Where the focus is on the young

The Red Bull Ice Hockey Academy is well known in this country. Players such as Damian Clara, Joachim Ramoser and Peter Hochkofler have received their training there in the past. "The Alps Ice Academy was founded so that South Tyrol's young hopefuls no longer have to leave the country's borders in order to take the next step in their development at an international level," says Leo Brugger, adding: "We want to accompany the talents through high school and lead them to the top in sport." Brugger is the director of the amateur sports company Alps Ice Academy. The association of the first ice sports academy in the Italian Alps is made up of representatives from the 10 South Tyrolean clubs HCB Südtirol, HC Pustertal, Rittner Buam, HC Gherdëina, Wipptal Broncos, HC Meran Junior, HC Unterland Cavaliers, HC Eppan, HC Brixen and HC 3 Zinnen Dolomites. Of the top clubs, only SV Kaltern is missing, which has not yet taken part in the academy. 2 ice rinks and nearby school center The Alps Ice Academy is based in Bruneck because "the Intercable Arena with its two ice rinks offers the best conditions for this. In addition, the school center is only a stone's throw away. And the land for the home with around 2 beds and several learning and training rooms is right next to the arena and has already been made available by the municipality of Bruneck," explains Brugger, who also knows that "there is a commitment from the public sector to build an extension to the arena. We will probably get a wing with our own rooms at the level of the ice rink next year." The idea of an academy has been floating around South Tyrol several times. Once Bolzano and once Brixen were considered as locations. The people who came up with the idea for the Alps Ice Academy were Erich Falkensteiner (President of HC Pustertal), Dorotea Mader (President of the Board of Directors), Jochen Schenk (Board Member of HCP) and Thomas Rottensteiner (Vice President of Italy's Ice Sports Federation FISG). Together with Brugger, they placed great importance on the athletes' school education. "Together with Werner Sporer, the school manager for the Bruneck area, we held discussions with the individual directors. It was important to us to include all schools with different disciplines in the program, including Italian-speaking high schools," assures Brugger, because: "The school plays a central role. Ultimately, the academy should be a win-win situation for everyone: starting with the athletes, the families, the academy itself, the parent clubs and the national association." There are currently 4 partner schools: the Business Technical High School (WFO), the Technological Technical High School (TFO); the Realgymnasium (WISLYZ) and the Istituto Pluricomprensivo Brunico (Italian high schools). Canadian coach Ryan Hunter is only 31 years old Last season, the Alps Ice Academy sent two teams with players from the Bruneck, Brixen and Sterzing areas to the U2 Italian championship. Next winter, there will only be one team with players from the 16 South Tyrolean member clubs, but also from outside the region. The coach is the 10-year-old Canadian Ryan Hunter, who is in Europe for the first time. Oly Hicks continues to play the role of sports director. The 31-year-old Italian-Canadian worked as a coach for Sterzing and Cortina and then for 56 years for the Okanagan Hockey Academy in St. Pölten. The 22-strong U16 team is made up of players born in 2009 and 2010, as well as one player born in 2008. 5 players come from HC Eppan, 4 from HC Pustertal Junior, 3 from HC Brixen, 2 each from Rittner Buam, HCB Foxes Academy and Fiemme-Fassa, and one each from HC 3 Zinnen Dolomites, Wipptal Broncos, junior teams Neumarkt/Auer and Pinerolo. Participation in the U19 Championship and the Elite Cup The Alps Ice Academy team will take part in the national U19 championship and the prestigious Elite Cup in the coming months. This European tournament series includes a total of 6 stages and will conclude at the end of April 2025 with the final tournament, in which the 4 best teams will take part. The Alps Ice Academy has already taken part in 2 rounds in Budapest, finishing 2nd and 3rd. From December 20th to 22nd, the Hunter team will have home advantage in Bruneck. Brugger, on behalf of the entire academy, attaches great importance to playing internationally: “Only comparison with the best peers from other nations can help the young talents advance in their development. The goal would be for us to be able to contest an international championship in the foreseeable future, like the EBYSL was until recently.” All players attend a high school in Bruneck. "The players from the surrounding area live at home with their parents. The majority of them are housed in the agricultural school's dormitory in Dietenheim. We have made an agreement with the dormitory management that the players can live there 7 days a week if necessary. If the dormitory is closed, they can go to the Lugramani barracks, which is also home to the army sports group. The boys usually spend 2 weekends a month at home with their families," explains Brugger.

ICE Regular Season ICE	SP	TV	P
1. Graz99ers	7	23:14	19
2. HCB South Tyrol	7	26:14	18
3. Olimpija Ljubljana	7	18:17	14
4. EC Salzburg	6	28:22	13
5. EC Klagenfurt	8	25:26	12
6. Vienna Capitals	8	14:17	11
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Where the focus is on the young

It is not just Italy's senior men's team that is lagging behind in international comparison. The various youth national teams have also had a difficult time at world championships recently. To change this as quickly as possible, the Alps Ice Academy was founded on July 10, 2023.

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