Miners Overview

Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide elite youth hockey players the opportunity to develop advanced hockey skills in a program that places emphasis on sportsmanship, integrity, discipline, and character.  Our goals are as follows: To run the most ethical and honest Tier I hockey program in North America; to prepare as many players as possible to progress and succeed at higher levels of hockey; and to create positive lifelong hockey citizens who benefit tremendously from their time in the Miners organization.

Program
The Miners are the original Tier I hockey program in the Rocky Mountain District.  It is our goal every year to build teams that are competitive on a National scale.  When you make the commitment to the Miners program, you are committing yourself to excellence both on and off the ice.  Each individual on our coaching staff has made the commitment to teach our players the game of hockey to the best of our abilities.  Players, in turn, have the responsibility to perform to their potential every day.  Players must be willing to make this commitment to their teammates, their coaches, and themselves. 

Team comes first.  It is our goal as a staff to facilitate the growth and development of players so that they may realize their potential as hockey players and as human beings.  It is our job to teach a style of play which will maximize the success of each individual team.  Team success will breed individual success.  We will open doors for you and play an integral part in your development as a hockey player.  It is your responsibility to accept challenges as they arise and become a student of the game.  You need only to look at Miners alumni to see that we are committed to helping our players move forward in their hockey careers.  We currently have former Miners playing professional hockey in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL; and countless others playing in nearly every NCAA and Junior A hockey league in North America.

On Ice Training
Practices will focus on skill development and game awareness.  None of our coaches are big believers in “systems” hockey.  Any coach can teach you where to stand on the ice and how to trap a team in their defensive zone after dumping the puck in.  Our goal is to teach concepts that will prepare our players to perform well on any team, in any system, in any league they graduate to after playing Midget AAA hockey.  In addition to improving individual skills, such as passing, shooting, skating, etc., we will teach real game skills such as anticipation, reading and reacting, and how to play the game with and without the puck.  We want to create free-thinking, creative, adaptable hockey players who are prepared to thrive at the next level.  

Off Ice Training
Our teams workout at the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the premier human performance center in the world.  Our Bantam AAA team is at the NSCA once per week while our U16 and U18 teams are in the NSCA twice per week.  In addition, each individual coaching staff is responsible for facilitating a minimum of 1 additional off ice session per week.  These sessions may include stickhandling, endurance, shooting, video, chalk-talk, and any teambuilding exercises that the coach feels is appropriate at any given time throughout the season.  We pride ourselves on being well-conditioned hockey teams.  Many of our alumni who have made the jump to Junior A hockey have reported that our off-ice training program, and the NSCA training in particular, is equal to or more rigorous than that of their Junior team.  For more info on the NSCA, please click here:  www.nsca-lift.org

Training For Life
Hard work is the cornerstone to the Miners program.  You will not play for more demanding coaches at your given age group.  At the same time, you will not play for a coaching staff that cares more about our players’ development both on and off the ice.  “A second class citizen can never be a first class hockey player.”  Our coaching staff recognizes that we have the opportunity to make a significant impression on our players throughout the course of a season, and this is a responsibility that we do not take lightly.