Featured Business: Bar Down Hockey Training

Walk through the doors of Bar Down Hockey Training and you will immediately know you're not in an ordinary training facility. There's no scramble for ice time, no freezing bleachers, no "sorry, we're booked." Instead, you will find five gleaming shooting bays, the smoothest synthetic ice you have ever skated on, and a place designed with one mission: to turn good hockey players into deadly finishers.

For founder Mike Sturman, hockey has always been more than a pastime; it's been a way of life. From prep school powerhouses like Avon Old Farms to collegiate competition at Lake Forest, and now as a youth coach and hockey dad, Mike has seen the game from every angle.

That perspective gave him a front-row seat to a growing problem in player development: kids are skating faster, handling the puck better, but struggling to finish plays. You can't score if you can't shoot, and shooting is the most undertrained skill during ice time practices.

In today's hockey landscape, ice time is expensive and tightly scheduled. Practices prioritize skating and puck control-both essential-but shooting often gets pushed to the sidelines. The result? Players who can do everything right until it is time to put the puck in the net.

Bar Down Hockey Training fills that gap. It is the bridge between the rink and the driveway, offering the repetition and environment players need to master shooting in skates, on a surface that feels like real ice.

Bar Down Hockey Training believes getting better has no age limit. From mites taking their very first strides to NHL veterans fine-tuning their release, every player who walks through their doors shares the same mission: improve their game. That's why they built Bar Down-the first fully autonomous, state-of-the-art hockey training facility, right here in Northfield. It is designed to deliver the one thing players do not get enough of during regular ice time-quality shooting reps in skates.

This is not a generic training center. It is a purpose-built environment where every rep counts, and every detail is optimized to translate directly to game-day performance.

• World's Most Advanced Synthetic Ice - The closest feel to real ice with the lowest resistance available, so every skill transfers seamlessly.

• Train in Skates - Develop true-game balance, ankle strength, and shot mechanics you simply can't get in sneakers.

• Real-Time Video Feedback - Review the last 26 seconds of your session instantly, store it in your mobile app, and share it with your coach or team.

• Ultimate Convenience - Reserve in seconds through the app. Open 6 AM-10 PM, seven days a week.

• Private Shooting Bays - No lines, no interruptions-just focused, high-quality reps.

At Bar Down, it is not about where you start; it is about where you can go. If you have the drive to improve, they will give you the environment, feedback, and confidence to get there.

Bar Down Hockey Training is planted right in the middle of one of the most hockey-saturated regions in the U.S.-home to powerhouse programs, elite prep schools, and thousands of players looking for an edge. The North Shore community lives and breathes hockey, and Bar Down Hockey Training gives them something no one else can, conveniently located at 289 Northfield Road. Entry is by reservation only; sessions can be booked online at www.bardown.net or through their 'Bar Down Hockey Training' mobile app.