Practice Summary - September 26, 2026

Despite the threat of a severe nor'easter, the Dare Devils came out in droves today for our third practice of the season. Fortunately, our coaches also came out in full force. This season, we have more players on the team than we have had in years, so we are extremely lucky that we have so many committed coaches to accommodate the influx of new players. As a result of having so many players, we will be enforcing a split practice format. Learn-to-skate players will be on the ice from 9:00-9:45am. If a player is not a learn-to-skate participant, they will not be allowed on the ice until 9:45, unless they have a parent who is also a coach on the ice during the first session. We appreciate everyone's understanding and assistance in complying with this policy. If we see our learn-to-skate attendance decreasing, we reserve the right to adjust this policy for future practices.

Today, as usual, we started with our learn-to-skate session, and it has been great to see so many players progress so beautifully during the first weeks of the season. Our junior coaches really went out of their way to work with our newest skaters to show them the basics of maneuvering around on the ice. Thank you coaches Carmine, Alex, Asher and everyone else for your dedication.

We have several senior coaches who do not have children on the team, including Head Coach Myles Mitchell, Coach Joe Keenan, Coach Eric Zlotnick and Coach Steve Toledo. Their contributions are a major reason why we are able to continue to allow new players to join the team. In addition to leading the charge in running the drills during the advanced portion of practice, they often put in significant work with our neediest learn-to-skate players. Over the years, it has been inspiring to see them take so many kids that have never been on the ice before and turn them into competent hockey players over the course of a season. We'd also like to acknowledge the efforts put in by our junior coaches. Most are high school students who could be doing many other things on a Saturday morning, but they have thankfully decided to volunteer with our program. Thank you, coaches! Your efforts not only benefit the players, but they give so many families the joy of being hockey parents. 

After learn-to-skate, the advanced players made their way onto the ice, where Coach Myles led them through power skating drills and station drills. The players were dripping in sweat at the conclusion of practice so it looks like the team is just about in tip top shape for our upcoming Frankenfest Tournament (10/10/26 to 10/11/26).

During practice, Ms. Grace and Mike Silverstein led a parent q&a session for some of our new participants. Thank you, Grace and Mike! We hope this was helpful for some of the new families. 

Our esteemed Captain, Ryan Griffin, has contributed a new "Captain's Corner" post. It can be found by clicking this link. Thank you, Cap!

Lastly, as referenced earlier, our Frankenfest Tournament is coming up (October 11th & 12th). We are still looking for volunteers to assist with various functions throughout the weekend. If you are able and willing, please consider signing up to volunteer using this link.