Aug 30, 2012 | Mark | 1819 views
TRYOUT INFORMATION AND SEASON OVERVIEW
As the hot summer of 2012 winds down into Labour Day Weekend, I look forward to the season of Atom AA hockey ahead. Hopefully we can build on the strong Ravens success at the Atom level last year, with the AA team winning gold at Lower Lakes and silver at Provincials, the BB team finishing 4th at Provincials, and the B team advancing to the quarterfinals at Provincials before losing out to the eventual gold medallist.
All 2002/2003 players are invited to try out for the AA team beginning on Tues, Sept 4th at 7 pm. The full tryout schedule and ice times can be found using the calendar tab for our team site. Please note that it will be a very busy week, with sessions on Tues/Thurs/Fri/ and 2 exhibition games on Sat to determine the final roster of 15 skaters and 2 goalies by Sat evening. Player releases will start to occur following the 2nd ice time. More details and a season summary will be available at the sign-in desk next Tuesday. Any player who is considered an import to Waterloo is reminded to have a signed Permission to Skate form before going onto the ice for tryouts. At the AA level, Waterloo allows a maximum of 2 import players on the roster.
I expect that there will be a large number of players out to early tryout sessions. Team selection will be challenging and parents should be mindful of the stress that tryouts can have on young players, especially as a new school year also begins. Players will be evaluated on a combination of attributes including hockey skills, knowledge/game awareness, prior experience, and work ethic. With a deep talent pool at this age group, there will be several difficult decisions to make in forming the team. There will be talented players who will eventually be released to the BB tryouts to continue their development at that level.
I am also aware that next weekend may present potential schedule conflicts with rep soccer championships and rep ball tryouts. Please contact me early in the tryout process if this is the case and we can discuss options.
Again, I look forward to getting the season started and working hard to become one of the elite Atom AA teams in the province.
Mark Israel
Coach, Waterloo Ravens Atom AA