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To'mmnnmmnhomomyow mm mm and out In some gnu mavens: Irom your hm durum as them cusma can us vooay' areas one», PG BHANDSAVER“ MWMM~MQQ ‘Sfifi-Tribune visit Wetland.“ Sum. it hum to lose. far mom than what they might have been accumde to when they play“! as an (WI-HA A entry. 5mm- (flippers coaches who ‘wvn: in that boat m‘h1mvledged. But in (he kmg run; they wmain up! imam" the Imm' will pay of? to when: they ran ('nnlpcw fur ()MHA AA titles. - "The Whitchun‘h-Smuflfllle Minn: lltx'key. wa‘iatitm board certainly expected our teams wuuld struggie a little during their first year at the AA Ievelf said Don Faster, association president and Clippers major midget head coach. “Maybe the best. mtalogy would be to Compam us with an expansion team. "A (DUMP 0f Imumit-s um way umki have mmnl lht‘ diflbmm‘t‘." hv said (if sumo nf [how (109* setbacks; 51111- biggcst dim-mm v hm hvvn ifwe dun'I capilaliw (mum ("h£illt‘t’§. ‘Uu- up;an all cxpmslon teams. our .M Clipper teams will go through a Couple of lcammg curves. We will firs! have to learn how to mmpo'm at the AA level. We will then have [0 learn how :0 win consistenth at this level" V Although his club was still seeking its first win after cmningmn m) the short mu! m its (in: nin wgula‘r-wamn outings. (flippers minur lmnmm hmd (math Inc lnmhanio thinks his team has hwn fairly- mmw’titiw While the current campaign is In its imam stages. 59er (flippers entries have been forced to make an adjustment in moving up in the com » pmin ranks. ' When the Smufiville Clippers rep teams made their Ontario Minor Hockey Association debut in the AA drum Ibis season, mere wm (can. 4 Clippers taking their lumps with move to AA EL‘OKOfimMUN ’SfifiFTribune THE UBERAL BY MICHAEI IIAYAKAWA mhuyakuwu (“Try mg ‘ um “ Lombardu thinks the biggest adjustment has been the pact- of the game. “Wire not playing against older boys or play- or: who am physically bigger. But things happen faster. the players know when to move faster and anticipate plays far more quickly,” he'sai‘d; _ . Easter was quick to concur. “Our players are Icaming'they simpry don't ham: the amount of time and'vspacc that they had in :\ competition; It's not simply that thcy have tn exam faster; they also must alsq mm't' thc puck tam'r as wvll as think and n‘qrt mum quickly this is a big part at the teaming rurvr and thc-sv t‘apdhilitit's' am only he dcva opt-d by rumpotmg again-st better quality playâ€" ers." limtt'r' said tjon docs." _ Citing sumo (Zlippcrs’ mp teams an: already ahead of the learning curve. Easter hopes their association can pattern itself after the TM- tenham New 'l'ecumseth minor hockey Olga- nization. which also made the transition to AA from A sonw five to six years ago. Easter was quick to point am by their fourth year at the AA 'Ievvl. deN'I‘ organization was producing ( )Ml IA championship teams. HOCKEY limit-n mm -0 lmnhardualm felt players competing with MINOR HOCKEY m Mrs-mm vs I Nun-«u 1| Ml MI Hail Mn ‘Iumnu wilmumn I ad Mum-r "it's a real because you don't know how runny times a player am lose and say {hey don't want to play any more.“ he said. “Hm some kids Will have the drive to get better and m be competitive. "We're not anticipting overnight rpsuhs. hm we beliwc we're establishing a fuundamm fm longâ€"term sutxess." he said. As a those players could low mm enthusiasm for the game and end their (a rm-rs. 0n the other hand Ihuugh amtn‘nminmg optimistic. Inmbaxdo hopes it will fuvl players to become more committed In impmving their gamesxduring the extra ice time they rweiw [m mantras and if (hay haw mp dmirv In (in th inns on their own when time permits. "If you can get weryonc to buy mm doing the extra \mrk. they will succeed.” ,‘fRight now we'm trying our best and it (an only get better. ‘ib'u have to taint baby steps first." ‘Iiaster insists the standard in the Shun term is nul based simply on the number of win» “As an mganilamm we are attempting In sup- pon all our Coaches and players with \pt’t mum training programs foCused on skating {ethniqu hockey skills and goaltender develome-m. lnmbardo anticipates it might talu- two to ghme‘years for mp teams tn be as ( 0m» petitive AA entries. established AA entries appear to mm.»ch u lmlv extra incentive since they feel thm'h- (m the cusp of making it In the AAA level. (ht-highest out there. In coaching a team with players m lht‘ir mid teens. lombatdo fears in some instanrvs playvm might get frustrated in losing far mum gmm-s than what they were accustomed to whvn lhq were playing at the A level. .