Islanders Street Hockey Update

Friedberg JCC, Bellmore - Tuesday, July 24th, 2018

Last week summer campers at the Friedberg JCC Bellmore program enjoyed their start in Islanders Street Hockey. Lead by coach John Schiavo, over 140 campers in grades K-5th played street hockey with friend Sparky throughout the first half of camp. Beginner players focused on proper hockey position throughout all drills while more experienced players improved on their stick handling and their attention to see the rink by always keeping their heads up. Despite different levels of play, all campers were coached on the importance of teamwork, sportsmanship, and having fun! Campers and counselors alike are excited to incorporate the sport throughout the rest of the camp and into the fall during their after-school program.

Islanders Street Hockey Update

Queens Community House, Ozone Park - Friday, July 13, 2018

Campers at the QCH's Ozone Park location began their installment of Islanders Street Hockey today. Over 90 campers welcomed Islanders staff and mascot Sparky to teach them the fundamentals of the game. Students learned the importance of perfecting their passing, ball control, and shooting skills before facing off in tournament style games. Each player also had the chance to show off their offensive moves against Sparky in an one-on-one shootout. For many players this was the first time picking up a hockey stick. "Most of our campers have never seen hockey on television let alone played the game," said one camp counselor, "For the Islanders to bring a program like this into our space is great to open the kids eyes to a new sport and a new opportunity." Upon hearing that there was no official NHL play during summer a camper exclaimed, "I can't wait for October!"

Lady of Grace Catholic Academy, Howard Beach - Thursday, June 7th 2018

Sixth and seventh grade students at Lady of Grace Catholic Academy are completing their last week of Islanders Floorball this week. Students competed in 4 on 4 tournament style games. Each team showed excellent discipline in positional spacing, moving without the ball, offensive plays, goalie awareness, and communicating with teammates. "These kids play soccer almost every day during recess so when I introduced hockey it was an easy transition for them," said physical education teacher Mr. Castro. The Islanders Floorball Program concludes tomorrow for the 2017-2018 school year reaching over 100 schools! If your school is interested in implementing a new sport next year with the chance to keep Islanders branded equipment sign up today: https://newyorkislanders.formstack.com/forms/floorball or call 516-667-2120. Hurry, space is limited!

Islanders Street Hockey Update

Queens Community House - PS 86, Jamaica - Tuesday, June 5th 2018

The Queens Community House, a multi-site, multi-service settlement house that services the diverse neighborhoods of Queens, is the newest partner of the Islanders Street Hockey Program. Yesterday, QCH's Jamaica beacon program at PS 86 kick started the partnership with a mini-clinic provided by Islanders staff. Students were excited to begin learning more about the sport of hockey and the New York Islanders as they dived into the fundamentals of stick handling, passing, and shooting. The clinic wrapped with fun scrimmage play and the distribution of Islanders swag! "My favorite part of today was the cool t-shirt," said one player, "But I'm sure I like playing hockey as much too." The Jamaica beacon program is looking forward to implementing the Islanders Street Hockey Program throughout their summer programming as well.