(No subject) [Draft] This message hasn't been sent. Saved on: Tue 3/21/2017 12:50 AM The Wildcats program has been the ideal development program for our son. We have seen our son progress from an A player to a AAA player in the span of five seasons. The only way that our son would have ever reached his potential was through the training and coaching if the Wildcats coaching staff. As parents, we are most proud of the confidence the Wildcats hockey program instilled in our son. He now knows that with the right coaching, great practice facilities, and hard work - he can be better than he ever thought he could be. That is a life lesson that is hard to achieve with as much clarity and as much fun as ice hockey with the Wildcats Program. Having been in different clubs in Southern California and the Northeast, I can say that there are clear differences with the Wildcats. The first is that the Wildcats embrace the ADM model. The American Developmental Model emphasizes skill development for the long term as opposed to short term goals. While winning games is an important objective, the Wildcats never sacrifices a player's development in order to satisfy the long term development of a player. You may have been part of other clubs, as we have, who shorten benches at the squirt, peewee, and bantam levels every week. Think about what that means for the player who sits on the bench and never reaches their full potential at the age where it matters. Was a trophy at squirt or peewee that important? Our son is now a Midget AAA player on the Wildcats who have reached the playoffs in CAHA and ECEL. There is no way that this would have been possible had he stayed with other clubs and was sat or short shifted due to a mistake during a squirt or peewee game. One additional observation - I have not seen any significant locker room or parent drama in all the years that we have been on the Wildcats. I attribute this to the families that are attracted to the Wildcats. They strive to have their player improve and they strive to win. But never at the expense of character. That goes for their player and for themselves. Finally, I would like to endorse Ben Frank's coaching staff - in particular, Coach Tomas Kapusta. For the past three seasons, Coach Tomas has coached our son and continually pushes for excellence. The practices that he runs are intense and very efficient. The strength and conditioning training coupled with the great training facilities at Riverside and Carlsbad enabled our athletes to outperform our competition on game day. The Wildcats Hockey Program has given the longest lasting gift one could ask for to a young man - Confidence. He now has confidence that he can excel over time if given the chance, given intense training, and a focus on individual and team improvement, while always maintaining character as a core principle.