Collectively, A Thread To Celebrate Our Kids Athletic Accomplishments (2 Viewers)

[Kanil]

KanilJr (freshman) made the golf team for his HS.

Out here boys golf is in the spring season. Surprised it's a fall sport in some places.

Fall sport in Illinois as well

Is that just because your winters suck so much they may spill into the spring causing a delay to the start of the season?

I'm sure that has something to do with it. Here in Colorado, we usually don't get snow until sometime near the end of October but will generally get a big snowstorm in the April/early May timeframe. First week of practice was the week of July 14th. A solid month before school started.

 

[Chadstroma]

KanilJr (freshman) made the golf team for his HS.

Out here boys golf is in the spring season. Surprised it's a fall sport in some places.

Fall sport in Illinois as well

Is that just because your winters suck so much they may spill into the spring causing a delay to the start of the season?

It may have something to do with it. We can get snow in October, but it is rarer than snow in April and certainly March, but we have plenty of outdoor spring sports... baseball, lacrosse, track, tennis, softball.... I think that may be it... oh, girls soccer. Always forget that. Not sure how that impacts it at HS level. For Jr High the soccer season is a total mess. Rained out games and canceled games due to field conditions if common. We played in sleet once. Track is common to have light rain and cold as bleep for early season.

 

[El Floppo]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

 

[Chadstroma]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

Shouldn't it be uniform through the governing body? I mean, how do they do state championships?

 

[El Floppo]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

Shouldn't it be uniform through the governing body? I mean, how do they do state championships?

They didnt. We had "north coast section" as our "state" championship.

 

[Chadstroma]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

Shouldn't it be uniform through the governing body? I mean, how do they do state championships?

They didnt. We had "north coast section" as our "state" championship.

Well... that is silly

 

[El Floppo]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

Shouldn't it be uniform through the governing body? I mean, how do they do state championships?

They didnt. We had "north coast section" as our "state" championship.

Well... that is silly

I suppose it had to do with the size of CA. But im describing sections that were within an hour or two drive that played a completely different season.

They split CA into N and S for youth select team play, which made sense... even NCal state team meant 3 hour drives each way to/from practices sometimes. But guys in my NCal state team were split between spring and fall HS seasons, which is completely mind bottling.

 

[Gally]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

That's strange. In my HS days in California soccer was always a winter sport for all high schools that I knew about. Mostly because football was in the fall and they had the field and then soccer took over in the winter. My decision going into HS was do I play basketball or soccer. I went with basketball even though I played much more soccer (club from age 8 until 8th grade). Then switched to basketball because I was sick of soccer.

All that to say in my area of California (CIF Southern Section) soccer for both girls and boys was always a winter sport......and it still is to this day.

ETA: I also know that Central Section of CIF also plays soccer in the winter.

 

[El Floppo]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

That's strange. In my HS days in California soccer was always a winter sport for all high schools that I knew about. Mostly because football was in the fall and they had the field and then soccer took over in the winter. My decision going into HS was do I play basketball or soccer. I went with basketball even though I played much more soccer (club from age 8 until 8th grade). Then switched to basketball because I was sick of soccer.

All that to say in my area of California (CIF Southern Section) soccer for both girls and boys was always a winter sport......and it still is to this day.

ETA: I also know that Central Section of CIF also plays soccer in the winter.

Interesting...first ive heard of it in the winter. College always been fall

 

[Gally]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

That's strange. In my HS days in California soccer was always a winter sport for all high schools that I knew about. Mostly because football was in the fall and they had the field and then soccer took over in the winter. My decision going into HS was do I play basketball or soccer. I went with basketball even though I played much more soccer (club from age 8 until 8th grade). Then switched to basketball because I was sick of soccer.

All that to say in my area of California (CIF Southern Section) soccer for both girls and boys was always a winter sport......and it still is to this day.

ETA: I also know that Central Section of CIF also plays soccer in the winter.

Interesting...first ive heard of it in the winter. College always been fall

Seems odd. It is at the same time as football? Seems like there would be field use issues if that was the case.

 

[belljr]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

That's strange. In my HS days in California soccer was always a winter sport for all high schools that I knew about. Mostly because football was in the fall and they had the field and then soccer took over in the winter. My decision going into HS was do I play basketball or soccer. I went with basketball even though I played much more soccer (club from age 8 until 8th grade). Then switched to basketball because I was sick of soccer.

All that to say in my area of California (CIF Southern Section) soccer for both girls and boys was always a winter sport......and it still is to this day.

ETA: I also know that Central Section of CIF also plays soccer in the winter.

Interesting...first ive heard of it in the winter. College always been fall

Seems odd. It is at the same time as football? Seems like there would be field use issues if that was the case.

What? We always had separate fields soccer vs football

 

[Gally]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

That's strange. In my HS days in California soccer was always a winter sport for all high schools that I knew about. Mostly because football was in the fall and they had the field and then soccer took over in the winter. My decision going into HS was do I play basketball or soccer. I went with basketball even though I played much more soccer (club from age 8 until 8th grade). Then switched to basketball because I was sick of soccer.

All that to say in my area of California (CIF Southern Section) soccer for both girls and boys was always a winter sport......and it still is to this day.

ETA: I also know that Central Section of CIF also plays soccer in the winter.

Interesting...first ive heard of it in the winter. College always been fall

Seems odd. It is at the same time as football? Seems like there would be field use issues if that was the case.

What? We always had separate fields soccer vs football

Look at me, I go to a rich school with separate fields for every sport....

 

[Gally]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

That's strange. In my HS days in California soccer was always a winter sport for all high schools that I knew about. Mostly because football was in the fall and they had the field and then soccer took over in the winter. My decision going into HS was do I play basketball or soccer. I went with basketball even though I played much more soccer (club from age 8 until 8th grade). Then switched to basketball because I was sick of soccer.

All that to say in my area of California (CIF Southern Section) soccer for both girls and boys was always a winter sport......and it still is to this day.

ETA: I also know that Central Section of CIF also plays soccer in the winter.

Interesting...first ive heard of it in the winter. College always been fall

Seems odd. It is at the same time as football? Seems like there would be field use issues if that was the case.

What? We always had separate fields soccer vs football

We have one stadium. The football and soccer teams play on the same field.

 

[belljr]

Stadium? Our HS barely had grass

 

[Gally]

Stadium? Our HS barely had grass

Yeah, and it's shared with another high school and the lights aren't working right so all home football games for both teams have to be played during the day this year.

 

[belljr]

Lights? Lol

 

[El Floppo]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

That's strange. In my HS days in California soccer was always a winter sport for all high schools that I knew about. Mostly because football was in the fall and they had the field and then soccer took over in the winter. My decision going into HS was do I play basketball or soccer. I went with basketball even though I played much more soccer (club from age 8 until 8th grade). Then switched to basketball because I was sick of soccer.

All that to say in my area of California (CIF Southern Section) soccer for both girls and boys was always a winter sport......and it still is to this day.

ETA: I also know that Central Section of CIF also plays soccer in the winter.

Interesting...first ive heard of it in the winter. College always been fall

Seems odd. It is at the same time as football? Seems like there would be field use issues if that was the case.

In my day, we used the baseball field.

They share the field now, and while the games are different days, i dont know how the foeld is shared for practice.

 

[Chadstroma]

In my HS days, certain parts of NCal played HS soccer in the fall and others (nesrby) in the spring. Made no sense to me.

That's strange. In my HS days in California soccer was always a winter sport for all high schools that I knew about. Mostly because football was in the fall and they had the field and then soccer took over in the winter. My decision going into HS was do I play basketball or soccer. I went with basketball even though I played much more soccer (club from age 8 until 8th grade). Then switched to basketball because I was sick of soccer.

All that to say in my area of California (CIF Southern Section) soccer for both girls and boys was always a winter sport......and it still is to this day.

ETA: I also know that Central Section of CIF also plays soccer in the winter.

Illinois football and soccer are a fall sport. A few years back when football became my sons primary sport, soccer which was his favorite sport before was basically dropped other than playing his school soccer as he knows he would not play it past jr high.

 

[Chadstroma]

Our local HS has a brand new softball field and then there is the baseball field. Soccer uses the football field but don't know when they play as football is Friday night for varsity and I think Thursday for Freshmen and JV

 

[El Floppo]

Tomorrow because of 9th grade orientation, they have all the freshmen playing together separate from the upper classmen. She said the girls in her grade were rough from what she saw- had a hard time getting the ball across the net. might be a struggle to even find somebody to rally with.

They had the freshmen play each other this am, with the coach splitting them into matchups.

Floppinha was given the other 3 best girls. Given her description from yesterday, i expected a bloodbath. Turns out it was closer than expected- she dropped some games, but still won all of the matches. She said the girls were pretty good- very athletic and good at getting to everything.

Sounds like she focused on winning more than playing well, which might have allowed her to win bigger. But her goal was to win all her matches and she did- mission accomplished.

The entire 9th grade goes on a 3 day peer retreat while the sports teams continue their preseasons without them. She goes back on Tues for 3 days of practice/tryouts before their first match. Hopefully shell know if she made the team by then!

 

[El Floppo]

This is definitely not official...but a senior on the tennis team (who floppinha destroyed last year as an 8th grader) is friends with our son. Either she put word out directly or through a mutual friend to him yesterday that floppinha is "a beast" and definitely making varsity. Gotta wait until next week for the official announce.

 

[Gally]

Gally Jr back at school and the new roster and schedule are up for the 2026 season. Weights start on Friday with the team and practices kicked up last year right after labor day.

From the roster it looks like they have 28 returners (lost two of the freshman that redshirted) and 19 new players. 12 Freshman and 7 transfers. Of the new guys there are 7 pitchers (4 freshman). Similar freshman totals to last year so I would expect a similar redshirting situation where most redshirt.

Looks like Gally Jr is poised to have a good shot at a rotation spot as not a lot of new faces on the mound.

Schedule wise they actually have a weekend series somewhat near us (6 hr drive) up in Chico. Hopefully he is traveling and we will be there. A long way off. First game is Jan 30th.

 

[El Floppo]

Tomorrow because of 9th grade orientation, they have all the freshmen playing together separate from the upper classmen. She said the girls in her grade were rough from what she saw- had a hard time getting the ball across the net. might be a struggle to even find somebody to rally with.

They had the freshmen play each other this am, with the coach splitting them into matchups.

Floppinha was given the other 3 best girls. Given her description from yesterday, i expected a bloodbath. Turns out it was closer than expected- she dropped some games, but still won all of the matches. She said the girls were pretty good- very athletic and good at getting to everything.

Sounds like she focused on winning more than playing well, which might have allowed her to win bigger. But her goal was to win all her matches and she did- mission accomplished.

The entire 9th grade goes on a 3 day peer retreat while the sports teams continue their preseasons without them. She goes back on Tues for 3 days of practice/tryouts before their first match. Hopefully shell know if she made the team by then!

today was 9th and 10th graders playing eachother. her 3rd day of tryouts.

floppinha got two 10th graders (she beat the best 9th graders last week). 6-0 and 6-2 easy wins. sounds like she didn't even work up a sweat (which is good, becaause she's been super sick all weekend).

coach has her and 4 others from that group (3 of whom she's beaten) trying out with the upper classmen tomorrow. she beat most of these girls as a rising 8th grader last year- losing only to the now senior girl we assume will be the 1st singles player- and even that was close last year.

and yet, despite winning all her matches easily and their first league match being THIS FRIDAY against the league's powerhouse- she still doesn't even know if she's made the team. and nobody knows who the 2 pairs of doubles partners will be, let alone 3 starting singles players. practice? PRACTICE?! we're talkin' about PRACTICE?!

her private lesson coach is the head coach at a rival school. they've been in two weeks of pre-season, with cuts happening beginning of last week. he's shuked about all of this. our school is a joke for athletics.

 

[Kuz]

Tomorrow because of 9th grade orientation, they have all the freshmen playing together separate from the upper classmen. She said the girls in her grade were rough from what she saw- had a hard time getting the ball across the net. might be a struggle to even find somebody to rally with.

They had the freshmen play each other this am, with the coach splitting them into matchups.

Floppinha was given the other 3 best girls. Given her description from yesterday, i expected a bloodbath. Turns out it was closer than expected- she dropped some games, but still won all of the matches. She said the girls were pretty good- very athletic and good at getting to everything.

Sounds like she focused on winning more than playing well, which might have allowed her to win bigger. But her goal was to win all her matches and she did- mission accomplished.

The entire 9th grade goes on a 3 day peer retreat while the sports teams continue their preseasons without them. She goes back on Tues for 3 days of practice/tryouts before their first match. Hopefully shell know if she made the team by then!

today was 9th and 10th graders playing eachother. her 3rd day of tryouts.

floppinha got two 10th graders (she beat the best 9th graders last week). 6-0 and 6-2 easy wins. sounds like she didn't even work up a sweat (which is good, becaause she's been super sick all weekend).

coach has her and 4 others from that group (3 of whom she's beaten) trying out with the upper classmen tomorrow. she beat most of these girls as a rising 8th grader last year- losing only to the now senior girl we assume will be the 1st singles player- and even that was close last year.

and yet, despite winning all her matches easily and their first league match being THIS FRIDAY against the league's powerhouse- she still doesn't even know if she's made the team. and nobody knows who the 2 pairs of doubles partners will be, let alone 3 starting singles players. practice? PRACTICE?! we're talkin' about PRACTICE?!

her private lesson coach is the head coach at a rival school. they've been in two weeks of pre-season, with cuts happening beginning of last week. he's shuked about all of this. our school is a joke for athletics.

Wish her luck. You must have a very competitive High School. For how well she has done in Junior Tournaments - I'm surprised she hasn't been told she made the high school team

 

[tjford]

I have twin sons that recently turned 18. Both of them are hockey goalies like I was as a kid. But unlike me, they are actually good at the game.

This past weekend, both of them secured spots on the active roster for Junior A hockey teams in the province over from ours. Got set up with billet families and are settling in to their roles as full-time hockey players. Those junior towns are really interesting. The players get treated like gold, almost like minor celebrities but it's still like a job with expectations of not just effort but also results.

Older TFord Jr. is likely to start the year as a starter while younger TFord Jr. will be a backup to start the year.

My daughter is a curler and will be representing her college in nationals this year on the other side of the country as well.

I'm sure that there's a few jokes in there about Canadian kids and ice sports but I'm still a very proud dad of all three.

 

[Kuz]

I have twin sons that recently turned 18. Both of them are hockey goalies like I was as a kid. But unlike me, they are actually good at the game.

This past weekend, both of them secured spots on the active roster for Junior A hockey teams in the province over from ours. Got set up with billet families and are settling in to their roles as full-time hockey players. Those junior towns are really interesting. The players get treated like gold, almost like minor celebrities but it's still like a job with expectations of not just effort but also results.

Older TFord Jr. is likely to start the year as a starter while younger TFord Jr. will be a backup to start the year.

My daughter is a curler and will be representing her college in nationals this year on the other side of the country as well.

I'm sure that there's a few jokes in there about Canadian kids and ice sports but I'm still a very proud dad of all three.

That's great.. No jokes from me.. Curling is my favorite Olympic sport to watch.. Canadians rule..

 

[Kanil]

I have twin sons that recently turned 18. Both of them are hockey goalies like I was as a kid. But unlike me, they are actually good at the game.

This past weekend, both of them secured spots on the active roster for Junior A hockey teams in the province over from ours. Got set up with billet families and are settling in to their roles as full-time hockey players. Those junior towns are really interesting. The players get treated like gold, almost like minor celebrities but it's still like a job with expectations of not just effort but also results.

Older TFord Jr. is likely to start the year as a starter while younger TFord Jr. will be a backup to start the year.

My daughter is a curler and will be representing her college in nationals this year on the other side of the country as well.

I'm sure that there's a few jokes in there about Canadian kids and ice sports but I'm still a very proud dad of all three.

I played golf last week with a guy from Minnesota who curled for 14 years. One of his coaches went to the Olympics for it. He did make the joke about how when he was super into it in high school, he'd be in his room watching it and was sure his parents thought he was watching porn with all the people yelling "harder, harder, faster" over and over.

 

[Kuz]

I have twin sons that recently turned 18. Both of them are hockey goalies like I was as a kid. But unlike me, they are actually good at the game.

This past weekend, both of them secured spots on the active roster for Junior A hockey teams in the province over from ours. Got set up with billet families and are settling in to their roles as full-time hockey players. Those junior towns are really interesting. The players get treated like gold, almost like minor celebrities but it's still like a job with expectations of not just effort but also results.

Older TFord Jr. is likely to start the year as a starter while younger TFord Jr. will be a backup to start the year.

My daughter is a curler and will be representing her college in nationals this year on the other side of the country as well.

I'm sure that there's a few jokes in there about Canadian kids and ice sports but I'm still a very proud dad of all three.

I played golf last week with a guy from Minnesota who curled for 14 years. One of his coaches went to the Olympics for it. He did make the joke about how when he was super into it in high school, he'd be in his room watching it and was sure his parents thought he was watching porn with all the people yelling "harder, harder, faster" over and over.

Was it Tyler George?

 

[Skipdog77]

I have twin sons that recently turned 18. Both of them are hockey goalies like I was as a kid. But unlike me, they are actually good at the game.

This past weekend, both of them secured spots on the active roster for Junior A hockey teams in the province over from ours. Got set up with billet families and are settling in to their roles as full-time hockey players. Those junior towns are really interesting. The players get treated like gold, almost like minor celebrities but it's still like a job with expectations of not just effort but also results.

Older TFord Jr. is likely to start the year as a starter while younger TFord Jr. will be a backup to start the year.

My daughter is a curler and will be representing her college in nationals this year on the other side of the country as well.

I'm sure that there's a few jokes in there about Canadian kids and ice sports but I'm still a very proud dad of all three.

Having twin goalies must have been wild for you as parents. For many goalie parents one can be one too many...lol. Were they always on the same minor teams growing up? If so, how did they manage the playing time split? I can imagine that could make for some tensions at home if one were getting more starts than the other through the teenage years.

 

[tjford]

I have twin sons that recently turned 18. Both of them are hockey goalies like I was as a kid. But unlike me, they are actually good at the game.

This past weekend, both of them secured spots on the active roster for Junior A hockey teams in the province over from ours. Got set up with billet families and are settling in to their roles as full-time hockey players. Those junior towns are really interesting. The players get treated like gold, almost like minor celebrities but it's still like a job with expectations of not just effort but also results.

Older TFord Jr. is likely to start the year as a starter while younger TFord Jr. will be a backup to start the year.

My daughter is a curler and will be representing her college in nationals this year on the other side of the country as well.

I'm sure that there's a few jokes in there about Canadian kids and ice sports but I'm still a very proud dad of all three.

Having twin goalies must have been wild for you as parents. For many goalie parents one can be one too many...lol. Were they always on the same minor teams growing up? If so, how did they manage the playing time split? I can imagine that could make for some tensions at home if one were getting more starts than the other through the teenage years.

They were on the same team every year when they were skaters but once they flipped to playing goalie in U13, they never were on the same team for that very reason.

A friend of mine who was in coaching for our home association told me that a lot of head coaches would never take brothers for goalie tandem for a couple reasons. If one gets sick, what are the odds that the other goalie doesn't catch it? Family occasion/vacation/funeral etc. affects both of your goalies instead of just one. On top of that, home isn't a respite from the game anymore when your goalie partner lives 20 feet away from you.

Fortunately, we live close enough to other hockey associations that both were able to carve out their own path. Both belong to the goalie fraternity and they would train together but got starting goalie experience separately.

 

[Skipdog77]

I have twin sons that recently turned 18. Both of them are hockey goalies like I was as a kid. But unlike me, they are actually good at the game.

This past weekend, both of them secured spots on the active roster for Junior A hockey teams in the province over from ours. Got set up with billet families and are settling in to their roles as full-time hockey players. Those junior towns are really interesting. The players get treated like gold, almost like minor celebrities but it's still like a job with expectations of not just effort but also results.

Older TFord Jr. is likely to start the year as a starter while younger TFord Jr. will be a backup to start the year.

My daughter is a curler and will be representing her college in nationals this year on the other side of the country as well.

I'm sure that there's a few jokes in there about Canadian kids and ice sports but I'm still a very proud dad of all three.

Having twin goalies must have been wild for you as parents. For many goalie parents one can be one too many...lol. Were they always on the same minor teams growing up? If so, how did they manage the playing time split? I can imagine that could make for some tensions at home if one were getting more starts than the other through the teenage years.

They were on the same team every year when they were skaters but once they flipped to playing goalie in U13, they never were on the same team for that very reason.

A friend of mine who was in coaching for our home association told me that a lot of head coaches would never take brothers for goalie tandem for a couple reasons. If one gets sick, what are the odds that the other goalie doesn't catch it? Family occasion/vacation/funeral etc. affects both of your goalies instead of just one. On top of that, home isn't a respite from the game anymore when your goalie partner lives 20 feet away from you.

Fortunately, we live close enough to other hockey associations that both were able to carve out their own path. Both belong to the goalie fraternity and they would train together but got starting goalie experience separately.

Makes total sense, appreciate it. You'd want them both to be getting as many starts as possible, so being on the same team would be tough. Didn't even think of the family vacation/illness issue too, great points.

Good luck to both of them and your daughter this year! My daughter just started her freshman year playing NCAA D3 womens hockey this season. She's loving it so far. Going to be quite the change for us as parents going from watching her playing 70+ games last year to about 30 or so this season, but we can't wait for games to start.

 

[Gally]

So Gally Jr got some disappointing news even though it was probably expected eventually.

First practice of the fall and he is not listed in a hitting group. Asks the coach how come he's not in a group and the coach said your upside is as a pitcher and that's where he will help the team the most. Disappointing that he didn't even get a chance to show the work he put in over the summer at hitting. He knew this day would come as pitching is where he has the most potential but it still sucks when he feels he never really got a shot to prove he could hit.

I told him it bodes well for his pitching opportunity as the coach doesn't want to risk injury (getting hit in the hand while hitting) because he has plans to use him on the mound. Hopefully this is a sign that the coach feels he will be one of the starters on the mound or have a key role this year.

 

[Redwes25]

My son made the varisity soccer team as a Sophmore at a school that has a very good athletics program. My guess is he is going to ride the pine on their first game today as by his own admission he is the 5th best midfielder. He hopes that he will be the 1st midfielder off the bench as they are having the 4th best one start at wingback (quasi defense, midfield, offense position for none-soccer folks). My son is just not fast enough to fill in at wingback or CB (probably most likely next position) and really is a true central midfielder (has played 6, 8 or 10 since he aged up to 11 v. 11).

 

[Gally]

My guess is he is going to ride the pine on their first game today as by his own admission he is the 5th best midfielder. He hopes that he will be the 1st midfielder off the bench

Do you know if the coach subs a lot where he will get significant time each game?

 

[Redwes25]

My guess is he is going to ride the pine on their first game today as by his own admission he is the 5th best midfielder. He hopes that he will be the 1st midfielder off the bench

Do you know if the coach subs a lot where he will get significant time each game?

I think he will only sub when necessary. School is very competitive in sports and coaches have pressure to perform though they do a put emphasis on pressing in midfield and up top so kids might need a break.

 

[Gally]

My guess is he is going to ride the pine on their first game today as by his own admission he is the 5th best midfielder. He hopes that he will be the 1st midfielder off the bench

Do you know if the coach subs a lot where he will get significant time each game?

I think he will only sub when necessary. School is very competitive in sports and coaches have pressure to perform though they do a put emphasis on pressing in midfield and up top so kids might need a break.

Reason I ask is that I have seen many kids waste freshman/sophomore years being on the varsity bench instead of JV and playing every minute. It's great to be on Varsity early but if you don't get game time it can be counterproductive.

 

[Nigel]

My guess is he is going to ride the pine on their first game today as by his own admission he is the 5th best midfielder. He hopes that he will be the 1st midfielder off the bench

Do you know if the coach subs a lot where he will get significant time each game?

I think he will only sub when necessary. School is very competitive in sports and coaches have pressure to perform though they do a put emphasis on pressing in midfield and up top so kids might need a break.

Reason I ask is that I have seen many kids waste freshman/sophomore years being on the varsity bench instead of JV and playing every minute. It's great to be on Varsity early but if you don't get game time it can be counterproductive.

In many cases kids develop more practicing every day with varsity even if not getting much game time. In some situations JV can be a bit of a wasteland, for lack of a better word.

 

[Kanil]

I have twin sons that recently turned 18. Both of them are hockey goalies like I was as a kid. But unlike me, they are actually good at the game.

This past weekend, both of them secured spots on the active roster for Junior A hockey teams in the province over from ours. Got set up with billet families and are settling in to their roles as full-time hockey players. Those junior towns are really interesting. The players get treated like gold, almost like minor celebrities but it's still like a job with expectations of not just effort but also results.

Older TFord Jr. is likely to start the year as a starter while younger TFord Jr. will be a backup to start the year.

My daughter is a curler and will be representing her college in nationals this year on the other side of the country as well.

I'm sure that there's a few jokes in there about Canadian kids and ice sports but I'm still a very proud dad of all three.

I played golf last week with a guy from Minnesota who curled for 14 years. One of his coaches went to the Olympics for it. He did make the joke about how when he was super into it in high school, he'd be in his room watching it and was sure his parents thought he was watching porn with all the people yelling "harder, harder, faster" over and over.

Was it Tyler George?

I have no idea. He just said he was an Olympian. Guessing at the guys age, I'd say it was probably somewhere between 98 and 2010 though.

 

[Gally]

My guess is he is going to ride the pine on their first game today as by his own admission he is the 5th best midfielder. He hopes that he will be the 1st midfielder off the bench

Do you know if the coach subs a lot where he will get significant time each game?

I think he will only sub when necessary. School is very competitive in sports and coaches have pressure to perform though they do a put emphasis on pressing in midfield and up top so kids might need a break.

Reason I ask is that I have seen many kids waste freshman/sophomore years being on the varsity bench instead of JV and playing every minute. It's great to be on Varsity early but if you don't get game time it can be counterproductive.

In many cases kids develop more practicing every day with varsity even if not getting much game time. In some situations JV can be a bit of a wasteland, for lack of a better word.

I have found the best is a hybrid. If a kid isn't going to get gametime at the varsity level then have them practice with Varsity and then play JV for games. Best of both worlds.

Obviously, if a kid is so far above the JV level where they can develop bad habits by playing in JV games then that can be a negative but that is a very rare instance where a kid is way too good for JV but not good enough to play Varsity.

 

[Redwes25]

My guess is he is going to ride the pine on their first game today as by his own admission he is the 5th best midfielder. He hopes that he will be the 1st midfielder off the bench

Do you know if the coach subs a lot where he will get significant time each game?

I think he will only sub when necessary. School is very competitive in sports and coaches have pressure to perform though they do a put emphasis on pressing in midfield and up top so kids might need a break.

Reason I ask is that I have seen many kids waste freshman/sophomore years being on the varsity bench instead of JV and playing every minute. It's great to be on Varsity early but if you don't get game time it can be counterproductive.

In many cases kids develop more practicing every day with varsity even if not getting much game time. In some situations JV can be a bit of a wasteland, for lack of a better word.

Last year as a freshman he practiced with Varsity but played JV. One of his good friends (also Sophmore mid-fielder) was also told he would be playing with JV but practicing with Varsity. I still think he will mostly be on the bench but think he is in place where he offers needed depth (e.g. someone gets hurt). Hell he is practicing 6 days a week right now with Varsity so not worried that sitting on bench a ton will stunt his development and he will go right into club soccer day HS soccer is over and go start at the 6,

 

[Gally]

Hell he is practicing 6 days a week right now with Varsity so not worried that sitting on bench a ton will stunt his development and he will go right into club soccer day HS soccer is over and go start at the 6,

Practice and game time is different. Maybe not as much in soccer as in say baseball where it is very hard to simulate game speed and situations.

 

[Redwes25]

Hell he is practicing 6 days a week right now with Varsity so not worried that sitting on bench a ton will stunt his development and he will go right into club soccer day HS soccer is over and go start at the 6,

Practice and game time is different. Maybe not as much in soccer as in say baseball where it is very hard to simulate game speed and situations.

Definately agree with this. I think he also loves walking around being on Vasity soccer (likely to try to impress the girls but it is not like he is QB for the football team).

 

[El Floppo]

Tomorrow because of 9th grade orientation, they have all the freshmen playing together separate from the upper classmen. She said the girls in her grade were rough from what she saw- had a hard time getting the ball across the net. might be a struggle to even find somebody to rally with.

They had the freshmen play each other this am, with the coach splitting them into matchups.

Floppinha was given the other 3 best girls. Given her description from yesterday, i expected a bloodbath. Turns out it was closer than expected- she dropped some games, but still won all of the matches. She said the girls were pretty good- very athletic and good at getting to everything.

Sounds like she focused on winning more than playing well, which might have allowed her to win bigger. But her goal was to win all her matches and she did- mission accomplished.

The entire 9th grade goes on a 3 day peer retreat while the sports teams continue their preseasons without them. She goes back on Tues for 3 days of practice/tryouts before their first match. Hopefully shell know if she made the team by then!

today was 9th and 10th graders playing eachother. her 3rd day of tryouts.

floppinha got two 10th graders (she beat the best 9th graders last week). 6-0 and 6-2 easy wins. sounds like she didn't even work up a sweat (which is good, becaause she's been super sick all weekend).

coach has her and 4 others from that group (3 of whom she's beaten) trying out with the upper classmen tomorrow. she beat most of these girls as a rising 8th grader last year- losing only to the now senior girl we assume will be the 1st singles player- and even that was close last year.

and yet, despite winning all her matches easily and their first league match being THIS FRIDAY against the league's powerhouse- she still doesn't even know if she's made the team. and nobody knows who the 2 pairs of doubles partners will be, let alone 3 starting singles players. practice? PRACTICE?! we're talkin' about PRACTICE?!

her private lesson coach is the head coach at a rival school. they've been in two weeks of pre-season, with cuts happening beginning of last week. he's shuked about all of this. our school is a joke for athletics.

Wish her luck. You must have a very competitive High School. For how well she has done in Junior Tournaments - I'm surprised she hasn't been told she made the high school team

Tomorrow because of 9th grade orientation, they have all the freshmen playing together separate from the upper classmen. She said the girls in her grade were rough from what she saw- had a hard time getting the ball across the net. might be a struggle to even find somebody to rally with.

They had the freshmen play each other this am, with the coach splitting them into matchups.

Floppinha was given the other 3 best girls. Given her description from yesterday, i expected a bloodbath. Turns out it was closer than expected- she dropped some games, but still won all of the matches. She said the girls were pretty good- very athletic and good at getting to everything.

Sounds like she focused on winning more than playing well, which might have allowed her to win bigger. But her goal was to win all her matches and she did- mission accomplished.

The entire 9th grade goes on a 3 day peer retreat while the sports teams continue their preseasons without them. She goes back on Tues for 3 days of practice/tryouts before their first match. Hopefully shell know if she made the team by then!

today was 9th and 10th graders playing eachother. her 3rd day of tryouts.

floppinha got two 10th graders (she beat the best 9th graders last week). 6-0 and 6-2 easy wins. sounds like she didn't even work up a sweat (which is good, becaause she's been super sick all weekend).

coach has her and 4 others from that group (3 of whom she's beaten) trying out with the upper classmen tomorrow. she beat most of these girls as a rising 8th grader last year- losing only to the now senior girl we assume will be the 1st singles player- and even that was close last year.

and yet, despite winning all her matches easily and their first league match being THIS FRIDAY against the league's powerhouse- she still doesn't even know if she's made the team. and nobody knows who the 2 pairs of doubles partners will be, let alone 3 starting singles players. practice? PRACTICE?! we're talkin' about PRACTICE?!

her private lesson coach is the head coach at a rival school. they've been in two weeks of pre-season, with cuts happening beginning of last week. he's shuked about all of this. our school is a joke for athletics.

They were supposedly announcing the teams after todays round of tryouts. Now its maybe possibly kinda sorta getting announced tomorrow...on the first day of school so the kids can be heartbroken or excited in front of their peers.

Anyways...this am, the coach put floppinha up against the only returning starting singles player (senior)- S1 heir apparent- same girl who beat floppinha 6-4 last year when she tried out as an 8th grader, ending her tryout attempt.

6-1, 6-0.

And she still doesn't officially know if shes made the team.

Eta... If that wasnt clear, she beat the presumptive best returning upper classman, 6-1, 6-0.
We're cautiously optimistic she made the team, lol.

 

[Todem]

Todem Jr has been back at school since mid August.

5:30 AM lifts started a week ago.
He has been lifting 6 days a week all summer so he was more than ready to hit it hard at team lifts.

He has the highest vertical on the team at measurement day. Last season he was 3rd highest. So his explosive movement training over this past summer paid dividends.

Seniors voted on team captains. They have three each season.

Todem Jr was named a team captain and the only junior who is. Very proud of him. His team brought in 5 legit transfer arms and he is excited about the pitching this season which was a huge weakness last season.

He is never assumptive and he never takes anything for granted but he feels He will maintain his starting SS position. He had established that last season before he strained his hamstring and missed the last 7 games.

His coaches have told him as much…..but still when he talks to me he tells me I am not letting anyone take my job.

44 guys on the roster this season with 20 arms.

Intrasquads and practices start Monday and go 4 weeks. They are starting the season 2 weeks earlier this year (they cut Fall from 6 weeks to 4 weeks for that reason).

Valentine’s day is opening day. But I am still waiting on the entire schedule because I will be going up for at least half his games at a minimum this year.

 

[Redwes25]

Tomorrow because of 9th grade orientation, they have all the freshmen playing together separate from the upper classmen. She said the girls in her grade were rough from what she saw- had a hard time getting the ball across the net. might be a struggle to even find somebody to rally with.

They had the freshmen play each other this am, with the coach splitting them into matchups.

Floppinha was given the other 3 best girls. Given her description from yesterday, i expected a bloodbath. Turns out it was closer than expected- she dropped some games, but still won all of the matches. She said the girls were pretty good- very athletic and good at getting to everything.

Sounds like she focused on winning more than playing well, which might have allowed her to win bigger. But her goal was to win all her matches and she did- mission accomplished.

The entire 9th grade goes on a 3 day peer retreat while the sports teams continue their preseasons without them. She goes back on Tues for 3 days of practice/tryouts before their first match. Hopefully shell know if she made the team by then!

today was 9th and 10th graders playing eachother. her 3rd day of tryouts.

floppinha got two 10th graders (she beat the best 9th graders last week). 6-0 and 6-2 easy wins. sounds like she didn't even work up a sweat (which is good, becaause she's been super sick all weekend).

coach has her and 4 others from that group (3 of whom she's beaten) trying out with the upper classmen tomorrow. she beat most of these girls as a rising 8th grader last year- losing only to the now senior girl we assume will be the 1st singles player- and even that was close last year.

and yet, despite winning all her matches easily and their first league match being THIS FRIDAY against the league's powerhouse- she still doesn't even know if she's made the team. and nobody knows who the 2 pairs of doubles partners will be, let alone 3 starting singles players. practice? PRACTICE?! we're talkin' about PRACTICE?!

her private lesson coach is the head coach at a rival school. they've been in two weeks of pre-season, with cuts happening beginning of last week. he's shuked about all of this. our school is a joke for athletics.

Wish her luck. You must have a very competitive High School. For how well she has done in Junior Tournaments - I'm surprised she hasn't been told she made the high school team

Tomorrow because of 9th grade orientation, they have all the freshmen playing together separate from the upper classmen. She said the girls in her grade were rough from what she saw- had a hard time getting the ball across the net. might be a struggle to even find somebody to rally with.

They had the freshmen play each other this am, with the coach splitting them into matchups.

Floppinha was given the other 3 best girls. Given her description from yesterday, i expected a bloodbath. Turns out it was closer than expected- she dropped some games, but still won all of the matches. She said the girls were pretty good- very athletic and good at getting to everything.

Sounds like she focused on winning more than playing well, which might have allowed her to win bigger. But her goal was to win all her matches and she did- mission accomplished.

The entire 9th grade goes on a 3 day peer retreat while the sports teams continue their preseasons without them. She goes back on Tues for 3 days of practice/tryouts before their first match. Hopefully shell know if she made the team by then!

today was 9th and 10th graders playing eachother. her 3rd day of tryouts.

floppinha got two 10th graders (she beat the best 9th graders last week). 6-0 and 6-2 easy wins. sounds like she didn't even work up a sweat (which is good, becaause she's been super sick all weekend).

coach has her and 4 others from that group (3 of whom she's beaten) trying out with the upper classmen tomorrow. she beat most of these girls as a rising 8th grader last year- losing only to the now senior girl we assume will be the 1st singles player- and even that was close last year.

and yet, despite winning all her matches easily and their first league match being THIS FRIDAY against the league's powerhouse- she still doesn't even know if she's made the team. and nobody knows who the 2 pairs of doubles partners will be, let alone 3 starting singles players. practice? PRACTICE?! we're talkin' about PRACTICE?!

her private lesson coach is the head coach at a rival school. they've been in two weeks of pre-season, with cuts happening beginning of last week. he's shuked about all of this. our school is a joke for athletics.

They were supposedly announcing the teams after todays round of tryouts. Now its maybe possibly kinda sorta getting announced tomorrow...on the first day of school so the kids can be heartbroken or excited in front of their peers.

Anyways...this am, the coach put floppinha up against the only returning starting singles player (senior)- S1 heir apparent- same girl who beat floppinha 6-4 last year when she tried out as an 8th grader, ending her tryout attempt.

6-1, 6-0.

And she still doesn't officially know if shes made the team.

Eta... If that wasnt clear, she beat the presumptive best returning upper classman, 6-1, 6-0.
We're cautiously optimistic she made the team, lol.

Amazing! I wouldn't be worried. She will be on the team.

 

[tjford]

I have twin sons that recently turned 18. Both of them are hockey goalies like I was as a kid. But unlike me, they are actually good at the game.

This past weekend, both of them secured spots on the active roster for Junior A hockey teams in the province over from ours. Got set up with billet families and are settling in to their roles as full-time hockey players. Those junior towns are really interesting. The players get treated like gold, almost like minor celebrities but it's still like a job with expectations of not just effort but also results.

Older TFord Jr. is likely to start the year as a starter while younger TFord Jr. will be a backup to start the year.

My daughter is a curler and will be representing her college in nationals this year on the other side of the country as well.

I'm sure that there's a few jokes in there about Canadian kids and ice sports but I'm still a very proud dad of all three.

Having twin goalies must have been wild for you as parents. For many goalie parents one can be one too many...lol. Were they always on the same minor teams growing up? If so, how did they manage the playing time split? I can imagine that could make for some tensions at home if one were getting more starts than the other through the teenage years.

They were on the same team every year when they were skaters but once they flipped to playing goalie in U13, they never were on the same team for that very reason.

A friend of mine who was in coaching for our home association told me that a lot of head coaches would never take brothers for goalie tandem for a couple reasons. If one gets sick, what are the odds that the other goalie doesn't catch it? Family occasion/vacation/funeral etc. affects both of your goalies instead of just one. On top of that, home isn't a respite from the game anymore when your goalie partner lives 20 feet away from you.

Fortunately, we live close enough to other hockey associations that both were able to carve out their own path. Both belong to the goalie fraternity and they would train together but got starting goalie experience separately.

Makes total sense, appreciate it. You'd want them both to be getting as many starts as possible, so being on the same team would be tough. Didn't even think of the family vacation/illness issue too, great points.

Good luck to both of them and your daughter this year! My daughter just started her freshman year playing NCAA D3 womens hockey this season. She's loving it so far. Going to be quite the change for us as parents going from watching her playing 70+ games last year to about 30 or so this season, but we can't wait for games to start.

That's exciting, congratulations to her for making the big jump. The NCAA hockey world seems to range from awful to incredible in terms of facilities, opportunity, skill level etc. Good to hear that she is enjoying it still as the level increases.

If you don't mind me asking, how did the recruitment process work for your daughter? Did you use a recruitment profile website? Some NCDC/NAHL teams reached out to both of my sons this offseason so I ended up creating USA hockey accounts for them but didn't really follow through on anything else over than getting them eligible to skate in the US. I was thinking that I'd put more effort into the process this year once they had a year of Junior under their belt.

 

[tjford]

So Gally Jr got some disappointing news even though it was probably expected eventually.

First practice of the fall and he is not listed in a hitting group. Asks the coach how come he's not in a group and the coach said your upside is as a pitcher and that's where he will help the team the most. Disappointing that he didn't even get a chance to show the work he put in over the summer at hitting. He knew this day would come as pitching is where he has the most potential but it still sucks when he feels he never really got a shot to prove he could hit.

I told him it bodes well for his pitching opportunity as the coach doesn't want to risk injury (getting hit in the hand while hitting) because he has plans to use him on the mound. Hopefully this is a sign that the coach feels he will be one of the starters on the mound or have a key role this year.

The "convert to PO" discussion always frustrates me. What if hitting is the reason that the kid comes to the ballpark? What if the kid ends up being a top 10 hitter on the team? Why wouldn't a coach give him that chance? Injury risk is everywhere for every player.

How good of a hitter do you need to be in order to avoid that conversation? Expecting a kid to be a top 3 hitter in order to continue hitting just because he knows how to pitch seems like lazy coaching/logistics to me.

 

[Gally]

So Gally Jr got some disappointing news even though it was probably expected eventually.

First practice of the fall and he is not listed in a hitting group. Asks the coach how come he's not in a group and the coach said your upside is as a pitcher and that's where he will help the team the most. Disappointing that he didn't even get a chance to show the work he put in over the summer at hitting. He knew this day would come as pitching is where he has the most potential but it still sucks when he feels he never really got a shot to prove he could hit.

I told him it bodes well for his pitching opportunity as the coach doesn't want to risk injury (getting hit in the hand while hitting) because he has plans to use him on the mound. Hopefully this is a sign that the coach feels he will be one of the starters on the mound or have a key role this year.

The "convert to PO" discussion always frustrates me. What if hitting is the reason that the kid comes to the ballpark? What if the kid ends up being a top 10 hitter on the team? Why wouldn't a coach give him that chance? Injury risk is everywhere for every player.

How good of a hitter do you need to be in order to avoid that conversation? Expecting a kid to be a top 3 hitter in order to continue hitting just because he knows how to pitch seems like lazy coaching/logistics to me.

I think this is mainly level dependent. The higher up you go the lesser chance pitchers are going to do anything other than pitch. Gally Jr is at a D2 school that has used 2 way guys in the past. Last year as a freshman the coach told him that he gives guys a shot in the fall to prove one way or the other. Gally Jr ended up hitting .500 with one HR and never struck out (20 AB's). He redshirted but the coach said he did enough to be a two way guy. His only real knock from the coach was he didn't like his speed (he is an infielder) and was further away from playing time as an infielder than he was as a hitter. He liked his hitting more than his technique in fielding.

The end of season meeting with the coach he was told he had a lot of work to do on the infield and that his pitching is where he would likely excel. So it wasn't altogether out of left field. Jr's argument is that if that was the plan tell him before the summer. He worked his butt off all summer to improve in the areas said he needed to improve and now he isn't even getting a shot to show him how he improved. The coach's response was I can tell you worked hard over the summer but your future is as a pitcher...not an infielder. The coach is right, but it's a hard pill for a 19 yr old to swallow. ........especially when he didn't even get the fall to show what he can do.

I am hoping this means the coach has big plans for Jr as a pitcher otherwise why not let him continue like he did last year as a freshman.

 

[Instinctive]

So Gally Jr got some disappointing news even though it was probably expected eventually.

First practice of the fall and he is not listed in a hitting group. Asks the coach how come he's not in a group and the coach said your upside is as a pitcher and that's where he will help the team the most. Disappointing that he didn't even get a chance to show the work he put in over the summer at hitting. He knew this day would come as pitching is where he has the most potential but it still sucks when he feels he never really got a shot to prove he could hit.

I told him it bodes well for his pitching opportunity as the coach doesn't want to risk injury (getting hit in the hand while hitting) because he has plans to use him on the mound. Hopefully this is a sign that the coach feels he will be one of the starters on the mound or have a key role this year.

The "convert to PO" discussion always frustrates me. What if hitting is the reason that the kid comes to the ballpark? What if the kid ends up being a top 10 hitter on the team? Why wouldn't a coach give him that chance? Injury risk is everywhere for every player.

How good of a hitter do you need to be in order to avoid that conversation? Expecting a kid to be a top 3 hitter in order to continue hitting just because he knows how to pitch seems like lazy coaching/logistics to me.

I think this is mainly level dependent. The higher up you go the lesser chance pitchers are going to do anything other than pitch. Gally Jr is at a D2 school that has used 2 way guys in the past. Last year as a freshman the coach told him that he gives guys a shot in the fall to prove one way or the other. Gally Jr ended up hitting .500 with one HR and never struck out (20 AB's). He redshirted but the coach said he did enough to be a two way guy. His only real knock from the coach was he didn't like his speed (he is an infielder) and was further away from playing time as an infielder than he was as a hitter. He liked his hitting more than his technique in fielding.

The end of season meeting with the coach he was told he had a lot of work to do on the infield and that his pitching is where he would likely excel. So it wasn't altogether out of left field. Jr's argument is that if that was the plan tell him before the summer. He worked his butt off all summer to improve in the areas said he needed to improve and now he isn't even getting a shot to show him how he improved. The coach's response was I can tell you worked hard over the summer but your future is as a pitcher...not an infielder. The coach is right, but it's a hard pill for a 19 yr old to swallow. ........especially when he didn't even get the fall to show what he can do.

I am hoping this means the coach has big plans for Jr as a pitcher otherwise why not let him continue like he did last year as a freshman.

No DH at this level I assume

 

[Skipdog77]

That's exciting, congratulations to her for making the big jump. The NCAA hockey world seems to range from awful to incredible in terms of facilities, opportunity, skill level etc. Good to hear that she is enjoying it still as the level increases.

If you don't mind me asking, how did the recruitment process work for your daughter? Did you use a recruitment profile website? Some NCDC/NAHL teams reached out to both of my sons this offseason so I ended up creating USA hockey accounts for them but didn't really follow through on anything else over than getting them eligible to skate in the US. I was thinking that I'd put more effort into the process this year once they had a year of Junior under their belt.

Definitely a wide range of programs, facilities, etc. across NCAA programs, especially at the D3 level. She went through about a 15 month recruitment process that had her visiting about 10 schools, from big cities like Boston and Pittsburgh to rural upstate NY towns. We wanted her to visit a wide range of places and told her she would know when one felt right. She had a bunch of offers for spots and had it narrowed down to 3 schools when she got a text from a coach with a program that was top 10-15 in the country at D3 the past 5 years or so, had a basically brand new arena they were playing in, great locker room and workout facilities, etc., and had a highly regarded program for her major. The coach asked us to come up for a visit, we went the next week, and she instantly knew that's where she was supposed to be. After 15 months of recruitment, it was all over in about a week and she verbally committed a couple of weeks before her Senior year started.

We set her up with a NCSA recruiting profile, but never paid them to do any of the work that she could do herself. The spring/summer between her Sophomore and Junior years she put together a list of schools and the coaches' contact info for schools she was interested in, and then would send out emails to coaches for which camps, showcases, etc. that she was going to be attending. I also put together some gameplay video clips that she could link to to on her profile or email to coaches. The coaches would see her at those events or see the videos, and then if interested they'd reach back out and set up visits, Zoom meetings, phone calls, etc. She cultivated all of those relationships, and really impressed us with how she handled herself throughout it. Then basically all of her Junior year we were visiting a couple of schools a month or so. It was a really interesting process and one I'm glad we got to experience.

I know the boys and girls hockey landscapes are completely different with juniors, advisors, and all, but one piece of advice that I can offer is to get started earlier than you think. Allows more time to make potential personal connections with a coach, and helps give some breathing room to take your time and make sure you are making the right decision. I've been reading about some of the nightmares in Tier 3 juniors lately with teams folding before they even play a game, and while NCDC and the NAHL are stronger orgs, just make sure you give yourself an opportunity to do your homework on opportunities.

If you don't mind, shoot me a PM with your boys' teams and names. Would love to follow their progress this season.