Dear HIP families,
If this was your first year with the Green Bay Area Youth Hockey Association, you may be wondering what's next for following years. Hopefully, this will help you make the important decision as to where your skater should play the following season. If your skater is young, the ideal route would be Learn to Skate (age 4-5), then H.I.P. (5-6), and on to Mighty Mites (age 6-8) or Squirts (age 9-10). Of course, not all players develop at the same time or rate and not all skaters start at age 4 or 5. This does not mean that there are not multiple options or paths that can be planned for your child.
Equipment, If you still have equipment from last year, please continue to use it, if you have purchased your own or have decided not to play this season if you could please make arrangements to return it to the Cornerstone so we can loan it to another player. We do have larger sizes for those that need to trade in.
Attached in this letter is a description of the Mite program and Squirt program, the next steps in hockey. If you feel your child is not ready for this step, H.I.P. for another year is still a great option; however, we do have other programs that can give your skater opportunities that H.I.P. for a second season may not. We want each family to make a decision that is best for their situation and to understand the process if there are questions.
Being new to a sport can be difficult. There is not always an understanding of who to ask when you are unsure of what is next or what to expect. If you have questions about where your skater belongs, we hope to offer help.
8 and Under Mite Hockey Program
Mite Hockey - Ages 4-8 (Birth year of 2004 or later for the 2012/2013 season)
Recommended prerequisite: HIP or equivalent skill
This program has practice once per week, and cross ice games on Sunday. The practices will work on basic hockey skills such as skating, stick-handling, and shooting. The players will be broken up into teams of 8 or 9 players (by jersey color) and will play cross-ice games (with and without goaltenders) on Sundays. The teams will also participate in one or more cross-ice jamborees, where the kids will play teams from other associations such as De Pere, Appleton and Fox Valley. In the second part of the season (January), teams of players interested in playing full ice games will be put together and will play a few additional full ice games. The full ice games are optional for parents/players interested in seeing what full-ice hockey is all about. We will also be hosting the Mite-Fest tournament at the Cornerstone Arena where the kids will have a chance to play full-ice hockey against other associations. Please note that there is no state tournament at this level. This level is purely a developmental program allowing more opportunities for players to touch the puck and work on building skills that will benefit their play in the future.
Squirt Hockey Programs
Super Squirts – Age 9-10 (Birth year of 2000 or 2001 for the 2010/2011 season)
Recommended prerequisite: HIP or equivalent skill
This program has practice once per week on Tuesday evenings with 10 full ice home games and 7-10 away games (travel limit of 1 hour). Game times and locations will vary but are scheduled to include teams from DePere, Fox Valley, Appleton and Manitowoc. The Super Squirt team(s) will be eligible to participate in our home squirt C tournament.
Squirt C – Age 9-10 (Birth year of 2002 or 2003 for the 2012/2013 season)
Recommended prerequisite: HIP and Might Mites or Super Squirts
This program has practice twice per week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with 15 home ice games and 15 – 20 away games. The squirt C team will participate in our home Squirt tournament. Potential tournaments may also be scheduled as determined by the team. The costs for tournaments other than your home tournament and state are not covered by the association. This level does include the potential to play in the Wisconsin Division 1C State Tournament based on play-down eligibility for Region 3.
Squirt B – Age 9-10 (Birth year of 2002 or 2003 for the 2012/2013 season)
Recommended prerequisite: HIP and Might Mites or Super Squirts
This program has practice twice per week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with 15 home ice games and 15 – 20 away games. This level also includes 6 team skill development sessions at Total Hockey. This level does require the skater to participate in a pre-season tryout. Potential tournaments may be scheduled as determined by the team. The costs for tournaments other than state are not covered by the association. This level does include the potential to play in the Wisconsin Division 1B State Tournament based on playdown eligibility for Region 3.
Squirt A – Age 9-10 (Birth year of 2002 or 2003 for the 2012/2013 season)
Recommended prerequisite: HIP and Might Mites or Super Squirts
This program has practice twice per week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with 15 home ice games and 15 – 20 away games. This level also includes 6 team skill development sessions at Total Hockey and strength training with Bellin XL Fitness. This level does require the skater to participate in a pre-season tryout. Potential tournaments may be scheduled as determined by the team. The costs for tournaments other than state are not covered by the association. This level does include the potential to play in the Wisconsin Division 1A State Tournament based on play-down eligibility for Region 3.
Registration is currently open at this link http://greenbay.pucksystems2.com/page/show/9973-2010-2011-registration For all Fees Please refer to the fee prior to 8/31/10 as the Super Squirt, Mighty Mite and HIP programs do not have a late registration fee. As always if you have any questions please feel free to contact me by phone or email. 920-403-2000 or donchilson@netnet.net .
Sincerely,
