The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The legacy left behind by the 2001 Royal Bank Cup is helping to develop young players in Flin Flon and Creighton. Through an initiative of the Royal Bank Cup Committee, minor hockey in Flin Flon is able to offer programs for players and coaches that would not have been possible otherwise. This past weekend Claudia Steinke was in town to work with the future stars in this area. Claudia is a professional power skating instructor who teaches skating techniques across Western Canada and in the Northwestern United States. She works together with Laura Stamm's Skating Company, which is one of the best power-skating companies in the United States. They have developed many NHL and semipro stars. "It is strictly technique, there is no conditioning," she explained. "Often, the weaker skaters have more determination and are able to do great technique. The ones that skating comes easier to sometimes don't have the best technique. It's more of an awareness strategy, where the kids go 'aha, so this is what I need to be doing'." This became apparent during many of her one-hour sessions with players from each level. After watching the kids skate she was able to pick apart many of their bad habits and show the kids how to correct them and improve their abilities, teaching them stride development and skating fundamentals. The program would not have been possible without the Royal Bank Cup's contribution to minor hockey. When a coach or parent has an idea, it is voted on first by Flin Flon Minor Hockey, and then the Royal Bank Cup Committee. Money has been spent on developing coaches and players through programs such as the Nike camp held two years ago. Also, coaches have been able to attend international coaches meetings. Some feel that the power skating program held this past weekend is better, because it allows all of the kids to get involved. "Ideas are brought to minor hockey, who take them to the RBC Committee," explained Todd Quinn, coach. "The Minor Hockey board thought that this would benefit the coaches and the players, and allow us to see what a top notch company had to offer. I thought it was a fantastic program." Although Claudia was only able to work with each group for a couple of hours over the weekend, parents, coaches and players alike thought it was well worth it. "It was ran well," said Quinn. "She did the best she could with the little bit of time she had. Personally, I think it was well worth it, to see what is offered to kids in the cities. I think everyone got something out of it. A lot of our kids can't skate properly. She was doing different drills, and the kids couldn't do them. Now that they see how power skating is done, hopefully they will use it. Hopefully they will utilize the power-skating coaches that are in the community." If it wasn't for the Royal Bank Cup, would this program have been made available to the local kids? "Probably not," answered Quinn. "Hats off the the RBC Committee for designating money to minor hockey for development." Another contributor to the program was Twin Motors, who let Claudia use a car for the weekend at no charge.
