Hello Storm Family and Future Storm Players,
As this season winds down, we are thrilled with all the
positive feedback about our program and would like to thank you all for making
it what it is to this day. Without our amazing athletes and families, this
doesn’t happen.
We are rapidly approaching the end of the season and wanted
to provide an update on our plans for tryouts and future programs. We have had
a difficult decision to make based on the recent news that VJGK will be holding
tryouts this April. Our Storm staff has come to the decision that we will
instead hold our tryouts the week of June 1st for multiple reasons which will
be detailed in this letter.
This decision has been made because it is what we believe is
BEST FOR THE KIDS.
Based on
the Athletic Development Model by USA Hockey (ADM), Long-Term Athletic
Development (LTAD), and our Storm Development philosophy, we believe that this
will lead to increased longevity and passion for our amazing sport.
Hockey is
classified as a Late Specialization Sport, meaning it takes a longer period of
time for hockey players to develop the proper skills and knowledge to master
the sport. We believe that having tryouts prior to Spring and Summer doesn’t
allow kids time to grow, gain strength, increase speed, and mature as athletes
before tryouts.
Overtraining and burnout are very common in
youth sports, especially hockey. By pushing our tryouts later, we allow for our
athletes to train their individual skills, but even more importantly, it allows
them time for a break from the team setting. We encourage all our athletes to
develop in other ways during the off season. Activities such as playing other
sports, spending time with family, or engaging in other activities allow for a
more balanced growth as not only an athlete, but as an individual.
Lastly, we feel that this time for development
gives the kids an opportunity to give them-selves a better chance to make the
team that they want. This time for development in all aspects can make a huge
difference and we want that each athlete to have the opportunity to represent
the work they put in come try out time.
As many of you know we have initiated a “Spring Program”
designed for age-specific player development. This will provide our players to
opportunity to learn and grow different parts of their game before tryouts and
heading into the fall season. Spring Program begins the week of April 12th
and runs for 6 weeks and is open to ANYONE interested in trying out for the
Storm Program.
We have devised this as a long-range plan that we will
follow going forward. First, players participate in Storm Spring Program, which
is followed by divisional scrimmages led by our Storm coaching staff. This also
allows the Storm coaching staff to better get to know the players they will be
selecting as opposed to a brief view at tryout time.
Our intent is that this model allows you to make the
decision that is best for your child and their continued development. If your
desire is to be part of the Storm, we will be fielding teams at every age
level. This season we had eight travel and tournament teams and expect that
number to grow for the upcoming season. Even with the challenge that the
Covid-19 pandemic presented, we believe that we have provided an enjoyable
experience this season with a variety of scrimmages, games, and tournaments for
all of our teams. Based on the feedback that we have received from families
both within the Storm organization and outside, we are projecting as many as 14
teams for the upcoming season allowing us to accommodate families whose players are ready for and willing to make the commitment to Travel Hockey and would like to be a part of the program.