Ice Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays 7:45pm - 9:05pm

Advance Hour Training Plans are available here

Parents List is available here

 General Details

 Coaching Tuesday nights is Grant Edgar and Sarah Leslie

• Coaching Thursday nights is Joanne Mitchell and Sarah Leslie
• Head coaches rotate the lead instruction each night. Combined with Gerry Harrington, they have over 55 years experience in the sport at all levels (introduction to national training centre, parenting, coaching, competing) and 10 levels of NCCP certification.
• Rich Young is Technical Director and acts as liaison between coaches and board.
• Start time is 7:40pm sharp. A pre-ice warm-up and post-practice cool-down are strongly recommended to minimize injury and maximize training benefits.
• There are usually 3 training groups based on age, speed, and racing requirements. Groups are fluid depending on the purpose of the night’s program, progress made through the season, and who is attending practice on a given night.  All skaters will practice on 100m and 111m tracks. **This is dependant on OSSA following the racing format seen at Provincials. If that changes, we will change accordingly.

 Coaches’ expectations

• All skaters at the arena by 7:00pm.
• Equipment checked and sharpened before arriving at the rink.
• Have essentials kit (burr stone, extra laces, wrench, allen key) and water bottle.
• Skaters are responsible to fill all water buckets before their warm-up.
• No leaving the ice during the practice – speak to coach before practice if there is an issue. Disruptions affect the success of the training programs.
• A 5 minute warm-up on ice will be given each night.
• Respect and listen to the coaches and other skaters.
• Group warm-ups (supervised and starting at 7:05pm) and individual cool-downs for maximal training benefit and recovery.

 Training programs

• Posted 2 weeks in advance on Pacers’ website & bulletin board.
• Early fall is high volume, technique and tactics. This will transition into shorter laps but higher intensity, with focus on period between OC#2 / Gloucester 1Day meet/ OC #3. 2012 will focus towards ST Provincials/ Gloucester 1 Day meet/ OWG/ Regional Championships
• Implementation of LTAPD recommendations (distances 200m – 3000m). A group of coaches has been meeting monthly since February to develop this year’s programs to include the new racing formats. A DVD from Speed Skate Canada has been produced to explain the LTAPD process. Please contact Rich Young to obtain your copy.
• Falling practices will be done 2-3 x / year.

 Competition recommendations

• LTAPD stressing the need to prevent undertraining and overcompeting.
•  Train to Train (males 12-16, females 11-15). Recommends 8-12 competitions/ events/ camps per year including ST & LT & training camps & time trials.
• Ex: #1 Summer camp, #2 Ottawa 2-day meet, #3 OC 2, #4 OC 3, #5 Ottawa Long Track camp, #7 SSM LT meet, #8 Provincial LT Ottawa, #9 Canadian Age Class LT, #10 ST Provincials Kingston, #11 Canada East Championships
•  Learn to Compete (males16-18, females 15-17). Recommends 15-19 (*Ottawa based skaters may not have as much access) per year including ST and LT & training camps & time trials.
• Ex: #1 Summer camp, #2 OC 1, #2 OC 2, #3 Junior Trials, #4 OC 3,  #5 OC 4, #6 ST Provincials Kingston, #7 OWG Barrie, #8 ST Canadian Championships.

 *Parents and skaters are encouraged to discuss their competition plans together and follow the LTAPD guidelines. They can also review their plans with a coach.

 More housekeeping

• LTAPD encourages coaches to be involved many facets of athlete development. Please notify coaches if your child is participating in inter-club, other sports, part-time job, etc.
• The more we know, the more useful we can be.
•  The 3^rd hour head coaches regularly communicate with each other regarding skater progress and send a post-race wrap-up report.

NEW – progress reports will be distributed to all skaters 2x during the season

 Long Track Questions

• Ice availability – Ottawa (Jan – end Feb.), Ste. Foy (Nov – March), Lake Placid (mid-Dec – early March)
• Long Track camps in Ste. Foy ( early November) and Ottawa (early January).
• Anyone can attend LT practice January – February (Mondays – Thursdays, 7:00 –8:30pm). Skaters are encouraged to do both especially when ST is only 1x/ week in January. Long Track is a great chance to improve endurance and work on technique.

Competition streams: Mass Start vs. Olympic Style

• Mass Start: SSM meet, Provincials. Must attend both to qualify for Canadian Age Class. Also Ste Foy meets and Lake Placid. Distances based on age groups. Multiple opportunity to race same distance. Overall ranking based on finishing place points.
•  Olympic Style (recommend age 12 & up):  1 race per distance. Specialize as a senior (sprint or all-round).
• Sprints 500m x 2  & 1000m x 2
• All-Round (recommend 13+ up) 500m, 1000m/ 1500m, 1500m/ 3000m, 3000m/ 5000m.
• Overall ranking based on sammelagt points (time).
• Canada Cup meets: ages 14+, time standards apply.