Florida Junior Programs
Breaking the Ice in USPHL
By Reba LaRose
As the USPHL winds down its 2018-19 regular season, the eight Florida
Elite and Premier teams have much to be proud of. These young players are
continuously advancing the game with a quality of hockey skill that Florida
has not yet seen on the junior level.
Players representing Daytona Beach, Tampa Bay, Fort Myers, and Estero
have tirelessly kept stride with more established programs from around the
country all season long. Both the Tampa Bay Juniors and the Florida Eels
Elite teams, as well as the DME Swamp Rabbits Premier team have each
secured final spots in the top 10 of the USPHL this season.
While building an awareness of hockey in Florida through these Tier III
Juniors programs is a priority, the major goal for every team is to give their
players the opportunity to advance to a higher level of hockey – whether
that be at the college, minor league, or professional level.
Here’s a special look into how our Junior hockey programs across the
Sunshine State are helping young athletes be their absolute best both on
and off the ice.
Rebirth of Hockey at the World’s Most Famous Beach
As the newest program to enter Florida’s division of the
USPHL, the DME Swamp Rabbits have proven that they
are no pylons on the ice. With a mixture of abundant
sunshine, white sand beaches, a newly renovated rink, and the exceptional
training they receive through the DME Sports Academy, these Daytona
Beach players brought an impressive talent to their inaugural season.
Formerly the Daytona Racers, the program gained a new identity – and then
some – when DME took the reigns at the Daytona Ice Arena, leading to a
fruitful partnership with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits. In addition
to upgrading the once weathered Ice Arena into a state-of-the-art hockey
facility, the Elite and Premier teams now have the opportunity to train in
DME’s 45,000 square foot training center with access to some of the latest
technology and experts in sports training and medicine.
Frank Gilberti, the general manager and head coach of the DME Swamp
Rabbits Premier team trains his players with a success-driven “develop,
promote, and advance philosophy”. Gilberti has coached youth hockey for
more than a decade and joined the DME team leading into the 2018-19
season.
“It’s our job to squeeze out every ounce of potential from every player we
interact with. The first thing we are developing are people; it’s always
people first and hockey players second,” Gilberti said. “Once you realize
that the two go hand-in-hand, then you’re headed in the right direction.”
The Premier Swamp Rabbits finished the season leading the Florida
Division of the USPHL and earned themselves a 9th place spot out of the
51 competing teams with a total of 63 points with a 30-11 record.
The Elite Swamp Rabbits finished 19th of 21 active teams with a 7-35
record. Despite the rough start, the team is expected to continue improving
in the coming seasons.
“It’s important to me that every player loves the game more when the leave
us than they did before they arrived,” Gilberti said. In his career, Gilberti
has trained players who have gone on to play Division I and beyond to
join the leagues of professional hockey. As he wraps up his first season in
Daytona, Gilberti believes that his new team has the same potential.
“What each of those players had in common was a burning desire to be the
best, and an incredible work ethic. The fire and passion that all of those
players have isn’t activated like a light switch; it’s not something that is
turned on and off,” he said.
“For them, it’s a lifestyle. This is who they are as people, so it always
comes back to developing people first and hockey players second. These
are the attitudes, qualities and athletes that we are recruiting to be a DME
Swamp Rabbit.”
The Roots of Florida Junior Hockey
The Florida Eels broke ground as the first junior hockey
team in South Florida more than 15 years ago in
Ellenton. After three seasons, the Eels found a new
home in Fort Myers, where they have played ever
r
since. The program’s owner and general manager Frank Scarpaci says
that the mission of his junior program is based on two core values: player
development and player advancement to college.
“The Eels recognize and adopt the 10,000-hour development principle. You
can’t get to the Elite status unless you train and practice 10,000 hours,”
Scarpaci said. “Whether you want to be a top violinists, gymnast, artist, or
college hockey player, you need to train 10,000 hours.”
“Indeed, major studies have been done in the USA, IIHF and Hockey
Canada, and the prime theory is to train 10,000 hours over a young hockey
player’s life, and it will provide him with the training needed to advance to
reach his goals and mission,” he said.
And that mission is to play hockey at the collegiate level. To get his players
to this level, Scarpaci and his coaches take the Eels through intense
training four to five hours per day.
“The Eels’ training program is unparalleled in junior hockey. It is closely
aligned to what happens at the USA National Training Program and many
NCAA Division I College hockey programs,” Scarpaci said.
During their off-season, the Eels train just as hard as they do in the regular
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