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New High School Hockey Program - Tryouts and Other Info

By Geoff Towle, 07/08/16, 10:30AM PDT

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Information regarding the new High School-oriented hockey program.

To:  All SRJHC Members
From:  SRJHC Board of Directors

As you may know, the NORCAL league has voted to institute a new High School-oriented hockey program for the 2016-17 season, moving away from the more club-oriented Midget program.  Information about this decision was posted to our club website sometime ago, and we would recommend that you read that news release to familiarize yourselves with the reasons for this change, and the overall structure of the new program:

http://www.santarosaflyers.org/news_article/show/654468?referrer_id=1224108

Many of you are now anxious to know what this all means for our club, and for all our 18U players.  We share your concerns and are working hard to organize this new program within the rules of the league, while best meeting the needs of our players.

While some of the issues surrounding this new format have yet to be resolved, we'd like to confirm for you what we do know at this time.  Please note:

  • High School tryouts are planned for the weekends of 7/30 and 8/6 at our rink.  Please plan accordingly, and watch the website for exact times, which we hope to release no later than 7/15.
    • We are aware that NORCAL is allowing tryouts to begin on 7/15, and that some clubs are holding them that weekend.
    • Unfortunately, we cannot do that due to other conflicts at our rink, such as the annual Snoopy tournament.
  • The High School season schedule has yet to be determined by NORCAL, but will begin later than the old travel season, and presumably end later as well.
    • For now, you should plan on the pre-season beginning in Oct, and the regular season beginning in November.
  • The High School league will be territory-based, which means that players must play for the rink/program in their local area.
    • There will be some "grandfather" exemptions for players who previously played for clubs outside their home territory.
    • AA/AAA players will continue to play for whatever clubs they prefer, but could still participate in their local high school program as well, time allowing, etc.
    • A detailed map of these territories, along with where each player resides, is being finalized by NORCAL now; we will release it as soon as we have it.
  • There will be three "divisions" within the High School program:
    • Div 1 - Will correspond to the traditional Midget 18 level, and will be the highest level of play.
    • Div 2 - Will correspond to the traditional Midget 16 level, and will be for younger/less skilled players; for our club, this will be the CN JV squad, effectively.
    • Div 3 - Will be for ANY player that wants to skate, and will be open to any player of high school age regardless of ability.
      • Given our limited ice time and number of players, we would anticipate any players in Div 3 would be incorporated into our CN JV squad.
      • We are also considering folding our previous House 2 program into the CN JV squad, if it is the best situation for those players involved.
  • Each club has the option to choose which high school in their area to align with.
    • In our case, our Div 1 team would presumably align with Santa Rosa High.
    • Our Div 2 team may or may not remain aligned with Cardinal Newman; we will advise ASAP.

The board is meeting on 7/11 to finalize as many of the details as possible.  We will continue to communicate with you through email and our website and Facebook as more info becomes available.  In the meantime, you're welcome to call our club president, Chris DiNardo, with any questions or concerns you may have at (707) 542 6133.

Please keep in mind that one of the main reasons that this new format is being developed is to promote team spirit and participation, which is associated with high school sports.  In the old San Jose high school league, for example, it was not unusual to see 300 - 400 high school fans come out to a Sat night game at their local rink, to cheer on their friends.  We would love to see that happen here in Santa Rosa as well, and it would make for some fun and exciting games for our kids.

Thanks and we look forward to a great season of hockey for all our high school aged players.