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District 4 Members Win Awards At MAHA 2015 Summer Meeting; July 2015

07/13/2015, 4:15pm EDT
By D4 7.13.2015
Courtesy Hockey Weekly

Walt and George Atkinson (Courtesy Hockey Weekly)

Justin Maedel winner of the USA Hockey New Leadership Award
Justin is 30 years old and has been involved in coaching in the Canton Victory Honda program since 2009 with the Bantam B team.  In 2010, he stepped up to help the Learn to Play program and has taken over the program as the main person ever since.  Justin has developed over 200 players moving them into the CVHA house and travel programs.  
While being at the rink every Saturday for Learn to Play, Justin stays involved in coaching or assisting CVHA teams from Mite to Bantam.  Justin has been the main coordinator of all the on ice activities for the USA Try Hockey for Free Days and has coordinated the Red Wings Try Hockey for Free events at the rink.  
Spring 2015, the Arctic Edge started a program called Juice Box Hockey. It’s a free program for 4 to 8 years olds, with little or no skating experience, allowing them to participate and try hockey for free with One Goal program equipment and also free ice time.  
Justin stepped up to run the program and assemble the volunteers to help on the ice.  He targeted 40-60 kids for the initial five week program this spring and the program has blossomed in participation to almost 130 kids. 
Justin has a passion for the game of hockey and his love for teaching shows in all the happy faces on the participants. 

Walt and Jean Laxton (Courtesy Hockey Weekly)

USA Eagles (Wildflowers) received the USA Hockey Female Honors Award
Approximately 6 years ago Walt Bartles was determined to build a girls hockey program at his home rink. He put posters in the rink, sent weekly emails, and even sent flyers to the elementary school.  While others were looking for the best players they could for “boys” travel hockey teams, Walt was simply looking for any girl that wanted to play hockey, whether they could skate or not was not even a requirement.  Walt’s posters in the rink read:  “if you’re a girl and you want to play hockey, we want you. If you are a girl and have never skated or played hockey come try it for free” 

“The Wild flowers hockey team needs girl hockey players for our team, no experience needed.” Every family in the rink received at least 2-3 emails inviting their daughters to come and have some fun playing girls hockey. He was a “Man on a mission” 

One day when Walt was approached and asked “what are you doing with the girls program, how can you take players that have never even skated, what kind of team are you expecting to build?  Walt simply smiled, “I don’t care what kind of team I build, I just want to create a fun environment where girls can feel comfortable starting hockey.  I know it could take a while and we will probably get slaughtered in our games but I’ll keep it fun.  By the end of the year, after all his “try hockey” days, and constant e-mail blasts, through his determination, the Wild Flowers were born.  One day while watching them practice Walt skated by the glass with a huge smile giving the thumbs up, It was like a movie.  They were probably called a U 15 team because they had players ranging from 8 years old to 15 years old and 3 feet tall, to 5 foot 6, but it was a team just the same, and everyone was smiling, falling, skating, and having fun.  

Walt played 4 years at MSU and was the captain his senior year. Walt was one of the guys at the rink who you could really learn a lot from.  Walt voluntarily continues to build “his program“to where it is today.  It’s truly amazing what he did for his rink with the girls program he created. The rink now has a U12 , U14, U16 and U18 team, all at the Tier 1 level.  At the Tier 2 level, it has a U10, U12, U14 and U16 team. In addition to all this, there is still the Wild Flowers girls’ house program and girls learn to skate program.  If you come visit the rink on a Monday night you will see 50+ great female hockey players all practicing on one sheet of ice for 90 minutes.  
Courtesy Hockey Weekly

Ron third from the left (Courtesy Hockey Weekly)

Ron Hayes received the Lowell McCoy Award- Referee of the Year
Best known for his learn to skate program in Plymouth and his tireless passion to grow the sport of hockey, Ron Hayes is this year’s recipient of the MAHA Lowell McCoy award as “Referee of the Year”.
 This award is given annually to the person in the officiating community who best displays the passion and enthusiasm that the late Lowell McCoy had not only for officiating, but for making sure the game of hockey is fun and equitable for everyone no matter their ability level.
No person exemplifies this passion quite like Ron Hayes.  Ron has served many seats in the Executive Council of MAHA, served as District 4 Referee in Chief and for over 30 years has run the much heralded Learn to Skate program in Plymouth. 

In 2009 Ron was announced as the recipient of the most prestigious William Thayer Tutt award from USA Hockey which is given annually to the person whose incredible efforts and dedication to the game are unsurpassed and tireless.
Today Ron is the Skills Development Coordinator for MAHA and can still be seen a few times a year carrying the whistle in a local Mite or Squirt game.

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