(as of 7/15/2023)


WAHC 8&Under Hockey Families,

 

We are looking forward to the start of the upcoming season.  Thank you for your patience as we work to plan for the season.  Planning is pretty fluid through much of the summer months - as we wait for available ice from our rinks and season registrations.

Following are some preliminary planning details; please stay-tuned to this page throughout the summer for updates regarding the Mite/MiniMite season plans.

Similar to the past three seasons, we are planning to have 4 levels for MITES and 3 levels for MINIMITES.

Mites – establish four levels (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4) with Level 4 being the most advanced. We will field 2 teams at each level. The levels include:

  • Mite-4 (upper),

  • Mite-3,

  • Mite-2,

  • Mite-1 (lower)

Mini-Mites – establish three levels (Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3) with Level 3 being the most advanced. We will field 3 teams at each level here. The levels include:

  • MiniMite-3 (upper)

  • MiniMite-2 mid

  • MiniMite-1 (lower).

We are planning a clinic/assessment the weekend of Oct 14/15. Our priority is to ensure we have all our players grouped appropriately based on skill level for the upcoming season. This is important as it allows all our players to best develop and find the most enjoyment during the season skating with others of similar ability. We will accomplish this through the following:

  • TBD (Goalie-Only) Goalie Assessments
  • Saturday 10/14 CLINIC:
    Players will have an opportunity to practice all 4 assessment drills.
  • Sunday 10/15 ASSESSMENT: 
    Players will do a timed assessment, completing each drill twice.
  • Tuesday 10/17: Additional Mite 4 assessment 

MiniMite and Mite skaters will go through the timed assessments on Sunday 10/15 (and, for Mite 4, an additional assessment on Tuesday 10/17). The assessments will be done via the drills outlined in the diagram at the bottom of this page (Mites will do drill #1 Figure 8 with a puck, while MiniMites will not).  These drills are leveraged by many associations and represent a range of skating and hockey skills.  Players will have the ability to practice these drills at their assigned “Skills Clinic” prior to their Assessment day.  On the Assessment Day, each player will have the opportunity to complete the drill twice with the slower time being discarded.  We will then take each players cumulative times from the drills and rank them in order to establish our initial levels.  Please note that we will be working to ensure players complete the drills as outlined (stopping at the right spot, no cheating around corners, etc…).  If a player does the drill incorrectly they will be shown the correct way and then proceed to redo the drill.

Based on the results of their assessment, players will be drafted onto teams. We’ll look to have roughly the same amount of kids in each level, but assessment results and total skaters will be considered when dividing up the teams.

The first team skates will be scheduled for the weekend 10/28-29.

We realize an “assessment” process can be stressful for our players, but we really do encourage you to ensure your players to take this as an opportunity to have fun, try their hardest and interact with their friends and coaches.  Regardless of the level your player is assigned to, you’ll be amazed and proud of the developmental strides they make this upcoming season.

If you have any questions please reach out to Josh Wendel WAHC VP Mites, MiniMites & Termites, at mitedirector@woodburyhockey.com.

Thank you and we’ll see you at the rink!

ASSESSMENT DRILLS

The assessments will be done from the bottom of this page.  Players will have the ability to practice these drills at their assigned “Skills Clinic” prior to their Assessment day. On the Assessment Day, each player will have the opportunity to complete the drill twice with the slower time being discarded.  We will then take each player’s cumulative times from the drills and rank them to establish our initial levels. Please note that we will be working to ensure players complete the drills as outlined.  If a player does the drill incorrectly, they will be shown the correct way and then redo the drill.

(See Diagram of Drills )

1. Figure 8 Crossovers (Mites with a puck, Mini-Mites no puck)

  • start with puck on the top of the goal crease
  • player must start with puck on his stick (no running start)
  • time stops when player returns to the goal crease, not the puck

2. Power Turns (Mites with puck, Mini-Mites no puck)

  • Start on red line, power turns around each tire, and finish at blue line

3. Forward to backwards (Mini-Mites will only skate to cone on blue line, and skate backwards to goal line)

  • start on the goal line and skate forwards to black border patrol
  • transition forward to backwards, going right to left
  • skate backwards to end of border patrol, and transition backwards to forward
  • skate to cone on blue line, transition forward to backwards, and skate backwards to goal line

4. Puck Weave (Mini-Mites will weave around cones)

  • diagram is for a right-handed player, left-handed players will go the opposite direction
  • In order to get a forehand turn on final border patrol, Righties start out on left side, and Lefties start out on right side
  • player must start with puck on his stick (no running start)
  • Skater caries puck back to the goal line, time stops when player returns to the goal line, not the puck