St. Jude Knights Hockey Club

Transcription

1 St. Jude Knights Hockey Club th St. Crestwood, IL Non-Profit Organization Since 1960 Dear St. Jude Parents and Players, The St. Jude organization is excited for the upcoming season and we thank you in advance for your continued support. My name is Mike Moro, newly inducted president of the St. Jude Hockey Organization. This is my fifth year of involvement in the St. Jude organization. I have served on the board for the past two years as well as organized the St. Jude raffle and taken hockey pictures of players for our members. I have also written several grants for our club as well as served as an assistant coach for my eldest son s team. Personally, I will be celebrating my 15th wedding anniversary this summer with my wife Tammy, who is also very much involved within the organization. I currently serve as a high school social studies educator teaching AP U.S. History and AP European History. I have a Master s Degree from Governors State University and a Doctorate from Lewis University. I look forward to continuing our long tradition of preparing young boys and girls to play the game of hockey. Our organization has thrived for 52 years and counting, only possible through the unwavering support of all the players and families that have been part of this proud organization. We are dedicated to providing the best hockey instruction at the most reasonable price possible. Despite the fact that ice costs continue to increase, we are determined to keep prices at the lowest price possible. This of course is only possible because of the tremendous amount of support and volunteer assistance we receive from our members. Please consider volunteering in some capacity to the St. Jude Knights organization. I would like to invite all parents to consider donating time to the betterment of our club. There are a plethora of ways to volunteer such as assisting with the registration process, selling additional raffle tickets, securing an ad for our 2012/2013 ad/yearbook or serving as a team manager. If you have any questions about how you can get involved, please feel free to contact Lynn Prkut, our volunteer coordinator at prkut95@hotmail.com. Like last season, our registration process and information is online. Please make sure you visit the St. Jude website for additional registration information. Please register for the upcoming Fall Focus clinics and try-outs online. Please note that all players must pay for at least the tryout/evaluation to play for St. Jude. Participating in the fall focus is highly encouraged. Travel and House Fall Focus Clinics: Begins the week of August 6 Learn to Skate Begins: mid September (TBD) ADM Begins: August 6 Travel Tryouts: September 4th-8th House Player Placement: September 15th-16th Travel Player Rostering: Saturday, September 8th and Sunday, September 9th * All players must be signed up for the fall season by Sunday September 9th. House Player Rostering: September 22nd-23rd Checking Clinic Dates: September 1st and September 14th This year St. Jude will institute a new rostering process. Over the given weekend (weekends listed above for House and Travel), all players will officially sign rosters. Please keep this weekend available for rostering your son/daughter with St. Jude. St. Jude is excited about some changes we are making to improve our on ice instruction and coordinating of activities for our players. With the rapid growth we are experiencing, we determined it was necessary to seek new and innovative ways to meet the needs of both our Travel and House members. One change we implemented was to name Paul Manning the Hockey Director of all hockey operations for the club. Paul brings an energy and commitment to this new position and we believe he will continue to provide excellent leadership and innovative ideas to make our club even stronger. Paul will have four coordinators working with him to ensure our programs are connected and 1

2 challenging for our players. Matt Madrigal will continue as the hockey coordinator at the house level while AJ Hernacki will serve as the travel hockey coordinator. Tom Whalen will coordinate Little Knights (ADM) activities while Joe Keneipp will continue to coordinate Learn To Skate programs. We believe the leadership we have put in place along with the countless numbers of coaches who provide knowledge and assistance on a daily basis, make St. Jude the best option for ice hockey in the south suburbs. We take pride in providing a quality hockey program. St. Jude is pleased to announce that we have been accepted into the Central States Hockey League at the 2001 birth year level. Central States is known as an advanced hockey league that provides excellent competition. This is the first time in our 52 year history that we will participate in Central States. It is a testament to our terrific coaching staff led by hockey director Paul Manning that this opportunity is even possible. AHAI, the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois, our governing body, has mandated several changes as well in which hockey clubs must abide. One change limits the number of tournaments in which teams can play at various levels. AHAI has also mandated that each travel team must retain a specified number of players from their existing membership (2,4,6,8 rule). This is meant to limit recruited teams and hopefully, make hockey even more competitive in the state of Illinois. AHAI is also determined to enforce the two choice policy. If you have any questions pertaining to these rule changes, please examine the AHAI website or contact me directly. Returning this year is off-ice training for the travel players to help augment their power skate and training regimen. Don McGrath will be returning as head instructor. Parents have asked that we do more to help their hockey players to become better or well rounded athletes and this is one area where we believe we can help. Like in many other sports, we will once again be doing our mandatory raffle. Last year, you helped make the raffle fundraiser extremely successful. My wife, Tammy Moro will organize the raffle fundraiser for St. Jude this year. Prizes are needed and welcomed. Tammy can be reached at tmoro3@att.net. Extra tickets sold will also serve to reduce your ice bill. Total Hockey and St. Jude have teamed up again this year to provide you with Total Hockey discount cards. Returning players will receive their cards soon, and new players will receive them early in the season. The card will be good for discounts on merchandise when used at Total Hockey. We at St. Jude are very excited about the opportunities the club is providing for you and your children. It is our belief that your child will get the maximum ice time, under the best coaching talent available for the smallest of fees and most importantly, enjoy the sport of hockey and the success our Club has to offer. On the following pages of this fall packet you will find helpful information regarding our hockey program and the many events St. Jude is offering this season. This expanded registration packet hopefully will answer most of your pre-season questions. If after reviewing this packet you should have any questions, you can leave a message with the St. Jude office at (708) or check out our web site The board is energized about the upcoming season for St. Jude and if we are not already your home, we ask you to consider us to be your club. We look forward to seeing you at the rink. Sincerely, Mike Moro President, St. Jude Hockey Club cell mmoro99@gmail.com NOTE- AHAI FALL REQUIREMENT Mandatory Online Registration for USA Hockey Insurance The state requires that all players complete on-line registration for USA Hockey Insurance before they can participate with any club or team in the fall season. See enclosed instruction sheet on how to complete on-line registration. This must be completed before registering with St. Jude for any programs. 2

3 Dear St. Jude parents and players, I hope everyone is having a great summer! Believe it or not, the hockey season is right around the corner. For those of you that have not skated all summer, get that hockey equipment dusted off. Sharpen the skates. Get ready for AJ Hernacki and Chris VanEck to whip you into shape during the St. Jude Knights (SJK) Fall Focus Camp. I would like to welcome back all of our loyal SJK families without you we would not have such a fun, energetic and exciting atmosphere at our rink. I would also like to welcome those new families and create an atmosphere where everyone feels at home. I hope you are as excited as I am about Mike Moro as our president and the rest of the new executive board team. They have strong ideas to make SJK a more progressive hockey club. I also look forward to being the hockey director for SJK in the upcoming 2012/13 season. We are initiating new programs and partnering with great hockey instructors that will improve the future SJK hockey. The addition of AJ Hernacki as the travel coordinator will help bring innovative ideas to the program. AJ is developing an on-ice coaches training as well as to help initiate other progressive programs. Two years ago we launched a new program, the Little Knights Program (LKP). A special thanks to Tom Whalen and Michelle Boyce, this program has helped build SJK to what it is today. The numbers of kids that want to participate have exceeded the ice we had available. With the success of the LKP, this year we will introduce an additional LKP program. We will broaden the scope by having a LKP along with Little Knights Introduction/Learn to Skate (LTS) Program. A special thanks to Joe Keneipp, Chris VanEck, Don McGrath, Matt Madrigal and the rest of the St. Jude coaching staff, without their talents, we would not be as successful as we are today. Programs, such as power skate, LTS, off-ice and our house program, have helped St. Jude flourish as an organization. Three years ago, we had 7 travel and 5 house teams. As a result of our growth, we are looking to field 13 travel and 8 house teams in 2012/13. SJ has not seen these numbers in the history of the organization. We have applied and been granted permission to participate in Central States at the Peewee Minor (2001) level. Central States is a highly competitive league specifically designed for elite tier II teams within Illinois and the Central States region. Central States has been in existence since 1999 and St. Jude has been accepted into the league for the first time. These are exciting times to be part of St. Jude Hockey and I am eager to begin the upcoming season. I want to thank the entire St. Jude Community that has helped build the St. Jude Hockey Club. Without the hard work of many individuals who volunteer their time and energy, the success we have experienced would not have been possible. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let me know. Welcome Back!! Paul Manning Hockey Director 3

4 Excellence In Youth Hockey For Over 50 Years! Full checking is allowed at the Bantam level in both House and Travel hockey. It is mandatory that players at this level participate in a checking clinic. This will ensure players are prepared to both receive and deliver a check on the ice. Players may take this clinic again at a reduced cost. Players are welcome to participate in all three dates available. Please note the checking clinic is open to all bantams and peewees. St. Jude Checking Clinic-$50 ($25 to repeat clinic) All three dates are included for the price above. SIA Saturday 9/ am SIA Saturday 9/ am SIA Friday 9/ pm Registration will be available online at For any questions, please contact Paul Manning at playhockey@stjudehockey.org *All players must have current USA Hockey Insurance which is purchased at

5 Registration Information 2012/2013 St. Jude Hockey Information All players should be registered on-line at If you have any questions about how to register, please contact Neil Butler at Registration Process: Step 1: All players must have USA Hockey Insurance to play hockey at St. Jude. No player will be allowed to play or tryout without proof of this insurance. To register for this insurance, visit USA Hockey Insurance Directions: Once at the USA Hockey website, click on membership and then register online. Choose ice players & coaches and follow the directions on the screen. Step 2: On the St. Jude website, log in using your username and password. If you have not registered for a St. Jude program in the past, you will need to complete the steps for setting up a St. Jude account. If you do not remember your password, you can click the forgot password link and enter your address. Step 3: Select the programs and players you wish to participate and continue with payment for programs. Player Age Divisions No player, boy or girl, House or Travel, may play in a lower age division for any reason. The following are the 2012/2013 House and Travel league playing divisions. Division Birth Years Little Knights / Learn to Skate Ages 3-12 Mite Division (2004 & 2005) *Please note 2006 or younger are not allowed to play full ice games (AHAI) Squirt Division (2002 & 2003) Peewee Division (2000 & 2001) Bantam Division (1998 & 1999) 9

6 Fees & Payment St. Jude Knights 2012 Fall Registration Information Packet Cost of Fall Focus Clinics & Tryouts/Evaluations Travel League Play Cost: $350 Early Bird Discount: $325 if registered before August 1, 2012 House League Play Cost: $250 Early Bird Discount: $225 if registered before August 1, 2012 Fees include practice jersey, all conditioning clinics, off-ice training and tryouts. Fees include practice jersey, conditioning clinics and evaluations/placement. Please note that focus clinics are not prorated. Participating in the Focus clinics is highly encouraged. All players not participating in the Focus clinics will incur a tryout/evaluation fee before being placed on a St. Jude team. The House fee will be a one time $85 charge which will include practice jersey. The Travel fee will be a one time $165 charge which will include a practice jersey. Detailed clinic information is provided on each flyer. Please note that each level receives additional time compared to years past. Ways To Reduce The Cost Of Hockey St. Jude is always looking for innovative solutions to help people make hockey more affordable. Here are a few ways to reduce your ice bill. Multiple-Player Family Discount The multi-family discount is applied to all lesser ice bills where the highest ice bill is paid in full. This discount is 5%. All discounts will be issued after the last payment for the season has been posted. Pay Bill In Full Those who pay the their bill in full will receive a 3% discount on their ice bill. This does not include goalies, Little Knights/ADM or Learn to Skate programs. Ad Book 50% of all ads sold will be deducted from your ice bill. The final deadline for submitting ads is December 1, Ad credits will be deducted off your final payment. Please give all completed program/ad contracts and checks made payable to St. Jude Knights Hockey Club to your team manager or mail them to Southwest Ice Arena, Attn: St. Jude Hockey Organization. Should you have any questions please contact Neil Butler at neilpbutler@gmail.com. More information pertaining to the ad book is provided within the packet. Selling Additional Raffle Tickets St. Jude members participate in a raffle fundraiser which will be explained in more detail later. Each family is required to purchase/sell $100 worth of raffle tickets at the day of rostering. 50% of all additional raffle tickets purchased will be deducted from your ice bill. Many families have saved hundreds of dollars off of their ice bill by purchasing additional raffle tickets. For more information regarding the raffle, please contact Tammy Moro at tmoro3@att.net 10

7 Fees & Payment SSHL (House) St. Jude Knights 2012 Fall Registration Information Packet Level 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15 1/15 Total Fees Mite $1, Squirt $1, Peewee $1, Bantam $1, *Price includes socks & warm up suit NIHL / CSDHL (Travel) Level 9/15 10/15 11/15 12/15 1/15 Total Fees Mite $ $ $ $ $ $2, Squirt $ $ $ $ $ $2, Peewee Minor (Central States) $ $ $ $ $ $3, Peewee $ $ $ $ $ $3, Bantam $ $ $ $ $ $3, *Price includes socks & warm up suit Please note that prices above do not include Fall Focus and tryouts/evaluations. All players must pay a registration fee for tryouts (see Fall Focus handout). Goalie Fees: All goalies will pay 65% of the total fees per level. Nonsufficient Funds Fee: If one of your checks is returned from the bank for nonsufficient funds, pay an additional $25 per incident. Declined Credit/Debit Card Fee: If your credit/debit card gets declined for any reason including expiration, you will receive an notification and have the opportunity to update the data on the website. Failure to do so resulting in the subsequent need for collections activity by St. Jude (including but not limited to phone calls, s, certified letters, etc.) will add an additional $25 per incident fee on to your bill. Bauer Hockey Tournament: Please note that the top birth year Squirt and Peewee (2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003) travel teams have been accepted to participate in the prestigious Bauer Tournament that is held in the Chicagoland area on November 2nd through the 4th. There will be an additional $100 fee for players that make these teams. 11

8 New This Year St. Jude Knights 2012 Fall Registration Information Packet St. Jude Warm Up Suits Players participating in either the house or travel program will receive a custom embroidered St. Jude warm up suit. As a club, we value our players looking uniform as we enter either our ice rink or an opposing team s rink. Sizes will be taken during rostering weekend for both travel and house programs. Enhanced Goalie Instruction St. Jude has overhauled its goaltender instructional plan. Additional focused instruction will be offered to St. Jude goalies. We are excited to offer additional ice to enhance goaltender skills. Early Opportunities To Purchase St. Judewear Opportunities to purchase St. Judewear will be available during player rostering. We will have a limited amount of items for purchase during rostering weekend as well as an order form to place additional items. St. Jude will offer a variety of items including hoodies, hats, tshirts, fleeces and much more. Please see the St. Judewear page for more details. Revised Little Knights Program Under the leadership of Tom Whalen, the Little Knights Program has been extremely successful. As a result of the amount of young players participating in this program, it was decided to split this program into two levels, a beginner and advanced level. This change will provide a better ratio of coaches to players enhancing our ability to help young kids learn the game of hockey. End Of Season Survey An end of season survey is being developed to gather feedback from members. The St. Jude board of directors and coaching staff want feedback to determine how we can improve as a club. All feedback will be appreciated. Player Evaluation Report Cards All players who participate in travel or house programs will receive a hockey skills report card highlighting points of strength and areas for improvement. The essential skills necessary to play hockey at a high level will be assessed by the St. Jude coaching staff. Hockey Bags Available Custom made St. Jude hockey bags (made in the USA) will be available by late August. The bag will cost approximately $50 per bag. A limited number of bags will be available, please Mike Moro at mmoro99@gmail.com if you want to reserve a bag. We are what we repeatedly do, therefore, excellence is not an act, but a habit. -Aristotle 12

9 Hockey Programs *Please note that all fees are listed on a separate page. Learn To Skate Learn To Skate (LTS) is a program geared towards preparing boys and girls to play the sport of hockey. Proper skating technique is critical to playing hockey at a competitive level. Learn to Skate is offered four times throughout the year. The first session will begin in early September and last throughout October. For more information and to register for a LTS program, please visit the St. Jude website. LTS Coordinator: Joe Keniepp Little Knights Program The Little Knights program is geared towards players who are inexperienced at playing hockey but have experience in the basics of ice skating. This is a great program to teach players the skills to develop the essentials of hockey. This year, we will break up Little Knights into two separate programs. Little Knights For Beginners: This program will be offered at least once per week. This program should be selected for children who have never played hockey in the past. The first session will begin in early September and last throughout October. Four sessions will be offered throughout the year. Little Knights For Advanced: This program will be offered at least twice per week. This program should be selected for children who have some experience with Little Knights in the past. The first session will begin in early September and last throughout October. Four sessions will be offered throughout the year. Little Knights Coordinator: Tom Whalen House League House League is our developmental/recreational hockey program. The House League participates in the South Suburban Hockey League ( The emphasis of the House league is on individual player development. Time commitment is approximately 2-3 hours per week for either practices and/or games, generally on the weekend. Power skate/goalie clinic is during the week. Home games are played at Southwest Ice Arena or Oak Lawn Ice Arena. Away games will be played at other local rinks vs. other clubs. In addition, House teams may participate in in up to 3 tournaments, including no more than one out of state. Mites are limited to the amount of tournaments per AHAI regulations. House league cost includes the following: 16 SSHL games plus referees (Squirt, Pee Wee, Bantam) or 14 SSHL games (Mite) At least one play-off game Approximately of 2-3 hours of ice per week on average A pair of hockey socks Included is a Power Skate every week (until mid February) and Goalie instruction St. Jude warm up suit Player s admission to the end of the season banquet plus trophy * The price does not include jerseys. New players must purchase two (one home, one away) St. Jude jerseys. Returning House players may use their jerseys purchased last year. Due to high cost of goalie equipment, House Goalies will receive a 35% discount. House League Coordinator: Matt Madrigal 13

10 Hockey Programs *Please note that all fees are listed on a separate page. Travel League This is our competitive travel league which participates in the Northern Illinois Hockey League (NIHL). The emphasis of Travel hockey is on individual player development and fielding competitive teams. Players are selected on a tryout basis. Time commitment is 3-5 hours per week. Home games are played at Southwest Ice Arena and Oak Lawn Arena. Away games are played at other area rinks in the entire Chicagoland area. Travel hockey features 4 possible levels of play: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Elite. Players who sign up for travel will be placed on the appropriate level depending on the skills demonstrated. St. Jude will also offer for the first time in its long history a Central States team ( This team will consist of the top 2001 birth year players in the organization. All hockey placements will be made by team coaches, the travel hockey coordinator and the hockey director. Travel league cost includes the following: At least 24 NIHL games plus referees *Mites slightly lower per AHAI regulations Power skate every week (until mid February) and Goalie instruction Typically 3-5 hours of ice per week A home and an away pair of socks St. Jude warm up suit Off-ice instruction Player s admission to the end of the season banquet plus trophy * The price does not include jerseys. New players must purchase two (one home, one away) St. Jude jerseys. Returning travel players may use their jerseys purchased last year. In addition, travel teams may participate in up to 4 tournaments. These events are optional. Travel teams may participate in two team fundraiser s with the board s approval. Out of pocket travel team fees may not exceed $ per player. Mites are limited in number of tournaments per AHAI regulations. Due to high cost of goalie equipment, Travel Goalies will receive a 35% discount. Travel Coordinator: A.J. Hernacki Tentative Travel Coaches Division Coach Division Coach Coach Mite 1 Tom Whalen Peewee 1 (major) A.J. Hernacki Mite 2 TBD Peewee 2 (minor) *(Central States) 14 Paul Manning / A.J. Hernacki Squirt 1 (major) Jeff Casto/Gary Casper Peewee 3 Keith Ferguson Squirt 2 (minor) Chris VanEck / Ralph Lawrence Peewee 4 Dave Reardon / Jerry Kruzich Squirt 3 Marty McDonnell Bantam 1 John Ott Squirt 4 Joe Fowler Bantam 2 Joe Dvornik

11 St. Judewear The following items will be available for purchase beginning in late August. All initial orders should be turned in to team managers by September 30th. Order forms will be available during Fall Focus clinics and during rostering. If you have any questions pertaining to St. Judewear, please contact Mike Moro at 15

12 AdBook/ProgramAdvertisingAgreement DearProspectiveAdvertiser, TheSt.JudeKnightsYouthHockeyClubisbeginningproductionofitsannualadbook/program.Adbooksaretobedistributedin March,2013.Theproceedsofthisbookwillhelpoffsetthecostofplayingyouthhockey.Thisbookwillbedistributedtoallclubmem bers,advertisersandotherpeopleinthecommunity.wehopethatyoucanhelpusthisyearbyplacinganad.pleasereferanyques DeadlineforAdBookcopyisDecember1,2012. Theadvertisingratesareasfollows: FULLPAGE HALFPAGE QUARTERPAGE FullPage$ $80.00offyouricebill HalfPage$90.00$45.00offyouricebill QuarterPage$50.00 $25.00offyouricebill *Adcreditswillbedeductedoffyourfinalpayment. QTY ADTYPE ADSIZE PRICE TEAM HOUSEORTRAVEL TOTAL$ FULLPAGE 7.5X10 $160 HALFPAGE 7.5X5 $90 QUARTERPAGE 3.75X5 $50 GRANDTOTAL Name/Company: Address: City: State: Zip: Contact: Phone: Pleasemakeallcheckspayableto:St.JudeKnightsHockeyClub Check#: St.JudeKnightsHockeyClub, 5505West127thStreet,Crestwood,IL