National Sports Center Blog

Passion for a game

 By Spencer Arvold, Ice Sports Programming

In the Minnesota Wild Adult Hockey League that runs at the Schwan Super Rink there are over 141 teams in the winter session. That equates to around 2,100 participants. 

At the Super Rink we run three sessions a year which in turn is 35 games for league play. 

We also host four adult tournaments, each boasting a minimum of three games. Most of our MN Wild AHL teams play in two out of four tournaments. 

Basically, what do all these stats boil down to? 

A passion for a game that goes well beyond their youth years.

Adult hockey is a great game, it brings camaraderie with friends and a great workout for anyone willing to lace up the boots. This year as I took over running the adult league, I noticed the passion that the players have for the game. A great example of that passion is in our 60+ division. Here's a group that includes many grandfathers that still go out and give it their all for 35 games a year. On top of that they are traveling to the USA National Tournament in Florida this April. That is a pretty rare thing in sports, to play as much as they do at that age. 

What is it with hockey? That passion that drives you to come back to it. This is an open ended question because I don't have the answer to why we continue to play, but I know that any hockey players reading this knows the feeling I'm talking about. It's something that will never go away, a passion for a game. 

Let us know, why do you still play? What is it about hockey for YOU?

 

Minnesota's new concussion safety law requires training for coaches

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

In September 2011 a law went into effect in the State of Minnesota that requires all coaches and officials involved with all youth sports to be trained in concussion awareness, safety and protection. Minnesota is one of 33 states that have adopted laws relating to concussion safety in youth sports. Most of these laws are brand new -- 28 new states added concussion laws in 2010 or 2011. So even if you're unfamiliar with the specifics of Minnesota's law, you may be familiar with a similar law in your own state or province. And if not, you're likely to be affected soon.

If you're interested, the safekids.org website has great information on what's happening in each state across the U.S. Every law is a little different, but they all have a common goal of 1) education and prevention 2) assessment and 3) minimizing long-term risk. The big difference between the laws is what they require in compliance. Minnesota's law requires coaches to complete an online course developed by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The youth sports programs of the National Sports Center, including our youth hockey and soccer programs, fall under the new Minnesota law. If you'd like to read the text of the law you can click on the link for Minnesota Statue 121A.37.  

All coaches will need to complete an online training course. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has a free, online course entitled “Concussion Training for Coaches (and referees)”. Click on the link to go to the free course. It takes about 30 minutes, and it contains some great information. Once you complete the course, the certification applies for three years.

If you register for a youth program at the NSC, you'll see a box that you'll need to check verifying that the coaches for your team have completed the training. You'll need to check the box before you'll be allowed to proceed with your registration.

If you have completed a different training course in your state or country that is equivalent to the C.D.C course, you can go ahead and check the box.  

The NSC fully supports this new law as an important step to address a health issue in youth sports. Does this require a little extra effort for coaches to comply with the new law? Yes. Is the extra effort worth it? Yes again!

 

Flexibility and diversity name of the game

By Scott Clasen, Director of Marketing

Today we fired out our monthly National Sports Center newsletter as well as posting the latest NSCtv episode (watch it below). Both products included stories about how flexible and diverse our programming is in the NSC Sports Hall, our 58,000 square foot indoor arena. Since we installed artificial turf in the hall in the fall of 2009, we've seen a steady increase in different types of events we can conduct in that space. Here's a quick snapshot of the variety we're now offering in the sports hall.

MN Twins Baseball Academy/NSC T-ball - The Minnesota Twins run their winter baseball academy from November to March, while we cater to the youngest players with our introductory t-ball program.

Open Lacrosse - Friday afternoons from 3:00-5:00 pm are dedicated to lacrosse. Through the end of February, we're offering this time for players from around the metro area to keep their game sharp and prepare for the outdoor season. $5/person.

Adult Men's Flag Football - We're excited about the response to our new Adult Men's Flag Football Leaguethat debuted earlier this month. Monday evenings we turn over to the men and are looking to start a second session later this season, stay tuned for details.

Grass Cycling Criterium - Yep, that's right, we're racing bikes on artificial grass. Sunday nights bring up your bike and get off that indoor trainer!

Watch our NSCtv episode below to get a flavor of not only the Twins Academy but also the entreprenuerial spirit we encourage here to get new events and programs off the ground.

 

Sport Expo Center construction update

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

After a brief construction hiatus over the holidays, crews are back on the job building the NSC's new Sport Expo Center. This 21,000 square foot building will be big enough to accommodate sports programming like camps, instruction and small-sided games. With space for about 130 booths, it'll also become the NSC's prime venue for shows and expos, like our Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo and the Minnesota Bass Expo. Opening is tentatively set for early June. At Schwan's USA CUP in July, the Expo Center will be the new home for the PUMA World Store.

We went out today and checked on construction progress. The crew from Kraus-Anderson Construction was busy preparing for the pouring of footings. That'll take a week or so. Once that stage is completed, walls will start going up!

Here's a high view of the site from the top row of the stadium:

Below: the crew is preparing the footings along the north wall.

New NSC outdoor sports expos coming

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

Last spring, the National Sports Center partnered with the Tom Helgeson family and took over the hosting and production of the Tom Helgeson's Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo. We've hosted outdoor shows on our campus before, but they were rental events, owned and produced by outside producers. The fly fishing expo was our first experience at producing our own show -- selling the booth space, coordinating the educational seminars and promoting ticket sales. 

If you attended that show, you know it was a great success. The booth space sold out, the Schwan Center was packed with attendees, and the weather was balmy enough that we even did some fly casting training outdoors on our stadium field.

Below: Fly casting instruction outdoors at the 2011 Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo:

On the heels of the success of the Fly Fishing Expo, we assigned Greg Savino, our Campus Development Manager, to develop a full calendar of outdoor shows. We're jumping into the business with two shows in 2012 -- the Great Water Fly Fishing Expo will return on March 23-25, and the new Minnesota Bass Expo will premier on April 20-22, in the indoor Sports Hall. 

Below:Very soon you'll be able to pick up a discount coupon for the Fly Fishing Expo and the Bass Expo at metro area Subway stores.

The Great Waters Fly Fishing show has sold out its booth space already, and the Bass Expo should fill up soon. In 2013, both these shows will move into the new Sport Expo Center that is currently under constructionn and projected to open in early June.

In the meantime, you can follow our growing menu of outdoor shows at the NSC by checking in on the outdoor expo page on the NSC website.

Day off of school in January? Must be time for baseball!

By Scott Clasen, Director of Marketing

Most kids have today off of school for Martin Luther King Day (although I tend to think Dr. King would have preferred to have kids in school learning on a day dedicated to him, but I digress) which means finding something to do in the middle of a cold winter. So naturally, we got baseball on tap today at the National Sports Center!

The Minnesota Twins Youth Training Camp is here to provide training in our NSC Sports Hall. The Twins already offer a winter-long training academy here that runs on various days from November to March, but they're conducting special one-day camps today as well as President's Day in February. 

By my rough estimation, there are probably 70-80 kids training today. As you'll see from the pictures below, the Twins staff has them divided into small groups as they run them through various skill stations.

There's still plenty of time to register for the President's Day camp on February 20, you can find all that information here.

But for now, kick back, gaze at these pictures and if you squint at them just right, you can almost imagine these players outside under a bright, sunny sky on lovely green grass!

Below: fielding grounders at this station

Below: hitting off the tee with partners

Below: into the full-size batting cages

Below: agility drills, the hallmark of any sports training!

NSCtv is back!

By Scott Clasen, Director of Marketing

Our own NSCtv weekly video series is back after our winter hiatus! This week we take a look at the name change for our pro soccer team here, the NSC Minnesota Stars. The North American Soccer League champions are now officially called Minnesota Stars FC. Our episode tells why the Stars management felt it was important to imporve the logo and name. Now...if we could only get a better host for NSCtv...

Intern time is here...

By Scott Clasen, Director of Marketing

"Intern time is here, happiness and cheer..." (I'm changing the lyrics of the Charlie Brown Christmas special song, but go with me here.)

Summer seems like a long ways away (although not so much this year with a high temperature of 52 degrees here yesterday in Minnesota). But at the NSC, we're thinking summer interns. We've had our various summer intern positions posted on our website since mid-December and are now culling through resumes and starting to set up interviews.

Thinking of interns reminded me of a blog post I did just about five years ago about the experience of being an intern at the National Sports Center. That entry is as relevant now as it was in 2007, so give it a read and find out why working here as an intern is unlike any other summer experience.

Have stick, will travel...

By Scott Clasen, Director of Marketing

Consider this the all-call for boys lacrosse players in the Twin Cities. The National Sports Center is offering a new indoor lacrosse league in the NSC Sports Hall. The new Sevens Varsity League will be firing up January 24 and run every Tuesday evening through March 20 for high school age boys. Teams are guaranteed nine games on our artificial turf (and did we mention no boards, so it's more like outdoor play?).

We all know lacrosse is growing by leaps and bounds here in the metro area and is an official Minnesota State High School League sport for both boys and girls. So it's only logical that young, hungry players need a place to whip their game into shape before heading outside come late March. Come be a part of our very first indoor lacrosse league and you'll be running circles around the competition, we promise!

So tell your friends, neighbors, colleagues, enemies and the person walking the dog down the street! The start of league play is coming up soon and we need to spread the word quickly.

Ok, I'm going to put my bullhorn down now and stop yelling.

The week to be at the NSC

By Scott Clasen, Director of Marketing

This coming week here at the National Sports Center is relatively quiet, but we do have several events scheduled that are worth checking out.

Bethel Men's and Women's Hockey
Not too many people realize that the Schwan Super Rink is the home ice for both the men's and women's Bethel University hockey teams. The women host a series this weekend against Lindenwood University (MO). They play at 6:30 pm Friday and 3:00 pm Saturday. The men's team will face St. Mary's University Friday night as well, with the puck dropping at 7:00 pm.

Indoor Grass/Criterium Racing
My last blog post on Friday highlighted our unique indoor grass cycling series. The first race in this four-race series kicks off Sunday night. You can pre-register or sign-up at the door. Great way to do some unique riding.

High School Hockey at Schwan Super Rink
In addition to serving as the home for Bethel University hockey, we're also home ice for several high schools. Saturday the Irondale High School boys team faces Chisago Lakes at 2:30 pm and the Mounds View High School girls match up against Hastings at 7:30 pm.