BY RANDY SCHULTZ –
Very quietly and almost unnoticed, a hockey rink has appeared in Pendleton, NY. With it has come a new business, “Five Star Training and Sports Performance.”
If you are travelling south down Campbell Blvd in Pendleton, you hardly notice it from the road. Going past Wendelville Fire Hall and Tonawanda Creek Road on your right, you see an open-air structure with two buildings behind it.
That is where the action takes place. Within the open-air structure is synthetic ice developed by Can-Ice and inside the two buildings are fully equipped 4000 square foot fitness centers.
Two questions arise: why and why in Pendleton?
“My granddaughter started playing hockey,” remarked former Buffalo Sabres star center, Don Luce, a partner in the new company. “I would go to watch her practice and play.
“I would watch her team on the ice practicing and noticed that they didn’t get a real chance to develop their individual skills. There are so many players on the ice and the coach has to teach team concepts.
“So I thought it would be great to have the kids have a place to go and develop their skills. It would be a place to go to take a lot of shots or develop stick handling skills.
“It would be a place to go to help their progress and become better players. And we could do it all year long.”
Enter former teammate and linemate, Danny Gare, with Can-Ice.
“It is a synthetic ice surface,” explained Luce. “It can stay up all year long.
“You can skate on it just like regular ice. And weather doesn’t bother it.
“In the summer you can come out in your shorts along with your glove, sticks and skates to have some fun and develop your hockey skills.
“In winter we can put up a protective covering and still use the synthetic ice. You can go all year long.
“And this location seemed like the perfect place to set up a rink. The building is the right size and the other buildings behind it are perfect for the rest of the program.”
And that is only part of the story.
“We have partnered with Chuck Pelitera and his fitness center (Pelitera’s Fitness and Performance Center) to set up something for the parents,” continued Luce. “A lot of times the parents bring their kids to practice and they end up sitting in their car or in the stands and do nothing.
“With our situation here, the parents can join the fitness center and go work out in the gym while their kids are practicing.
“We will also be doing a lot of speed and agility training with the players. So a whole team could come out, split them up, and have one group of the ice and the other in the gym. Then flip them.
“We will have all the equipment needed to develop a player’s skills on the ice for them to practice with.
“We will also have a sports psychologist on call if players want help with their mental game.”
The bottom line is that “Five Star Training and Sports Performance” is a one stop center for a hockey player’s development.
“We want to help kids to develop their hockey skills and have fun at the same time. And we have a great place to do it.
“And with girl’s hockey growing we would especially like to have girls and their teams come out. We’re here for everyone.”
For further information email: [email protected].
(Photo by Janet Schultz Photography)
