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26 // MONTH HERE 2019 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM Mancini // I was in the field when the first parent came up to me and said they loved what we were doing and they wished it was around for their older son. They said that their younger son was benefiting by the launch of the ADM and that he was so much better that his older brother was at this time. I remember thinking, 'wow, that's really cool' and 'oh, what a shame' at the same time. To me that was the real 'aha moment' because that's when I felt that parents realized this works. That's when I knew it was going to take hold. What is the biggest misconception that parents and coaches still have about the ADM? Gosselin // That it's a cross-ice program for little kids, and it's only for the recreational player. The ADM is an age-appropriate high-performance path of development that includes best prac- tices for both training and competition. I would got to certain associations where they thought it was just cross-ice hockey and I would tell them we have our best 180 or 220 players at our national camps doing station-based practices, working on habits and concepts in order to become better hockey players. It's not rocket science, it's age-appropriate training. Mancini // It drives me nuts when I still hear people talking about, 'next year he graduates from the ADM.' Or 'he's going to his ADM practice.' Or 'he's in our ADM program.' One of the most important things we need to do moving forward is to stop referring to it as the ADM and start calling it the USA Hockey path of development. This is just what youth hockey should be. Grillo // I would say that the biggest challenge that I have in my area is getting people to think that the ADM is not just little kid hockey and it's not just for the casual player. This is for kids who have a passion for the game and want to get better and achieve a certain goal and reach a certain level. This is the recipe to do that. Or as I like to say, we're going to give you the answers to the test and if I were you I would use them because it's only going to make things easier for you. Hunt // People try to compartmen- talize or minimize or rationalize the ADM to being only for a certain segment of the population. Whether that it's only 8U hockey or rec hock- ey or it doesn't necessarily apply to me or to what we're doing. If you take the time to study what it is, it applies to everything going right up into the NHL. If you believe in long- term athlete development, then by definition you're in it for the long term. So, it doesn't just apply to the 8-year-olds, it applies to the 18-year-olds and beyond. What is the most rewarding part of your job? Hunt // If you asked me the best part of being an ADM manager, there are two things: one was the people I got to work with, who are phenomenal hockey minds and incredible human beings, and the second was the wealth of knowledge that I was able to gain in that three- or four-year period, just on the science part of it. Paluch // It's really neat to jump into an ice rink and meet people who care about hockey and more importantly, who care about the kids who play hockey. Mancini // One of the greatest things I get to do is be on the ice with kids of different ages. When you see the joy, the engagement and the smiles on their faces when they accomplish something and how much fun they're having playing youth hockey, I don't think anything beats that. I'm reminded of it on a regular basis throughout a year. And that's pretty cool. Grillo // It's when people get their own 'aha moment.' There have been a lot of people in this region who resisted it at first because it was change who are now full-blown onboard now. It's gotten to the point now where this is just USA Hockey. It's not the ADM, it's the norm. To me that's a huge victory. If you believe in something that is as important as this, I don't think that it could ever go away. –ROGER GRILLO 26 // SEPTEMBER 2019 A Special ADM Round Up 6 T H E O R I G I N A L 6 BONUS DIGITAL CONTENT