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These last three months have seen ideas come to fruition, some just get off the ground, others put on the back burner, and still others shot down all together. It seems that we throw things out there and see what sticks. I hope this will be the way it always is. You have a great development board that has underwater hockey as its passion. You have many other people working behind the scenes with the same kind of passion. However, we need your help. We need everybody to share their excitement for hockey wherever they go. Who knows where that new player will come from? Could it be from work? Or from your gym? Do people even know you play underwater hockey? You never know what might happen if you throw an invitation out there … it might stick.

We would also like to urge everyone to try to get better. Try a new stickhandling move, work on your shot, or even play a new position. If you saw something you like, ask the person to show you how. Go to a clinic, play in a tournament, take a risk. This week, play outside of your comfort zone. Ask yourself—or someone else—what it will take to get your game to the next level. There are plenty of people that will help you do this. Let us know if we can help in any way.

What have we been doing the last three months? Let me try to give you a quick summary.

1) Our first “Team in a Box” was sent out March 24. Actually, it was picked up from the Redig home because Emily Carter from the University of Rhode Island lives close by. The kit consists of 14 pairs of sticks, 14 gloves, a puck, and now 14 sets of headgear. A second one was sent out to Georgia Tech to get that team started. As always, these projects take on lives of their own. Steve and Rick from Chicago are busy making gloves and sticks. The Sykes from Sandwich, Mass. also made a set of gloves to be sent to a new club. Then there is the Minnesota club. They took a practice off one Sunday and got together to make a set of gloves and sticks for a new team. It’s the ability of these players to see the big picture that makes our job exciting. Sandwich, Chicago, and Minnesota show that we are all in this together.

Steve Frankel

Rick Bell

The Minnesota Team

The Minnesota “Team in a Box” party

2) We have brochures ready to be handed out as you recruit new players. Each brochure offers a brief introduction to the sport, and has a place where you can put your club’s contact information. Our first fifty have been mailed to David Green in LA. If those fifty bring in even one new player, it will be well worth it. All you have to be is a USOA member, and we will be happy to send a stack of brochures to you.

3) We also have mailed over 15 postcards to new players, welcoming them to the sport. The response has been wonderful but I need addresses. If you have a new player, send me their address and I will send them one.

4) The Symposium on Friday, July 25 from 7-10pm.
We are very excited about this. We have great people sharing their ideas about great topics. If you plan on coming to Nationals, don’t miss this night. If you can’t come, we are still firming up plans and methods to make sure everyone has the opportunity to share in this information.

5) We are still recruiting regional directors. Thus far, we have four regional directors in place. We are still looking for someone for the Southwest, the Northwest, and the Southeast regions, as well as directors for College and High School. Maria de Caussin is your regional director for the Midwest. Nicole and Chris Van Nood are your regional directors for the Central region and Joe Klinger is the regional director for the Northeast. Brigit Grimm accepted the position of Women’s director. Unfortunate news came from Greg Mullersman this week. He regrets having to step down from the college directorship. His fingerprint is on the Georgia Tech team, which he and Nicole Mazouch helped get established.

Things you will hopefully see shortly:

1) Equipment– We are working with Leisure Pro for ordering equipment. When you order through them, they will donate 5% back to Underwater Hockey.

2) Beginners training DVD and pamphlet

As you can see, we are working hard on your behalf. To let us know how we are doing, please come introduce yourself to us at the Development table during Nationals. We would love to place some of these names with faces. Have a great summer, and who knows, I might see you on the bottom.

Maria de Caussin, Midwest Director of UWH Development
May 23, 2008

Chicago, Ill.
I’ll start at home. We’ve had a lot going on here the last couple months. Starting with April 10, 2008, our ‘Girls in the Game’ group joined us at Kennedy King College for an evening of hockey fun. We had 13 young girls between the ages of 12 and 17 learn the game and actually scrimmage. They had a great time and were very grateful to all the help they got from our Chicago players. We’ll see a much larger group of these young girls (up to 1,200) on May 29, 2008 at UIC campus for the ‘Give Girls Game Fitness Festival’. Chicago Underwater Hockey is one of 12 booths chosen to participate in the festival. Along with the booth, we will have an opportunity to put on a 20-minute stage demonstration. It should be inspirational.

Something else happening in Chicago is the Tuesday/Thursday high school group playing with Tom & Patty at Downers Grove North HS. They’ve had groups as large as 17 kids. The kids have quickly picked up the knowledge and skills of UWH and are now bringing their game to our Sunday night practices. It’s great to see them join us. I think some of them are getting hooked!

The first Sunday of each month, the first hour of practice is devoted to new players. We started this in May and had 6 new players participate. Some came from the high school but others came from ultimate Frisbee and one was just a buddy of a players. Best yet, three of them have come back.

Chicago plans to send a team to Nationals in July. We have extended an invitation to interested players from the Madison and Green Bay clubs in Wisconsin and the club in Holland, Mich. to join our team. These clubs haven’t been to real tournaments, but seem to be interested. It would be nice to see some of them join us.

Champaign, Ill.
Jen Gall will be moving to DC soon, so we have a new contact: Mark Russell – mrmork87@gmail.com
The Champaign group will be sending a team to Nationals. They are getting the IMPE pool (called ARC) back in the fall with their old practice times. They’ve just restocked their equipment for the club and are planning a fall session to introduce 50 new people to UWH (Aug 21-22). They are looking for UWH instructional literature to hand out at this fall session. The Champaign fall tournament will be either Nov 29-30 or Dec 6-7.

Cincinnati, Ohio
Along with the contact of Andy Kalb akjello@cinci.rr.com, we have: Joe Gerring (513) 265-7349 aimer212000@yahoo.com
Joe recently contacted Chicago about scrimmaging before Nationals. They are willing to make the trip up to Chicago. I’ve notified the regional clubs about a possible one-day scrimmage and found most clubs interested, including Holland, Mich., MSU, Madison, Wisc., and Green Bay, Wisc. We’re still working on a pool.

Michigan State University
MSU is sending a team to Nationals and they are holding summer practices on Tuesday evenings. They would have a carload interested in making a trip to Chicago for a day of scrimmaging. I believe MSU is looking to hold a clinic in September.

Minnesota
Minnesota is sending a team to Nationals this year. Their practices will go from two a week to just one a week for the summer months. They just finished making a “Team in a Box,” including sticks and gloves that will soon be shipped to the National Development Director. I also found out that Chris Tomasso will be leaving for China in June for an undisclosed amount of time. Wow!

Green Bay, Wisc.
Green Bay won’t be sending a team to Nationals, but they are interested in getting together with Chicago for a scrimmage. They have a few more weeks of practices this spring, but won’t have any summer practices. They have 8 or 9 guys in their mid to late 20s who have been playing for a few years. Then there is a group of 4 or 5 guys in their mid 40s. I believe a couple of these guys are really into their hockey.

Ohio State University
Katie Rademacher has made moves to put OSU back on the map for UWH. She has names of other students interested in trying hockey in the fall and may have a faculty advisor lined up. Katie has also been in contact with Bill and Jane Margiotta who are willing to help with equipment. Bill and Jane are anxious to bring UWH back to OSU.

Escanaba, Mich.
Steve Kars is not playing and has been pretty busy with work. He had plans to hold a kids camp this summer, but it fell through. He won’t be attending Nationals this year. He wanted information about Green Bay’s club to play with, but Green Bay doesn’t have practices during the summer.

Roger Bacon HS, Ohio
The kids will be sending one or two teams to Nationals. They will have summer practices on Sundays, but will be off for the month of August. Paul Wittekind will be holding UWH camp for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from June 23-27.

Holland, Mich.
Darin Masselink is the Aquatic Supervisor at the Holland Aquatic Center and has been running hockey practices for 4 or 5 years during the school year. They played on Tuesday and Sunday nights, but won’t have any summer practices. They are very interested in coming to Chicago for a day of scrimmaging, but are concerned about their lack of knowledge about officiating. Darin’s correct email address is: dmasselink@hollandaquaticcenter.org

In summary, I believe Chicago is centrally located and easy for many of the regional clubs to get to. I want to make something happen to bring everyone together this summer. I also plan to increase USOA membership throughout the Midwest regional clubs.

Finally, I think it would be great to make a presentation to the Chicago Park District about Underwater Hockey. They have never been officially approached about playing in their pools. I don’t know if I can do it alone, but I would like to meet with Janet McDonnaugh, supervisor of Beaches and Pools with the Park District. It would be helpful to know how our insurance policy can be applied to the Park District pools. The city pools would open some great opportunities, if we can get in.

Joe Klinger, Northeast Director of UWH Development
May 23, 2008

MIT Underwater Hockey (Boston, Mass.)
Contact: Jason Lapinta (339) 222-6848 the5@MIT.edu

University of Massachusetts, Lowell Underwater Hockey Club (Lowell, Mass.)
The UMASS Lowell tournament was very good. The potluck format worked very well to level the teams, allowed newer players to mix in, and maintained the overall intensity of play. In addition, two sets of separate challenge games each day allowed less experienced players to face each other and the more experienced players to test each other during one game. Everyone got to play 4 to 6 games each day—no shortage of playing time. During the last three games to decide the final places, each of the top three teams had a chance at the top place.

Chris Niezrecki could use some additional support assuming he is interested in hosting another tournament next year. It’s a good venue with cheap hotel rooms and a nice pool (albeit with a steep slope to the deep end). Kudos to Chris for doing a great job pulling this together for the third year in a row. Contact: Chris Niezrecki (603) 424-5598 nierzrecki@yahoo.com

Framingham Underwater Hockey (Framingham, Mass.)
Despite pool problems, the group is going strong and playing on Monday nights through the summer. Strong presence at the UMASS Lowell tournament, and a few members joined up with the CT Barnacles for a trip up to Montreal. Contact: Eric Matez (508) 429-3612 e.matez@comcast.net

Sandwich H.S. (Sandwich, Mass.)
A pool of our youngest players. Several played in the UMASS meet. Also making gloves to support their club. Contact: Rob Sykes (508) 783-8265 sykesman@aol.com

RI Red Underwater Hockey (Warwick, R.I.)
Good participation in the Warwick pool this year. More new players. The URI students are poised to form their own club during the next school year. Members played at the UMASS potluck meet and also joined forces with Connecticut teams in Montreal and Quebec, and will do likewise at Nationals. Contact: John Langella (401) 884-2081 biodiver@cox.net; or Joe Klinger (401) 359-1924 needgills@cox.net; Website: www.rireduwh.com

University of Rhode Island (Kingston, R.I.)
The newest club on the block, the URI gang will be starting up in the fall semester. Several members have been playing in Warwick and with the SECONN club in Connecticut. A good potential for an influx of young players. Contact: Emily Carter emily_carter@mail.uri.edu

SECONN Underwater Hockey (East Lyme & Avery Point, Conn.)
Lots of hockey in Connecticut this year with games on Thursdays in Stratford (Barnacles), Fridays in Groton/Avery Point, and Sundays in East Lyme. East Lyme wraps up for the season this weekend and Avery Point will close for June for tile repairs. Contact: Peter Papathanasiou (860) 848-1300 technicad@ct.metrocast.net; Website: www.seconnuwh.com

CT Barnacles (Stratford, Conn.)
The club sent teams to Montreal and Quebec. With the help of Timmy Burke, Lenny, and Chris Niezrecki from Massachusetts, the Barnacles had their best showing at Montreal ever. The team still placed 9th out of 9 in the A division, but kept scores differentials to 4 or below, except for the first game. Even scored several goals and had only two shut out games. Truly amazing compared to every other year. The team placed 5th place in the A division in Quebec after a grueling tournament. Individual members participated in the UMASS Lowell potluck tournament and at Worlds in South Africa. The Stratford practice will continue on Thursday nights throughout the summer. Contact: Jamie Saulnier (203) 426-8824 JS@alumni.cmu.edu; Barnacles’ website: http://members.tripod.com/jls_website/ct_uwh/

New York Underwater Hockey (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Meghan reports that they have just finished making pool time arrangements and will be creating a new practice schedule soon. Meghan captained the “Chewbacca” team at the UMASS potluck meet and will be competing at Nationals in Gainesville in July. Contact: Meghan Cerveny meghan@nyuwh.com; Website: http://www.nyuwh.com/

New Jersey Underwater Hockey (Newark, N.J.)
A lot of momentum out of this new group. Playing twice a week in what is supposed to be the best pool around. Flat, all tile, with room for two games at a time. Stay tuned for possible clinics and tournaments coming soon. Contact: Chris Jolie solidus314@gmail.com; Website: http://groups.google.com/group/njuwh

Also in the planning is a NE region one-day clinic/tournament in the Newark pool on Saturday June 22. Chris Jolie and Andy Dunkinson will be points of contact.

Pine Richland Stingrays (Pittsburgh, Penn.)
Contact: Deb Ramage (724) 776-2305
Website: dramage1@hotmail.com

Beltway Bottom Feeders (Washington, D.C.)
Contact: David Sun dsun_mail@yahoo.com
Website: http://dc.underwaterhockey.com/

George Mason University (Washington, D.C.)
GMU hosted their 3rd annual April Fools Tournament this spring. This year’s tournament was geared towards college-level play. Unlike years past, there were no open teams, only college and pre-college teams. In addition to the GMU crew, teams from UNC, MSU, UIUC, UF, Sandwich HS, and two teams from Roger Bacon showed up to play. Contact: Aaron Deutsch wdeutsch@gmu.edu

Worlds
Several Northeast players (or players with NE roots) competed in South Africa last month. These included “Big Mike” Ciechorski (CT Barnacles/Newark, N.J.), Andy Dunkinson (CT Barnacles/Newark, N.J.), Roger Fuller (Club Puck/transplant & part-time right-coaster), Pat Hanrahan (CT Barnacles), David Sun (DC Beltway Bottom Feeders), and Mike Torchia (CT Barnacles left-coast transplant). Thanks guys for representing us at this tough level of play. Big Mike, a commercial diver in the NYC area, joined the Masters Team last minute after getting his union to sponsor his trip.

Nationals
With Nationals coming up at the end of July, teams are being formed. It looks like a few NE players will be playing with old teammates on FL teams. The CT Barnacles are close to a full team. New Jersey may send a team. Anybody else? If you are interested in playing, but don’t have a team, there may be opportunities to pool our players and form a Northeast team or two.