Calgary, AB – Hockey Canada announced on Thursday that it has formed an agreement with hotSPORTSnetworks Corp. and coachesPLANNER online products to provide enhanced resources on its www.coachesclub.net web site for Hockey Canada coaches who sign up for the services.

Over the past three seasons Hockey Canada’s Coaches’ Club, located at www.coachesclub.net, has provided a cutting edge, interactive web site that gives coaches the tools to improve themselves and their players. www.coachesclub.net emphasizes skill development and fair play, as key elements in helping kids have fun when they play hockey.

By way of this new agreement, Hockey Canada will be merging its www.coachesclub.net web site with the added functionality provided by coachesPLANNER to provide the most advanced hockey coaching resource tools and team management tool on the market today.

“Coaches in minor hockey are always looking for ways to manage their coaching environment,” said Johnny Misley, Hockey Canada’s Vice President of Hockey. “The Coaches Club at www.coachesclub.net gives all coaches who register for its services, the opportunity to enhance their skills in the 3 key areas of coaching – leadership, planning and organization.”

“The development of hockey players begins with the education of minor hockey coaches,” said Ryan Walter, former NHL player and founder and president of the hotSPORTSnetworks, “Canada is always on the leading edge in the development of the game of hockey – we are extremely excited that this new partnership will take our best-in-class internet delivered coachesPLANNER and merge this with Hockey Canada’s vast hockey content, knowledge-base and expertise.”

With the new partnership between Hockey Canada and coachesPLANNER, the new enhanced functionality at www.coachesclub.net will allow coaches who register for Coaches Club to:

– Utilize animated drills for all ages of players from minor hockey to the pros

– Build and print practice plans

– E-mail the practice plan to players so they may view drills online prior to practice

– Automatically archive practice plans to review or prepare for the next season

– Evaluate individual players and the team, and select drills for improvements

– Create game sheets for lineup combinations

– Track players’ statistics

– Organize the team – enter roster, contact and medical information

– E-mail players, parents, coaches and managers

– Post a team calendar online

– Make schedules, rosters and practice plans viewable online to players and parents

– Offer a message board for all participants

“This is an exciting day for all coaches in Canada as we re-launch an interactive tool for coaches from all levels – 75,000 coaches and ultimately over 500,000 players will feel a real positive impact from this resource”, said Jacques Martin, Ottawa Senators Head Coach and Honorary Chairman of the Hockey Canada Coaching Committee.

Current features of the Coaches Club website at www.coachesclub.net that will continue to provide coaches with an excellent online educational tool include “The Goalie Zone”, “Ask the Expert”, coaching video clips of skill execution, coaching articles on technical skills, teaching tactics, team systems, off ice training and nutrition, and motivational quotes and slogans.

Existing Coaches Club members will be introduced to the new, enhanced web site immediately when logging onto www.coachesclub.net, while new members can sign up for a free Bronze membership by visiting www.coachesclub.net. A more complete membership featuring a number of excellent planning tools will be available through a Silver membership at $ 79.95 per annum. The Gold members, priced at $ 89.95 per annum, will give members full access to all the tools including the drillBUILDER, skillDEVELOPER, and gamePLANNER components. Information on all three packages for coaches interested in signing up is available at www.coachesclub.net

ABOUT hotSPORTSnetworks Corp.

hotSPORTSnetworks develops and integrates online coaching products for hockey players of all ages and skill levels through specific Internet sites. These websites provide a multifaceted level of instruction, training and knowledge-based tools for associations, coaches, players and support persons.

hotSPORTSnetworks is presently a private corporation resident in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It has been in operation for in excess of three years and draws from over 90 years of business experience from its Founders and Directors. At the time of this release, hotSPORTSnetworks employs 12 people in its Vancouver offices.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Brad Pascall
Director, Communications
Hockey Canada H
(403) 777-4556
bpascall@hockeycanada.ca