'Volume: 29 Issue: 19 May 10,2011 PRSRT STDECRWSSu.s. POSTAGE

PAIDTri County Record

For more informationabout ice ti.mes, registra-tion and the Raidershockey club go towww.tvicehockey.net.

The Raiders will beholding ice times atPower Play Rink in Extonso that new players canget a chance to skate withthe veteran players. Alllevels are encouraged toattend the ice timesscheduled in June andJuly.

mends that interestedparties look into purchas-ing used equipment. Pa-trons ofthe Wyomissing'sPlay It Again Sports willfind that they will receivea 10 percent discount ifthey are a member of theTwin Valley club. Fur-ther, one of the men in-volved with the teamkeeps used equipment inhis basement for newteam members who mightneed help with equip-ment.

year-old who has beenskating with the Raiderssince the club startedeight years ago. "I wantedto start playing becausemy dad played in a men'sleague, and we startedskating when we werereally young. It is the fast-est sport on legs, which ismore fun. It's a fast-paced game and gets theadrenaline pumping."

The Raiders have a his-tory of success. The varsi-ty team won the BerksLeague Championshipfour years in a row from2003-04 through the2006-07 season. The ju-nior varsity squad came infirst in the East PennScholastic HockeyLeague in 2009-10, andthe middle school teamwas the Berks Leaguechampion in 2003-04.

Stein spoke of the prog-ress of the club, "It start-ed on a pond, Nst kidsplaying on a pond, andthey got the idea to gointo a tournament inspring of 2003 as a team.Then they played in aspring league that BodyZone was offering in2003. They entered intothe league in fall of2003."

One of Stein's sons,Alex, is 10-years-old andhas played for the. Raid-ers for three years. He en-joys .playing with hisfriends from school, andhis favorite position is de-fense.

it gives them a uniqueway to meet friends whohave similar interests asthem as well as keepsthem active.

"A lot of these kids,especially at the youngerlevels, they don't knowany of the kids, and by theend of the season they'reall best friends andthey're a team," said BradStein, the president of theclub and head coach ofthe elementary team."When they act like ateam and support eachother as a team, that'spretty neat to see."

The coaches focus onbuilding relationshipswithin the team and em-phasize teamwork on theice.

tices are held at BodyZone in Wyomissing. Themajority of the games areheld at Body Zone aswell, though last seasonthe teams traveled toAston and Pottstown formatches.

"It's nice to play with Since some hockeyFor the kids involved in your school buddies," equipment can be expen-

The Twin Valley prac~ Twin Valley Ice Hockey, said Ian Meers, an 18- sive, the club recom-

There are four teams inthe Twin Valley club: anelementary school team(grades K-5) that is nochecking, a middle schoolteam (grades 6-8) andtwo high school teams (9-12): Junior Varsity andVarsity.

"I like checking andplaying around with myfriends," said teammateJack Wagner, a 10-year-old who has also beenplaying for the Raidersfor a year.

"Hockey is fun. We canwork as a team and havefun and enjoy hockey," hesaid.

The junior Landeen iseight-years-old, and hasbeen playing with theRaiders for one year. Hisfavorite drill is shootingon net.

Raider Youth Ice Hockey Club looks to bolster ranksBY BRENDA MAGUIRE

Tri County Record Correspondent

The Twin Valley IceHockey Club is acceptingkids from the age of fiveto 18who live in the TwinValley School District fora season that runs fromSept. to March. TheRaiders will be holdingregistration on May 21from 9 a.m. to 1 'p.m. atthe Wal-Mart in Elver-son, and on June 25 from9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at theMorgantown Library.

"I think the teamworkand the friendships thatthey make on and off theice (are important)," saidRich Landeen, who willbe on the board this yearas secretary/ treasurer ofthe club. "My son, Rylee,loves the fact that it's ateam instead of an indi-vidual effort. He'll playhis whole life, I think, be-cause he loves that somuch."