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| Welcome to CMHA's home on the web! | | |
The CMHA objective is to provide ice hockey programs focused on helping youth of all ages and skill levels to learn the values of teamwork, sportsmanship, commitment, self-esteem, discipline and responsibility.
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| HEADLINES  | | | | | | | 2012 - 2013 Junior Checkers Coaching Staff | | | by
posted 05/07/2012 The CMHA is proud to announce the following coaches for the 2012-2013 Charlotte Junior Checkers! We are looking forward to an exciting and competitive season of hockey!
Squirt “A” Black - Larry Elia
Squirt “A” Red - TBD...
Peewee “A” - Luc Hartwick
Peewee “AA” - Jamie Black
Bantam “A” - Brad Hoffman
Bantam “AA/A” - David James
Bantam “AA” - Steve McKirdy
16U “A” - Kyle Cullen
18U “A” - Johnathan Sourwine
18U “AA” - Bob Halkidis Back to top 
| | | | Free Bike Events for Families in Charlotte - Queen City Bicycles | | | by
posted 04/16/2012
QueenCity Bicycles Bike Charlotte Events
Monday 4/30
Show and Go Booty Loop Ride 5:30 We will gather for a "show and go" ride leaving at 5:30 to go ride the Booty Loop in historic Meyers Park The Booty Loop is a well know 3 mile cycling & running route in the heart of the QueenCity. All level riders are welcome.
Wednesday 5/2
Free Basic Repair and Maintenance Class 5:30 to 7:00 Come join QueenCity Bicycles service manager, John Irvin, as he covers some of the basic things that all cyclists need to know. What to clean, what to lube, how to change a flat tire.
Thursday 5/3
GreenWay Social Ride 5:30pm to 7:00 This is a leisure social ride for all level of riders to showcase and explore the Little Sugar Creek Greenway and its connectivity. We will leave from QueenCity Bicycles and explore south near Park road Shopping Center to north almost in Uptown.There will be a stop or 2 along the way so you may want to bring your wallet if you want any refreshments. The bike ride will finish for a social at East Blvd Bar & Grill for a round of appetizers on us and EBB&G. Mileage is approximately 10miles with little or no hills.
Monday 5/7
Show and Go Booty Loop Ride 5:30 We will gather for a "show and go" ride leaving at 5:30 to go ride the Booty Loop in historic Meyers Park. The Booty Loop is a well know 3 mile cycling & running route in the heart of the QueenCity. All level riders are welcome.
Tuesday 5/8
Scott Road and Mountain Bike Demo 3 to 7 Come test ride Scotts latest carbon road and mountain bikes. Please bring your own helmet and drivers license. Location TBD (expected to be Renaissance Park on Tyvola Rd.)
Wednesday 5/9
Free Road and Mountain Bike Shifter Clinic 5:30 to 7:00 Come join QueenCity Bicycles service manager, John Irvin, as he instructs how to make shifter and derailleur adjustments to both your road and/or mountain bike.
Thursday 5/10
Kids Bike Rodeo 5:oo to 7:00 Bring your kids and Join us in the QueenCity Bicycles parking lot so we can teach them how to be better bike riders. They will learn basic riding techniques as well as the rules of the road and how to make proper stops and turn signals. You can bring your own bike and helmet or we can provide a bike to use for the rodeo if your child does not have one available
Friday 5/11
Ride to the "Ride with the Mayor." We will be meeting at QueenCity Bicycles and leaving at 7:00am promptly to ride to the "Ride with the Mayor" which starts at 7:30 from behind the Dowd YMCA and is the kick off event for Bike Charlotte.
Friday 5/11
Bike Week Social 5:30 to 7:00 Stop by QueenCity Bicycles for a Friday Social. Come hang out, talk shop and watch some great cycling videos with like minded riders. Light refreshments will be served. Back to top
| | | | TEAM USA vs. TEAM CANADA! | | | by
posted 03/23/2012
The Extreme Ice Center is proud to present
TEAM USA
vs.
TEAM CANADA
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SLED HOCKEY
April 19 - 7 PM
April 20 - 7 PM
April 21 - 1 PM
Tickets are $10.00
(includes all 3 games)
KIDS 9 & UNDER ARE FREE!
Tickets go on sale March 26th at 9 am!
Purchase by phone at 704.882.1830 or in person at the XIC!
100% of proceeds support a youth sled hockey program at the XIC!
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| | | | Congratulations Pee Wee AA Charlotte Junior Checkers | | | by
posted 03/01/2012
CHARLOTTE JR. CHECKERS PEE WEE AA WIN 2012 CHL TITLE ON HOME ICE, WILL REPRESENT NORTH CAROLINA AT PEE WEE NATIONALS TOURNAMENT IN WASHINGTON D.C.
The Charlotte Jr. Checkers Pee Wee AA team came into their final homestand of the season needing no less than a victory and a tie to win the 2012 Carolina Hockey League title. And that’s exactly what they did. Heading into the final 2 games of the season against the league leading Raleigh Jr. Hurricanes Major team, the Checkers trailed in the standings by one game, with just two games remaining. Under the leadership of Head Coach Steve McKirdy, the Checkers won the first game of the final series against the Jr. Hurricanes Major team and tied the last game of the season, securing the CHL title by winning the tie breaker under the CAHA National Championship Representative Qualification Process.
“Our boys did everything I asked of them,” said Checkers Head Coach Steve McKirdy. “In keeping with our team mantra for the year "Whatever it Takes", "one team one mission" they worked hard and never gave up to accomplish our ultimate goal: Securing our spot at the last ever Pee Wee National Championships,” said McKirdy.
This year marks the 2nd consecutive season McKirdy has lead the Jr. Checkers to the pinnacle of Pee Wee travel hockey success by representing the state of North Carolina at the Pee Wee Nationals. They will be returning with just four players from last season’s team.
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| | | | Congratulations 16U Charlotte Junior Checkers | | | by
posted 02/21/2012
Congratulations 16U Midgets
Charlotte Junior Checkers
USA Hockey Nationals
Green Bay, Wisconsin
When your back is against the wall, the mighty stand tall!
The U16AA Jr. Checkers are heading to Green Bay, WI for the 2012 National Championships.
Friday morning a day before the final weekend, coach Bob Halkidis sent out an e-mail with You Tube links of the team system. One that has been consistent and being worked on all year. Coach Bob very clearly explained each players role and the expectation for the games ahead. Coach Halkidis explained, “This is our Super Bowl, Green Bay is our Pro Bowl”. Saturday afternoon rolled around and the boys showed their appreciation for the high tech coaching method.. They executed the system brilliantly, beating Greensboro, a team that had improved immensely over the season. The Jr. Checkers out shot their opponents 2 to 1 and played the best game of “team hockey” of the season. 10 players registered points out of the total 11 to be had. Michael Balzano registered his 3rd Shutout of the season. The game was scrappy but for the most part the Jr. Checkers maintained their composure with all players returning for the next game. Final score 6-0.
Sunday morning rolled around and once again, it was coming down to The Jr. Canes from Raleigh against the Jr. Checkers.. The Jr. Checkers had tied and beaten the Jr. Canes in their only 2 match-up’s this season. With a Jr. Checkers win, it would be all over for the Jr. Canes, a position that they are not used to. As expected the Canes came out flying, and very quickly were dominating down in the Checkers zone, 2-3 men forechecking on the puck, battling and winning. The Jr. Checkers looked flat and quite frankly showed little effort to want to end this and move onto the next level. Coach Bob having a remote Birds eye view for the game (too many penalties from the previous game) watched and wondered if certain players were even injured.. The Jr. Canes outshot the Jr. Checkers to a 2 to 1 ratio. Brian Holmberg kept the team in the game facing 43 shots, with just 2 getting by him on scrambles later in the game. The Jr. Checkers pulled the goalie late in the 3 rd as the score was 2-1 and the Jr. Canes still more aggressive battled the puck and netted an empty netter to end the game with a 3-1 score.
Sunday afternoon had arrived, all coming down to this last game, both teams even with 11 points in the season. Coach Bob addressed each player individually, discussed what he saw and what needed to be accomplished, in order to come out on top against their talented and what appeared to be hungrier opponents. The comments were frank, “Our Key players need to pick it up, they let us down, there was molasses dripping from their blades”. The boys heard what they had to hear, the question remained, were they going to regroup and execute? It was now up to them. During the warm up skate, the Jr. Canes came out flying, a confidence border lining arrogance was noted.. The Jr. Checkers went through their normal pre-game routine like any other game. Then the puck dropped. Immediately the Jr. Checkers won the draw, got the puck deep into the Jr. Canes zone and for the balance of the period the Jr. Canes could barely get it out. The Checkers scored with less than 3 minutes in the first period and again 1 minute later to end the first 2-0. Scoring were Captains Stephan Villa and leading scorer Brendan Logan. Apparently the message was heard loud and clear and the team was not backing down. 2 more goals were scored later in the 2 nd period and the 3 rd showed only 1 loan goal by the Jr. Canes The Jr. Checkers dominated the game allowing the Jr. Canes only 15 shots. From the start of the game to the end the Boys were standing while on the bench, the tempo, passion and emotion were at all time highs.. The boys and coaches now know what it will take to go to Green Bay, give their all and hope to come back Pro Bowl winners....
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| | | | CMHA Experiences Great Success in the Program's Second Year | | | by
posted 04/09/2011
The Charlotte Metro Hockey Association is proud to recognize accomplishments of its the 2010-2011 programs:
In just two seasons, the CMHA increased the number of young players enjoying the sport and have seen its teams experiencing unparalleled success on the ice. The 2010-2011 CMHA season saw the 8 and younger division's participation double and a 97 percent retention rate in the Charlotte Metro League. Additionally, the Charlotte Jr. Checkers travel teams qualified for the Carolinas Hockey League (CHL) "A" or “Select” playoffs in every age group winning two of four championships, and all of the "AA" teams finished no lower than second, with the 12 & Under team winning the CHL and placing second at the USA Hockey National Championships in San Jose, CA.
The CMHA is also proud to recognize the 2009-2010 season tournament success of its Jr. Checkers teams
Mite:
2010 Congressional Midwinter Classic Champions, Washington, DC
Squirt AA:
2009 Rock ‘N Roll Tournament Champions, Cleveland, OH
Squirt A:
2010 Music City Cup Finalist, Nashville, TN
2010 Queen City Champions, Indian Trail, NC
Pee Wee AA:
2009 Rock ‘N Roll Tournament Finalist, Cleveland, OH
Pee Wee A
2010 Tournament of Champions Finalist, Chicago, IL
2010 Music City Cup Finalist, Nashville, TN
2009 Rock ‘N Roll Tournament Finalist, Cleveland, OH
Bantam AA:
2010 Spring Classic Finalist, Washington, DC
2010 President’s Day Congressional Cup Finalist, Washington, DC
2010 Music City Cup Champions, Nashville, TN
Bantam AA2:
2010 Golden Puck Champions, Charleston, SC
Bantam Select:
2010 Carolinas Hockey League Tournament Finalist, Raleigh, NC
Midget 18U AA:
2010 President’s Day Congressional Cup, Washington, DC
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| | | | JR. CHECKERS 12 & UNDER TEAM IS A NATIONAL FINALIST | | | by
posted 04/03/2011
The Charlotte Metro Hockey Association’s Charlotte Jr. Checkers 12 & Under “AA” team fell short in their bid for the 2011 USA Hockey Tier II National Championship today, losing the title game in overtime to the Oklahoma Oil Kings in San Jose, CA.
The Jr. Checkers went undefeated in the preliminary round with four wins (7-3, 6-3, 3-1 and a 7-6 shootout) and beat the Delaware Ducks 3-1 in the semi-finals to earn their spot in the finals. In the Championship game, Oklahoma City struck first with a power play goal in the first period, but the Jr. Checker’s Jeremy Reiser tied the score with 1:13 left in the period. The second period was scoreless until the final 7 seconds when the Jr. Checker’s Kyle Moore bounced a puck off the Oklahoma City’s goaltender to put Charlotte in the lead. Oklahoma City evened the game at the 7:55 mark of the third period and the two teams headed to a sudden-death overtime period. Oklahoma City scored the game-winning goal 2 minutes and 54 seconds into the overtime period.
This Jr. Checkers team, under the direction of Head Coach Steve Mckirdy, is the first from Charlotte to ever win its league and advance to a USA Hockey championship tournament. The Jr. Checkers team claimed the Carolinas Hockey League championship by defeating the Raleigh Jr. Hurricanes on March 5th in the final game of the season at the Extreme Ice Center.
The Charlotte Metro Hockey Association is proud of the team’s accomplishments and congratulates all of the players, coaches, parents and siblings who’ve made this a successful season.
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| | | | Producing elite U.S. players starts at bottom | | | by
posted 12/01/2010
 By John Buccigross
ESPN.com
The United States has 24 NHL teams and more than 307 million people within its borders. With those numbers, the U.S. should be producing a healthy number of highly skilled, physically tough hockey players... more than it is today.
The 2000s have had some positive signs for hockey in the U.S. In the past 11 NHL drafts, six of the overall No. 1 picks were Canadian, two were Russian and three were American (Rick DiPietro, Erik Johnson and Patrick Kane). Team USA's excellent play at the Olympics last February was not a fluke. It was reinforcement that they should not have been such big underdogs. The NHL pool of players born in the U.S. is deeper in quality than Russia, Sweden and every other country but mighty Canada. While lacking elite NHL players, the U.S. has produced plenty of really good players. But, it should be producing more. And it should have more elite-level players.
Among the 711 players on the NHL's 2010-11 opening night rosters, 146 of them (20.5 percent) were born in the United States, according to the NHL. This number represents the highest U.S.-born percentage ever on the NHL's early season rosters. In the 1983-84 season, the percentage of American-born players in the NHL was 13 percent. The year before the 2004-05 lockout, the percentage was 15.5 percent.
Twenty-five of the 50 states were represented on opening night, including non-traditional states such as California, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas. In addition, more players from the state of New York (23) appeared on rosters than from Russia (22), and the New York state total matched that of Finland.
The number of U.S. born players is growing and should continue to grow. This is why I have been an advocate of hockey in some non-traditional places and am against contraction. I think NHL teams produce more NHL fans, more youth hockey participants and, ultimately, more U.S. born NHL players.
For the complete article, including a question and answer with USA Hockey’s Kenny Rausch, click here
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| | | | CMHA Featured in USA Hockey Article | | | by
posted 11/24/2010 Charlotte Jr. Checkers see extreme growth
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November 19, 2010
By Mike Scandura
Special to USAHockey.com
Even though the Charlotte Junior Checkers are located in an area that’s the heart of not only basketball but also NASCAR, they’ve had a major impact on the youth hockey scene in just their second year of existence.
“Even minor league baseball (the International League’s Charlotte Knights) has received more publicity than hockey and they play in (Fort Mill) South Carolina,” said Checkers director of hockey operations Joe Cardarelli. “Now, because there’s an AHL franchise here (the Charlotte Checkers), there’s more in the local news and more of a feeling that this is big-time hockey.
“We absolutely believe this will help us. For example, our 8-and-under program keeps growing. That’s where you want growth and that’s where we’ve had it.”
With a solid foundation in that age group, the Junior Checkers have 318 boys registered for this season.
The Junior Checkers’ Squirt A and AA, Peewee A and AA, Bantam AA, Midget U-16 AA and Midget 18-U AA are travel teams that play in the Carolina Hockey League. House Division teams compete in the Charlotte Metro Hockey League.
“What we did this year is add steps to our program,” Cardarelli said. “Since the Metro League is completely in-house, the kids are on the ice twice a week. The Peewee Select Team is picked from those kids so they get a taste of travel over the course of the season.
“The A teams practice twice a week and our AA teams practice three times a week. But we’ve done some things in order to follow American Development Model principles. The first six Tuesdays of the season were devoted to performance training. We kept all the travel kids on the ice working different stations and playing small-area games. This enabled us to keep them all active.
“We wanted to make sure every kid was getting good skill work, like puck control and shooting,” Cardarelli continued, “for the tactics they would learn in their regular team practices.”
Another major component utilized by the Junior Checkers is the 5 Star Development Program, which is run by the Extreme Ice Center in Indian Trail.
“With the convenience of our Puddle rink, we keep our practices small with a maximum of eight kids ages 6-and-under and two coaches,” Cardarelli said. “They are professional coaches … not just dads volunteering. They’re college or former college players and guys with practical experience who are specifically taught how to coach 6-year-old kids.”
The 5-Star Program consists of the following:
Star 1: Learn to Skate / Snow Buddies.
Star 2: Skates and Sticks, which involves glide turns, stopping, backward stance, stationary puck handling, carrying the puck, stationary forward sweep pass and receiving a pass.
Star 3: Comets, with an emphasis on lateral skating movement, acceleration, two-foot stops, crossovers, tight turns and forehand plus backhand sweep shot.
Star 4: Aces, which involves advanced skating with emphasis on crossover forward start, tight turns with pucks, stopping with the puck and backward-to-forward pivots.
Star 5: Tykes (ages 5 to 7), which involves combining skating and stick skills with games to reinforce hockey concepts and with instruction in lateral movement with the puck, fakes, dekes and scoring.
“This is the key to our system,” Cardarelli said. “With the Tykes, we’re getting them ready to graduate to our Mite cross-ice program. Tykes is an opportunity to get them on the ice twice a week, like Mites, and use some of the same practice drills so they know what to expect.
“The big thing we look at is our retention rate. From our 5 Star Program, 95 percent of the kids who start the six-week program have come back. We must be doing something right because they’re coming back.
“In the summer of 2009 before we started this, we had 32 kids total in our 8-and-under program and only three coaches,” Cardarelli said. “Now, we have 85 kids and 18 coaches. We’re trying to lower the number of players for each coach and follow ADM principles while trying to get as many kids out on the ice as possible.”
Even though the Junior Checkers are essentially still in the neophyte stage, they do have significant objectives.
“Our team objectives are to represent North Carolina in national tournaments,” Cardarelli said. “Our individual player objectives are, through the USA Hockey tryout process, to qualify kids for the Southeast Player Development Festival.”
If numbers are any indication, they’re well on their way to those goals.
Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
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| | | | GIRLS HOCKEY GROWING AT EXTREME ICE CENTER | | | by
posted 11/16/2010 On November 14th, 2010, the Charlotte Metro Hockey Association and the Extreme Ice Center sponsored a free Girls 10 & Under Day at the Rink. The event was open to all girls aged 10 and younger to help promote the game of hockey in Charlotte. The event brought in twenty-six girls, aged 7 to 10, some who were experienced hockey players and some new to the sport.
These young hockey players took the ice under the direction of Coach Jamie Black with the assistance of Cari Imhoff, Kim Hinton, and Heidi Locastro for a series of drills and small area games. Those who were new to hockey participated in a Learn-to-Play practice to show them how much fun the game is to play. Afterward, all of the players skated together in an open skating session.
The day was a great success, bringing in over 30 female players, coaches and friends to the rink and meet the goal of the day by promoting the growth of girl’s hockey. Coach Cari Imhoff on the Girls Hockey Day, “Overall I thought the day was a huge success, there were more girls than we expected and fun was had by all.” The Charlotte Metro Hockey Association and the Extreme Ice Center look forward to the future of girl’s hockey in Charlotte!
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| | | | Red, White and Blue Hockey for 8 Year Olds and Younger | | | | | | | Skate-A-Thon Fundraiser For Avon Walk for Breast Cancer & CMHA | | | by
posted 08/14/2010 On Saturday, August 14th, the Charlotte Metro Hockey Association hosted a Skate-A-Thon to raise funds for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the CMHA. Thirty five players had sponsors contribute over $7,700 with 10 percent going directly to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the remaining contributions going directly toward the player’s 2010-2011 season CMHA player tuition fees.
The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the CMHA would like to extend a big thank you to all who volunteered and participated in the Skate-A-Thon.Back to top
| | | | Updating Contact Information and On-Line Payments | | | by
posted 06/23/2010 CMHA Families:
To update your contact information or make payments on your child’s tuition fee, you can access the information from the CMHA.us website home page’s horizontal title bar by clicking “Association” and “Edit My Account”.
Enter your email address and password to have access to your family’s information. If you do not have (or do not remember) the password, enter your email only and you will get a password emailed to that address.Back to top
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