Hockey School Ready For 17th Consecutive Year
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By Scott Kindberg
Tom McFall looked out at the ice at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena on Monday night and smiled.
''I just love the sport of hockey,'' he said. ''I love to pass it on. My brothers and I try and instill the love of the sport.''
Beginning next Monday and running through July 30, the McFall Brothers Hockey School will welcome boys and girls ages 5-14 for the 17th consecutive year.
''Man, it's 17 years,'' McFall said. ''If I can make it to 20 ... ''
If he and his brothers, John and Dan, do, who knows how many more lives will be impacted by a sport Tom calls ''the greatest show on ice.''
''Every year I'll get letters and pictures (from parents) - and I've saved most of them - thanking us for working with their kids. We've been able to make a difference in the kids' lives and help them love hockey more.''
Focusing on skills progression in skating and individual hockey skills techniques, the hockey school offers three separate sessions: Mini-Mite (ages 5-7), Intermediate (8-10) and Advanced (11-14).
Tom McFall, a fifth-grade teacher at Chautauqua Lake Central School, will coordinate the registration and promotion of the school and will be assisted on the ice by John McFall Jr., a fifth-grade teacher in the Hamburg School District, and Dan McFall, a fomrer member of the Winnipeg Jets, who is currently the owner and director of FullStride Hockey Programs in Burlington, Vt.
The brothers, who grew up in Kenmore, credit their love of the sport to their father, John McFall Sr., who coordinated hockey leagues and on-ice training programs at Holiday Twin Rinks for 30 years.
Each of the three groups at the McFall Brothers Hockey School will be personally run by one or more of the McFall brothers. With their combined 60-plus years of hockey instruction experience, Tom, John and Dan will provide age-appropriate, creative on-ice instruction to each group.
For the youngest group, ''we want sweaty heads and smiles,'' Tom McFall said.
For the 8-10 and 10-14 age groups, the brothers will start working on a little more hockey skills and quicker-paced drills.
Among the alumni from the camp are Drew Weaver (St. Lawrence), John Hirliman (Oswego), Jeremy Hirliman (Potsdam); and Tyler Nelson, Sean Cirbus, Rob Marlinski and David Weinstein, who all played for the Jamestown Jets last season.
''They were all hard-working kids,'' Tom McFall said. ''They did the drills with enthusiasm, practiced hard and it shows in how they played their games. They all had work ethic.''
Limited space is still available for this year's school. To obtain a registration form or to get additional information, contact Tom McFall by phone (664-9228 or 499-8986) or by e-mail at mbhockey@windstreamnet.
