Mission Arizona


Clausen takes off-ice training to new level W


By Shane Dale But Clausen didn’t let that


hy would a man who worked for years to be-


come a professional trainer for a Major League Baseball team leave that job to perform the same function for a youth hockey


organization? Two simple reasons: Todd Clausen, the new off-


ice trainer for Mission Arizona, loves kids, and he wanted to make sure his family came first. “We decided to make (Arizona) home, my wife,


kids and I,” said Clausen, who moved his way through the minor leagues before spending seven years as a trainer with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “After my son started kindergarten, we decided that the road of professional sports wasn’t the best because I was gone so much.” Clausen earned his degree in Physiology from


Central Missouri State and went on to be a high school baseball and basketball coach before he went on to train in the Tampa Bay Rays farm system. But his son,Macrae, developed an interest in hockey when he and his family lived in California. “A neighborhood kid played hockey, and they


became good buddies at school,” Clausen said. “I came home one day, and he said he wanted to play hockey, which was the only sport I didn’t know too much about.”


deter him from supporting his son on the ice. “I encouraged him and let the


coaches coach him,” he said. “But I do get involved as far as his ath- letic training.” When Clausen and his fam-


ily moved to the Valley, Macrae quickly caught on with Mission Arizona. Now 12 years old, he’s a forward on the program’s Pee Wee Red team. “I kind of learned the ropes


of youth hockey and approached (Mission coach-in-chief Jeremy Goltz) and told him I’d like to get involved, and he brought me on,” said Clausen. Clausen said working with


stronger, and do it age-appropri- ately,” he said. “With the young kids, we focus on balance and flexibility; as they get older, we add in the strength part of it. “To me, all the components of


fitness with athletes are equally im- portant, so I don’t really feel there’s a huge rush for strength compared to quickness. I kind of let nature take its course with the kids before I add components down the line.” Goltz has been thrilled with


Clausen’s impact during his first year at Mission. “He’s been a great addition to our


younger people like he did during his high school coaching days is a better fit for him. “That was inspiring to me,” he said, “and being


on the age of the kids. “My job is to teach them how to get faster and


Former Major League Baseball trainer Todd Clausen, pictured working with Pee Wee Red player Jordan Behm, brings a wealth of experience to the Mission program.


part of a team, whether it’s with the kids or profes- sional athletes, is fun for me.” Clausen’s approach to training largely depends


program and really helped round us out, from conditioning to footwork,” he said. “Todd’s focus on athleticism falls right in line with USA Hockey and its beliefs that better athletes make better hockey players.” For Clausen, the most rewarding part of the switch from the pros is


getting back to what he loves: working with kids. That’s why he wants to stick with Mission for as long as Goltz and company will have him. “Jeremy has been great to me, and whether my


son keeps playing hockey or not, I’d like to continue to be a part of Mission,” he said.


MissionArizonaIce.org Arizona Amateur Hockey Association


State to add A-, B-level championships T


By Brett Fera


he Sonoran Youth Hockey League announced prior to the 2011-12 season that it wouldn’t be holding a regular season - only its well-received annual tournaments, like the Coyotes Cup (see more on the


event on Page 13).


That’s where the Arizona Amateur Hockey As- sociation (AAHA) plans to step in. While state playdowns have long existed for Tier I- and Tier II-levels (usually consisting of AA- and AAA-level programs), the Sonoran League’s championships served as the unofficial, de-facto state championships for the A and B levels.


Thus, with the Sonoran League’s hiatus, the state’s governing body decided that, for 2012, it would hold state championships for the A and B levels as well.


Details are still being worked out - the AAHA is estimating games in mid-March - but it’s be- lieved every rink will have an opportunity to host some of the games.


State board discusses Tier I status If there’s been one Arizona hockey trend that’s topped the others in recent years, it might be the


proliferation of Tier I-level programs throughout the state.


While in the early years there might have been a team or two - spread across all levels - compet- ing on behalf of Arizona, the number of Tier I teams offered seems to have grown exponentially of late.


“It’s a really interesting discussion, and it seems like everyone has an opinion,” explained Joe Petruzzella, a member of the AAHA’s board of directors representing the Coyotes Amateur Hockey Association.


The question has been fairly direct: Is it in the best interest of Arizona to have one Tier I pro- gram at each level (Squirt, Bantam, Midget 16U, Midget 18U, etc.), or have various associations or programs sport Tier I teams as they see fit? The answer isn’t so simple.


Should associations decide if their teams are Tier I capable? Or should one team of the state’s top 15-20 players at an age group represent Ari- zona nationally?


It’s not known when or if an answer might arise, but the discussions at the state level will likely continue in the coming months. “The state (wants) to do what’s best for (the) kids,” Petruzzella said.


Changes mark RMD selection process Each year, it seems as if the contingent of


AZAmateurHockey.org RubberHockey.com 7


players representing Arizona at USA Hockey’s Rocky Mountain District (RMD) and national player development camps continues to get bet- ter, and more plentiful. But before players can go on to Utah, where


the RMD camp is held, or the national camp, they must pass through the local stages and, in 2012, that process might see its first significant change in some time. Petruzzella said that this year Arizona plans


on bringing in evaluators from outside the region to help get a grasp on the state’s talent and help decide who moves on to the district camp. Since it’s likely cost-prohibitive to bring an


independent outside evaluator to Arizona for a full week - this year’s Arizona camps are sched- uled to run from April 2-7 for 1995-98 birth years - local hockey community leaders will still be heavily involved. If a camp starts with 50 players, it might be


30 by the weekend when the outside evaluator comes in to help choose the final group; usually about 12-15 players per age group advance to Utah. Any USA Hockey registered player - boys


and girls - who fits the proper birth years and is active with an Arizona hockey association is eligible to signup for the Arizona camp. More information will be available in the coming weeks at AZAmateurHockey.org.


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