THE METRO STOP CONTACT: Bob DeGemmis RLAC NEWSLETTER PHONE: 703/244-1916 SPRING 2014 EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.rlacmetros.com

. LETTER FROM THE FRONT OFFICE | NEXT STOP 2014-2015 CONTENTS

Dear Athletes, Parents and Coaches, FRONT OFFICE LETTER P. 1

As we turn the page into summer, I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you WINTER ’14-’15 ICE DETAILS COMING P. 2 for investing your time, money, talents and efforts into Red Line Athletic Club over the past year. RLAC IS PLACE FOR DISTINCT SEASONS P. 2

It is because of you that RLAC is becoming THE PLACE for seasonal “team” SPRING SOCCER & LAX CLINCS - “goal sports” whether it is on the ice, in the box or on the , and whether LEAD TO FALL P. 3 you are young…or…less young. I hope that all of the participants, parents and WHAT IS BOX & WHY friends are finding the calendar, the coaching, the size, the proximity, the cost, IS RLAC PLAYING BOX? P. 3 and all of the other characteristics that make RLAC unique, a beneficial experience. RED LINE A.C. SENIOR SUMMER & FALL SOCCER COMING P. 4

I hope you, or your son or daughter, is with us for the sporting rituals of the 6TH ANNUAL SUMMER STREET fall, winter, spring and summer of 2014-2015 and for years to come. HOCKEY CAMP P. 4

DIII HOCKEY-SOCCER- Go ’Tros! Auggie auggie auggie! LACROSSE CAMP P. 4

PLANNING MEETING IN JUNE TO Sincerely, BE ANNOUNCED P. 5

Bob DeGemmis SENIOR & SCHOLASTIC HOCKEY 2014-2015 P. 5 RLAC Founder & President YOUTH TRAVEL HOCKEY ’04-’05 TO SYRACUSE SUMMER “SPORTS FOR ALL, TOURNEY AGAIN P. 6

FOREVER.” MASTERS/GMASTERS BOX & -AAU Motto FIELD LAX UPDATE P. 6

YOUTH HOCKEY IN CAPS MITES ON ICE ON 4/1 P. 6

FIND RED LINE ATHLETIC CLUB PAGES AND “ WINTER AFFORDS DC AREA SPECIFIC” GROUPS ON SOCIAL MEDIA! NATURAL ICE IN 2014 P. 7

RLAC SENIOR HOCKEY TO 7th US CHAMP P. 7

WHY AAU? P. 8 1 WINTER 2014-2015 DID YOU KNOW? DETAILS WILL BE COMING IN JUNE Fact #1: One of the first artificially refrigerated indoor ice rinks in the U.S. Red Line Athletic Club youth hockey skates opened in Baltimore in 1894 – the from mid-November to mid-March. Because North Avenue Rink! we are a tenant organization, we work with Fact #2: The first intercollegiate ice the ice time we are allotted in terms of when hockey game was at the North Avenue (the days and times) we are able secure ice Rink between Johns Hopkins and Yale time and how much time (volume) we can secure. on Feb 1, 1896. The game ended in a 2- Because we are a small Club, a young Club and a tenant 2 draw. Club (not run by a rink and do not run a rink), we do live up to the cliché sometimes that we have odd hours of practice. The good news is that because we are not in the ice-selling business, we do not have to skate in traditional fall and spring outdoor sports seasons. You won’t catch a Red Line team at a Labor Day Tournament or even Columbus Day Tournament. Our calendar is self-imposed and offers an alternative to 8-12 month hockey seasons. We do, however, need the utmost commitment during the allotted winter hockey season for all of the Team Level programs. Because we can only get so much ice time, and we are one of the few Clubs that skates a traditional winter season, we are limited as to the number of players we can accept. The players and families that will make the Red Line Hockey program run are the ones that can and will give it their all in the heart of the cold and dark winter months!

WANT TO PLAY 2 – 3 TEAM SPORTS? WANT TO PLAY SOME SPORTS OUTDOORS? NOT A PROBLEM RLAC is special in two ways that are especially beneficial for youth “goal sport” (hockey/soccer/lacrosse) athletes. First, the self- imposed calendar that has 4 distinct seasons, means that sports seasons (particularly hockey) does not overlap with the Fall and Spring sports. Playing 2-3 sports as an RLAC player is not a problem because there is “0” scheduling conflict. Second, as a member of AAU, which is a “mulit-sport” NGB (National Governing Body), we do not need to register for multiple 1- sport NGB’s or pay multiple fees to multiple NGBs. Our $16.00 membership fee covers participation and insurance for ALL AAU sports. If your son or daughter wants to play more than one sport, wants to play outdoor sports AND ice hockey (which happens to primarily be indoors) – Red Line Athletic Club is for you!

WANT RLAC GEAR? CONTACT BOB AT [email protected] 2 SPRING YOUTH SOCCER & LACROSSE CLINICS ARE PLANTING THE SEEDS FOR THE FALL PROGRAMS – SATURDAYS AT WHEATON SPORTS PAVILION 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM RLAC has secured “field time” for the fall youth soccer and lacrosse programs which are being developed now. We have field time on Saturdays from 10:30 am – Noon from mid-Sept to mid-November when we kick off ice hockey season. The Wheaton Sports Pavilion is great for our programming for a number of reasons. First, it is covered so we don’t have to cancel for any rain days which there always are in the fall, yet it still has the “outdoor feel” because it is “open air”. Second, because it is an enclosed rink, it is great for young soccer players and young players because balls rarely go out of bounds. Third, the Sports Pavilion is right next to the Wheaton Ice , so it’s easy to skip over for Public Skate or Stick and Puck, before or after playing at the Pavilion. Lastly, and box lacrosse are super fun! If interested in playing soccer and/or lacrosse this fall, do make sure to keep this time slot open. Information will be out very soon on Fall season info.

WHAT IS BOX LACROSSE AND WHY IS RLAC INVOLVED? Box Lacrosse is lacrosse in an enclosed rink (may be indoors, but not necessarily). This brand of lacrosse evolved in in the 20s and 30s in ice rinks that were down during the summer months. To this day, Box Lacrosse, or Boxla, is the more popular form of lacrosse “up North”. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the “box” version is especially fun in its own right because it encourages shooting, has less out of bounds balls and allows goaltenders to “pad up”. Not only is it fun, but it is especially helpful for players that want to transition to “” or supplement their “field” lacrosse experience. Like hockey, more and more Canadian players are showing up on NCAA rosters, and many coaches attribute this fact to their boxla experience. Because there is some friction between some in the “field” lacrosse community and those “I believe that box lacrosse gives young people many more in the “box” lacrosse community (similar to the opportunities to excel in our game. If I had my choice, I would relationship between inline, dek and ice hockey), have every player under the age of twelve play box lacrosse exclusively or at least a majority of the time. The number of US Lacrosse is not involved in box lacrosse touches of the ball and the ability to develop better stick skills in programming. As a result, AAU is now the major a game of box lacrosse, far surpasses what happens to young player in organized Box Lacrosse at the youth people on a 110 x 60 yard field. Learning how to pass and catch level. This is good news for Red Line Athletic in traffic, understanding how to shoot, and developing a sense of Club because our AAU memberships and physicality are all positive traits developed by the box game.” affiliation allow us to fall under the AAU - Bill Tierney, US Lacrosse Hall of Fame, University Umbrella for Box Lacrosse as well as our other Head Coach, Princeton 6xNational Champion, Team USA 1998 sports. 3 SENIOR SOCCER RESTARTING JUST IN TIME FOR WORLD CUP SEASON!

RLAC will be on the pitch again for Senior Soccer Season (age 18+) again come June 18th. The ’Tros play in the Metros Sports 7 v 7 League on Wednesday evenings at Wilson High School. Senior Soccer will restart for Fall Season after the August break. The team is expecting to have a breakout year! If interested in playing, contact Bob at [email protected].

SUMMER SKILLS WEEK CAMP JUNE 30 – JULY 3 The 6th annual RLAC Summer Street Hockey Skills Week will be held on the short week before the 4th of July Weekend at the usual Rock Creek Hills Park Inline Rink. The Camp is for any and all players since players may play on foot. There is also and inline hockey component for those that can and want to skate. Cost for the Camp Week is $150.00 / player and there is a $50.00 sibling discount as well. Register for SSHSW through www.rlacmetros.com.

DIII CAMP AT CABIN JOHN JULY 21-25 The DIII Camp is named for the NCAA athletic classification generally reserved for smaller schools and for programs that do not offer athletic scholarships. The DIII Camp also represent the “DeGemmis 3” – Hockey – Soccer – Lacrosse. DIII (and non-NCAA Club) are the truest sense of traditional amateur college athletics. The Camp will run the week of July 21- 25th at Cabin John Field #7 and the Ice Rink. We will be outdoors in the mornings, when it is cooler for soccer and lacrosse. We will wrap up by 11:00 before lunch and get on the ice from 11:45 – 1:00 PM. Players DO NOT NEED EXPERIENCE IN ANY GIVEN DISCIPLINE TRADITIONAL SUMMER CAMP FOR BOYS IN and they will be grouped off to maximize their VERMONT…ICE HOCKEY, SOCCER & experience in each discipline. Players DO NEED LACROSSE TOO! Owned and operated by Jim PROPER HOCKEY EQUIPMENT, soccer and Maria Weiss of Kensington, MD! shinguards and may use their hockey equipment www.campwachusett.com (+ need ). Cost of the week is $335.00 for the week. There is an $85.00 sibling discount. Register through www.rlacmetros.com.

WWW.RLACMETROS.COM

4 JUNE PARENT “OPEN HOUSE” PLANNING MEETING TBA There will be a June “Open House” and Planning Meeting in June to go over 2014-2015 programs and scheduling. Date and time will be posted soon.

RLAC AFFORDS MEANINGFUL HOCKEY OPPORTUNITIES FOR “LATE-ENTRY” PLAYERS & ALUMNI ALIKE – “SENIOR/SCHOLASTIC LATE ENTRY TEAM” & “ALUMNI TEAM”

RLAC fields two unique adult/scholastic teams for the winter season from mid-November through St Patrick’s Day. The first team is the Senior/Scholastic Team which is for “late entry” players regardless of whether they are 16 or 60. This team is for adults (or high school / college players) that are just getting going in hockey. It is a great place to go for beginner high school players to supplement JV High School Hockey to raise their skills and hopefully be able to play a bigger role in their high school program (and of course continue playing for RLAC as an adult). This team is good for beginner / novice adults that are either beginners, getting older or cannot commit to extensive seasons due to work schedules or kids hockey schedules. The second team is the “Alumni” team comprised of players ages 18+ that have played high level midget, junior, high school or college hockey and want a high level senior hockey experience. This team is especially good for players in their 20s or early 30s that are not able to commit to extensive 6 month seasons and team fees that can be as high as $1000. This group usually plays 5-8 games a winter, with 2-3 of them around the Holiday break so that present college players can skate with the group. Information for the Senior/Scholastic 2014-2015 Team will be posted on www.rlacmetros.com come the end of June. Best place for “Alumni Team” information can be found on the Facebook group “Red Line A.C. Hockey (Amateur Open Team & Senior Team 30+)” or contact Bob at [email protected].

DINA WOLFF IS Private lessons out of Cabin John Rink [email protected]

ADVERTISE HERE! CONTACT BOB AT 703/244-1916 OR [email protected] FOR ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES 5 RED LINE ATHLETIC CLUB (AAU HOCKEY) ’04-’05s RETURN FOR 2nd SYRACUSE SUMMER TOURNEY The Red Line Athletic Club (AAU) ’04- ’05 hockey team made their maiden voyage on the road in July 2013 to visit the Syracuse Cadets (AAU) for a great weekend jamboree and will be doing the same this July. The 2013 trip was a great experience for this group to play their first “full ice hockey” games, see the home rink of the ACHA Syracuse University Men’s Hockey Team and learn a bit from a team that had been on the “full ice circuit” a little longer. The Cadets are expecting an even better event this summer! The ’Tros will also be able to take in another Syracuse Chiefs game as well, which happens to be the Washington Nationals farm club!

RLAC SENIOR & MASTERS LACROSSE FALL & SPRING BOX SEASONS COMPLETE, SPRING “FIELD” TEAM HEADING TO BLUE & GREY LAX BATTLE RLAC Fall and Spring Box Lacrosse Seasons were both very competitive and came down to the final games in both seasons. The RLAC Senior Lacrosse Program primarily plays “Box” Lacrosse in the old Wheaton Ice Rink. Spring Box Season runs from the beginning of March until the beginning of May. Fall Box Season runs from mid- Sept to mid-December. The laxers step out of the “Box” come the beginning of May to play “field” lacrosse until the end of June. This spring the Senior Lacrosse Team will be playing in the Blue & Grey Lax Battle Tourney at Mt St Mary’s June 7-8 hosted by Lionheart Lacrosse. The season will wrap up for the summer with a game against friendly rival Old Breed Lacrosse on June 21st in Bethesda.

RLAC YOUTH HOCKEY TAKE THE ICE FOR MITES ON ICE AT VERIZON CENTER ON APRIL 1st The ’Tros were the toast of the Verizon Center on April 1st when the RLAC Mites rocked the red for Caps fans between the first and second intermission of the Caps v game. The Caps may have lost, but the arena was ecstatic for the 2-0 Mites game. Connor Bellaman took home the Player of the Game Award and was featured on the jumbotron! 6

RLAC YOUTH HOCKEY TAKES ADVANTAGE WINTER IS FOR HOCKEY – OF 10+ “POND DAYS” IN WINTER 2014 OUTSIDE! Safe outdoor skating ice doesn’t happen every year in the Capital area, but it has in at least three winters in the past decade. Red Line was able and ready to take advantage of the cold snap this past There is nothing more beautiful than skating January! on natural outdoor ice. Hockey and skating were born RLAC actually scales back indoor ice time in on the ponds, rivers and lakes, and can still be played mid-January so that if/when the outdoor ice is ready, outdoors when conditions are right. In the D/M/V we can take advantage of every minute of this free and area, we may go 10 years without safe outdoor ice, and we can have a string of years when outdoor, fun ice time! Nothing can improve a budding skater natural ice is safe to skate on. than literally skating all day long. Nothing is more fun The tradition of preparing and waiting for than playing with friends and family outside. outdoor ice hockey conditions has faded over the last 100 years with the advent, expansion and improvement of indoor rinks. Because these more reliable indoor refrigerated venues are now abundant, outdoor hockey has been relegated to a recreational pursuit in the last 70 years (but is making a strong comeback). This is not the case with all snow and ice sports. Skiing clearly relies on manmade assistance, but is still able to occur in some completely natural settings. In Holland, the home of skating since the Little Ice Age, the “11 Cities Tour” (Elfstedentocht) occurs with 48 hour notice and brings out 16,000 skaters for the 120 mile long race. Sometimes the race has gaps of 20+ years, sometimes the race can happen in consecutive years. In recent years hockey enthusiasts have begun to rediscover the value and elusiveness of We’ll be ready for local pond time once again natural outdoor ice. In 2002, the first (modern) in the winter of 2014-2015. RLAC is also working on organized outdoor hockey tournament was held on carving out a weekend in the winter schedule so that natural ice in Plaster Rock, New Brunkswick as a interested players/families can make a trip North, fundraiser to build an indoor ice rink (ironically). probably New Hampshire, to play outdoors with less Now, the tournament dubbed the World Pond worry of not having ice. Participants that do not want Hockey Championship, has become a global to play hockey will be able to ski. Details coming this attraction for lovers of outdoor hockey. summer when our winter hockey schedule comes out! Beyond its own success, the World Pond

Hockey Championship has spawned an entire event RLAC SENIOR TEAM HEADS TO MN FOR 7th US business of outdoor pond hockey tournaments at the grassroots level (200ish in US & Canada – See POND HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS APPEARANCE www.backyard-hockey.com calendar). The trend caught fire since the first (modern) pro outdoor games (played on refrigerated ice) in 2003 between and . Since then, the annual Winter Classic, the Heritage Classics and the Stadium Series have all highlighted the urge for hockey lovers to bring hockey back to where it began - outside.

WINTER CLASSIC 2015 IS IN DC!

7 WHY IS RLAC IN AAU? Why is Red Line Athletic Club an AAU member and what is AAU anyways?

The Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU, is the largest amateur athletic body in the United States. AAU dates back to 1888 and was the principle organizer of U.S. Olympic Teams until the late 40’s when the various sports wanted more autonomy and began to break into their own National Governing Bodies (NGBs) – think USA Hockey, United State Soccer Federation, USA etc etc etc. The last time AAU was involved in Olympic level ice hockey was for the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics. The American Hockey Association (later the Amateur Hockey Association of the U.S. and then USA Hockey), wrestled control over ice hockey after those . It was not until 2010 that the AAU was pulled back into the ice hockey arena by various Clubs that felt they could foster their goals better under the AAU.

RLAC feels that AAU offers us the best support and programs because our philosophies are one and the same. The fact that AAU is a multi-sport organization devoted solely to amateur athletics (v. professional athletic development) and caters to athletes from cradle to grave makes it a perfect fit. Consider –

1. Cost – The cost of an AAU Membership is under $20.00 and it is good for ALL sports and sporting events that AAU sanctions including ice hockey, inline hockey, dek hockey (), box lacrosse and soccer. 2. Choice –AAU does not interfere with the local autonomy of member Clubs and how they organize their programs and their schedules. 3. Philosophy - AAU has very high ideals when it comes to code of conduct, how coaches, parents and how players carry themselves. AAU’s motto – “Sports For All, Forever” describes in very few words what Red Line A.C. is all about.

REPLAY SPORTS IN ROCKVILLE, MD TYPICAL YOUTH ATHLETICS BUZZWORDS Academy, Birth Month, Birth Year, Career, 1332 E Gude Drive Rockville, MD 20850

Commitment, Development, DI, Draft, Elite, 301-340-2727

(Entertainment), Facility, Fees, Fitness Level, Grades SKATE SHARPENING TOO

+ Standardized Tests, Hall of Fame, Investment,

Junior / Midget, Me, Model, NCAA, Next Level,

Organized, Ownership Rights, Paper-Athlete, Physical

Traits, Premier, Prep, Pro, Program, Prospect, Recruit,

Results, Select, Show, Showcase, Sign, Skill

Development, Special, Statistics, Super, Talent, Tier,

Top, Track, Travel, Tryout, Ultra

RED LINE ATHLETIC CLUB BUZZWORDS Accountability, Altruism, Amateur, Behavior, Championship, Character Development, Code, Communication, Conduct, Cost-Effective, Culture, DIII, Discipline, Education, Effort, Entrepreneurship, Experience, Co- Curricular, Family, Festival, Friends, Fundraising, Grassroots, High School, Holiday, Influence, Interest, Jamboree, Kids, Leadership, Life Long Athlete, Local/Regional, Long Term Health, Loyalty, Moderation, Multi-Sport, Neighborhood, Off-Season, Outdoors, Parents, Patience, Personality Traits, Pick-up, Positive, Present, Priorities, Represent, Responsibility, Ritual, School, Season, Self-Control, Senior, Short Term Goals, Social, Sportsmanship, Student-Athlete, Team, Time-Effective, Track Record, Tradition, Trust, Try Out, Vacation, Value, We, Weekend, Youth

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