GSC Summer Message - Jack Duffy
Dear GSC Members,
It is with great excitement that I write this letter to you as part of the Inaugural GSC Newsletter. This newsletter, courtesy of our House Committee led by Richard Fulton, Jon Erensen, James Mairs and Lee Milazzo is but one of the many developments I look forward to sharing with you as the 2018-2019 hockey season quickly approaches.
I am happy to inform you that the newly elected Board has approved a working budget for the coming season and will keep dues and hockey fees unchanged for full members. GSC's finances continue to be in excellent shape thanks to active participation across all club programs. As such, the Board recently authorized a substantial payment toward the amount of principal owed for the construction project. The Club remains on track with its original plan to eliminate our mortgage loan entirely in the next few years.
Thanks to the hard work of our Admissions Committee under the guidance of Neely Vanneck, we welcomed over 30 new families to the Club this season and our waiting list remains robust. Please remember to continue to introduce local friends and their families to GSC. There is no one better than a current member who understands the magic that GSC holds to promote the Club.
The GSC Board continues to work to provide our players and families with the most unique and awesome hockey and clubhouse experience. To that end, we have approved a new GSC Team Room project. We will renovate the big room upstairs in the Clubhouse which will provide figure skaters, hockey players and coaches with additional space for workouts, film sessions and team meetings and, in addition, provide parents and families an area for team dinners and parties. We look forward to getting a lot of use out of the new GSC Team Room all season long.
This coming season, we will run the Travel Development League (TDL) as a full season program starting in September. The TDL provides tremendous skill development and an opportunity to represent GSC in the WesConn Hockey league against teams from Darien, Stamford, Rye and Shelton. We will run 2 teams, each practicing 2x per week and playing one game each weekend. Last year, we had 34 players participate in the TDL and we are proud to announce that 5 of those players have earned a spot on Travel rosters for this coming season.
This summer we are running a Summer Goalie Series along with ProCrease. This program will allow current goaltenders to train and further develop their skills while providing an opportunity for younger boys and girls who might be interested in goaltending to give it a try. Goaltending numbers are an issue at many area programs and we are dedicated to grow our goaltending base right here at home. Please reach out to Brent Brower, Jason Price or Harry Schwefel to find out more about our Goaltending program including ProCrease, the Summer Series, and subsidized equipment and hockey fees.
Jenn Leary and Ingrid Hang, our co-Heads of Figure Skating are happy to announce that this year, we will be adding three classes to our Monday evenings. Yoga & Stretching for Figure Skating is a new off-ice class that will make use of our new GSC Team Room! The return of Basic & Advanced Moves in the Field will help our skaters continue to improve their fundamental skating skills, incorporating power, edge work, quickness and flow into each skating element. For hockey players, High Performance Power Skating will be back on Tuesday nights after a successful launch last year!
The aforementioned House Committee is already busy working to bring our families and players great experiences this season and beyond. In addition to our Team Room project, we look forward to an enhanced Social Calendar including GSC Games of the Week, a new Social Media presence including game highlights and GSC Wing of the Week and much more.
Please visit our new and improved website to see a list of our Board Members and Committee assignments. Committees will consist of Board Members and non-Board Members so please bring your thoughts, ideas and volunteerism to Committee Members and get involved on behalf of all of our hockey players, figure skaters, coaches and members. GSC provides us all with an ideal experience of competition, fun, family and community. Our membership’s enthusiasm and hard work will only enhance that experience for all involved.
Enjoy the rest of your Summer...........GO WINGS!!!!
Jack Duffy
