Palm Beach Blackhawks creating F


or Tim Kyrkostas, it’s all about player development, both on and off


the ice. In his second season as director of


hockey operations for the Palm Beach Blackhawks organization, Kyrkostas has put his long tenure in the South Florida hockey scene to good use. The minor hockey program that


Kyrkostas directs is comprised of nine teams, everything from Mites all the way up to Midgets. ”It’s a long story,” said Kyrkostas of his journey through a myriad of hockey positions. “I’ve been involved in the hockey scene here in South Florida for the last eight years. I’ve done every- thing from coaching the Florida Atlantic University club hockey team to even having a short stint as the skills coach for the Florida Panthers in the NHL.” Now, he’s training the area youth for a shot to advance their careers. With the Palm Beach organization,


Kyrkostas has instituted a system that tracks the progress of the complete individual who steps on the ice repre- senting the Blackhawks. “A couple of things we’re doing here, I think, are pretty unique,” said Kyrkos- tas. “We have each player fill out an academic and an athletic goal sheet. We actually track every single one of our players that are in our program. They have meetings with their coaches at the beginning of the season. The coaches go over the goal sheet with the player. We have a player file that we keep so that we can track their devel- opment and progression.” In addition to keeping track of their goals in the classroom and on the ice, the Blackhawks organization maintains a full, detailed scouting report on each player. “We’re doing that so that if a player starts in our program as a Mite and then comes up to Bantam, when we get inquiry phone calls from prep school and junior coaches, we can go right to the file,” explained Kyrkostas. “We can ask what they want to know and we’ll have all the information.“ The means to that developmental


end fostered by the hard data that they maintain is the responsibility of Kyrkos- tas and his coaching staff. Palm Beach Skate Zone, the Hawks’ home base, has two sheets of ice and also a third sheet that’s used for roller hockey. There are no frills. “Instead of pumping up the facility, we pride ourselves on our coaches,” said Kyrkostas. “I think we have one of the best coaching staffs in South Florida. I get the best hockey guys I kind find and let them do their job to


unique youth development model By Bob Miller


develop the kids. “I have Bobby Davis, among others, who played college hockey at Northeastern University and in the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he won a national championship with Des Moines. He played several years of pro hockey in Europe. What we’re trying to do here is to find the best coaches in the area and have them grow our program.” The organization also uses Goal One, a fitness company out of Rochester, N.Y., that has off-ice training equip- ment.


“They do a great job with the slide-


boards,” Kyrkostas said. “They help implement off-ice training for the kids.” On- ice work, fitness, and academic


goal-setting all tie into the goal of de- veloping the whole individual. “It’s something we’re trying to


preach to our parents and our kids,” said Kyrkostas of the final product. “We’re trying to do the right thing in terms of their development. Our goal isn’t to win national championships. It would be nice, but the odds of us beat- ing (Detroit-area powerhouses) Little Caesars or Honeybaked aren’t in our favor. Our goal is to try to develop as many players as we can to hopefully get them up the ranks and off to prep school, college or junior hockey. “To get a kid into college hockey,


that’s a home run in terms of success on our scoreboard.”


HERE’S WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT


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Tim Kyrkostas is the driving force behind the Palm Beach Blackhawks, but credits the coaching staff for much of the organization’s success.


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