10U GOLD (2) - WEIMERSKIR

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the 2026-2027 Lawrence County Lightning 10U season!

My name is Brandon Weimerskir, and I have the privilege of serving as your head coach this season. For those who don't know me, I also serve on the Lawrence County Lightning Board of Directors as our American Development Model (ADM) Director, where I oversee our Mite program and player development at our youngest age levels.

Player development has always been a passion of mine, and I'm excited to continue that journey with many of our players as they make the transition from Mite hockey to 10U. Whether you're returning to 10U, moving up from Mites, or joining the Lightning family for the first time, we're excited to have each and every one of you on the team.

The transition from Mite hockey to 10U is an exciting milestone. Players begin taking on more responsibility, practices become more structured, and we start introducing more team concepts while continuing to build strong skating skills, puck skills, hockey IQ, and confidence.

Our coaching philosophy is simple: we want to develop great hockey players, but even more importantly, great teammates and great young people. Everything we do this season will be centered around having fun, giving our best effort, maintaining a positive attitude, showing respect, taking accountability, and continually improving.

Our team motto this season is simple:

Focus. Effort. Fun.

Every decision we make as coaches will reflect those three words.

Coaching Staff

I'd also like to introduce our coaching staff and team manager:

Head Coach: Brandon Weimerskir

Assistant Coach: Andrew White

Assistant Coach: Nick Lancaster

Assistant Coach: Tiffany Milk

Assistant Coach: Josh Hempfling

Team Manager: Kate White

I want to sincerely thank each of them for volunteering their time. Youth hockey simply wouldn't be possible without dedicated volunteers, and I'm excited to work alongside such a great group this season.

What Changes at 10U?

Moving from Mites to 10U is an exciting step, and with it comes some new expectations. The game becomes a little faster, practices become more structured, and players begin taking more ownership of their development.

While we'll continue building strong fundamental hockey skills, we'll also place a greater emphasis on communication, teamwork, sportsmanship, accountability, and personal responsibility.

Most importantly, we want every player to enjoy coming to the rink, work hard, support one another, and leave each practice and game a little better than when they arrived.

Locker Room Expectations

One of the biggest changes from Mite hockey is that players are expected to become more independent.

Parents will not be permitted in the locker rooms before practices or games. We ask that all players—boys and girls—are able to put on approximately 90% of their equipment independently. If your player still needs assistance getting dressed, now is a great time to begin practicing at home before the season starts.

To help keep our facility organized and safe, players should not get dressed in the rink lobby or common areas. All players are expected to use their assigned locker rooms before practices and games. This helps reduce congestion, keeps walkways clear, and reinforces the team environment we're working to build.

Girls will have a separate locker room to get dressed. If a player needs assistance tying skates, our locker room monitor and coaching staff will be available to help in the hallway.

Once everyone is dressed, both the boys' and girls' locker rooms will report to the boys' locker room approximately 10 minutes before every practice and game. This time together is an important part of our team culture. We'll review the practice plan or game strategy, recognize accomplishments, discuss expectations, and continue building relationships as one team. We ask that all players are fully dressed and ready to join the team at that time.

Team Communication

If you haven't already, please download the Crossbar app.

Crossbar will be our primary method of communication throughout the season. Practice schedules, games, events, volunteer opportunities, and team updates will all be posted there. Please enable notifications so you don't miss important information.

Important Documents

Please take a few minutes to review the following documents as they become available:

Coaching Expectations

Player Expectations

Game Day Routines

These documents will help everyone understand how our team will operate throughout the season and ensure we're all on the same page.

I'm also putting together a Parent Expectations document that will be shared before the season begins. We'll review all of these documents together during our preseason parent meeting.

Jersey Orders

If your player still needs to order a jersey, please reach out to me as soon as possible so we can make sure everyone is ready before our first games.

Parent Meeting & Team Pool Party

Kate and I are currently working on putting together a preseason parent meeting and team pool party. This will be a great opportunity for families to meet one another, for players to spend time together before the season begins, and for us to review expectations, answer questions, and discuss what the season will look like.

We'll send out additional information as soon as the details are finalized.

A Final Thought

Our focus this season is long-term player development.

Every player will be challenged, encouraged, and given opportunities to grow. Mistakes are part of learning, and our bench will always be a place where players feel supported, encouraged, and confident enough to keep trying.

As parents, we ask that you reinforce the same message at home. Celebrate effort, learning, teamwork, resilience, and improvement just as much as goals and wins. If we all work together, we'll create an environment where every player can reach their potential while building confidence, friendships, and a lifelong love for the game.

One final request: If your player leaves the rink smiling, works hard, treats others with respect, and improves a little each week, we'll consider the season a success. Wins will come and go, but the lessons they learn, the character they build, and the memories they make will last a lifetime.

Thank you for trusting our coaching staff with your players this season. We don't take that responsibility lightly, and we're incredibly excited to get started.

We can't wait to see everyone at the rink.

Go Lightning!

Brandon Weimerskir