NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – When fans think of hockey this time of the year it is frequently about which players will make their favorite team, who will get sent down to lower levels of hockey or who just doesn’t make the squad. It is no different for officials as they go through the training camps for the various junior, collegiate and professional league officiating camps. They are also on the bubble. Peter Schlittenhardt, a young on-ice referee had to face the adversity of being told he wasn’t on the officiating team two seasons ago. While disappointed his reaction was to build on the experience and in doing so demonstrated that commitment and desire can make a difference. Three seasons (2008-09) ago the then 18-year-old Schlittenhardt of East Brunswick, New Jersey was a former junior player getting ready for college who thought he might try officiating to stay in the game. Admittedly he was out of shape but wasn’t sure he had to be in playing shape to wear the stripes. Shortly after registering as an official with USA Hockey and based on his playing experience he attended his first four-day officiating camp sponsored by USA Hockey’s Officiating Development Program (ODP). He found out in a hurry that conditioning counts and he wasn’t ready to officiate at junior hockey. He got a shock when his camp performance and the subsequent exit interview with the ODP staff were by all standards disappointing. Schlittenhardt was told that “you are too heavy, not in shape and accordingly too slow. You skate like a player not an official.” Accordingly, he was advised that he would only be used on an emergency basis if at all. Like many players Schlittenhardt had been handed news that was the equivalent of getting cut from the team, in this case the ODP. USA Hockey has approximately 26,500 registered officials. About 450 are designated as part of the organization’s Officiating Development Program. Selectees for the ODP are given training, game assignments, supervision, on-going evaluations and exposure to prepare them to eventually work hockey at the collegiate, professional and international levels. “I wanted the chance to participate in the ODP and it was real clear after my first camp’s evaluation that it wasn’t going to happen unless I took the initiative” said Schlittenhardt. Fast forward into the start of the 2010-11 season and the story is vastly different as the now 21 year old management student at Rutgers University prepares to work a full schedule of Junior “A” level games in a number of leagues on the east coast and in the mid-west. “I was faced with a choice, work on my skating style, change my nutrition, exercise habits, and lifestyle or be limited to officiating youth hockey. My lifestyle was the major reason I was limiting my future opportunity to work higher levels of ice hockey.” His mature reaction to his first season’s bad news has produced positive results. Earlier this summer after two seasons of hard work he checked into his third USA Hockey ODP camp. His physical change caught the attention of the camp staff, pro hockey officiating supervisors and importantly his peer group of officials. The 5’10” college sophomore weighed in 50-lbs lighter, noticeably stronger, and knocked off over three minutes over his last two-mile run time. All of his dry land and on ice skating test times dramatically improved and he stood out as one of the top officials at the Cromwell camp. “I left my first camp devastated but on the ride home decided that if my goal of staying involved in hockey through officiating was to be realized I needed a major change. The change needed to be complete both on and off the ice and not be limited to just cutting weight.” Schlittenhardt sat in his room at home that night developing an action plan for change. He first sought and got the support of his parents, younger brother and friends. They responded positively when he asked that they help him with his nutrition. “It was a family sacrifice as I asked that no more sweets, ice cream and high fat food be brought into the house.” He asked for the same help from other students and friends around him in social settings. “I needed the positive support of people who liked me enough to share my goals.” His second step on day two was joining a health club, developing and then following a regular schedule of workouts designed for weight loss and tailored for building the strength and stamina required for skating and officiating high levels of ice hockey. He also spent hours of free-time on the ice working on his skating and conditioning. “I didn’t do anything that a lot of hungry players and officials haven’t done in the past. I just needed the kick in the behind that I got at my first ODP camp.” Schlittenhardt had lost a lot of his excess weight by the time his second camp opportunity rolled around for the 2009-10 season although he still had more weight to lose and a need to build his strength and conditioning. “The good news is in season two I was accepted into the ODP and I picked up a lot of Junior “B” games that season. As I gained experience and got in better condition, I also started picking up a few Tier III Junior “A” level games.” The positive reinforcement of the second season schedule and continued improvements from working on his conditioning and weight helped a lot with his motivation this past summer. The closer he got to this year’s camp the more intense his efforts became. The work paid off in the latest camp in August. During his exit interview he got ODP staff acknowledgement of his progress and personal commitment and notification that he would be working a tougher schedule of games. This season he will be working a full schedule at the Tier III Junior “A” games and if all goes well may get the chance to work some weekends in the Tier II North American Hockey League and the Tier I United States Hockey League. These two junior leagues are the top two junior leagues in the US. The combination of desire, a planned regular workout schedule, rigid attention to nutrition, hard work on the ice and supportive friends and parents seems to be paying off just as it does for many aspiring players. Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.