VILIAM PALA
ABOUT
ABOUT
Coach Viliam grew up playing hockey in his hometown of Košice in eastern Slovakia where he spent his entire hockey player career from the age of 7. His team was a Slovakia National Championship winner in a 14U age category. While studying Mechanical Engineering at Technical Institute in Košice, Viliam continued playing 2nd division Club hockey for 4 years.
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Viliam has always been a sports enthusiast and a big fan of cycling, swimming, and many outdoor sports. He was instrumental in raising funds, establishing and running a fitness center in his suburban hometown to promote sports and a healthy lifestyle with a focus on youth and young adults.
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Upon arrival to the US, Viliam was certified by NASM and continued as a fitness coach and a recreational hockey player where he started coaching youth hockey in order to stay close to his favorite sport. He has coached players in ages ranging from 4 to 16 but is passionate about working with young players in the early stages of development. He strongly believes in solid fundamental skating and stickhandling skills which he promotes using various unique training drills.
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He is currently working with students in New York City at the City Ice Pavilion
(47-32 32nd Pl, Long Island City, NY 11101) and in Wilkes Barre, PA at the Toyota SportsPlex (38 Coal St, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702.)
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Read the testimonials below to learn more about Viliam's coaching style and values.
HEAD COACH
PARENT
TESTIMONIALS
"Vil [Pala] is the epitome of an intuitive coach and trainer. He’s laser focused on all of the kids individually with such a sharp eye for understanding each player’s strengths and weaknesses, which creates a platform for continued improvement. He pushes the kids to their full potential and instills an incredible work ethic in his approach to skill building."
"We’ve seen our son progress substantially in a relatively short period of time with Coach Vil. He’s great motivator and a fantastic guy to boot!"
"Viliam began coaching my 7-year-old daughter privately when she transitioned to ice hockey. In just a few short months, under his guidance, she has already developed an excellent technique that has enabled her to secure a spot on a travel team next season. I highly recommend Viliam!"
"I believe the lessons about hard work, ethics and team commitment that my son learned from Viliam have been the key to his success beyond just the skills taught. He cares deeply about his players not only on the ice, but off as well. There is not a Coach I could recommend more highly."
"Viliam is an excellent skills coach to the older children, a creative and nurturing teacher to the younger ones, and a wonderful role model of hard work and sportsmanship to all. We credit Coach Villiam with instilling in our son rock-solid fundamentals and an ongoing love of hockey that have allowed him to thrive at the Tier 1 AAA level and will see him playing prep next year.
We are very grateful to Viliam for everything he has taught our son over the years. Every time he works with our son we come away impressed."
Viliam is a great coach and trainer! He's taught my son all of his skating and stick handling fundamentals. After spending time with Viliam, my son has so much more confidence on the ice! He pushes kids to their fullest potential.
HockeyBear Camp is my son’s happiest part of the summer. It is perfect blend of ice time focused on skills and development with plenty of game time as well. He also loves the environment “like a big sleepover” filled with a healthy amount of outdoor time enjoying the beautiful landscape and local attractions. The friendships and coaches he has meet over the years is priceless. Viliam has created a special experience that I highly recommend.
"The hockey drills and lifetime skills learned at this summer hockey camp are unparalleled. These instructors were not simply interested in churning out strong hockey players but sought to develop the whole body, mind and spirit of all of the participating hockey players."
-- HOCKEY MOM, SHEILA