All, 

Get ready for Thursday Night Hockey in Clinton! We are excited to announce the start date for the Comets Hockey League, along with specifics around the draft day which will be held on Monday November 5, 2018 at Alteri’s.

Purpose:  

By incorporating small-area games into practices, you’ll be able to get more players involved at the same time than in traditional game situations. "There’s a little more pressure, and a little more competition and, from that, players develop so much more quickly," according to head coach Derek Schooley of Robert Morris’ Division 1 program. “When you’re doing small-area games or station-based work, you’re really doing things, players are on the ice a lot more than they would be if we spent all our times playing games and scrimmages. When it comes to making young players better, small-area games are the best way to deliver more engagement, more puck touches and more opportunities to sharpen all of their hockey skills." 

Expected Results: 

Skill development!  Skill development is paramount and our number one priority this season. Research has shown that the windows of trainability identify ages and time periods when a child is most receptive to developing a specific skill or capacity. At 10U, kids are now in the “Golden Age of Skill Development,” so the focus should be on skills, skills, skills- not systems, weight training, or winning at all costs. Below are a few articles from different organizations to support our effort and to drive home how important skill development is at this age. "Skill development is a marathon, not a sprint!"

https://www.admkids.com/news_article/show/723494 

https://www.admkids.com/news_article/show/561721

http://www.gchockey.com/blog/2018/10/16/from-the-third-line-to-first-line/ 

https://www.mahockey.org/news_article/show/960281

What to expect on Draft Night:

Draft Night will be held on Monday, November 5, 6PM at Alteri’s! Draft Night is for the kids- we want to make this a memorable moment for them to talk about when they grow up and find themselves playing in a men’s league or in the NHL! Draft Night is set up strictly for fun and is not to be misconstrued as a ranking of your child’s ability. On the night of the draft we will select the top 6 players from evaluations and place 1 of those players on each of the 6 teams- from there on we will split up the teams evenly and at random to ensure competitive play throughout the season. We will be utilizing the original 6 NHL teams (Blackhawks, Bruins, Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Red Wings, & Rangers) to identify each of the 6 teams we are drafting. We will have 2 teams of 6 and 4 teams of 5, along with 2 permanent goaltenders. Each week 2 random players will be selected to play goal as well, so if your child has expressed an interest in playing goal, now is the time to try- otherwise we will select them and attempt to get through all the players. During the draft each player will be called up by our guest speaker (TBD) to accept their jersey and take a photo with their coach and guest speaker. Again, any thoughts or ideas you may have for this event, or if you would like to help set up, please don’t hesitate to contact us as we want this to be as fun and memorable for the kids as possible.  

What to expect on Game Nights:

Four teams will face off in cross ice/small games, while the other two teams work on skills at center ice. After one 12 minute game, the teams will switch out and those previously working on skills will play their game and the remaining teams will move to skill work. 

We will track and publish statistics for each game to entice competitive play. In addition, we will have a championship game to play for the Comet Cup at the end of the 3 on 3 season. On January 3, 2019, we will break for the holidays and have a maroon vs white game (all-star break) on full ice to break up the 3 on 3 season. 

The link below will give you more details regarding the format and volunteer opportunities. Again, we want this to be a great experience for the kids- if you have any questions, ideas, or want to volunteer for a specific role please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

Comets Hockey League

Thank you,

CCYHA