Meet the Team

I wanted to create an organization and following that players young and old can identify with.  Hockey is a very small world once you get involved and is a great way to teach youth players life lessons like hard work, trust, leadership and what it means to be part of a team.  These are all characteristics of successful people in every facet of life.  This is my way of reinforcing these fundamental values through sport specific training.  

Coach Neil played Tier 1 AAA hockey for Detroit Little Caesars, Detroit Compuware and Detroit HoneyBaked. As a teenager he was drafted by the Sault Saint Marie Greyhounds Major Junior Ontario Hockey League in the 2004 draft. After that attended Proctor Academy in the New England Prep Hockey Association and competed in the Finals and Semi Finals in each of those years. Upon graduating from Proctor, had the opportunity to play four years of Division I hockey at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, graduating 2011. In his junior year he tallied a team high 9 goals and helped UAH to qualify for the NCAA Division 1 Regional tournament. 

Coaching Career:

Neil Ruffini coached the squirt AA Atlanta Fire for two seasons before moving to Denver. Since moving to Denver, Ruffini was the head coach for an Arapahoe Warriors U8 beginner, Arapahoe Warriors Squirt A team, Arapahoe Warriors Peewee AA over the course of two seasons.  Last season was the head coach for the Cherry Creek JV hockey team and coached them to an overall record of 25-10-4 through the fall and winter seasons.  As well as coaching for Cherry Creek Neil was an assistant coach for girls organization Team Colorado U16 Tier 1 AAA Team.  

For the 2020-21 Season Coach Neil will be on the Cherry Creek JV coaching staff as well as Being the Skills Director for the Cherry Creek Hockey Organization. 

Kirsten Triska is an ISSA certified personal trainer.  As a youth soccer player she played for Real Colorado’s National team in the ECNL division. She played soccer since she was 8 playing on recreational teams before going competitive at age 11.  Kirsten earned a degree in Exercise Health Science.  Coach Kirsten will be handling the group Off-Ice sessions along with the strength & conditioning virtual training programs offered through Warehouse Athletes.

A native of Owatonna, MN, Lauren Spatenka played at the high school and AAA levels in Minnesota. She graduated from Crown College in St. Bonifacius, MN (2017) and received her MA in Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of Denver in 2019, serving as the Vice President of Operations for the Center for Performance Excellence, working with athletes in hockey, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, and ballet. Upon graduating, Lauren started Aspen Mental Performance and specializes in working with teams and individual hockey and figure skating athletes to help them reach their full potential in sport and life. She is entering her third year working with the Varsity and JV teams at Cherry Creek Hockey and her first year working with Team Colorado AAA.  (aspenmentalperformance@gmail.com)

Kristen Adamczyk is a figure skating coach at South Suburban Ice Arena and the Family Sports Center. 

Kristen’s skating career took her around the country to train with some of the best coaches in the world. Barbara Kossowska, Zdzislaw Pienkowski, Paula Wagner and Debbie Storey.  In 1996 when Kristen and her family moved to Colorado Springs to train at the Broadmoor World Arena, that her skating career took off. Under the training of Kathy Casey and Janet Champion, Kristen represented the Broadmoor Skating Club and became a Regional and Sectional Champion, National Competitor, International Medalist, and Novice and Junior Team USA Member.

Rescued the day before quarantine by Coach Neil & Coach Kirsten!  I live with them until i get my own place that has a big back yard with a river running through it and plenty of birds & rabbits to chase.

I love napping in my favorite places all over the house and going on long walks.  Meeting new people is my favorite thing to do because everyone pets me and tells me i'm cute. 

Become a Warehouse Athlete and reach your potential!