NJ Wild Mission

The NJ Wild mission is to provide a quality environment for learning, playing and enjoying the game of ice hockey, for the personal/emotional and athletic growth of the children who are part of our program. We will achieve this by maintaining the following two key principles:

Combine high-level training in a competitive sport that our children enjoy, with important values such as teamwork, sportsmanship and discipline. The intent is to better prepare our children for success in the pursuit of their important goals in the future.
Our hockey program will be used to create a solid foundation for the elite player, who may have the skills and desire to play the game at a higher level - and for all players, at all levels, to learn the value of hard work and preparation to succeed in life's competitive endeavors.

Goals

NJ Wild Ice Hockey is founded on the best principles of volunteerism and serves to support the energies, enthusiasm and contributions of its volunteer members. The Organization's commitment to the success of the mission is realized through the efforts of each officer, coach, player, parent and member to work together to meet the following critical goals.

Attract and retain players and coaches to participate in NJ Wild Ice Hockey sponsored activities, leagues, tournaments, clinics and camps.
Achieve exemplary levels of sportsmanship and teamwork through qualified adult leadership.
Emphasize the inclusion of new players and foster the mastery of fundamental skills by providing a non-competitive environment for player education.
Promote fun through the mastery of skills and play in our programs.
Sponsor continuous learning and improvement in each member of the association.
Provide suitable levels of competition for children of all ages from Novice to Select.
Emphasize the joy that comes from skill development and team contribution, and de-emphasize scoring records, competition and awards.
Maximize the value received by the membership for every dollar spent.

Hockey Program Overview

The NJ Wild hockey program is structured to maintain a high level of competition in each age group. The program was created to fill a void in the house hockey level and attract the players and families that wanted more out of their youth hockey experience.
At a high level, the hockey program consists of the following:

Train like a Travel Team - Use interesting drills that keep the players involved and make the most use of the ice. Coaches are encouraged to set a good example of the work ethic that will be expected in practices and games. Keep the atmosphere fun but hard working. Training like a travel team helps create a good mindset for the players. It sets the bar high and as such, prepares the players for some of the challenges they will encounter as they get older.
Strong commitment from each player - The NJ Wild staff is committed to giving their very best and in return, players are expected to work hard as a member of a NJ Wild team. Players will receive and sign a certificate that states that they are committed to working hard and will learn how to work within a “Team First” environment. This helps to set the player’s expectations. It also provides the coaches with a way to push/pull each team to its fullest potential.
Provide a minimum of one weekly practice per game - Ice time is driven by the local rink and is often difficult to come by during the season. Based on available ice time and other circumstances, the goal will be to provide a minimum of one weekly practice. When possible, teams will get more than one practice per game.
Hockey Development Clinics - The HDC was created to provide all players with the opportunity to work on their individual skills outside of the team practices. This is a weekly clinic that focuses on skating, stickhandling, passing and shooting. The scheduling of the weekly HDC is, of course, subject to available ice time.
Home and Home Games - The NJ Wild will attempt to schedule the same amount of Home and Home series for each team. The purpose of these series is to provide the players and families with a feel for what travel hockey is all about. This also fits into the overall mentality of the NJ Wild philosophy of training like a travel team and attempts to provide the players with better competition. The theory is that NJ Wild players will then become accustomed to playing at a higher level.