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 HOCKEY 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 SPORTS 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 pitch, and whether LEAD TO FALL SEASON P. 3 you are young…or…less young. I hope that all of the participants, parents and WHAT IS BOX LACROSSE & 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 “SPORT WINTER AFFORDS DC AREA SPECIFIC” GROUPS ON SOCIAL MEDIA! NATURAL ICE IN 2014 P. 7 RLAC SENIOR HOCKEY TO 7th US POND HOCKEY CHAMP P. 7 WHY AAU? P. 8 1 WINTER ICE HOCKEY 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 box lacrosse players because balls rarely go out of bounds. Third, the Sports Pavilion is right next to the Wheaton Ice Arena, so it’s easy to skip over for Public Skate or Stick and Puck, before or after playing at the Pavilion. Lastly, indoor soccer 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 Canada 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 “field lacrosse” or supplement their “field” lacrosse experience. Like hockey, more and more Canadian players are showing up on NCAA College Lacrosse 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, Denver 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 STREET HOCKEY 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.