2007 NCAA Champions!

NAHA Alum Mikka Nordby and Kyla Sanders concluded a thrilling weekend in Lake Placid as mambers of the 2007 NCAA DI National Champion Wisconsin Badgers, with a 4-1 victory over the U Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. Many present and past NAHA players and staff were on hand for a great weekend of hockey. NAHA was represented on both benches as another former player, Julianne Vasichek was on the UMD bench as an assistant coach.

The Hockey Program

College coaches look at girls who have been a part of the NAHA program differently than recruits from other hockey programs and prep schools. They are viewed as having a better understanding of the game, of the preparation it takes physically, athletically and psychologically to compete at the highest levels, and are better prepared to meet the challenges at the collegiate level. Their dedication and commitment to excellence has been tested in a demanding program where they have learned to balance their academic and athletic obligations.

The NAHA program is an intensive, high-performance program where the players are treated as athletes with the potential to play at the elite levels of their sport. Aspects of the program are modeled after the best college programs in the country, and assets are provided to these athletes that are only available at the U.S. Olympic Training Centers. Players are on the ice six days a week, either practicing or competing. All aspects of the program- education, daily schedule, nutrition, and athletic- are integrated and planned to give our athletes the ability to excel on and off the ice. The competitive schedule is unlike any for female hockey players of this age, and our girls are challenged in every game, about one-third with US colleges, and the remainder with the top female teams in the US in Canada.

Players select the NAHA program for a variety of reasons: exposure, development, opportunities to train and play with better players, college placement, and to prepare for all aspects of college life.

NAHA Grads 2006

Exposure: No program in the US or Canada receives more attention from scouts than NAHA. We play a schedule that takes to us to all corners of the eastern US, and to the top tournaments in the US and Canada. Colleges from both east and west make repeat visits to our games to evaluate and see the development of our athletes.

Development: We have continually received feedback from both college and national team coaches that they are amazed with the development and progress of the players at NAHA. Our philosophy, which is the foundation for the template for our on and off-ice training, is focused on making players who are responsible, accountable, problem solvers, can improvise and make decisions. We also have an extensive off-ice program including a strength training, as well as Speed, Agility and Quickness program. These are coupled with methods that teach players to play the game while developing game sense, and the result has been a rapid development of players while at NAHA. Some players come for one year, others for four.

Opportunities: Often girls who come to NAHA have reached the end of the development in their local, grass-roots programs. The need to play at a higher level and with better players to continue to develop. We have two teams that, for some, create a progression and a steppingstone to our Elite team.

College placement: We have an excellent, 100% placement record for our student-athletes in colleges. Our director works with seniors and PG?s to determine the best fit for our players, then is an advocate for them during their college search. While many DI players have come out of the program, there are also DIII players, and we work to find the best fit for out girls.

Life preparation: During their stay at NAHA, girls learn many life lessons, and mature. The NAHA experience is a great vehicle to prepare for the independence of college while receiving support, guidance and preparation for that experience.