The Lehigh Valley Phantoms Youth is excited to announce that James Pierson will be returning as our Director of Goaltender Development for the 2018/19 season. The weekly clinics for our Goaltenders have contributed greatly not only to their improvement, but to the overall success of our organization. We look forward to another season of giving our goaltenders the best training possible both on and off the ice.

James Pierson has been passionate about youth athletic development for a very long time. For the last 20 + years, James has served as a coach, mentor and student of the game of hockey. His coaching journey began when he was a Midget goalie with the Lehigh Valley Comets in the DVHL; James used to spend days at the rink helping younger goalies hone their skills.

After Junior Hockey and a degree in hand, a job presented itself that prided itself in coaching and developing. The years of experience and promotions led to an acquisition of development skills that would serve youth athletes for years to come. With the education and experience, mixed with a stroke of luck, James found his way back into coaching in 2010 and has been involved since.

The use of challenging and competitive environments, alongside an emphasis on movements and edgework, are a staple to his style. Goaltenders are tasked to use their problem-solving abilities to resolve deficiencies and improve their skills. The use of experience mapping and age specific programming help James provide the goaltenders with a balanced approach that improves baseline

skills and elements.

Over the past two seasons, James saw tremendous growth in the Goaltending Program serving as the Director of Goaltender Development for the Phantoms Youth.  This past season goaltenders were provided with weekly sessions that targeted skills, game scenarios, power skating, and conditioning. Mentors and assistant coaches were leveraged to help provide additional feedback outlets.

Additionally, James serves as a member of USA Hockey’s Instructor Staff; where he provides coaching tools and resources to coaches throughout the Atlantic District in an effort to develop goaltenders all throughout the United States.   After a positive year of growth among goalies he has worked with, James will be looking to continue the growth from where this past season left off as the Director of Goaltender Development for the 2018-2019 Season.