Volume 2 Issue 2
May 7, 2014
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The 2014 Annual Meeting of the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois, Inc. will take place on Sunday, June 1 at the Woodfield Hyatt Hotel in Schaumburg at 9:00 a.m.
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QUESTION:
Does AHAI really hate Junior Hockey? -submitted by a player who is a midget major.
ANSWER:
Wow, there is a real misperception here; we better fix that. No, AHAI does not "hate Junior Hockey". On the contrary we hope the youth hockey players in Illinois ALL ascend to the Junior Hockey level of play. AHAI's position is to protect youth hockey players from unscrupulous Junior Tier III owners. The operative word here is "ascend". To that end we have some simple protections in place for our players.
1. If you are a player with enough skill to play Tier I or Tier II Junior hockey (non-pay to play) and you can make one of those teams - you should go to play there immediately - at any age. God bless you if you are that skilled - go find your dream. No one should hold you back.
2. If you are not skilled enough to make a Tier I or Tier II team today, then you should not go to Junior Hockey (Tier III, pay to play) until you are out of high school. If you are only good enough for Tier III, then by all means stay with your midget or high school hockey program.
READ MORE
Have a question for ASK AHAI? Click HERE.
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Stay Connected
 
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Check out AHAI's new YouTube Channel! We've created playlists featuring our most popular NoozeBox videos from this past season as well as links to channels you'll not want to miss, such as USA Hockey, USA Hockey Magazine and Responsible Sports!
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ILLINOIS PLAYER DEVELOPMENT NEWS
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ILLINOIS PLAYERS GRAB 20 OF 59 SPOTS ALLOCATED FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT FOR USA HOCKEY NATIONAL CAMPS!
The Central District 2014 Player Development/Identification Tryout Camp, held in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, concluded May 4th, and AHAI is extremely proud that 20 of the 59 players selected to advance to USA Hockey's National Camp in Amherst, New York, hail from Illinois. AHAI Player Development Chairman, Doug Becht, has written a very informative article regarding the Central District Player Development Process which details how the players who advance to the National Camps are chosen, who makes up the team of 17 highly respected evaluators and why it is of critical importance that these evaluators select only the highest quality and skilled players to compete at the USA Hockey National Camps.
The Central District 2014
Player Development Process
By Doug Becht
The USA Hockey Central District is comprised of six (6) states, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin (Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska are called the Midwest States). Mr. Norm Spiegel is the USA Hockey Central District Player Development Coordinator who oversees the Central District Camp. Norm is also a USA Hockey Director Representative, serves on the USA Hockey Youth Council and on the USA Hockey Player Development Committee. Norm took the time to go into each team's locker room on the first night to explain to all the players that they would ONLY be evaluated on their on ice efforts and the skills shown during this camp. He also explained that the allocations to move players on to the USA Hockey National Camp held in Amherst, New York is very limited. Of course, Norm also had the same discussion with all of the evaluators. Please click HERE to read the full article as well as view the list of players selected to represent the Central District.
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CENTRAL DISTRICT BOYS IN-DISTRICT 2000 BANTAM DEVELOPMENT CAMP
The Central District holds its own player development camp June 15 through 20, 2014 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The goal of the Central District Boys In-District Bantam Development Camp is to provide a week-long skill development program for boys 14 years of age. This camp will mirror what is offered at the USA Hockey National Camps held in New York this summer for the 3 older birth years.
READ MORE TO VIEW SELECTED PLAYERS
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MORE THAN HOCKEY SKILLS: DON GRANATO ON PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
AHAI recently interviewed Don Granato, Assistant Coach of USA Hockey's National Under-17 Team to find out about the intangibles in player development and high-level team selection, how to approach adversity, and getting the most out of your hockey experiences. This is a must watch video for any parent and player hoping to advance their hockey career to a higher level.
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| BECOME AN AHAI FACEBOOK FAN & YOU COULD WIN A PAIR OF HAWKS TICKETS! |
Like AHAI's Facebook Page and you could win 2 tickets* to the Chicago Blackhawks Opening Night Game for the 2014-15 Season! Contest ends Sunday, May 25, 2014. The lucky winner will be announced in the Wednesday, May 28th edition of SNAPSHOT.
*Tickets are 300 Level and valid only for the Chicago Blackhawks 2014-15 Opening Night Game
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 TIER I MITE ADM PROGRAM OPEN HOUSE HOSTED BY CHICAGO MISSION
On May 31, 2014, Chicago Mission, in conjunction with AHAI and USA Hockey, will host an open house for those interested in learning more about the AHAI Mite Tier I ADM program. Bob Mancini from USA Hockey will be there to speak with the Tier I coaches that will be running the program at the four Tier I clubs. He will assist the on ice portion for those kids that have registered for the skate. See the registration link to sign up for the clinic. It is a great opportunity for your son or daughter to try the free ADM clinic and for parents to see first hand what this new program has to offer. The Mission's Gino Cavallini will direct this clinic at Seven Bridges Ice Arena. Even if you don't have a skater there, come by and watch.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR OPEN HOUSE
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 HOW TO UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION WITH USA HOCKEY & AHAI
The mailing address, email address and phone numbers that you entered when completing the online registration with USA Hockey is stored in both the AHAI and USA Hockey databases. It is the contact information that is used when AHAI or USA Hockey communicates with its members. It is important that you use the email address that you wish to receive your notices, and to update this information with AHAI and USA Hockey if any of your information changes during the year. To update your information, please contact the Registrar for your organization. They will edit your profile in the USA Hockey Cybersport program and then send an update to USA Hockey. They will also send an update to the AHAI Webtool which will edit the contact information stored on the AHAI server.
READ MORE
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 TIER II CHOICE SUBSTITUTION APPLICATION PROCESS: DATES & INFORMATION
On July 15, 2014, the application process for Tier II Two Choice Substitutions will begin. You will find helpful articles regarding the Two Choice Rule, Choice Substitutions and what you should consider before making that second choice as well as information regarding the Midget Third Choice in the articles below. Should you have any further questions, please contact the AHAI Tier II Committee Chairman, Gregg Chudacoff at gregg@generaltruckparts.com.
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Tier II Two Choice Rule: Clearing Up the Confusion
What exactly is a Choice? Essentially, every player will have a total of two Member Associations for which they can play for from Mite through Bantam Major. This is a community based rule. Players that are aged U16 and U18 will be granted a substitute choice (see Midget Third Choice article).
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What About My Second Choice: What Should I Consider?
A player has the option of leaving the original Tier II club they started at and playing for another. Each player only receives two choices from Mite through Bantam Major. If you used the first one by playing Tier II hockey sometime in the past...make that second choice with great care...you do not get another choice until Midget.
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What is the Midget Third Choice?
Players that are U16 and U18 aged will be granted the option for a third choice. They will be allowed to play for a third Tier II organization and will not need to petition for a choice substitution when using their Midget third choice.
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36 ILLINOIS PLAYERS SELECTED AT THE
2014 USHL ENTRY DRAFT
The USHL Entry Draft, which is conducted in two "phases", was held Monday, May 5 and Tuesday, May 6. Congratulations and good luck to the 10 Illinois players drafted or tendered last Monday during Phase 1 and the 26 Illinois Players drafted during Phase 2 last Tuesday.
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PHASE 1
Phase 1 consists of eight (8) rounds as USHL teams select players from the 1998 birth year. This single-age portion of the USHL Draft allows teams to choose players who are traditionally not ready to play in the USHL the following season, but will continue to develop at lower levels of hockey in preparation for USHL play in future seasons. While not yet USHL full-timers, a number of those players will see game action in the coming season.
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PHASE 2
In this phase, USHL teams select players from multiple birth years as they look to fill their protected lists with players who will compete for roster spots for the 2014-15 season. Phase 2 continues until all USHL teams have secured 45 players on their Initial Protected List. That list includes affiliate players from the 2013-14 season, players selected in Phase 1, and players signed to a tender.
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LET'S PLAY BALL!
Roybal Throws Out Ceremonial First Pitch
Having grown up "in a White Sox household", throwing out the first pitch for the White Sox vs. Cubs game on Wednesday, May 7th was quite an honor for Paralympic gold-medal winning sled hockey player, Brody Roybal. Click HERE if you missed Brody's inspirational story,Turning A Dream Into A Reality: Hard Work, Sacrifice and Dedication Pays Off for United States' Youngest Olympian, published in SNAPSHOT earlier this year.
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STEVE KOZARI
Proves NHL Officials as Tough as Players
Toughness isn't reserved just for the players in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the officials go on through adversity too. Illinois' own, referee Steve Kozari, took a puck to the face early in the third on an attempt by Dougie Hamilton to rim the puck out of the zone on Saturday, April 26 in Boston. While the other officials tried to figure out what to do, they called a TV timeout. When the action resumed, Kozari was back on the ice, sporting a nice big reminder on his cheek from the puck to the face...because it's the playoffs!
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 USA HOCKEY ANNOUNCES 2014 SLED PLAYER DEVELOPMENT CAMP!
By J.J. O'Connor, USA Hockey Disabled Section Chairman
USA Hockey recently announced the 9th Annual USA Sled Hockey Select Camp to be conducted July 14 through July 19, 2014 in Buffalo, New York. Attendance at this Camp is by invitation only.
For the past 36 summers USA Hockey has conducted various Player Development Camps for young athletes from throughout the country. The goal is to attract the best players in their specific age group to our national development program. One of the primary purposes of the Camps is to identify, train and educate our best athletes. The competition gives each player the opportunity to measure themselves against others their age, gain knowledge about their development and to be exposed to outstanding coaches.
READ MORE
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Hello! My name is Kelly McCormick and I am a graduate student at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, CA studying for my masters in Sport Psychology. I am currently doing a thesis in which I am studying athletes who have discontinued at least one sport when they were between the ages of 13 and 17 for any reason at all and have discontinued within the past three years. I am reaching out to see if there are any parents who may have children who have discontinued playing a sport. The participants may still be involved in sport; they would have just had to quit at least one sport. For my study a parent would first need to agree to a parental consent form about confidentiality and the participant's rights. If there are any parents who have children who would like to participate please click the survey link at the bottom of this letter. Once a parent has agreed to the consent information I will email a link to the survey for the youth participant. The questions in my survey cover current sport involvement and sport history. Also, if there is anyone else that you may feel would be helpful to contact for this information that would be greatly appreciated as well. Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you!
Click HERE for Parent Consent Survey
Thank you,
Kelly McCormick
Sport Psychology Master's Candidate
John F. Kennedy University
Kmccormick@email.jfku.edu
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