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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, June 28-July 1, 2014 B-3 The Park Record Dufford is Coach of the Year UAHA honors Park City hockey coach By ADAM SPENCER The Park Record With the way the Park City High School hockey squad has improved since Aaron Dufford took over the head coaching spot, it's no surprise he's won the Utah Amateur Hockey Association's Coach of the Year award two of the last three years. Coming off a season in which the Miners suffered a heartbreaking loss in the state title game, Dufford said he didn't expect to win the award. "I was pretty surprised," he said. "It's an honor to win it two of the last three years." Dufford, who also runs the Park City youth hockey program, said the influx of talent coming from the youth levels makes his job with the high school team a lot easier. "I think we have a strong youth program and presence in Park City," he said. "We've got about 160 kids in that program from ages 6 to 16. That program has grown exponentially over the last three or four years - we expect that to continue to grow." He added that the youth program has grown so much that they're running out of space to play and practice. "There's only one ice rink in town," he said. "We're about at the bubble of what we can do. We need another sheet of ice to accommodate the kids we have. But that's a good problem to have." Those youth players, Dufford said, create quite the logjam of talent at the high school level, another good problem to have. "Each year, we've got qualified kids moving up through the ranks to the high school team," he said. "We had a very strong freshman class this year that, on any other team, probably would have been varsity players. But we also had a very strong senior class, so we were able to let the freshmen get junior varsity experience this year." He expects that junior varsity playing time to help the varsity squad next year. "We've got a core group of now-to-be sophomores who have some high school experience under their belts," he said. "Our talent level will be higher than it was in previous years." With that said, Dufford hopes to finally grab that elusive state title. "The first year I coached, we took fifth in state, which was above and beyond what we expected," he said. "Last year, we made a very good run, but ran into some teams we weren't prepared for. This year, we showed some of our grit. But we struggled during the end because we weren't really tested in the regular season." The influx of talent from the freshman class will force Dufford to change up his coaching tactics a bit, but he's confident the Miners will once again be a force to be reckoned with in Utah high school hockey. Then, maybe, he'll earn his third UAHA Coach of the Year award in four years. 212 dominates P.C. Shootout U15 boys' squad wins seven straight games Submitted by 212 Lacrosse 212 Lacrosse of Park City participated in their hometown tournament June 12-14. The 212 under-15 boys' squad, led by Court Durling (University of Virginia) and Mike Acee (University of North Carolina) rolled the competition once again. The team cruised to a 6-0 record, including wins over the secondand third-place teams, Utah Elite and Parker Men's Club. They finished with 76 goals for and 17 goals against. Overall, this team has a 33-2 PHOTO COURTESY OF 212 LACROSSE A 212 Lacrosse player launches a shot on goal during a recent tournament. record in five tournament appearances. The boys' next stop will be Denver, at the World Championships Festival July 1315. The 212 U13 boys had a successful weekend, finishing 7-3 and often playing up one, and sometimes two years against their competition. The 212 U11 team also played up one and two years, holding its own in all but one game. The future looks bright for this young, talented group. "212 continues to play for two former teammates of mine at North Carolina, Neill Redfern (battling cancer) and Eric Seremet (recently widowed)," Acee said. "Our kids break every huddle with ‘S14.' The acronym stands for Eric's last name and Neill's number at Carolina. The message for the kids to play for someone other than themselves is unifying and they all continue to play very hard for Eric and Neill. "I'm extremely proud of all the 212 kids. As always, a big thank you to the entire 212 Lacrosse community. The support the parents show myself and our staff continues to be tremendous." We would like to say THANK YOU! Experience the Park Meadows Lifestyle Without the upfront initiation fee LACY BRUNDY Circulation Manager The Park Record CHARLIE STURGIS Mountain Trails Foundation THE PARK RECORD WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE NEW SUBSCRIBERS WHO HELPED US MAKE A FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION TO: A one-year Trial Golf Membership is available through June, with no upfront initiation fee; simply pay monthly Golf Membership dues and a pro-rated food and beverage minimum. During the trial period you may upgrade to a Full Golf Membership at any point. ! ! Social and Dining Memberships also available. Call Eric Karshner today: 435.649.2460 Each month the Park Record donates a portion of new subscription fees to a local Nonprofit organization. PARKMEADOWSCC.COM Best of the Beehive 2012 Best Private Course |