From the team

What: Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis and Director of Fan Development Brian Bradley will run a youth hockey clinic as part of USA Hockey’s American Development Model program in conjunction with the Lightning.  St. Louis will spend one hour on the ice with youth hockey players followed by a question and answer session.
 
When: Sunday, October 25, 2009 from 2-4 p.m.
 
Where: The St. Pete Times Forum; Media should park in the Forum East Lot and enter through Gate D.
 
Who: St. Louis, Bradley, USA Hockey Regional Managers Roger Grillo and Scott Paluch, and Kevin Erlenbach from USA Hockey Member Services as well as 60 youth hockey players from the Tampa Bay Area.

About USA Hockey’s American Development Model: For starters, many athletes spend too much time traveling, competing and recovering from competition and not enough time preparing for it. Second, there is too heavy a focus on the result rather than the performance. This attitude leads to long-term failure, as coaches forgo the development of skills to focus on specific game tactics. And third, too many athletes are specializing too early on. An early focus on just one or two sports often leads to injuries, burnout and capping athletic potential.

This way of thinking has led to 60% of players dropping out before PeeWees and 20% dropping out after only one season leading to an overall decline in retention since 2000.
 
The American Development Model is a nationwide model for successfully developing American hockey players. It is by no means a mandate sent from USA Hockey, but a tool that will ensure every kid will have the same chance to succeed.
 
By implementing ADM, associations will see an increase in player retention. Again, ADM is not a set of rules or mandates, but guidelines designed specifically to help kids reach their full potential.