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Needham Youth Hockey Travel Hockey Program
20010/2011 Program Overview
Basics of Travel Hockey
NYH offers a travel hockey program for Needham and Dover children. The season typically runs from late August / early September until mid-March. Teams are aligned by the USA Hockey age groups. For the 2009/2010 season, the age groups will be as follows:
· Midget 1/1/92 to 12/31/95
· Bantam 1/1/96 to 12/31/97
· PeeWee 1/1/98 to 12/31/99
· Squirt 1/1/00 to 12/31/01
· Mite 1/1/02 to 12/31/03
Players tryout at each level and are placed on teams with players of comparable skills. NYH typically will have 2 or 3 Mite teams and 4 to 6 teams at the each of the Bantam, PeeWee, and Squirt level. NYH will also have 2 or 4 Midget teams who play a half season schedule.
Needham teams typically play in the Greater Boston Hockey League (GBL), but may have one to two teams playing in the Neponset Valley League (NVL).
All information about practices and games are available on NYH website which is integrated with the GBL website. Practices are typically posted four to six weeks in advance.
Commitment
Trying out and playing travel hockey is a significant financial and time commitment for player and family. In youth hockey today, some families have their children play on multiple teams. Families should expect to make the NYH team the #1 priority for their child.
Practices
Practices are generally held on weekday evenings or weekends at St. Sebs and various other rinks where we have secured practice ice. These rinks include the Dexter School, the Fessenden School, Dedham Rink (Boston Ice Center), West Roxbury, and on occasion Milton Academy or Belmont Hill. Practice times range from as early as 4pm to 9pm during the week and from 7am to 9pm on the weekends. Younger teams will generally receive earlier practices times with older teams have the later practice times. There are normally two practices a week.
NYH supplements practices by also providing skills sessions for players throughout the season.
Games/Leagues
The great majority of Needham teams play in the GBL. Bantam and PeeWee A and B1 team play 25 game schedules starting in early September to mid-March. PeeWee B2/3, C, Squirt, and Mite teams will play 20 game schedule starting in mid-October running until mid-March. Midgets play a 10 to 12 game half season schedule that wraps up prior to the start of the High School season. GBL games are played in greater Boston area rinks such as Framingham, Natick, Waltham, West Roxbury, Hyde Park, South Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Dorchester, and several games during the year will be played at St Sebs.
Registration
NYH online registration will be held from mid-February to late March. Instructions on registration and payment process will be available on the website in February.
USA Hockey requires all players and coaches to register directly with USA Hockey. Instructions will be provided on the NYH website to make it easy for players and coaches to register. All players must be registered for USA Hockey and update their account information on the NYH website or players will not be allowed on the ice at the start of the season in September.
NYH provides an online coaches registration for those interested in coaching in NYH. Instructions will be available as part of the online registration.
Tryouts
The Midget, Bantam, and PeeWee age groups will tryout in late march / early April. The Squirt and Mite tryouts will be conducted in early September.
Tryouts are designed to place players with players of similar ability. There are multiple levels of teams for each age group: " A", "B", and "C" with "A" teams consisting of higher skilled players and "C" teams consisting of less experienced players.
Travel Team Costs
$475 Registration fee per player ($375 for Midgets) that covers a variety of costs to run NYH, but primarily expense is to cover league registration fee and game fees. This fee is paid at time of registration on the NYH website.
$35 USA/Mass Hockey registration fee will be paid directly to USA hockey through their website.
Teams also pay for the cost of their practice ice and skills sessions throughout the season. Average cost of ice for NYH in 2009 was approximately $290 per hour. Coaches will typically appoint a team treasurer to track team expenses and pay the bills. Treasurers will collect periodic payments from parents to cover expenses. Estimated cost of ice throughout the season is approximately $800 per player.
Tournament fees – Teams are required to play in the NYH February and March tournament and are encouraged to play in at least one other tournament of the teams choosing. Fees for tournaments are typically around $700 per team or roughly $50 per player per tournament.
Note: The registration fee is non-refundable expect in the case of injury or moving out of town. Choosing to play on a different team after registering is not a valid reason for a refund.
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