NEWS: Historic first night for the Clan Academy

by Sam Scouller

Monday (4th November) saw Braehead Arena play host to a special piece of Clan history as the Clan Academy held its first ever practice with help from some special guests.

Over 50 kids took to the ice on Monday evening to take part in the inaugural session of the club’s new Learn to Play programme (LTP)  – the Clan Academy.

Head Coach Ty Gloski brought his wealth of experience from San Jose Jr. Sharks and the Scottish Development Programme to lead the session and pass along his knowledge to Scottish hockey’s future generations.

Alongside Gloski, was Senior Advisor on Coaching and Player Development, Paul Heavey who has years of experience in hockey coaching across the UK’s top leagues as well as holding the position of Director of Coaching with Best of British Ice Hockey Camps. Paul and Ty were joined by a number of other experienced coaches on the ice, such as goaltending coach, Lewis Gardner, respected skills coach Jamie Turnbull and Scottish Ice Hockey’s Development Pathway Lead, Murray Johnston.

The session – normally run in two separate groups to accommodate the large number of participants – held an exciting overlap, allowing all 50-plus kids to be on the ice together for a special surprise.

To celebrate the first-ever Clan Academy Learn to Play session, Clangus joined Glasgow Clan players Nick Prkusic, Keaton Jameson, Gary Haden, Mitchell Heard, Cole Ully, and Alex Forbes on the ice to skate with the kids. The players shared their knowledge, even joining some of the LTP drills to demonstrate the moves firsthand.

Clan’s #13, Heard, took particular enjoyment in shooting with the Academy netminders giving the young shot stoppers a taste of what it’s like to face an Elite forward.

The session was massively enjoyable for everyone involved and has provided a lot of optimism and excitement for the future of the Academy and the progress of every participants’ ability and love for playing hockey.