Photo courtesy of The St. James
Alexander Ovechkin (center) takes part in groundbreaking of The St. James in Springfield
Alexander Ovechkin takes part in groundbreaking of The St. James in Springfield
A new youth hockey academy for boys and girls is launching at a mega-sportsplex opening in September in Springfield. The St. James Hockey Academy will include Squirt (U10), Pee Wee (U12) and Bantam (U14) levels.
The St. James is a sports, wellness and active entertainment destination set to open in September in Springfield. The 450,000-square foot complex sits on a 20-acre campus in Fairfax County and will offer sports and wellness venues and programming, lifestyle amenities and family-centered active entertainment.
Hockey players will enjoy the benefits of two NHL-sized ice rinks, an off-ice training center that will house a skating treadmill and a RapidShot hockey-training system as well as a high-performance center with certified strength and conditioning coaches.
“It’s going to be huge for kids who want to be involved on the ice,” said Washington Capitals Captain Alex Ovechkin at The St. James groundbreaking. “I wish I had those kinds of facilities when I was a kid.”
Youth hockey coach Tim Graham will serve as director of The St. James Hockey Club and will coach the Squirt travel team. A native of Boston, Graham was a nationally-recognized student-athlete at St. Paul’s (N.H.) School. He went on to play at Middlebury College, winning two NCAA Division III national championships in 2004 and 2005. Graham began his coaching career as a power skating and skills coach for renowned NHL player development icon Paul Vincent while in high school and college. He later built on this experience by coaching various D.C.-metro area AAA youth teams and working as a private instructor. Graham’s students have gone on to play for the U.S. Olympic team and Division I colleges, including Penn State and Yale, and others.
“We’re thrilled to be able to create new opportunities for hockey players throughout the Greater Washington Region,” said Graham. “Hockey players – and young women especially – are a particularly underserved population. With the resources that we have invested in our program, we are confident that The St. James Hockey Academy will strongly advance the growth of the game in the region.”
In addition to Graham, the Academy features a dynamic team of coaches with experience at the youth, collegiate and professional levels.
Vermont native Brady Leisenring will serve as The St. James’ Director of Hockey Coaching while working alongside Chris Warren, a Northern Virginia native and highly-regarded coach, and Kyra Herbert, formerly of the North America Hockey Academy (NAHA) in Vermont. Together, they provide vast experience as players and coaches to student-athletes at all levels of development.
Growing up in Stowe, Vermont, Leisenring excelled in youth hockey, tennis and soccer. He had a long and distinguished hockey career, which began at the Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, New Hampshire. Brady played three seasons for the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and later served as three-time captain of the University of Vermont’s hockey team. Leisenring’s’s professional hockey career spanned nine years and included time playing in the American Hockey League and for teams in Germany, Sweden and Denmark. Brady most recently served as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL) before joining The St. James.
Players interested in The St. James Hockey Academy can find additional information regarding tryouts at https://go.thestjames.co/ice-hockey3. Tryouts will be held June 2 and June 3 at the Rockville Ice Rink in Rockville, Maryland. Registration for tryouts started May 2. Register by visiting The St. James sales studio at 6805 Industrial Road, Springfield or by calling (703) 239-6870. Questions about the ice hockey programs at The St. James can be directed to tim.graham@thestjames.co.
In addition to the youth Hockey Academy, The St. James Hockey Club will offer programs for players of all ages and ability levels, including in-house youth and adult leagues and developmental programs such as learn-to-play, power skating, skills and positioning programs.
