Andrew Sweetland
GMHA Technical Director of Hockey Operations

Andrew grew up playing hockey in his hometown of Bonavista Newfoundland.  After high school he left Newfoundland to pursue a career in hockey.  After playing 3 years of Junior A hockey, he received a full division 1 scholarship to the University of Maine, where he received rookie of the year honors.  Following his first year, he signed a National Hockey League (NHL) contract with the Florida Panthers.  He attended 2 NHL training camps and played in several exhibition games.  After spending 3 seasons playing in the American Hockey League (AHL), he decided to retire from the AHL due to injuries.  After moving home, Andrew continued to play hockey - spending 5 seasons playing with the Clareville Caribous of the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League (NSHL).  Andrew  remains heavily involved in the local sports community and is a Coach with Xtreme Hockey at the Capitial Hyundai Arena.


Shane Skinner & Mike O’Brien
GMHA Technical Directors of Goaltender Development

Rock Solid Goaltending (RSG), formerly known as GDI Atlantic, was formed in 2007 to develop goaltenders in Newfoundland and Labrador.  The coaches at RSG are of the highest quality, and have all played at the ‘AAA’ and Junior levels of competition.  Our instructors have all come through the RSG program and are familiar with the high quality product that is offered.

RSG is owned by Shane Skinner and Mike O'Brien. Shane is currently completing his HP1 certification with Hockey Canada and is the Head Coach for the Tricom Peewee AAA Thunder and Assistant Coach for the male Under-14 HPP provincial team.  Mike is a D1 certified coach and has completed Hockey Canada's Goaltending Coach training program and is a certified instructor of the course in Newfoundland.  Together, Shane and Mike have over 35+ years of coaching under their belts at all hockey levels!

What separates RSG from other programs in Newfoundland is their structured approach that lays a foundation of skills to be built upon throughout the course of a 20 week intensive program.  Their program was developed by National Hockey League (NHL) Goaltender Coach Ian Clarke of the Columbus Blue Jackets.  They start with the most basic of skills and ensure perfection before moving on to more complex movements to simulate gameplay.  Each of their drills has been developed to teach a specific skill and outlines key teaching points to ensure coaches are highlighting all important factors.  They don't just tell students to do something, they explain why they are doing it and make sure they understand its importance!