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Oakland Bears News
Oakland Bears News
The kids are skating hard, coaches are putting game plans together and parents are organizing snacks, carpools, and all the other important volunteer duties. Hockey is a team sport, both on and off the ice which is why it’s so wonderful to see everyone working together to make the 2022-23 Bears Season happen. I have no doubt this will be a season to remember.
On to the updates!
Oakland Bears Hockey Advisory & Action Board
Earlier this spring a group of parent volunteers collaborated with Coach Chi to form Oakland’s first Hockey Advisory Board, aligned with the model of Sharks Jr. and other successful hockey programs. Justin Landfair, Jason Dearborn, and Justine Smith - currently serving as co-chairs - collaborated to develop an initial working model and then approached other heavily involved parent volunteers to represent each age group. There are plans to formalize the recruitment process, add hockey experts and community leaders and build project specific action committees in the future.
Current Board members include
High School - Chana Fitton
16U - Jessica Hays
14U - Brad Washington, Justine Smith
12U - Jason Dearborn
10U - Kirk Yokomizo, Justin Landfair
Glenn Martin, OIC GM
Our mission is to make the Oakland Bears a destination club for Bay Area hockey players, coaches, and families while growing the sport in Northern California.
The current working name is the Oakland Bears Hockey Advisory & Action Board, also known as the OB-HAAB. This may change as we get closer to ratifying the bylaws and officially forming as a 501(c)3 non-profit.
The board meets twice a month to discuss and workshop topics such as
program scheduling
event planning - tryouts, Little Sharks, Girls Play Hockey, etc,
hockey manager transition support
coach and team manager support initiatives
fundraising, marketing, social media strategy
mediation and conflict resolution
Recent accomplishments include organizing Try Hockey For Free in March, Travel Team Tryouts in June, authoring the Travel Team Parent’s Handbook, developing a Team Manager Training and Onboarding Program, and writing this newsletter!
We take parent feedback seriously, consolidate it, and take action. We are proud to work in cooperation and with the support of Sharks Ice.
Program Updates
NEW PRACTICE SCHEDLULE
We’ve heard you loud and clear! Participants looking for consistent scheduling and practice quality will be pleased to hear that improvements are coming. We’re working on improvements to
Increase ice time for each team
Optimize coach coverage
Add separate practices for travel and in-house teams
Cleanup the Oakland Bears calendar
Schedule tweaks are being confirmed as we speak and will be shared and rolled out to families soon with changes starting the first week of October.
The most current schedule can always be found at www.oaklandbears.com.
Saturday Girls Development Camp - Register Now
Goalie Camps - Coming Soon!
HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY
If you have a high school player who lives in the Bay Area, it is time to sign them up for the East Bay Bears JV or Varsity teams. Rosters are due at the end of this week, so please email Sara Wielandt by Friday, September 30th!
Staff Spotlight
Glenn Martin is the new General Manager as of June 2022. Glenn is responsible for every aspect of the OIC facility including youth hockey. He previously worked as a Sr. Operations Manager at Sharks Ice for over 6 years. He worked as the Facilities Events Manager with the Tampa Bay Lightning when they raised their first Stanley Cup Banner in 2005. In aggregate, he has over 20 years of sports facility managerial experience.
Glenn prides himself on being flexible and adaptable, especially in times of transition. He is hardworking and knowledgeable with a “roll up your sleeves attitude.” You can find Glenn in the office at the ice rink on the top floor overlooking each rink. He hopes you all will stop by to say hello.
Glenn’s biggest wish for the Oakland Ice Rink this year is “to return to pre-pandemic levels in all areas of the rink and especially across our hockey programs.”
The best advice he has received is “to always work from your heart and listen to your staff and customers.”
And finally, his favorite ice cream is “anything with peanut butter mixed in - ColdStone style.”
Welcome to the role, Glen!
Bear Sightings
10U1 Preseason
12U1 Preseason
14U1 Stockton Tournament
14U2 Preseason
We Want to Hear From You
Please let us know what is on your mind. We want to hear from you with this short two-question survey.
Look for this newsletter to come to your inbox on a regular basis. Thanks for all you do for your hockey kids and for your support of the Oakland Hockey program. Newsletter submissions can be sent to Jason Dearborn or Chana Fitton
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