Blue Knights Newsletter

A monthly newsletter brought to you by: Saratoga Youth Hockey Board Members

WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE:

Alumni Spotlight.
Player Spotlight.
Picture night!
End of season information.
Tryout information
Coach application information
Jr Rangers re cap - Whats next.
Board info - AGM Mtg and board application due date.
Shout out - Flatbread Social
COVID 19.
LAX sign up.
Baseball sign up.
Social Media -Amy Bridges.
Fun pics!


	GRIFFIN SARVER

GRIFFIN SARVER

Meet Griffin Sarver, Senior, Saratoga High School

Age - 17
Position - Defense
Number - #11
Number of years playing hockey - 11 years, currently playing for Saratoga Blue Streaks Varsity Hockey Team
Favorite hockey memory. - As a Bantam, going 4-0 in sectionals to go to States! We finally beat the 2 teams that had been challenging us for the past few years. (Editor's Note: The banner for this 14U Championship was raised in the Weibel Rink.)
Favorite NHL team - Buffalo Sabres
Post High Schools plans - To play junior hockey and hopefully play in college.
Favorite subject in school - History

Wear your BLUE jerseys

***Please be FULLY DRESSED when you arrive for photos. Keep skate guards with

players so that they can walk back to their practice rink. Photos will be taken in the

lobby of Weibel. We will ask one coach to please stay with players to help maintain

social distancing. Masks will briefly be taken off for photos and we will ask for them to

be put back on immediately after. If there is too much time between photos being

completed and your player’s practice time, please go back and stay in your car until 10

minutes before practice starts.***

***All photos will be mailed home so we are asking managers to hand out the order

forms ahead of time and all parents please properly fill out shipping info.***

End of the season info:

Good evening,

As we get into the home stretch of our season, I thought this would be a good time to update everyone on when we will officially close the 2020-2021 season.

Before I get into our ending dates, I would first like to thank every person involved with coaching, planning, and bringing our players to the rinks. We have been operating non-stop since August 31st of 2020 and have not had a single case of COVID directly attributed to our rink or our teams. This is a testament to everyone involved in our organization. Our players and families have taken everything that the pandemic has thrown at them and managed the change and uncertainty admirably. For that I would like to extend my heart felt thanks! We have all banded together to deliver the best experience possible for our players, and it will make us stronger as an organization as we hopefully return to a more normal 2021-2022 season.

As we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I would like to share some key end dates for everyone by level. Originally, our season was scheduled to end for all teams on Sunday 14th. This will still be the ending date for our 6U and all 8U players that were born after 2012. Saturday March 13th will be our last Saturday gameday for both of those programs. Also, our last Hockey Hut skills of the season will be on Wednesday March 10th.

Our remaining team including the 8U A/B team all have games scheduled through March 28th. This is a deviation from our original schedule because of the late addition of games to the schedule. The end date for these players will be Sunday March 28th.

For the 2 weeks between the 14th and the 28th all teams that still have games on their schedule will be reduced to 1 practice a week. Additionally, we will be holding (1) full ice practice per week for the 2012 birthdate 8U players to introduce them to full ice hockey to better prepare them for the move to 10U next season. Below is the schedule for the last 2 weeks of March.

More information regarding the 2012 birthdate full ice practices will be communicated directly to those families in the coming days.

Please also be on the look out for notification regarding our 2021 board elections and 2021-2022 coaching applications. We will be communicating all the pertinent information about these 2 processes in the next 7-10 days. Finally, we will be having our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday March 31st. The details and agenda of this meeting will be communicated in the middle of March.

Again, I would like to thank everyone for their efforts this season and look forward to seeing everyone over the next few weeks at the rink.

If you have any questions regarding the end of the season, please feel free to reach out to me directly.

All the best!

Rodney Eddy

President

Saratoga Youth Hockey, Inc.

As we look forward to the 2021-2022 hockey season the board wanted to communicate some changes around our tryout process. Below is a breakdown of the tryout schedule by age level.

6U/8U – There are no need for tryouts at this level, our 6U/8U players will practice and play games as a group. Our goal is to have 3-4 jamborees for our players with other local organizations to give our players the excitement of playing against kids from other towns. These events will be scheduled during our normal Saturday game times throughout the season.

8U A/B – There will be NO tryouts for this level, we are planning for a 8U A/B team next season, but the players will be evaluated during the 8U practices and families will be contacted about interest in the A/B team. Preference will be given to final year 8U players, as the intent of this group is to help with the transition to 10U. There will be an additional fee assessed to all families who are placed on the 8U A/B team.

10U – Tryouts for the “A” team will occur at 2 separate times. There will be a tryout in May where the coach(es) will have an opportunity to select an appropriate number of players to the team. We are not setting a specific number of players that will be named to the team after this first tryout but will leave that to the coaching staff. There will be a second tryout in September that will be used to complete the “A” roster and then set the rosters for the remaining 10U teams. Currently we are projecting (3) 10U teams for the 2021-2022 season.

12U – Tryouts for the tournament bound (12UTB) team will occur at 2 separate times. There will be a tryout in May where the coach(es) will have an opportunity to select an appropriate number of players to the team. We are not setting a specific number of players that will be named to the team after this first tryout but will leave that to the coaching staff. There will be a second tryout in September that will be used to complete the “TB” roster and then set the rosters for the remaining 12U teams. Currently we are projecting (3) 12U teams for the 2021-2022 season.

14U - Tryouts for the tournament bound (14UTB) team will occur at 2 separate times. There will be a tryout in May where the coach(es) will have an opportunity to select an appropriate number of players to the team. We are not setting a specific number of players that will be named to the team after this first tryout but will leave that to the coaching staff. There will be a second tryout in September that will be used to complete the roster. Currently we are projecting (1) 14U teams for the 2021-2022 season.

16/18U Wrap Team - Tryouts for the tournament bound (16/18U TB) team will occur at 2 separate times. There will be a tryout in May where the coach(es) will have an opportunity to select an appropriate number of players to the team. We are not setting a specific number of players that will be named to the team after this first tryout but will leave that to the coaching staff. There will be a second tryout in September that will be used to complete the roster. Currently we are projecting (1) 16/18U wrap team for the 2021-2022 season.

All age level team projections are just that “projections”, the actual number of teams at each level will solely depend on registration numbers. SYHI plans to field state tournament bound teams at all eligible age levels (12,14,16/18U). If there are sufficient registrants to field additional teams at each level SYHI will do so.

Coaching Applications

SYHI is currently soliciting applications for coaches at all levels that will be fielding May 2021 tryouts (10U A, 12U TB, 14U TB, and 16/18U TB Wrap). All applications for these positions will be accepted until March 24th. At which time the SYHI coaching and player development committee will be reaching out to all applicants for interviews. All coaching choices will be announced in early April along with the May tryout dates.

SYHI will be having a subsequent coaching application period for the remaining teams including 6U/8U in the early summer. Coaches for the “B” level and below teams at 10U and older will be finalized after the second tryouts in September. Coaches for the 6U/8U level will also be finalized in September and communicated at that time.

If you are interested in head coaching one of teams scheduled for their first tryout in May (10U A, 12UTB, 14UTB, and 16/18U TB) please use the below link to officially apply.

SYHI 2021-2022 Coaching Application

https://form.jotform.com/210518496299063

If there are any questions about the application process of the projected teams for the 2021-2022 seasons, please feel free to reach out to Rodney Eddy at president.syhi@outlook.com

We had 30 in LTS/LTP and had a very successful session. We are expecting 20+ to move into SYH. The kids learned the fundamentals of skating, hockey and had tons of fun. Coach Lou was AWESOME and helped to make a very successful season. We had ex-Ranger, Brian Mullen join a Zoom call to discuss his youth hockey experiences and also tell some fun stories about his professional career. In the past 1.5yrs we have had over 150+ kids participate which will continue to help strengthen SYH program. Thanks Rangers for your support. We will keep everyone posted on any summer programs or future dates ASAP!

Board - AGM meeting date and Application information

As we approach the end of the 2020-2021 season there are some important dates that need to be communicated to our entire community. Per the SYHI bylaws we will be holding our annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday 3/31 at 7pm via Microsoft Teams. A link to the meeting will be forward to the entire SYHI community 1 week prior.

Additionally, we are opening our application process for the SYHI Board of Directors. If you have interest in becoming a member of the board and helping shape the future of our organization, please use the link below to apply. The Board of Directors will have 7 open positions to fill during this election.

SYHI Board of Directors Application Link

https://form.jotform.com/210518541557152

Our application process will be open until Sunday March 21st at midnight. Any application received after that time will not be considered.

On Wednesday March 24th we will send a ballot to all members in good standing to vote for the open board of director positions. Each family is eligible to (1) ballot per player, for example if you have 2 children currently registered with SYHI you will receive 2 ballots. These ballots will be sent to the email on record with SYHI and may be completed and returned until Tuesday March 30th at 7pm (24hrs prior to the AGM).

Each Board of Directors term is for 2 years, and we ask that if you are considering joining the board you commit for the full 2 years of the term.

If you have any questions regarding the application process, or expectations of board members please feel free to reach out to Rodney Eddy at president.syhi@outlook.com

Thank you and we look forward to receiving your applications.

COVID-19

Many of you know that our community has seen an upward climb in the number of positive COVID19 cases. We ask that you continue to do your part to keep our skaters and coaches safe - over the next few days you will see communication regarding our safety protocols as we will have two rinks operational next week - but we wanted to highlight some here: • (1) parent per skater allowed in rinks. • No locker room access (players come 90% dressed). • Mask must be worn at all times while in the rinks (on-ice as well). • Social distancing for parents who are viewing and while waiting for your slot on the ice. • If you feel sick, please stay home. • Please follow the entering and exiting protocols in and out of the rinks.

Thank you families for doing your part to keep us all safe!