Player's Corner

As we extend a warm welcome to the junior high school parents and players, we strive to find ways to create stability for the future. As responsible parents, it is our goal to leave the club in better shape than we received it. If each generation adopted this motto, than the club will stand on it’s own and have many growth opportunities for generations to come. The current players among the junior high school teams will have the opportunity to play for the club for another 4-8 years. The future of the club will be managed by generations that are not even in place at the time these various programs are being implemented.

It is the goal of the management team to establish an endowment program for the future benefits of the club. When people hear the words "Fund Raising" many people, including myself, cringe at the thought of having to sell something that is overpriced or unnecessary to someone that has a hard time telling us no. The problem with most fund raising programs is that they are short lived and require annual initiation and participation. Although it is sometimes necessary to initiate traditional fund raising opportunites, it is not a desired part of most within the organizations of youth sports.

The management team has implemented a new and innovative program with many affiliated companies in our very own shopping mall. We have aligned with over 1,000 stores that are willing to contribute to the club's fund raising program each and every year. Each and every time a consumer makes a purchase through our web site, with one of our affiliated stores, that store will make a contribution to our club. For example: Target will pay the club 2 - 7% of their purchase amount for every purchase made within the club’s shopping mall. There are so many well known stores, like Sears, K-Mart, Bass Pro Shops, Circuit City, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and so many more. We are confident that you can purchase just about anything within our mall. Regardless of the purchase amount or of it’s type of items, each purchase will contribute to the club's general fund raising program. It can be composed of your weekly household supplies, personal apparel, gift purchase or holiday shopping. It can be of your travel arrangements, insurance needs, food purchases, personal loans, automobile loans or even house loans.

Consumers can find sports tickets, entertainment tickets, cellular phones, credit card applications, home loans, automobile loans, travel packages, airline tickets, cruise tickets, hotel tickets, Six Flags tickets, local sports tickets like the Cardinals, Blues, Bilikens, Rams, concerts, restaurants, clothing, electronics, insurance and just about any product line can be found within our mall.

As club members utilize this program and patronize these stores, they will find special online offers, exclusive to the internet stores. Prior to entering each store, it will typically state how much that store is willing to contribute to the club's fund raising program. It is the goal of the club get as many as possible utilizing this innovated way of generating revenue for the club's "Fund Raising" efforts. Each purchase MUST be made through the club's internet connections. Any purchases made outside of the club's internet site with any of our affiliates will not generate a donation from the store. So, please be cautious of how you connect to each store prior to making a purchase.

Just imagine if each member of the club shares this opportunity with their friends and family. This would allow for a significant endowment program for years to come. This would be accomplished by simply changing habits and shopping online versus shopping each store by personal visits. With the holidays approaching, this could be a great time to ask your friends and family to consider shopping through our club's malls.

A person can visit a massive number of stores in the matter of hours, view their inventory and availability, check out without ANY lines and never have to get out of their pajamas. So with the holidays near, consider how easy this would be to implement this fund raising program with your personal family, friends, co-workers, relatives and neighbors. There are no surcharge in pricing and it is promoting a massive number of well known retail chains. How much easier can fund raising become?

Better yet, if any member has another organization that would like to implement a similar program for another non profit organization, than they can arrange to have such a program through our nomination (connection on our Power Mall page). The non profit organization can have their program implemented within a half of an hour. Our club will receive a small donation for assisting another organization in establishing a mall of their own.

So, members please spread the word, send them a connection link to our site and begin to use the program yourself. We hold a lot of optimism with the possible endowments that can be derived from families choosing to make their shopping purchases on line versus in person.

Hello Hockey Fans,

The 2007-2008 season is upon us. Tom Micks has been appointed, general manager of the club and a junior high coach has been appointed by the name of Jay McClain. Mr. Micks is well established within the world of hockey. His experience as a chief referee, a member of the international referee squad, former chief referee for MOIHA along with being a head coach for various, select teams and an occasional house team, will have a strong impact upon the club's future. Mr. Micks volunteered to assist the club's varsity team during this past season. The club is grateful for his willingness to participate and lead this club into the future.

The club has appointed Jay McClain as it's first junior high school coach. Mr. McClain, is a current player of inline hockey and currently coaches a select team for the Cobra Club. The excitement level that Mr. McClain has for this opportunity, should definitely get you excited about representing your school. Mr. McClain's experience in playing and teaching, will allow one on one teachings with the players, that can be illustrated by example. As a member of the club, I am excited to begin the season with the quality of these two individuals.

The FZWIHC, is preparing to host a set of evaluation sessions in an effort to form team(s) to compete in the MOIHA 2007 season. The junior high school level will host their evaluation sessions on Sunday, September 16, 10:30 a.m. till 12:00 noon; an alternative date on Thursday, September 20from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Both sessions will be held at Mattesons Square Garden. Evaluations will be at a cost of $25.00 if paid in advance and $30.00 if paid at time of evaluations. Eligible student athletes that are currently in the grade levels of 6, 7 or 8th that live in the Fort Zumwalt West High School boundaries are eligible to participate. This includes, students at North Middle and South Middle Schools.

Payments can be mailed to FZWIHC, 1719 Monet Drive, Dardenne Prairie, MO. 63368. Or you can register online at www.fortzumwaltwestinlinehockeyclub.org For information you can telephone the home number of John Glasener, at 636-379-9734.

Upon a successful completion of your evaluation session, the coaching staff will determine if a position will be made available for your participation. The number of players wishing to participate in this season will determine the number of teams and the placement of a player on to what team level. So, rally up your friends and let's create a strong presence. Let's roar on to the scene and make sure everyone knows that the Jaguars are here to play.

Wow, Hurray and every other positive word I can think of.

A great season. You should be proud of your efforts to carry the lighting rod. The attitude of everyone I have spoken with has been proud to be a part of this club. Although some of the players have some disappointment in their final records, I'm confident that the parents and the players will be proud to share their stories of this season, way into the years to come. Just imagine, how each kid will tell their kids, spouse and friends about their participation in the Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey Club of 2007, I imagine the stories will change from age 20 to 30, 30 to 40, 40 - 50 and most definitely 50 and beyond. However, they will all be proud to tell of their involvement. And Kevin, you can extend your own personal stories to know that you have provided over 100 kids the opportunities to create positive memories of their athletic youth through out the past 8 years.

Congratulations, I for one, want to say thank you for holding it together and providing this opportunity to the 31 kids that participated this season. The many stories that unfolded throughout the season should all have positive spins on the memories as the kids grow older. And you were the primary person providing the kids these opportunities. Thank you.

John Wayne
Glasener

Attention Parents - Annual Elections Are Here !

The annual elections for volunteers as board of directors, coaches and president will be here very soon. The club’s bylaws require that all applications be submitted to the current board of directors/ secretary by April 30th. This deadline date is approaching us in 14 days. If you can assist in the functions and operations of the club in any way, please complete an application, or speak with Kevin Jacob, Linda Southards or Chris Renfert and nominate yourself to assist in the operations for 2007-2008 calendar year.

I have heard that a few people feel that it is not necessary to be involved. Although I understand there are various reasons such as: some people do not have the time to participate, some people do not want to get involved, for fear of possible conflicts or they simply do not see the importance of being a volunteer. It should be clear to all parents, that it is necessary to have volunteers to manage the club’s functions. Kevin Jacob, president of the club, has carried the responsibility of maintaining the financials of the club, ordering equipment, ordering jerseys, arranging practice times, preparing an annual awards banquet and being the beacon for the management of the club for 8 years. Along with his supporting staff of volunteers as board members, coaches and team managers, each of them have been willing to commit some of their personal time to maintain and manage the club’s necessary functions. They have committed their time over the years, so that all players that wanted to play could have the opportunity to obtain a school letter, and have the pride of representing their school of Fort Zumwalt West within the Missouri Inline Hockey Association League. This has been the primary sport of choice for many of the children that have participated during the past 8 years. The alumni players and the current players have had this opportunity because Kevin Jacob and parents like Chris Renfert and Linda Southards have committed to volunteer and keep the club organized. If it was not for their unselfish commitment to the children, most likely the club would be ran by someone different every season and if you did not know someone that is organizing a team to participate, than most likely your child would not be playing. Unless you attempted to recruit a number of players and organize the entire process by yourself.

Speaking for myself, I desire to keep my child busy. I have been fortunate to find a sport, that my son enjoys along with my wife and I. If we can keep our children focused on some of the fun and good things of being young, than we can perhaps prevent our children from being influenced by some of the bad opportunities that are available to them. The Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey Club is an organization compiled of players that attend the same school as your child and shares a similar interest in the sport of inline hockey. As parents, if we can get involved and assist in making this club an organization that children desire to be a part of and are proud to represent, than we have a better chance in keeping our children focused on some of the positives of being young. The club is not just about organizing the multiple number of teams each winter to participate in the MOIHA league. It is about creating an organization that the children can look forward to participating in. It is about creating an image that each player is proud to be a part of. The opportunity for the club’s contributions to your child’s future is only limited to the participation of the parents that get involved. The club can grow to include a longer season, participate in tournaments and be involved in other non hockey events. As parents we have a great opportunity before us, which allows each of us to get involved and help form the club that we would like to see it become. Keep in mind that this is a group of children that have a similar interest in hockey, they all attend the same school and they are all around the high school age. Remember you are only as good as the people you choose to associate with.

I know that every player in this club has grown up with very little consistency in team rosters, coaches and team structure. For each 10 week session it tends to shuffle the players to get that team that can triumph. With the number of players that attend Fort Zumwalt West High School and West Middle School, there is a golden opportunity for the parents to ban together to create a club that represents the school with dignity and pride. The FZWIHC, Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey Club, is planning on adding a junior high school team to it’s membership. All four teams are planning on have a very vibrant and modern looking uniform for the 2007-2008 season. Another goal of the club is to extend the regular season to include a pre-season league with the cooperation of our home rink. The cost of membership is being addressed along with the individual cost of benefits. It is the goal of the club to create and initiate various fund raising events, which are not so dreadful. Some of the ideals presented so far could be enjoyable fund raising events. The membership could have additional social time and actually assist in decreasing the overall cost to be a member. There is a lot of great ideals being shared during the practice sessions and games. We need to continue this positive level of discussion and carrying it in to the management of the club.

It is vital to our children’s development that we keep a positive level of involvement along with an adequate number of leaders that can help guide the youth of the club. With the opportunity before us we can choose to appoint the parents that can coach and lead this club into the next season. The results of this election opportunity will only be limited if the number of parents volunteering is limited. So, if you have some thoughts on how the club can be enhanced, than we have a place for you within the management of the club. The coaching staff, team managers, committee members and board members can have numerous opportunities to present examples of leadership and sportsmanship to the entire participates of the club. As parents and volunteers to the club you will have many opportunities to lead by example. But to accomplish all of these great things, we need parents and non parents to step up and get involved. We must make these elections about the children and not about the parents.

Keep the youth involved in positive environments and keep them associating with other focused individuals.

All three teams are in the preliminary qualification of the leagues playoff brackets. This is truly an exciting time, with the varsity team’s leadership guiding the players to a possible first round bye in the playoffs. The varsity team has out scored their opponents 59 to 25, maintains a record of 5 wins, 1 loss and trails the league leading McClure Team by only 1 point. The varsity team is scheduled to play the McClure Team Wednesday April 25th at 9:00 p.m. at Omni in their only regular season match up. It is a possible match up that can lead to a championship season for the varsity squad. Now that is exciting! If you bleed purple, than make an effort and participate in the ROAR to support your varsity team in their quest for that championship season!

The varsity team has many players creating significant contributions to the teams performance. Zach Jacob has obtained a point in every game so far this season. Sean Philbin and Elliot Thomas support the team with points in each of the past 5 games. Zach Jacob, Zach Micks and Alec Schnitzier have each had multiple point games. Zach Dunavin, Zach Jacob, Zach Micks and Sean Philbin have each had hat tricks in various games so far this season. The team has Logan Martin defending their goal and is currently ranked 3rd out of 23 in their division with a 3.32 goals against average and a 0.813 save percentage. This is truly a team that everyone should be very excited about. Everyone enjoys a winning season, so make an effort and support your varsity squad in their final push for that championship season. Their next game is this Saturday March 31, at 11:00 a.m. at All American in south county, when they take on St. Louis University High School.

The junior varsity team is attacking and defending against all opponents with 6 wins and 0 losses. They have out scored their opponents 47 to 17 and lead their division. With a week long break, all of their players are rested and ready to go into the second half of their season. An early playoff match up prediction would have them facing Oakville. The goal this season is to support the varsity squad and obtain a championship season that will begin the tradition of winning for the Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey Club.

The junior varsity team has multiple players obtaining points in every game so far this season. Justin Steller, Trenton Southards, John Pfannebecker and Mike Glasener have obtained points in each of their games so far this season. Mitch Moeller, Anthony Foppe, Stephen Freund, Robert McKenney and Nick Renfert have also supported the team with point streaks in consecutive games. The team has a multiple number of players contributing big during various games so far this season. But all would mean nothing if you did not have a strong defense led by the team’s goalie Greg Kraft. Greg currently leads their division, ranked number 1 out of 12 with a 2.83 goals against average and a 0.845 save percentage. Come see the players of the future and support them in their next match up this Saturday, March 31st at 9:00 p.m. at Omni in Cave Springs, when they take on Northwest High School. It would be my guess that you might see some great passing and some great team play!

The "C" team has out scored their opponents 40 to 23 and trails the division leading Fox Team by two (2) points. A strong finish by the team and they can also compete for the 1st place lead in their division. They are currently competing for a playoff spot and their preliminary match up indicates a re-match game with DeSmet.

This is another young team that has surprised us all and is perhaps the most exciting team to watch. If you like to see a gritty team that can get your purple blood rushing than you will not want to miss any of the "C" team games. This team is lead by a composite of players that is truly energetic and absolutely full of passion. The team is lead by many and has a supporting staff of various players contributing to the team’s success. Cavin Penn, Brandon Kirkpatrick, Sam Eichenlaub, Kyle Gnau, Michael Ness and Brian Wilson are contributing points in many of the teams battles. Cavin Penn has obtained points in 5 consecutive games with Michael Ness and Brandon Kirkpatrick contributing in the past 2 and 4 consecutive games. Sam Eichenlaub, Michael Ness, Brandon Kirkpatrick, Cavin Penn and Brian Wilson have all had games with three (3) or more points. Kyle Gnau has contributed with multiple goal games in 2 of the teams battles. The contributions on this team are spread out with everyone getting in on the action. Chelsea Renfert, Hannah Wetteroth, Alex Dye and a late pickup Colbei Sakuma have all gotten in on the action. The team is defended by Tyler Kopf, which is ranked 3rd out of 19 in their division with a 2.52 goals against average and a 0.866 save percentage. Quite simply if you can not get excited during one of this team’s games, than you don’t like inline hockey. If you are lucky, you might even get a cookie for attending.

The club’s teams are representing the club well this season with a very competitive spirit. The fans of the club are anticipating all three teams to be in the playoffs. Fort Zumwalt West High School, within the Missouri Inline Hockey Association, will be represented very well. And, speaking for the entire fan base, we are proud of our teams and anticipate a second half that we will be able to remember for many years to come. Remember, players and fans, memories are treasured.

Once again, the season began with a lot of questions, which has evolved into a club with a lot of excitement among all three teams. The three teams are generating a lot of wins and some promising performances. Positive attitudes and a lot of energy, coupled with skill is going to provide fans of Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey some great times at the rink.

Invite some friends and perhaps they too will become fans of the game. For many of the players and parents, we take the game for granite. Most likely your friends know that you are involved in hockey, but can only relate it to the professional games seen on television. Perhaps a visit to one of the Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey games will enlighten a new fan on the speed and excitement of inline hockey. Recently I was sitting next to a friend of a parent on an opposing team. The conversation between the two of us was filled with intrigue. It was his first time to see inline hockey and he was impressed. At least until his team began to fall further behind. His curiosity led the conversation about the variance in the rules, the age which the players begin playing, where do they play, how many schools are involved and on and on and on. His excitement was sincere and it sparked a lot of interest in a game which he though he knew, but realized he really did not know this sport very well at all.

This encounter brought me back to reality, that although the game has the word hockey attached to it. Inline Hockey really is a totally different game. Perhaps some of your friends might see it the same way. So, next time you have a game, make the offer, have a few friends join us and get them roaring about Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey.

The teams are off to great starts.
The atmosphere around the teams is uplifting.
And the future of the club is promising.

The elections for the 2007 - 2008 President, six (6) Board of Directors, Head Coach and three (3) Team Coaches is soon to be here. The club needs volunteers to step up and participate in your child's interest. It is the primary goal of the club, to establish and create an organization in which your child and the players of Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey Club can be very proud to be a part of. For this atmosphere to be present, it is going to take commitment from all of the parents. The purpose of the Board of Directors and the Coaching Staff is to operate and plan the current and future of the club's existence.

Recently I have had a multiple number of parents ask how they can participate. They were concerned for they have never been involved in a structured organization before and was not sure that they could contribute with an adequate amount of knowledge. My number one response to every parent is this:

"Ask yourself if you care about the immediate and far future of the club?

Do you want to create an environment in which your child can be very proud to be a part of the Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey Club?

Are you willing to donate your time for some true work?

Are you willing to volunteer for the benefit of the club and not specifically your child?

If you can generally say yes to these questions, than throw your hat in the rink and lets move forward! "

Our goal is to collect all of the names, contact information and positions in which you would be willing to serve by April 30th. We will be passing out our volunteer sheets in multiple waves during the next couple of weeks. Or you can submit your information on line, e-mail, write it down on a sheet of paper and give it to Kevin Jacob, or another board member. Please, keep in mind the desire to create a positive organization for the players is the number one requirement for being involved. The club will fit your abilities to the needs of the club.

It is not about the title, it is about the players pride!