May's Goalies of the Month-Our Pre-Tryout Program Award Winners:

Most Improved - Mitchell  D.                                                  Mitchell worked hard throughout the 8 week program. We were able to improve on some weaknesses in his game to help him become a more well rounded goaltender. Mitchell has come a long way in a short period of time. He is understanding the importance of focusing on getting better at one skill each time he is on the ice. Intensity and focus will help continue his development. We are pleased with his improvement and he received the Most Improved Trophy for his efforts during the camp. Congrats!

Honorable Mention -Ryan F.

Best Attitude - Spencer K.                                                               Spencer showed up to all of our on-ice and off-ice training sessions with a winners attitude. He brings a certain amount of enthusiasm to our training sessions that helps all of our goalies. He was  a great leader over the 8 weeks of training and I know the younger goalies look up to the way he conducts himself during our training. Old School Goal School would like to thank Spencer for being a model student during camp and congratulations on receiving the Best Attitude Trophy!

Honorable Mention - Adam W.

Hardest Worker - John A.                                                               John did an amazing job of showing up ready to work for each and every trainin session. He is an intense competitor and when he puts his mask on its time to go to work. John has a passion to outwork his competition. He understands the importance of working hard and having a good attitude. I have always said you can control a few things each and every time you train and how hard you work is definitely at the top of the list. Old School Goal School would like to thank John for his efforts and congratulate him on earning the Hardest Worker Trophy!

Honorable Mention - TJ D.

April's Goalies of the Month-Michael B. and Bryan H.!

Old School Goal School is proud to announce that Michael B. and Bryan H. have been named April Goalies of the Month! Bryan and Michael just finished the most successful season in Jr. Checkers history. These two fine young men backstopped the team to a first ever Tier II National Championship! They put the 18U Jr. Checkers on the map and we are proud to have been working with each of them consistently throughout the last three seasons.

Throughout the season both goalies competed against each other and pushed each other in every practice to prepare themselves for the ultimate goal of winning gold at the National Championships. These two guys have a mutual respect for one another and compliment each other perfectly. They understand the importance of supporting the guy who is called upon to start, each guy knew his role throughout the season and they worked great together.

"It was never about (I) with these two guys, it was always about (us) and how they could help the team win," Coach Brian commented. "I never heard one of them say a negative comment about the other guy throughout the whole season. In order to win a championship you have to have the right people who will battle for each other and at the end of the day they are willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win."

Old School Goal School is proud to be a part of their Championship season and wish them both the best of luck in upcoming tryouts and future decisions! You guys are both very talented and represent our program really well!

March's Goalie of the Month-Chris A.!

Chris and his family moved to the Charlotte area last summer. Old School Goal School has been fortunate to become their goalie coach. Chris participated in our summer camp, Pre-Season program, many private lessons and all the work we did with the Jr. Checkers organization.

"He has already established his own style and uses it very effectively. He is at the point where we are able to skip past some of the fundamentals and work on tweaking and improving minor pieces of his game," Coach Brian stated. "Chris is a very talented young man and he is an elite goalie for his age."

Growing up with three older brothers and one of them being a goalie, Chris has had to compete with and against them throughout his young playing career. Competition breeds champions and with his strong work ethic, I expect his development to continue at a rapid pace.

Chris played this past season with the Pee Wee AA Charlotte Jr. Checkers. They had a great season and experienced strong goaltending throughout the year. Chris is currently participating in our 8-week Pre-Tryout Program. We look forward to the opportunity to help Chris develop further into a premiere goaltender in the future! 

February's Goalie of the Month-Wes S.!

Wes has been training with Old School Goal School since December of 2011. He has completed many programs throughout that time and most recently our weekly skills and drills. We look forward to him being a part of our Pre-Tryout Program starting in April.

Wes has a great desire to learn the position and has worked extremely hard on developing a solid foundation to his style. Some of his strengths are his lateral movement and his recovery. We still have work to do on each individual skill, but he has come a long way in a relatively short period of time.

"Wes is a great little athlete. He moves really well in our off-ice training sessions. This will be important and evident in his continued development of the position," commented Coach Brian. "The other thing that I love about Wes is that he always has a smile on his face during our training sessions. He is such a hapy kid and with an attitude like his, his future will be bright!"

This past year Wes played on house squirt teams, as well as Squirt Select. I know he is looking forward to tryouts in June and we are looking forward to making sure he is prepared to shine during the evaluation. We would like to thank Wes and his family for their continued support of Old School Goal School and look forward to our relationship in the future.

January's Goalie of the Month-Dan Ellis!

Old School Goal School would like to recognize Dan Ellis as January's Goalie of the Month. Coach Brian was Dan's backup in college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha from 2000-2003. Coach Brian has never been Dan's goalie coach, but over the years following Dan's career, Coach Brian has been able to learn new techniques from watching Dan's professional development. 

"I feel like I know Dan’s game as well as anyone," Coach Brian commented. "Heck I watched him play throughout most of my college career and now his professional career." 

The 2012 NHL lockout led Dan to play in Charlotte for the AHL team the Charlotte Checkers. He took a professional approach to playing in the AHL and knew this could be his chance to prove he was healthy and could still play at the highest level in hockey. When the NHL lockout ended, Dan signed a contract with The Carolina Hurricanes. He has been amazing for the Hurricanes, he currently ranks 5 th in the league for goals against average at 1.74 and ranks 2nd in the league for save percentage at .943 as of 2-18-13. He understands his position on the team and when he is called on to play he has gotten the job done.

One of the highlights for Coach Brian of when he was playing in Charlotte is when Dan volunteered his time to join Coach Brian for an evening of JR Checkers goalie skills and drills on the puddle at Extreme Ice Center. He stepped right in and helped the Charlotte Jr. Checkers goalies work through Coach Brian’s drills for the night. "He made the kids feel special that night, and helped assure me by listening to him coach the kids that Old School Goal School is on track with what we are teaching," Coach Brian stated.

Dan has had an impressive career in the National Hockey League but what stands out about him more than anything is his character. He is an unbelievable role model for our young goalies and it is an honor to have played with him and still get watch him play in the NHL. I always joke with him that back in college their were a few games that our coach thought we had a better chance of winning with me in the net! My real job back then was to work hard and try to push him in practice to help prepare him for games. Old School Goal School would like to Wish Dan and the Carolina Hurricanes the best of luck the rest of the season!

December's Goalie of the Month-Colin R.!

Colin has been training with Old School Goal School for a couple of years now through the Jr. Checkers goalie program. Coach Brian visited team practices the first part of the year along with a weekly goalie skills and drills session. Colin is now attending weekly skill development sessions on the puddle.

Colin came to Old School Goal School with a good foundation of the position. He is definitely a butterfly goalie who is very athletic in his play. He studies the position and has a good hockey awareness and often sees the play develop, which helps him make the big saves.

"His lateral movement is really sharp but what impresses me the most is his movement on the ice. His butterfly shuffle is a huge strength in his overall game," Coach Brian stated. "We have been tweaking on a few small pieces of his game and he has responded well with the extra effort."

Colin is currently playing on the Jr. Checkers Bantam A team. He actually lives in Greenville, South Carolina and travels to Charlotte a few days a week for practice and games. This shows his tremendous amount of commitment to the Jr. Checkers organization and his teammates. We would like to wish him the best of luck the rest of the season and look forward to working together in the future!  

November's Goalie of the Month-Gavin K.!

Gavin has been training with Old School Goal School for 1 year. He currently sees Coach Brian every Wednesday night at the Jr. Checkers goalie skills and drills. Coach Brian also visits his team practice every other week to monitor progress, give feedback and help form good habits.

October's Goalie of the Month-Matt!

Matt has been training with Old School Goal School for a little over a year. He has been attending private lessons this season to up his game. Matt also works with Coach Brian every Wednesday night at our weekly Jr. Checkers skills and drills.

"Matt has made some huge strides this season. He has gotten much more comfortable in his game and ability to stop pucks," Coach Brian stated. "I have been impressed with his overall improvement over the last year. Matt went from being able to perform each basic save to mastering some of them in a short amount of time."

The other thing that stands out about Matt is his love for the position.  He always has a smile on his face and enjoys every practice and game.

Matt is currently one of two goalies for the Jr. Checkers PeeWee A team. We wish him the best of luck with the season and look forward to helping him improve at the position.

September's Goalie of the Month-Jac!

Jac has been training with Old School Goal School for several months now. He is currently participating in our Monday night skills and drills sessions. We also have a private lesson every week at the JL Training Center with him.

Jac is "all in" in his approach to becoming a premier goaltender. He is devoted to getting better at the position everyday. He lives and breathes hockey and especially goaltending. Jac has been known to train at 5:30 in the morning before heading off to school and then again in the evening when he gets home.

He is really at home when he is at the JL Training Center, a hockey training facility that he and his father built.  The JL Training Center is a training facility that has a sheet of synthetic ice and a puck shooting machine that is capable of shooting pucks up to 100 mph. The center also has a hockey treadmill and a rapid fire shooting machine.

"When I first met Jac, we had an instant player-coach connection. He has worked extremely hard at developing all of his individual skills. It is my job to help him put all these skills together and continue to develop into a top goaltender," Coach Brian commented. "The thing I love about Jac is that he is very goal oriented. He has set different levels of goals and we train with the end result in mind. He is training to achieve benchmarks along the way. This kid is mature beyond his age, and with a relentless work ethic and terrific attitude the sky is the limit for him!"

Jac made the PeeWee AAA Thunder team this summer but elected to forgo playing with the Thunder this season and concentrate on improving his individual skill set by just training. He attended several camps over the summer in North America. This kid is very driven and Old School Goal School is honored to have him as one of our regular students. We look forward to his continued development and being a part of his training schedule. Keep your eye on the prize Jac!

August's Goalie of the Month-Colin S.!

Colin has been training with Old School Goal School for a couple of years now. He recently completed the Pre-Season Program and went through our Summer Camps. Colin also attended the Pro-Ambitions Battle Camp this summer and Coach Brian had an opportunity to work with him there.

Colin has really put in a lot of work over the course of the last six months. He performed very well at tryouts and earned a spot on the PeeWee AA Jr. Checkers hockey team. He has great size and has been working extremely hard on his lateral movement and recovery.

"It has been a pleasure helping him develop and seeing the results from his commitment to the position," Coach Brian commented. "Colin is a quiet kid who loves the game and the goalie position. He is a great listener and willing to try new techniques and brings a winners attitude everyday to practice."

Colin also made the PeeWee AAA Carolina Checkers team. He will compete in several tournaments throughout the season. This was a huge confidence booster for him to make this team. Confidence goes a long way in sports but especially in goaltending. You have to be confident in yourself and your ability to stop the puck. It is a challenging position both physically and mentally and we are proud to provide training for our Old School Goal School kids that helps them make these AAA programs. Congratulations Colin and we look forward to our continued success together in the future! 

July's Goalie of the Month-Benjamin E.!

Benjamin has trained with Old School Goal School for the past couple of years. This summer he completed our 8 week Pre-Tryout Program and then worked hard in several private lessons.  

When we first started working together, Benjamin wanted to just move to the proper place and stay standing up.  We worked hard to introduce new skills and he now selects the most effective save selection for each play.  Benjamin has a terrific attitude and a relentless work ethic that will be an advantage as he continues to grow in the position.

"Benjamin has become a really solid young goaltender, he understands all of the fundamentals of goaltending, " Coach Brian commented. "This kid has no fear as he jumps into any practice usually with older kids and doesn't shy away from the harder shots.  He has gone from a complete stand up goalie to a well balanced hybrid goalie."

We are sad to announce Benjamin and his family have just moved to Oklahoma. However, he went out for tryouts and he made the OKC Oil Kings Squirt AA team!  This is a great accomplishment for a new kid to come into a program and impress the coaches enough in a short period of time and make the AA team.  We wish Benjamin and his family the best of luck in the future and we're honored to have had them as part of our Old School Goal School family.  A special thank you to Coach Larry for all the help in the Jr. Checkers program, he did such a good job with the kids!  

June's Goalie of the Month-Jackson!

Jackson started training with Old School Goal School this year. He came to us with little understanding of the goaltending position. He recently completed the eight week Pre-Tryout Program and the June Summer Mini Camp. He has also participated in several private lessons.  

Jackson has shown tremendous amounts of improvement over the past few months. He has worked extremely hard to learn his current skill set.  Each time we get together he is able to repeat what we learned the previous lesson and we continue to build on those fundamental save selections.  Jackson is seeing the benefit of all the lateral movement drills that we do at all his lessons. Having a great balanced stance and being able to move around the crease are keys to becoming a successful goalie.

"Jackson has gained a lot of confidence in his everyday life from what he has accomplished in a short period on the ice," Coach Brian stated.  "He is realizing hard work and a never give up attitude will produce results."

We look forward to continuing our relationship with Jackson and his family! He will be completing the July Summer Mini Camp and the Pre-Season Program in the next month and a half. Congratulations and best of luck this upcoming season!

May's Goalie of the Month-Gavin S.!

Gavin just completed our 8 week Pre-Tryout Program. He participated in both on-ice and off-ice training. This camp was Gavin's first goalie training with Old School Goal School.  He came to us with knowledge of the position from playing street hockey.

Gavin is a very detailed kid. Coach Brian would ask him to try and perform a skill, Gavin would think about it and then complete it usually perfectly. Gavin has really good fundamentals and is a very good athlete. As he continues to practice his skill set he will become more successful at stopping pucks. 

"Gavin worked extremely hard each and every week for the 2 month camp," Coach Brian commented.  "I was so impressed with his level of maturity and focus at every lesson. This kid will be the backbone for his team this year as a leader on the ice and in the locker room."

His strong work ethic and desire to improve everyday will help him become a great goalie. Old School Goal School is thankful for the opportunity to work with Gavin and look forward to helping him improve his game!

April's Goalie of the Month-Bryan H.!

Bryan is being named Goalie of the Month for a second time! He has made huge strides over the last couple of months and he has taken his game to another level! Bryan understands that less movement is better and he is really getting comfortable in the net.

Bryan had an unbelievable game at Nationals. He was in goal when his team knocked off the #1 team in the country. "I can't tell you how proud I am of how Bryan played in that game," Coach Brian commented. "This is a team that scored 17 goals on Bryan earlier in the season. To be able to get the win against such a strong team shows how far he has come both mentally and physically."

Currently Bryan is working on getting ready for tryouts with Old School Goal School and participating in our Pre-Tryout Program. We look forward to continuing our relationship with this fine young goaltender!

March's Goalie of the Month-Jeremiah!

Jeremiah is the newest addition to the Haaland family! He will be joining Old School Goal School as soon as Coach Brian can get skates on him! Jeremiah was born February 13th at 4:39 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 3 oz at birth, but is already up to 9 lbs 4 oz.

Coach Brian cannot wait to get Jeremiah on the ice and start his training. Not only will Coach Brian be teaching Jeremiah to skate but to also become his assistant coach! We look forward to everyone meeting Jeremiah really soon and welcoming him into our hockey family!

February's Goalie of the Month-Michael B.!

Michael has been working with Coach Brian for two years now. He is one of the goalies for the Jr. Checkers 16 U team. So far this season, Michael has an impressive 2.14 goals against average, a .91 save percentage and three shutouts in 28 games. This honor of being named Old School Goal School's Goalie of the Month has been a long time coming.

"Michael is one of the most fundamentally sound goaltenders that I work with," commented Coach Brian. "He has a very impressive skill set. Michael is a pleasure to work with because of his positive winning attitude and tremendous work ethic."   

Michael is at the point in his development that we are working on fine tuning the little things that will help him be successful at the next level.  He has a very bright future ahead of him.  Michael will be leading his team in the 2012 National Hockey Tournament in Green Bay, WI! We wish him the best of luck and look forward to being a part of his continued success!

January's Goalie of the Month-Brendan!

Brendan recently completed our Christmas Skills and Drills camp. He is one of the goalies for the Jr. Checkers Bantam team. Brendan has been working extremely hard over the past few months to improve his overall conditioning and body strength and he has been one of Old School Goal School's most dedicated goalies.

"I am very proud of the growth and determination of Brendan.  He has come a long way over the last couple of years.  This kid has faced a lot of adversity in his life and continues to impress me when we work together with his positive attitude and never give up approach to the game," Coach Brian commented.  "We still have a long way to go to achieve Brendan's hockey goals, but I am confident with good focus and intense training he will get there!"

Brendan understands the commitment it takes to be successful in life and in the net.  He has changed his diet and put in a lot of extra time in the weight room to help with what he is trying to accomplish on the ice. Brendan has a lot to prove to himself and his team over the second half of the season and I look forward to being a part of his success the rest of the year!

December's Goalie of the Month-Deven!

Deven has proved recently why he is being named Goalie of the Month for the second time this year. He is the starting goalie for the #7 TPH Thunder team based out of Atlanta. The team's stats are 23-3-1, but Deven's personal stats are 15-1!  His stats are impressive but his positive attitude and passion for the  position are what helps with his success.

Deven has lead his team to two Super Series Championships this year! This past weekend the Thunder won the Dallas Super Series with Deven earning the number one goalie spot with 4 wins and a .33 GAA.

"We couldn't be more proud of Deven and his hard work and focus," Coach Brian stated. "He continues to show up to our training sessions with a strong desire to get better every time he hits the ice. He is a student of the game and constantly strives to play at a high level.  Deven has a very bright future and I am happy to help him achieve his goals!"

We wish Deven and his team continued success and look forward to working with him at our weekly skills and drills!

November's Goalie of the Month-Mason!

Mason has been working extremely hard over the past few months with Coach Brian attending skills and drills and team practices. He is the only goalie for the Jr. Checkers Bantam Select Team, which means he has to play every minute of every game! 

"Mason has become a student of the position. He has been able to apply most of the things that we have been working on to his game," Coach Brian commented. "Mason has developed quite the skill set and with continued hard work, focus, training and direction, he will continue to improve every time he hits the ice."

Mason is a really athletic kid and with that natural ability, he will become a great goalie! We look forward to our continued relationship and helping Mason achieve his goals! Best of luck this season Mason! We are proud of you!

October's Goalie of the Month-Benjamin B.!

Benjamin is currently participating in the skills and drills on a weekly basis. He has been training with Coach Brian for the past 2 years.  Coach Brian also attends a team practice each week with the Jr. Checkers and gets an opportunity to work with all of the Jr. Checkers goalies.

Benjamin is always full of enthusiasm on the ice. He loves to help come up with new drills and different fun activities to do.

Coach Brian commented, "Benjamin has made some huge improvements on his overall mobility, he has put in a lot of extra time working on moving around the crease and it shows. Hot Rod understands that great goal tending comes from strong fundamentals and he has been working extremely hard at mastering those basic skills!"

This year Benjamin is playing as one of the goalies on the Squirt AA Jr. Checkers team. We wish him lots of success this year and hope he continues to enjoy being a strong goalie!  

September's Goalie of the Month-Bryan!

Bryan recently completed the Old School Goal School Pre-Season Program. He is at the age where he understands how important conditioning is, and realizes the harder he works in off-ice training, the easier it will be for him to get into game shape for on-ice. Bryan worked extremely hard at all the sessions he attended.

Bryan was invited to participate in Hockey Night in Boston this summer, which consisted of teams from across the country. His team competed at a high level with 3 wins, 2 ties and 2 loses. Bryan was then asked to play on the Sophomore All Star Team for his outstanding efforts, and finally the HNIB Major Showcase Tournament.

Coach Brian commented, "Bryan had a great summer developing and moving up out of Bantams. This season will be a big season for him to showcase his skills against some good competition. Bryan showed a fair amount of intensity and motivation throughout the Pre-Season Program. I expect him to carry that with him during the whole season."

This year he will be one of the goalies for the 16U Jr. Checkers team! We wish him luck on a great season and look forward to continuing our relationship!

August's Goalie of the Month-Michael!

Michael recently attended the Old School Goal School summer camp in July. He showed great enthusiasm and a desire to compete and improve each and every work out!

Michael was the first goalie in the Charlotte area to work with Coach Brian over two years ago. Since then he has completed numerous on-ice training sessions and has grown into a fine young goaltender.

"It has been fun to work with Michael from the beginning of his goaltending career," Coach Brian commented. "There isn't a kid out there that wants to be the best that he can be at his position more than Michael. His determination and dedication have paid off and will continue to help him become a premiere goaltender!"

He will be playing for a team in Columbia this year as a Bantam A goalie. We wish him all the luck this season and hope to be a part of his continued success!

July's Goalie of the Month-Steven!

Steven is the youngest goalie so far to work with Old School Goal School. At five years old, he shows great passion for the position!

Steven completed several training sessions over the last couple of months. He now can successfully perform all the basic fundamentals of a goalie. We are continuing to build his skill set so that he will develop into a well rounded goaltender! At his age he is getting a huge head start.

"Spiderman is quite the character," Coach Brian stated. "He continues to improve after each session. He is able to retain what he learned from previous sessions. I look forward to helping him grow into a fierce competitor!"

June's Goalie of the Month-Strachan!

Strachan completed all nine weeks of our Pre-tryout Training Session and made remarkable improvements! He had incredible focus and drive to compete at game speed at both on-ice and off-ice training.

Strachan was always the first to volunteer to tryout new drills. He was a very eager student that was there to learn everything he possible could and he did it with a positive attitude and a smile.

"Strachan was the most improved goalie over the course of the nine weeks," Coach Brian stated. "He showed great enthusiasm and passion for every drill I asked him to do. He is a competitor and I look forward to seeing his continued improvement!"

Good luck with the upcoming season and congratulations!!!

May's Goalie of the Month-Spencer!

Spencer had an exciting season, and protected his net as his Jr. Checkers team made it all the way to the 2011 USA Hockey Tier II National Championship  in California.  The team took home 2nd place for his division, a first for any Charlotte team!

Spencer tried out this past month for the AAA Southeast Nationals and made the team. The team will travel to Canada to play two tournaments this summer. The first is the Cougars Classic Canada in Burlington, Ontario, Canada at the end of May. The second tournament is the Canlan Sports AAA Classic in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada in June.

In addition to his exciting summer play schedule, Spencer was also selected to participate in a development camp happening this summer at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.  He secured this spot at the CAHA tryouts, and competed against goalies in his age group from all over the region. 

Coach Brian commented, "It has been fun to watch Spencer's progression over the last year. He has been playing with a lot of confidence and it shows with his on-ice performance. We look for big things out of Spencer this year!"

Good luck this summer and Congratulations Spencer!

April's Goalie of the Month-Deven

Congratulations to Deven, our goalie of the month!  Deven played for the '99 AAA Thunder team out of Atlanta last season.  He traveled an amazing 21 weekends on the road! 

But all those miles were worth it; his team was ranked 17th in the country for his league, with an impressive record of 34-8-2. Deven had 7 shut outs! His biggest game last season was against Chicago Mission, who is ranked 2nd in the country. Deven and the Thunder won 4-3.

But even with that impressive record, Deven is still focused on improving.  That drive is what makes him our goalie of the month.

As Coach Brian noted, "Deven's incredible focus and intensity is a great example of what it takes to improve every time you are on the ice. His good work ethic and athletic ability give him a very bright future."

Deven has been invited to play with the Indy Wings for two upcoming tournaments, and will be on the road to Chicago to show his stuff.  Good luck and congratulations Deven!