Foundations of Hockey (Minibits) (Oshawa NASC Hockey - Durham Region's #1 Instructional Hockey Program)

FOUNDATIONS OF HOCKEY PROGRAM BACK IN 2022!

N.A.S.C. Hockey is proud to announce we will once again be offering our "Minibits" program for the 2022-2023 season.
Cost is only $350 for the ENTIRE SEASON!

Players are on the ice once weekly for one (1) hour on Sunday mornings between the hours of 8:30am and 11:30am rotating through the hourly timeslots

The program will be offered to those three (3) and four (4) year old players providing the opportunity to learn how to skate.

The focus of the hockey program is to focus on fun while providing a comfortable place for kids to become confident on their feet while on the ice.

N.A.S.C. is proud to be the first, and the leader in hockey instruction in the city. As a compliment to our successes, our programs are “Often imitated, Never duplicated”.

Minibits has proven to be one of our most successful hockey programs.

The program is delivered in accordance with OMHA Development Guidelines....

Utilizing N.A.S.C.'s very best instructors and a low ratio of instructors to students (approx. 4:1) this program is the best learn to skate program anywhere in Durham Region. 

Children will be on the ice only once weekly on Sunday mornings.

PLEASE NOTE: Parents are welcomed to go onto the ice with the children. At this age, the experience of being at the arena is more of a social learning. Kids at this age can experience many things like separation anxiety and/or lack of confidence, as a few examples. At the beginning, if your child is comfortable doing "snow angels", that's ok! They are starting to demonstrate being confident while on the ice!

However, it is our ultimate  goal to remove you, the parent. as soon as your child is confident and is ready. We have experienced that kids actually start to learn quicker, once we are able to remove their safety blanket.

We do try to target the end of December to have this transition in place. However, during the first month of the program, we invite more on-ice help until the kids are working on their own ability.

Please visit our Registration page for instructions on how to register online through our Hockey Canada/OMHA portal in order to secure your spot. Please review the "If your child is new to hockey" section as there is a small process that must be followed in order to create your child's profile in the Hockey Canada secure Registration portal.

Session Details

Every session will include approximately 25 minutes of skating instruction followed by 25 minutes of FUN! 
The best thing is, the kids won't even realize  they're still learning....

Structure
A maximum number of approximately 25 children will be permitted on the ice each hour.

Session Format
Once we complete our 2-3 week assessment of the children's abilities, the ice surface will be broken into three sections. Temporary foam construction, removable boards help divide the ice and will make the ice surface size more appropriate to the size of the players using it. This reduction in ice size also facilitates more control and provides a better suited instructor-to-student ratio.

All players will be assessed on their ability in accordance with the six (6) levels of ability as noted below and they will be assigned into the appropriate section for their ability. To assist in this, our instruction team will utilize the use of coloured helmet "dots" (red, yellow, green) as this will help split the kids into ability groups to help aid in providing the tailored program to fit the needs of the student.

By assigning the players into their appropriate ability category, this will also provide a better suited, specified instruction to assist those players and over the course of the season, this will allow all players to achieve their potential.

N.A.S.C. Foundations of Hockey Levels

Level 1

Falling down
Getting up
Balancing on two feet
Turning on the spot
Skating forwards (walking)

Level 2

Forward 2 foot glide
Forward sculling (bubbles)
Forward sliding touching toes
Backward skating (walking)
Forward stopping (snowplow, 1/2 snowplow)

Level 3

Backward sculling (bubbles)
2 foot turn, forward to backwards
Forward 1 foot glide (both feet)
Backward stopping (snowplow & 1/2 snowplow)
Skating forwards -- 2 foot jump

Level 4

5 consecutive crossovers
2 foot glide to 1 foot
2 foot jump (forward-backward & backward-forward)
Backward skating
Forward to backward skating on circle

Level 5

Back crossovers (walking)
5 consecutive crossovers
Forward to backward sculling
2 foot jump (forward - back & back to forward)
2 foot turning on a curve

Level 6

2 foot side stop both ways
Slalom forward and backward
Backward gliding on curve (1 foot)
Inside edges forward
Consecutive back crossovers

Equipment Needed (Please CLICK HERE for a full equipment listing)

Skates
Hockey Stick
CSA approved helmet with cage is mandatory
Full Hockey equipment
Mouthguard is mandatory

Program Benefits

Fun and increased confidence on their feet
Structured, focused professional instruction provided by N.A.S.C. Certified Instructors
Age / skill level appropriate teaching
League supplied uniforms 
League supplied education tools (pucks, pylons,etc.)