Volume 5 Issue 2 | September 2020
HOPE IS POWERFUL & EVERLASTING
Hi everyone.

This year will go down in history without a doubt… a pandemic, our economy being crippled, people losing their jobs & livelihoods, professional & amateur sports shut down, etc. Then factor in the record-breaking heat & not being able to enjoy all those fun summer concerts, water parks, festivals, barbeques… life. The list goes on & on but the one thing we should all agree on is ‘hope’.
Hope is powerful & everlasting. Hope for the ones we love to stay healthy & strong. Hope for schools to reopen with the proper safeguards in place. Hope that those who lost their jobs find new ones. Hope that we can soon get back to normalcy… whatever that may look like. Hope for hockey to return full force.

Understanding that this year has affected every single person, young & old, in a way no one ever expected is the first step to picking yourself up & getting back on track with life. Realizing that life holds so much love, fun & adventure makes you stronger than you know & capable of conquering any task ahead of you.

Hockey doesn’t look normal right now… SO WHAT.
Now is the perfect time & the perfect situation to fine tune the parts of your game you rarely give a thought to. Let’s examine those parts:
  • Nutrition – When was the last time you wrote down exactly what you eat daily & recognized you’re not eating like a fine-tuned athlete?
  • Rules of Hockey – How well do you know the rules & what the officials see?
  • Exercise – How well do you tone & strengthen the muscles needed to take a proper skating stride or flip your wrist for that perfect stick handling move? For that matter, how often are you actually working on your skills?... stick handling, shooting, hockey strides (hint… you don’t need to be on the ice).
There is so much that can be done even if games are not being played & just think how much stronger you’ll be when we do begin games again. Being a good athlete in any sport is about bringing all the components together… mind, body & spirit. Work on the small stuff to be great at the big stuff. Stepping on the ice is the easy part; what you do before & after is what makes you a complete person & athlete. These are the areas that everyone forgets about during normal times.
In the July issue of Girls Snapshot, we listed some questions for you to answer that examine how you see yourself. Below is a Word Search with the answers you all shared. Use the words you find in the Word Search to empower yourself and your self-confidence every day!

Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy & keep the HOPE!!

Anita Lichterman
AHAI Girls Chair
AHAI COVID-19 UPDATES
The AHAI Board of Directors want to take this opportunity to reach-out to all of you to provide an update on the current status of ice hockey in Illinois.

The challenges relating to the COVID-19 pandemic are daunting and ever-changing. The AHAI Board empathizes with you and understands there are a myriad of COVID-19 related issues which created a series of challenges for rink facilities, leagues, clubs, parents, and most importantly players, that are not just unique – they are unprecedented.

While we all wish that hockey could return to “normal” this is simply not possible at this point in time. And none of us know when “normal” might be possible.

We want to make it clear that AHAI, in its role and responsibility as the governing body for amateur hockey in the State of Illinois, is in contact with medical experts and policy-makers in the State of Illinois to consider all avenues to (1) keep everyone as safe as possible, and (2) explore options to offer the membership as robust and as full a hockey experience as possible in the current environment.

AHAI will not trade safety for expediency but we want you to know that we are working on your behalf.

Please click button below to read AHAI's most recent statement regarding game play.