Hockey Nova Scotia is excited to announce that Rebecca Warner and the Eastern Shore Minor Hockey Association have been honoured with a pair of development awards.

The Eastern Shore Minor Hockey Association has been named the 2023 Hockey Nova Scotia Development Association of the Year, while association development coordinator Rebecca Warner has been announced as the winner of our 2023 Development Coordinator of the Year Award.

With Rebecca helping to lead the way, the Eastern Shore association has been consistently improving development opportunities for players and coaches over multiple seasons. In the 2021-22 season, they implemented a successful model that utilized local support to provide development opportunities for their membership.

Here are some examples of what they did:

Goalie Clinics: Eastern Shore offered free goalie clinics for participants of all ages, which is unique compared to other associations. These clinics were mandated by their policies and well-received by the goalies.

Pre-season Conditioning Camps: They organized a series of conditioning camps before the season, focusing on power skating, skills, and game-ready competition. Players had the flexibility to choose the camp sessions that best suited their needs for tryouts and the upcoming season.

Power Skating Sessions: During the fall, Eastern Shore arranged power skating sessions for their membership. They also collaborated with their local Jr. C team for winter sessions, which helped the coaches and players learn new drills and concepts.

All-Female Session: Towards the end of the season, Eastern Shore hosted an all-female session led by female coaches. This was a great opportunity to promote female participation in hockey.

Jr. Coaching Program: Eastern Shore launched a Jr. Coaching program in the same season, integrating older players interested in coaching with younger teams. These junior coaches underwent workshops to enhance their development and immediately made a positive impact on the younger teams. The Jr. coach program was highly successful and is expected to continue growing.

Overall, Rebecca and the Eastern Shore association have been proactive in creating diverse and beneficial development initiatives, including goalie clinics, tailored conditioning camps, power skating sessions, all-female sessions, and the Jr. Coaching program. These efforts have greatly contributed to the growth and improvement of players and coaches within the association.

On behalf of everyone at Hockey Nova Scotia, we would like to congratulate Rebecca Warner and the Eastern Shore Minor Hockey Association on receiving these awards and thank them for their commitment to the development needs of their members.