Milwaukee Winter Club

It's not too late! We are still accepting registration forms for our Atoms program. Click the registration tab to find out how to register and where to send your forms. Rental equipment is still available.

As the 2011-2012 Atoms season approaches, the Atoms Coaches want to take some time and lay the foundation for the upcoming year. Here is a brief outlook for the season:

Head Coach:   
Scott Grenier
Cell # 414-303-2666
Email: sgrenier@rwbaird.com

Assistant Coaches:  
Mike Bay
Jeb Bentley
Sal Amato
Trent Graham, Jason Woods, Dan Carey and Ben Adank (these coaches are coaching other teams but will be on the ice as schedules permit)

PARENT ON ICE ASSISTANTS
• If you are interested in helping out on the ice, please coordinate with Scott Grenier.
• It is great to have parents helping out on the ice and we can always use the help.
• You are required to have a helmet and skates on the ice. Also great if you have a stick and     gloves but not required.

TEAM MANAGER
We are looking for a Team Manager for the year to:
• Coordinate the Admirals Games.
• Schedule Coordination for games vs. other clubs in January and February.
• Coordinate the “end of season” celebration for the kids/families.
  Conact Scott Grenier if interested.

SEASON BEGINS
Season starts on Saturday, November 5th and ends early March

PRACTICES
All practices will be held at Milwaukee Winter Club (University School Rink)
We will initially divide the players into Group 1 and Group 2

Group 1
Players born after 2003 and this is the first year of Atoms
Group 2
Players born after 2003 and this is the second year of Atoms

Saturdays - Two 1 hour sessions (unless otherwise noted)
Group 2 10:30 – 11:30 AM
Group 1 11:30 – 12:30 AM

Sundays - Two 45 minute sessions (unless otherwise noted)
Group 1 5:00 – 5:45 PM
Group 2 5:45 – 6:30 PM

If your child is unable to attend the scheduled ice time, please bring your child to the other practice. As the season develops, we may shift players between sessions to balance numbers, skill levels or for other reasons.

The schedule can be downloaded via the winter club website through RSS Feed or ICal Feed. You may/will want to limit the parameters of the download to just Atoms Calendar – Show tag menu – Atoms.

(We are working on trying to update the calendar and parameter download so that the Groups appear separately on the calendar and in the tag menu.)

IMPORTANT! NO PRACTICE DATES
Saturday, November 12th
Saturday, November 19th
Saturday, December 24th
Sunday, December 25th

ADMIRAL GAMES
We have reserved a practice time prior to the game and 5 minute scrimmage during the first period intermission for:

GROUP 2
Sunday, December 18th
2-3pm on Ice Practice
3-5pm Courtside Club for Movie. Parents can also order food and drinks
Admirals Game at 5pm
On Ice Scrimmage at end of First Period

GROUP 1
Sunday, January 15th
12pm on Ice Practice
1-3pm Courtside Club for Movie. Parents can also order food and drinks
Admirals Game at 3pm
On Ice Scrimmage at end of First Period
We will have more details to follow regarding the events for the day, including: timing, activities and costs.

GAMES VS. OTHER CLUBS     
• We will provide you with more updates as the season progresses.
• Our goal would be to schedule games with other “local” teams during the months of January and February
• Estimated # of games would be between 4-8 for the season (not including internal scrimmages)

PICTURE DAY
November 13 at USM
We will have more information to you once a date and time have been set

REGISTRATION
Please make sure that you have completed the registration process in full.
Register your child with USA Hockey
• If the child was born in 2005 or later there is no fee
• If the child was born prior to 2005 the fee is $30-$35
Register your child with Milwaukee Winter Club
• Complete the Winter Club online registration form HERE. When you have completed the form, hit submit once. You will receive a confirmation page. Print this page.
• Print and complete the Parent Code of Conduct form
• Print and complete the Player Code of Conduct form
• Print and complete the Consent to Treat form
• For new skaters to Winter Club and all Mites, print and complete the Annotation of Birth Facts form

• Please mail the original birth certificate. You do not need to sign the form; it will be signed by Winter Club representatives at registration. It will be returned to you at the start of the season.
• Registration / Season Fee of $450.00. Make your check out to Winter Club
• Fees are to be paid in full at the time of registration

If you did not make it to registration you should send all your paperwork and check to: Heather Erlandson, 1718 E Fox Lane Fox Point, WI 53217

Please bring any outstanding registration paperwork with you to the first practice and provide to Scott Grenier.

Please arrive a little earlier to make sure that all paperwork is in good standing so that the child may get on the ice for the start of practice.

ADMINISTRATIVE
• Please put your child’s FULL NAME on the front of his/her helmet
• Easiest way to do this is with white hockey tape and a black magic marker
• You may want to consider a way for your child to “identify” his/her stick so that they know which one is his or hers when the sticks get grouped together.

EQUIPMENT AND GETTING DRESSED FOR HOCKEY
For instructions, please download the following video from USA Hockey
• Coaches will also be available at the rink to assist parents in getting the child ready
• We will have a Winter Club hockey jersey for each player when you arrive for the first practice
• Winter Club does not provide hockey socks, although these can be purchased at Hockey Haven. You do not have to have Winter Club color hockey socks
• We will have at least one locker room and kid’s can also get dressed in the waiting area
• Kids and parents may find it easier to get partially dressed at home, which is perfectly fine
• Just don’t forget the change of clothes if they get undressed at the rink after practice
• We will have a Coach/Parents meeting towards the end of the first practice (for each Group) to discuss the upcoming year and expectations
• Please direct all comments, questions or concerns to Scott Grenier throughout the year
• If Scott is unable to satisfy your questions or concerns then we will direct you to the MWC Under 8 Coordinator, Skip McGregor

We look forward to being on the ice with your kids. It should be a fun and exciting winter together.

Thank you,

MWC 2011-2012 Atoms Coaches

The Atoms program provides the beginning skater (any age), with an introduction to the sport of hockey in a fun filled environment. Skaters receive instruction on basic hockey skating skills: forwards, backwards, stops and turns. They are taught basic stick handling, passing and shooting skills. Practices consist of traditional hockey drills interspersed with fun games utilizing the skills they are taught. To be clear, Atoms takes all beginning skaters, but we strongly encourage parents to utilize the USM Learn to Skate classes prior to signing up for Atoms. There is a five week session prior to the start of Atoms during the month of October. A good litmus test would be: your child should be able to get to a standing position on their own after a fall and move around the ice without external support.

The season will begin the first weekend of November and run through the first week of March. Practices will be held on weekends only, usually Saturday late morning and Sunday early evening. We will have two practice times on both Saturday and Sunday dividing the kids by experience. Beginning in January we will use the Sunday ice time for either intra-squad games or games against other clubs.

Our program includes a special evening at an Admirals game where the skaters play a full ice game before an Admirals game (approximately 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.), have dinner as a team and then a small five minute game between one of the periods at the Admirals game.

We encourage interested parents to assist during practices. Coaching skaters at this level is very labor intensive as skaters require individual attention to learn proper hockey skills. The club strives to provide as much individual attention as possible by involving many coaches on the ice. The Atoms program is an exceptional introduction to ice hockey for both the parent and skater.  Cost: $450