Recreation Hockey League

[Babying 613]

Been trying to get Otto to golf better. To be honest he has been brutal.. Loses a ton of balls. When I took him to Angus Glen with a good friend of mine (who is a scratch golfer). He gave Otto a few pointers. Otto and I played twice this week. Otto got his first birdie today and after that followed it up with a par. Told my buddy and he was extremely happy and wants to play with Otto again.

[Babying 613]

Heard through the grapevine that the Ontario Soccer association is cracking down on local kids clubs and their financials. Because of this a club near my home is closing down their rep program.

 

All I can say is it is about frickin time.

[Babying 613]

my Niece played rep softball at the highest level, her teams won a couple National Championships and she played NCAA. The time commitment was insane.

 

I found out that Etobicoke was starting a Rep team in my older daughter's age group. I mention it to her and the neighbour down the street. We decided to go tonight and she looked pretty good out there. There are 3 more tryouts but we got an email a hour ago. She made the team and if we can keep it quiet until tryouts are over.

 

Now my daughter has a problem. She does not want to leave her friends behind.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

I found out that Etobicoke was starting a Rep team in my older daughter's age group. I mention it to her and the neighbour down the street. We decided to go tonight and she looked pretty good out there. There are 3 more tryouts but we got an email a hour ago. She made the team and if we can keep it quiet until tryouts are over.

 

Now my daughter has a problem. She does not want to leave her friends behind.

 

I hope she has fun with whatever decision you guys make.

[Babying 613]

I hope she has fun with whatever decision you guys make.

 

 

After much discussion my daughter has decline the offer. She really was on the fence and did decide to join, however I think leaving her old team won out.

[serge 904]

As if I wasnt busy enough I am now the coach of a U8 soccer team.

 

Manager of the U12 Peewee Fresno Monsters

On the executive board of the Fresno Junior Monsters

On the executive board of the Fresno State Hockey Team.

 

I love it though.

[Babying 613]

My older daughter has come to regret not playing hockey at a younger age. She now wishes she did not take up figure skating and played hockey instead

[serge 904]

My older daughter has come to regret not playing hockey at a younger age. She now wishes she did not take up figure skating and played hockey instead

 

Girls hockey is awesome..The skill is amazing especially at the younger levels..

[serge 904]

What do you guys think about the rule that USA hockey introduced this year:

 

Peewee hockey and below now you cant ice the puck on a penalty kill. Its called icing just like a 5 on 5.

 

I went to a coaches clinic and the explanation is its supposed to teach kids more creativity, passing..

 

I am still torn on it..My kid as a goalie doesnt like it as it creates more scoring chances for the team on the power play...

[digitalmonkey 929]

I think it's dumb.

[Babying 613]

I think it's dumb.

 

I concur.

[serge 904]

I am still torn..Its supposed to teach kids certain skills...

 

USA hockey is doing a lot of good things by providing minor hockey tools to coach kids the same way with a uniform training program to follow..

[gruven 530]

My little guy is starting paperweight this year and stepping into the 3 on 3 cross ice change. I've been to the meetings, listened to hockey Canada, and my take is this:

Parents hate it because it doesn't fit the eye. In our lifetime, this isn't what hockey looks like. But what are the goals of minor hockey? My coaching goals every year were the same: have fun, and improve the kids skill level. So what does 3 on 3 small space do? It creates more on ice time. More touches of the puck. Playing full ice with paperweights is simply a race up and down the ice usually won by the fastest kid. This creates more shots. Skill levels will improve at a much more rapid rate. Kids will have a ball. We scrimmaged at practice many times over the years cross ice, and the kids always have a ball. So improve skill levels and have fun? Check and check.

My one disagreement is the talk of playing without goalies. That will create a deficit as kids get older because goalies will not have started until later ages.

As a hockey involved person for my whole life, I don't like the way it feels either. But I'm willing to give it a chance because I see what they're trying to do.

[serge 904]

Chris. You make great points and agree with it all.

 

When we first came here I was a bit taken aback by the cross ice. Adrian started at 4 years old full ice. Here they are playing cross ice at the mite level. After a while it made a lot of sense to me , and my younger one Mateo is now 6 and I think he is a better skater and does a lot more at this age than Adrian did.

 

I took the USA hockey coaching courses and now certified. While some concepts were different to me from the Canadian system, it makes a lot of sense.

 

Like we still at the Peewee level don’t have delayed offsides. Doesn’t kick in until Bantam. Meanwhile Adrian has played with delayed offsides since he was 5.

 

There is a reason for all this and while some things look different than what we are used to they are designed by smart Hockey people in Hockey Canada and USA Hockey.

 

I’m really impressed with what I have seen. If you told Me 30 years ago I would be in the middle of California with this much hockey around me I would have laughed.

 

I have seen so many kids burnt out of hockey because of idiot parents pushing them. They need to start by having fun and falling in love with the game. If they want to work hard when they get older and take it more serious it’s up to them

 

I don’t have visions of my kids playing professional hockey. It won’t happen , but is there a chance they might play US college hockey , possibly.

 

[serge 904]

We have a pretty cool opportunity if it works out..

 

The Jr Vegas Golden Knights U14 goalie went down with a serious injury and is out for 3 months..The coach has reached out to us to see if Adrian would like to come for a few games..

 

Problem is Adrian is U12 Peewee and this is a U14 Bantam level...Not sure if he is ready for it, but they seem to think so..It would be pretty cool experience for him and he gets to put on the Golden Knights Jersey..

 

The coach is Evan Zucker..Brother of NHLer Jason Zucker of the Wild..

 

Still some red tape to jump thru with releases and schedules but hopefully it will happen.

[Babying 613]

 

 

 

After much discussion my daughter has decline the offer. She really was on the fence and did decide to join, however I think leaving her old team won out.

 

One of the reasons she decided to not go to Rep Softball was because she wanted to play Rep soccer.

 

We finally got the email. She made a Rep soccer team. I should not have put my eggs into one basket and only try out for one team. However I thought she was good enough that the team would take her.

 

Now I have to try and train my younger daughter to be a better Softball pitcher. I found a place to train them in the winter time. Cost was $340 in Oshawa for 16 weeks. Awesome driving to Oshawa on Monday nights starting in November

[serge 904]

 

 

One of the reasons she decided to not go to Rep Softball was because she wanted to play Rep soccer.

 

We finally got the email. She made a Rep soccer team. I should not have put my eggs into one basket and only try out for one team. However I thought she was good enough that the team would take her.

 

Now I have to try and train my younger daughter to be a better Softball pitcher. I found a place to train them in the winter time. Cost was $340 in Oshawa for 16 weeks. Awesome driving to Oshawa on Monday nights starting in November

 

Drop her off. Quick ride to Port Perry. Make money. Come back pick her up

[Babying 613]

 

 

Drop her off. Quick ride to Port Perry. Make money. Come back pick her up

 

Lol don’t think I can do it in a hour

 

 

[serge 904]

Epic game for Adrian's team today..We travelled up to Cupertino to face the Cougars..

 

We ended up winning the game 5-1 , however the game was filled with bullshit shenanigans..The Ref lost control of the game and our kids lost control of their cool..Led to a lot of penalties and misconducts.

 

Adrian was involved in a controversial play that seems to have gone our way and he is lucky. With the game out of hand and 2 minutes away for an easy victory one of our kids gets run into the boards. It was a pretty violent hit from behind. So Donovan one of our better players goes to the aid of his teammate and goes to jump the offending kid...He is about to go nuts on him, this is when Adrian leaves his crease and jumps on Donovan to pull him off before he did something really stupid.

 

So all this is unacceptable on all counts , the bad hit to start it, but our kid for making things worse..They call Adrian for 2 min for "first to intervene"...Its like a 3rd man in rule which is supposed to lead to a game misconduct and an automatic suspension. The play happened not too far from Adrian , so its not like he skated across the ice..It was in our zone in the corner.

 

Adrian was not going into fight, just to stop his teammate from doing any damage to the other kid. The refs make two mistakes on this play IMO, they give Adrian this penalty as if he is going into fight, then they ALSO dont give him the game misconduct they are supposed to.

 

I think he should of got 2 minutes for leaving the crease...In the end it seems Adrian dodged a bullet by not getting a game misconduct and the suspension...It was not a pretty scene for a Peewee game and hope we learn from it and learn to keep our cool...

 

Adrian was given the A this year, the only goalie in Fresno to don the A...Its rare for a goalie to get it..But he needs to control himself as now this is his 3rd penalty in as many games.

 

The bright side the team is 4-0 and seems a good shot to contend for a state title this year..Something that has alluded us the last 2 years..Regular season champs and fizzle in playoffs.

[Babying 613]

My 13 year old daughter will be trying out for the school hockey team this year. So I pulled out otto old equipment.

 

However i do need to buy her a helmet jock skates and stick. Everything else she can use. Funny thing is she called the gloves mittens and pants shorts.

 

I think she will do okay since she does figure skate but I can’t wait to see her on the ice

[Babying 613]

My 13 year old daughter will be trying out for the school hockey team this year. So I pulled out otto old equipment.

 

However i do need to buy her a helmet jock skates and stick. Everything else she can use. Funny thing is she called the gloves mittens and pants shorts.

 

I think she will do okay since she does figure skate but I can’t wait to see her on the ice

 

Well she had her tryout. She has no chance making the team. I was watching and 28 kids came out. Only 2 kids play houseleague and my daughter (who doesn’t play hockey). The rest play select, A or AA. No one plays AAA

 

Out of the 28 10 of them were girls.

 

[Babying 613]

My daughter's rep soccer team has workouts on Wednesday nights. I attended tonight and did the workout. I nearly died halfway in. My body is going to shut down tomorrow morning.

[Babying 613]

I play pickup hockey outdoor on Wednesday nights. The majority of the guys are half my age and skate like the wind. Tonight I really looked my age.

[serge 904]

I play pickup hockey outdoor on Wednesday nights. The majority of the guys are half my age and skate like the wind. Tonight I really looked my age.

 

Dude you look 10 years younger than you are..

[serge 904]

This post is mostly for myself as I look back on this thread and see the progression of my kids hockey careers..

 

We just got back from a tournament in Los Angeles..This has been a pretty epic year for Adrian's team. There is one more regular season game left and the team is undefeated and have clinched first place in their division. Also this was the third tournament we have gone to and we have managed to win all 3 tournaments.

 

This tourney was fun.. They did some cool things like player interviews, on ice champagne(apple cider) celebrations..Game and Tourney MVPs...So it was a blast for the kids..While our team is the best in Northern California, the teams from Southern California typically tend to be tougher...They usually have more ice, they are backed by the two NHL teams in the area and tend to have more kids to draw from.

 

We cruised through the preliminary and semi final rounds with 4 wins and Adrian getting 3 shutouts. The one game being an epic 1-0 battle where he really stood on his head. The finals didnt start off well, as we ran into a tough team. We were down half way through the game at 2-1, but then the boys turned it on and we won 5-3. They gave the tournament MVP to Adrian and it was a great weekend overall.

 

So there are two more goals left for the team...To win the NorCal(Northern California) Championship and then the State Championship..Currently we would be favored on paper to win Norcal and compete in State, but there is a lot of work to do...This will be probably one of those years in Adrian's minor hockey career that he will look back on and it will be the most successful and fun year he has had...Next year he moves up to Bantam and he has to make the decision how serious he wants to continue his hockey career. He can either stay in Fresno and play at this level, or he moves to a much higher league in San Jose or Southern California. His coaches have said he has the potential to go pretty far and maybe play some good level of College hockey, however he has to put the work in. He has to work hard, and study the game more..Not sure if he is ready for that, or if he wants to do that yet...He is having fun now with his team and what hockey brings him.

 

His coach played pretty high level hockey as a goalie. He played in the WHL, played for the Canadian National team at U18 and U19 and was the goalie for Canada in the Spengler Cup. He says while he has the talent, he isnt working hard as he needs to , to get to the higher level...Thats what separates the top goalies from the mediocre ones..While I have no visions of Adrian playing pro hockey, and not even Division 1 hockey...If he can play Division 3 and get some sort of a scholarship..It would be a great thing..