The New England Stars are proud to announce that George Husson has been named Director of Player Development at the U8 and U6 level.

Husson, director of Team Select Hockey out of Skate 3 in Tyngsboro, is currently the coach of the Stars Mite major team. His program is an in-house league format that focuses on hockey skill development and core values.

"I started my program back in 2011 because I saw many kids with great potential coming through Learn to Skate programs who had nowhere to go to really learn the true fundamentals of the game of hockey," said Husson. "And that's what I provide. Whether you're just starting to learn to play or you've come into the game late, I teach hockey the same way any private elite organization would."

Husson played hockey at Lawrence Academy and Lake Forest College at the independent Division I level in the NCHA. He was invited to Raleigh Ice Caps training camp in 1992 (former affiliate of the New Jersey Devils).

Husson became acquainted with the Stars after he placed his son in the mite program.

"I thought the core values of the coaches and (New England Stars Director) Dan Fontas himself match up with mine. They have the integrity and the organization has the class I was looking for," said Husson. "In addition to that, I wanted to be able to have that luxury of moving some of the Team Select Hockey players into an organization where they can progress and grow from the bottom up."

Fontas said Husson's program makes the New England Stars a complete organization.

"I think this is the piece that the Stars organization has been missing, a true in-house program that feeds into our U6 and U8 team," he said. "Partnering with George gives the Stars the confidence that our younger players will be developed the proper way, and that will feed into our squirt, peewee and bantam teams for future years. We both share the same developmental philosophies."

Husson prides his program on minimizing anxiety for new hockey players and building their confidence on the ice.

"I'm big on minimizing anxiety, that is huge," he said. "My main goal is for them to build and grow self-esteem and confidence. Hopefully the kids doing this through hockey will transfer that confidence into life in general, in school, in soccer, in lacrosse, in anything, and turn them into little competitors."

Coaching wasn't on Husson's radar until his own kids asked him to coach them.

"I had my son and my daughter ready for Learn to Skate, and they looked at me and they were both so nervous even though it wasn't their first time skating," he said. "They were almost in tears and they asked me, 'do we have to do this?' I loved it so much myself so I said no, and then they asked me if I could coach them. It took me having kids to figure out that I can do this as much as anyone else."

Players have found success with Husson's developmental practices.

"George's numbers don't lie, he has a lot of players in his program and they're there because he has been successful in developing a reputable program," said Fontas. "When you join two programs with positive reputations together, it only makes both programs stronger."

And Husson has found that he gets as much out of coaching as the players do.

"What I like most about it is, that one kid who thinks he can't do it, or the kid who steps out of the comfort zone and the kid that stumbles falls and doesn't get back up, and then they try again and the end result is success," he said. "I love seeing that and I love to see a smile. I like to see that success when, in the beginning, they can hardly lift their heads up or look me in the eye on the ice."

Both Husson and Fontas are looking forward to the partnership.

"Stars families, in recent years, have asked us about an in-house program for our players' younger siblings and the Stars have never had that ability to say, 'yes, go here' and now we can say that we have an in-house program," Fontas said. "The New England Stars is becoming a complete organization, from in-house to juniors."

Husson is looking forward to giving players a higher level of competition to aspire to when they are ready to move into the Stars program.

"I'm looking forward to growing in the area and the great relationships with the parents and the coaching staff," Husson said. "I want this to be fun for the kids and I want it to be fun for the parents. I want all of us to become long-term friends. I'm looking forward to building relationships and the competitive nature across the board."

For more information on the Little Stars/Team Selects, click here.