be continuing under the control of the Giants Organization and the Committee put in place to run the off ice affairs of the Junior Giants Development Programme.

The Giants Assistant Coach Rob Stewart will be in charge of the Belfast Giants Junior Development Programme and will be assisted by Steven Ewen (as Assistant Coach) and by former and current Giants players.

Rob has coached at the highest levels in the UK and has been coaching Junior Hockey throughout his 20 years of service in UK Ice Hockey. Rob, along with his assistant coach Steven, will bring fresh coaching ideas and loads of experience to the programme. Rob and Steven will have complete control of the on ice training sessions to ensure the highest quality coaching available and more importantly that all the kids have fun.

There are some changes to sessions, starting by increasing our Learn To Play Programme to 2 hours per week, incorporating a Goalie Training session, a 16 to 20s Giants Development Camp and an in-house recreational team.

The development camp will give the Giants the opportunity to train players to eventually get a chance with the Belfast Giants. Rob will be making sure these training sessions are intense and highly competitive. Our aim is to eventually develop some local talent to become mainstays with the Giants, just like Graeme Walton and Mark Morrison have done.

There are a number of kits available to use should new members wish to try out this sport or get back into it after some time off. Most of these kits are for kids aged between 8 to 13. It is advised that if you need kit, please arrange this with one of the Junior Giants Committee by calling the Junior Giants contact number (below) prior to your training session to ensure you benefit from all the time on the ice.

If you wish to book a place on the Learn To Play programme, please contact The Junior Giants on the Junior Giants mobile number – 07799 346592.

If you have never played before, you need to attend the Learn To Play Sessions before advancing to one of the age groups for team training.

Training times are as follows:

Learn To Play – Tuesday – 6:15pm – 7:15pm
U10s U12s U14s – Wednesday – 6:15pm – 7:15pm
Recreational Hockey 16+ – Wednesday – 10:15pm – 11:30pm
Goalie Training – Friday – 10:15pm – 11:30pm
16s-20s Development Camp – Friday – 10:15pm – 11:30pm
Learn To Play – Sunday – 4:45pm – 5:45pm
U10s U12s – Sunday – 5:45pm -6:45pm
U14s U16s – Sunday – 6:45pm – 7:45pm

*Please note training times on a Sunday are subject to change if there are hockey matches, updates on matches can be found here or on www.juniorbelfastgiants.com
Finally, I want to stress that the Junior Giants have an open door policy. If any player wants to return to ice hockey, even just to give it a go, they are always welcome. New members are always welcome as are any players that are training with other clubs, either down South or in Northern Ireland.

No players will ever be banned for training with another club, and from now on, the Junior Giants exist solely for the ice hockey players that want to enjoy the sport, maintain a mutual respect for everyone on the ice, and most of all to have fun. There are issues surrounding insurance and ice time costs, but as long as players are willing to pay their way and can adhere to the rules put in place, they will always be welcome.

The Giants have built their organization on one simple message – In The Land Of The Giants, Everyone is Equal – and that message will be the motto of the Junior Belfast Giants from here on in. I also want to add a new motto for the Junior Giants going forward…

Learn the Game, Love the Game…

For far too long, junior hockey has gone in cycles of coming together, disagreements and then breaking apart. I want every ice hockey player in Northern Ireland – young, old, new or former players – to remember that the Belfast Giants want our sport to grow, not for our own benefit, but because everyone playing this great sport deserves to have something they can do every week that brings a smile to their face, that is great exercise, and that is fun to be a part of. No drama, no off ice issues, just purely for the love of a great game.

There will be more information available on the new plans going forward over the next week, but rest assured that we are very committed to making this work.

Todd Kelman
General Manager
Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club