Grand Rapids Names Jennifer Marchand Director of Academics
Marchand brings with her a wealth of coaching and teaching experience.
(GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – August 21, 2020) – Total Package Hockey (TPH) Chief Academic Officer Bill Simms recently announced the addition of Jennifer Marchand as the Director of Academics for its Grand Rapids Division.
With her background in coaching and being in an educational environment that requires balance between the classroom and athletics, Simms is confident in how Marchand will be able to adjust and customize the learning experience for each student-athlete.
“Jennifer is a recently certified teacher, and she has a lot of experience working with students as a cheerleading coach,” said Simms. “She’s been working in the school setting and has been a substitute teacher at times in which case you often need to learn how to adjust. She’s definitely presented as having a really good skillset and hit the ground running in Grand Rapids. She’s already contributing immensely to our team.”
Times have been fairly uncertain with the pandemic, especially when it comes to students getting back in the classroom at all levels of education. For Marchand, this was a unique and perfect opportunity to teach.
“I was just really excited to join the team,” said Marchand. “I went to school to become a teacher, but with the current climate, things are a little uncertain right now. To be a part of this opportunity that offers a venue for student-athletes, and it’s really a unique opportunity that I’m excited to be a part of.”
The classroom is evolving almost daily right now, but at the core of Total Package Hockey’s educational offering is fostering a positive learning environment. It’s about individualizing the learning experience to best fit the needs of the student-athlete at TPH.
“TPH allows student-athletes to focus on their training, which is something that they’re so good about, without being bogged down with definitive, hard deadlines,” said Marchand. “This allows student-athletes to combine their passion with their education. With that education, they’re allowed to have more flexibility with it, which allows them to grow with their education and their athletics.”
Flexibility is important, but the student-athletes are still held accountable for what’s expected out of them. This applies not only on the ice or on the playing field, but also in the classroom.
“They’re called student-athletes for a reason,” Marchand said. “They’re students first, athletes second. The biggest thing is to make sure we are focusing on education and using their passion for that sport to keep them accountable. We want them to meet the goals they’re expecting of themselves and what their parents are expecting of them. Athletics is a passion for them, and we want to them to go as far as they can and for as long as they can. At the end of the day, they’re people, and we want them to be knowledgeable and productive members of society.”
Marchand has been on the job as Director of Academics for a short time, but she’s already quickly learned how the positive environment applies to the staff as well as the students.
“I am just so thankful for all of the help and welcomeness I’ve received from everyone,” said Marchand. “When we meet for Zoom calls, we’re all across the country, but we’re so collaborative. It really is just a positive and engaging work environment. This is such a positive place focused on everyone being better and improving.”
MHA Expands to West Michigan
Byron Center, MI – The Michigan Hockey Advancement program (MHA) is excited to announce the addition of MHA-West. MHA-West will be fielding 16U and 18U teams. These teams will compete in a series of fall events and host weekly skill development and training sessions to help give our athletes a one of a kind development driven experience prior to the start of the high school season. MHA-West will be located out of Bryon Center, MI and host all tryouts and training sessions at Southside Ice Arena.
For anyone unfamiliar with Michigan Hockey Advancement , MHA provides a fall playing opportunity for dedicated, driven high-school level hockey players to prepare for their club seasons and gain exposure to coaches and scouts at the junior, collegiate and professional levels, while competing in a structured, team environment.
This environment is made up of positive, knowledgeable, hands-on coaches who seek to foster an atmosphere that mirrors that of the next level, while creating a true sense of “team.” Everyone quickly realizes that personal success and group success go hand in hand.
Taylor Keyworth, MHA Associate Director, will be leading the charge for MHA-West. Keyworth currently serves the Director of Operations for TPH Grand Rapids and as the Head Coach of Byron Center High School.
“Given the connection between TPH Grand Rapids and TPH Detroit, we are excited to work together in expanding the MHA opportunity to West Michigan high school hockey players.” said Keyworth. “We believe strongly in the importance of preparing our players for the next level and helping them gain the exposure to coaches and scouts at that level. MHA West not only gives the players an opportunity to be seen in highly visible events, but also provides weekly local skill development skates.”
Joining Keyworth as part of the MHA-West staff is Mike Slobodnik, TPH Grand Rapids Partner and Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School Head Coach. “Working with TPH Detroit and Rick Gadwa, we have seen the player development and advancement success of the MHA program.” said Slobodnik. “I am happy to be a part of making a program like this more accessible to the Grand Rapids area.”
The MHA-West schedule is as follows:
- July 23-24 – MHA West Tryouts – July 23-24 @ Southside Ice Arena [CLICK HERE TO REGISTER]
- August 21-23 – MHA Exposure Showcase* – August 21-23 @ Farmington Hills Ice Arena
- MHA Showcase – Dates TBD @ Grand Rapids, MI (3 game minimum)
- CCM World Invite Motown Tier I – October 16-18 @ Detroit, MI (4 game minimum)
- CCM World Invite Chicago- Tier I – November 6-8 @ Chicago, IL (5 game minimum)
- Weekly Skill/Player Development Skates
*All players from the MHA West Tryout will be notified by July 25 if they are invited to the MHA Exposure Showcase. This is where MHA- West, MHA Detroit and the Fall Series Teams will be selected.
Any MHA West questions can be directed to tkeyworth@totalpackagehockey.com.
Michigan Hockey Advancement Accepted into NAPHL Fall League
Bloomfield Hills, MI – Total Package Hockey is pleased to announce our Michigan Hockey Advancement (MHA) program has been accepted in the North American Prospects Hockey League’s Fall League.
The MHA program provides a playing opportunity for dedicated, driven high-school level hockey players to prepare for their club seasons and gain exposure to coaches and scouts at the junior, collegiate and professional levels, while competing in a structured, team environment.
The MHA program has grown since its inception and now fields teams at the 18U, 16U, and 15O levels. Running from early September through October, each team plays between 20-25 games. The MHA 18U and 16U teams will be one of the eight teams in their respective age groups joining the NAPHL Fall League.
“From day 1, the MHA was and always will be focused on exposure.” said Rick Gadwa, MHA Program Director. “Acceptance into the NAPHL Fall League is another step taken to improve our players exposure level, educate them on the process of junior and college hockey, and truly give them a great opportunity”.
This newly created NAPHL Fall League is designed to give teams the ability to play in a league within a shortened window of time before the Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin high school seasons begin. The NAPHL Fall League events are designed to maximize exposure for the players and bring together teams for like-minded and enhanced competition. Each NAPHL fall league team will receive two tenders from NAHL teams. Players will also participate in seminars that discuss the NAHL junior hockey experience, the ladder of development, as well as, NCAA compliance seminars.
The schedule for the MHA teams will start July 30th with tryouts. Following tryouts will be the invite only MHA Exposure Showcase on August 21st – 23rd where final selections will be made for each MHA team leading into training camp. The MHA Fall Series is highlighted by three NAPHL Fall League Showcase Weekends which include one weekend in Duluth, MN and two weekends in Blaine, MN where the latter is the NAPHL Playoffs Championships. Additionally, the MHA teams will compete in the MHA Showcase in Grand Rapids, MI.
If you are interested in the Michigan Hockey Advancement program more information can be found at totalpackagehockey.com/mha.
One Team… We still got this!
Dear TPH Student-Athletes, Coaches, Volunteers and Parents,
All of us are itching to get back on the ice, in the performance training rooms and back to the game we all love. At TPH we have been spending a lot of time planning for this; what it will look like depending on what state, city and county we are in and how we best ensure it’s as safe as possible for you and our team members. We have been so fortunate to have strong relationships with all of the facilities we work with. We are consistently in touch with them and understanding what their protocol is or will be when they open up. We will adhere to all policy and protocol in each facility. We are so thankful for all the work that they are putting into this preparation, training staff and implementing a new normal for all of us to come back to the rink safely.
We are grateful to the Nashville Predators organization and the entire coaching staff led by John Hynes, Dan Lambert, Dan Muse, Ben Vanderklok, Lawrence Feloney and David Good who spent time with our coaches, sharing insight and providing some continuing education over the course of a few weeks to the group. Our coaches have been using this time to learn, improve and get ready for the upcoming training opportunities, along with how we can maximize training and development this summer and in our TPH Center of Excellence to support the student-athletes if we have a delay in full training and games.
TPH Colorado Director of Hockey Operations Jordan Pietrus created “Shield Our Communities” along with TPH team members and student-athletes raised over $10,000, thanks to a generous match from our partner Maynard’s Industries, to provide face masks for local healthcare providers in Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Huntsville, Indianapolis and Nashville. Mentoring and messaging to our student-athletes that when times get tough, we get tougher and we help those who need help and take care of others. This is deep in the fabric and culture of our game, and is part of what makes hockey so special.
Special thank you to our COO Francis Anzalone and Frank Anzalone, along with the rest of our TPH Team members who quickly built out the TPH Virtual Hockey Development platform so players at our CoEs and across the country could continue to train and put the necessary work in at home. We are now prepared for any future potential closures or pauses that may come up when school starts back this fall, to ensure our student-athletes can continue their development and be mentored at home.
We have seen an increase in parent participation at home and support on academics and virtual training which is great. Thank you for your patience, many of you have sent in emails of encouragement and support for coaches, academic leaders and we really appreciate your positive notes.
We have experienced some unique support from many friends in the NHL. Several positive role models have taken time via Zoom calls with our CoE student-athletes including Quinn and Jack Hughes, Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Aaron Volpatti, Scott Laughton, Brandon Naurato, Angelo Ricci, Eric Lacroix, Colton Parayko and Torey Krug. We are so grateful for their time and what an amazing opportunity for our aspiring elite student-athletes to learn from each of them.
Finally, a HUGE thank you to our Academic Directors and additional education team members who never missed a beat supporting and holding the student-athletes accountable over the past 2 months. Just over 70% of TPH Student-Athletes will have all A’s and B’s, as the Edmentum platform allowed them to quickly transition from the classroom to home without interruption. Although our physical CoE locations have been closed, our academic progress, mentorship and off ice training never missed a beat. Our 5th grade class in Nashville finished up two weeks early and graduated into middle school and we have seen a number of students finish their studies for the semester 2-6 weeks early. We are so grateful for the incredible support from EdOptions Academy, Michigan International Prep School, Brighton Area Schools, GlobalEd, Mount Vernon, Athens Renaissance School, McNairy County Schools and especially our academic partner Edmentum who have provided the platform and support team to keep our student-athletes on track and able to successfully complete the semester and school year during this crisis with no interruption. Lastly, we want to congratulate the TPH CoE senior class of 2020 as we celebrate the graduation of 41 student-athletes across all 7 CoEs as they take their next step in their academic and hockey marathon!
We still have a long road ahead of us, but it is key we focus on the positives, celebrate the wins, even when they are not back up on the scoreboard yet. It’s been awesome to see so many people, programs, teams and players from all across the country step up in their own way to contribute to staying positive, the hockey community is ONE team and we still got this!
Enjoy your memorial day weekend, please take a moment to remember all our service men and women who gave their lives while serving and please thank those that have served and are currently protecting our freedom.
Take care,
Nathan Bowen
Chief Executive Officer
Total Package Hockey, LLC
Goal Achieved.
Total Package Hockey is excited to announce, with the support of 75 donations, we achieved our goal of $10,000 to Shield Our Communities. In surpassing our goal, Maynard’s will be providing their promised match of $2,000 and the bonus of $5000. Combined we reached a total of $12,570 which will be utilize to produce and ship face shields from Sparx Hockey. The order has been placed and Sparx Hockey will completing production of over 1,000 masks to be evenly distributed and shipped to the following locations:
- Atlanta | Emory University Department of Public Safety
- Colorado | Elizabeth Fire Station 271
- Detroit | Dearborn Heights Police Department
- Grand Rapids | Emergency Care Specialists and Life EMS
- Huntsville | Huntsville Hospital System
- Indianapolis | Eskenzie Health of Indianapolis
- Nashville | Metro Nashville Office of Emergency Management
We would like to thank Sparx for this partnership and Maynard’s for their generous match. Most of all we would like to that those who shared this campaign and donated to help support front line workers in our local communities. Thank you to the following donors:
Tom Winkler
Tony Diganci
Jeffrey Peterson
Jordan Pietrus
Sergio Gasperoni
Aaron Stewardson
R Scott Jentz
Tph Nationwide Family
Sheldon Wolitski
Mario Mazzuca
Taso Sofikitis
Chris And Mandy Lipsett
Karen Pease
Seven Cooper
Sunsea W.
Martin Kubaliak
Tr Mason
Indy Center Of Excellence
Alan Loewenstein
Mike Suzuki
Francis Kearney
Emily Bourgeois
Jeff Miller
John Coots
Judi Kremer
Steven Mattes
Thomas Elsensohn
Tara Shaikh
Mike Mcintosh
Candice Neisen
Dominic Vincent
Randy B
Jay Henry
Scott Truchan
Nichelle Simon
Adam House
Tom Stenglein
Devin Timberlake
Scott Van Der Linden
Tamme Mellenthin
Finn Kilbride
Heather Lambert
Henry Wineman
Michael O’neil
Sheina Dixon
Larena Burnett
Cassie Ramsay
Cameron Shaw
L’kita Smith
Dyron Givens
Emily Keller
Kristin Nabozny
Nicole Koring
Tiernan Keith Grandmother
Anthony Golio
Jared Bussard
Jordan Pietrus
Rich Mackanos
Denise Schmidt
Tiernan Keith
Phyllis Long
Annie Malafa
Audrey Forman
Dean Gartelos
Michael Mcever Family
Max Lacroix
Taylor Keyworth
Jamie Lynn Frank
Leah S
Paul Evans
Hanna Hill
Mac And Bailey Bowen
Tiffany Silverberg
Shield Our Communities goes into Overtime
We are excited to say that we are over a quarter of the way to our Shield Our Communities goal. With the support of our many donations as well as the match from Maynards we have a current total of $2,643.
Our lofty goal of $10,000 dollars would supply 1,500 face shields, provided by Sparx, to front line workers in our local communities and we are not there yet. There is still time to donate. We recognize the importance of distributing these shield in a timely manner and we will be closing donations on Friday May 15th at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Help us send shields, distributed evenly, to the following local organizations:
- Atlanta | Emory University Department of Public Safety
- Colorado | Elizabeth Fire Station 271
- Detroit | Dearborn Heights Police Department
- Grand Rapids | Emergency Care Specialists and Life EMS
- Huntsville | Huntsville Hospital System
- Indianapolis | Eskenzie Health of Indianapolis
- Nashville | Metro Nashville Office of Emergency Management
TPH Training App Now Available
Total Package Hockey is proud to announce the release of the TPH Training app powered by MaxOne. The TPH Training app will offer free access to our Virtual Hockey Development content through May 31st. This app will support all your training needs on-demand. We are excited to provide a better training experience for our student-athletes, families, and hockey players.
The TPH Training app will house all of our growing Virtual Hockey Development content on-demand which consists libraries that house all our Skill Development, Strength & Conditioning, and Education Materials. Assigned workouts will be available for student-athletes log their workout. The app includes a leader board which allows Student-athletes to compete with others across the nation!
The TPH Training app is now available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
After downloading, create a profile using the code “tphathlete” to start. Parents of registered athletes will receive an email which will provide access to connect to their student-athlete’s account. Parents will be able to download the app and connect to their student-athlete’s account to see the workouts and progress. No more logging into Facebook!
TPH wants to help our student-athletes develop and grow on the ice, in the classroom, and the ultimate game… the game of life! The TPH Training app is now free through the end of May, with plans on launching a more in depth and exclusive paid experience. Stay tuned for those details, it’s not something you’re going to want to miss out on.
By The Numbers: 2020 USHL Draft
Every draft we always look back over the selections and break down the data. The goal is to understand who the teams and their scouts believe are ready for the next level. The data helps understand how to best prepare our TPH student-athletes. Below is some of the details from our staff’s analysis.
Birth Year Distribution
As you can see from the distribution, 141 (61.1%) of those selected were 2001 and 2002 birth years.
Association Level Distribution
Junior League Distribution
Youth League Distribution
This year, 76.5% of the draft pick were selected from a team associated in a league rather than an independent.
Help Us Shield Our Communities
TPH and the Center of Excellence offer a selective environment for the aspiring elite athlete. Part of the selective environment is mentoring our athletes to become better versions of themselves. A big piece of this growth includes serving the communities!
We are launching the Shield Our Communities fundraiser. TPH students across the country will be raising money to purchase medical face shields made by our good friends at Sparx Hockey. The goal is to provide these shields to organizations in need in each local community. Students will have the opportunity to safely deliver the shields to the selected local organizations. Organizations like Police Departments, Fire Departments, Nursing Homes or the like.
TPH is proud to partner with Sparx, a company who has repurposed their facilities to make these shields for first responders and essential workers across the country! Please help us achieve our goal and make a difference in the communities we call home! Together we can make a difference, in our communities and across the nation!
Our targeted goal would allow us to distribute over 1,000 face shields, distributed evenly, to the following local organizations:
- Atlanta | Emory University Department of Public Safety
- Colorado | Elizabeth Fire Station 271
- Detroit | Dearborn Heights Police Department
- Grand Rapids | Spectrum Health
- Huntsville | Huntsville Hospital System
- Indianapolis | Eskenzie Health of Indianapolis
- Nashville | Metro Nashville Office of Emergency Management
To make a donation click here. We’ve got this!
USHL Draft Phase II
The United States Hockey League (USHL) Draft concluded Phase II yesterday, ending the selection process for this year’s draft. Phase II of the drafted amassed 282 players selected to the 16 USHL clubs (excludes US NTDP Team), adding to the 142 futures (2004 birth years) selected in Phase I, totaling out at 424 total players.
Total Package Hockey is proud to announce that 21 players who were selected over the course of the past two days are alumni of a TPH program. The breakdown of these players by program (some overlap multiple programs):
- 15 – Center of Excellence
- 5 – Elite Prospects Program (3 – World Selects Invitational Team and 2 – Michigan Hockey Advancement)
- 2 – Nashville Jr Predators
- 1 – 8 Week Progression Program
- 1 – Tri-State Spartans
The distribution based on TPH Division is as follows:
- 14 – TPH Detroit
- 2 – TPH Nashville
- 2 – TPH Grand Rapids
- 1 – TPH Indianapolis
- 2 – TPH Colorado
We want to express our congrats to all of the athletes that were selected in the Draft over the past two days. TPH would like to thank the 21 drafted student-athletes for allowing us the opportunity to be a part of their development in hockey and life. Below is our #TPHTrained student-athletes that were selected in Phase II:
View players selected in USHL Draft Phase I.
Tanner Latsch – WSI Prospects Team
Round 1 – 4th Overall – Des Moines Buccaneers
Davis Pennington – TPH Center of Excellence – Detroit
Round 1 – 11th Overall – Muskegon Lumberjacks
Patrick Johnson – WSI Prospects Team
Round 3 – 34th Overall – Cedar Rapids Roughriders
Hunter Longhi – WSI Prospects Team
Round 7 – 93rd Overall – Madison Capitols
Owen Millward – TPH Center of Excellence – Grand Rapids
Round 7 – 97th Overall – Tri-City Storm
Owen Bartoszkiewicz – TPH Center of Excellence – Detroit
Round 7 – 104th Overall – Youngstown Phantoms
Daniel Nakhamiyev – TPH Center of Excellence – Detroit
Round 12 – 168th Overall – Madison Capitols
Jacob Badal – 8 Week Progression Program – Detroit
Round 13 – 183rd Overall – Madison Capitols
Owen Carlile– TPH Center of Excellence – Detroit
Round 13 – 187th Overall – Muskegon Lumberjacks
Owen West – TPH Center of Excellence Alum – Indianapolis & Tri-State Spartans Alum
Round 14 – 208th Overall – Omaha Lancers
PJ Forgione – TPH Center of Excellence – Detroit
Round 15 – 224th Overall – Fargo Force
Dominik Bartecko – TPH Center of Excellence – Nashville & Nashville Jr Predators
Round 15 – 221st Overall – Green Bay Gamblers
Braden Rourke – TPH Center of Excellence – Detroit
Round 16 – 231st Overall – Des Moines Buccaneers
Andrew Garby – Plymouth HS – Michigan Hockey Advancement
Round 18 – 260th Overall – Cedar Rapids Roughriders
Charles Larsen – TPH Center of Excellence – Colorado
Round 19 – 284th Overall – Fargo Force
Jacob Thomas – Detroit Country Day HS – Michigan Hockey Advancement
Round 21 – 309th Overall – Sioux Falls Stampede
Landry Schmuck – TPH Center of Excellence – Nashville & Nashville Jr Predators
Round 22 – 324th Overall – Sioux Falls Stampede