Boys and Girls House League program for 2009-2010

WYH will expand its House League program for the 2009-2010 season to include older Mite and Squirt aged players who either prefer to play in an Intramural House League rather than on a Travel Team, or for those players at the Mite and Squirt level who are not placed on a Travel team and could benefit from another year of positive development in a House League format so as to enhance their chances of making a Travel team in the following season.

WYH will no longer roster Mite C and Squirt C travel teams. WYH believes that by providing a strong environment of development through more hands-on coaching, structured practices and games that give young and new players the equal opportunity to work on their skating, shooting and passing skills and learn the game of hockey, they will develop more quickly than participating in traditional games where a player may only touch a puck for a few seconds.

In this program, the players will be on the ice as much as possible, and will get more "touches" of the puck on their sticks hopefully in an equal amount to all members of their team every session. The goal of this program is to provide regular full-sheet and cross-ice games on a weekly basis, as well as to arrange with other towns that are incorporating this same developmental concept the scheduling of home and away games that will be interspersed within the Intramural games. Players that develop at a rapid pace and who might eventually warrant playing on an age-appropriate Travel team will be given such consideration if a roster spot is available. If your child is of Squirt or Mite age and either chooses to not travel or is not placed on a travel team, you should register in the House League.

House League players will be placed in House League Major or House League Minor at the start of the House League season (early November).  Placement is based on skill level and previous experience.  Older players, those who were on a Mite or Squirt travel team last year, and players who participated in the House League last year are good candidates for the Major program.  Both programs are designed to maximize player development. If your child is placed in House League Major, there is an addition cost of $300 to cover the additional practices and games.

The program will also offer an optional fall skills program to complement the usual 20 week House League schedule. Below is a description of the expanded programs;

House League Major ($875): Focus is on squirt and mite age kids. There will be approximately 20 weeks beginning in mid-November. The program consists of weekday practices, Friday Power Skating at Hyde Park, weekend practices, weekend games (emphasizing both large and small sheet games played at our local rinks). Kids will be divided up into balanced teams and is meant to be a developmental replacement for the kids previously placed on our Squirt and Mite C teams.

House League Minor ($575): Traditional House League structure which will focus on kids learning to play hockey for the first time, many of which will have participated in a learn-to-skate program previously, with Saturday practices and Sunday small sheet games similar to this year's House League.

House League Fall Program ($225): Skills and pick up three-on-three games offered for 8 weeks during the fall. Weekly skills sessions on Mondays, plus three on three pick up games on Sundays at Dedham. This program is intended for experience Squirt and Mite-age players (birthyears 1999 to 2002).

Learn to Skate/Learn to Play Hockey

WYH will again offer two (2) ten-week Saturday morning Learn to Skate/Learn to Play Hockey programs.

• Session 1: November 7, 2009 to January 9, 2010, 8:40am at Babson Rink in Wellesley
• Session 2: January 16, 2010 to March 20, 2010, 8:40am at Babson.

The WYH Learn to Skate/Learn to Play Hockey Program is designed for children with little or no skating or hockey experience. The goal of the Program is to have children gain confidence on the ice while developing their skating abilities in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

Each session will include three phases. The first phase of each session will focus on balance, starting, the proper skating stride and how to stop. The second phase of each session will focus on turning, pivoting and skating backwards. The last phase of each session will introduce basic ice hockey drills including stick handling, passing to a stationary and moving target, shooting and eventually cross-ice games. For those children who participate in both sessions, the phases in Session 2 will be altered accordingly to avoid unnecessary repetition.

All LTS participants will need the following equipment:

• skates
• a hockey or ski helmet (bike helmets do not provide sufficient protection)
• gloves (hockey or winter gloves are OK)
• knee and elbow pads are strongly recommended
• backside padding is also recommended

The cost of the program is $190 for each session, or $325 for both sessions.

Please note: you will be charged $190 during registration regardless of which session(s) you register for.  If you register for both session, we will adjust your balance accordingly.

Please contact if you have additional questions.