CCYHA Mission Statement:

The safety of each player is our organization's highest priority.  The purpose
of this organization is to provide an opportunity for young people to learn
the rules and skills of ice hockey through supervised instruction and
competition while emphasizing the ideals of good sportsmanship and
teamwork.

Central CT Youth Hockey Program Overview

CCYHA is one of the largest and most successful travel programs in the state. We are an American Development Model (ADM) compliant program with the objective of long-term development. Our mission is to provide an opportunity for young people to learn the rules and skills of ice hockey through supervised instruction and competition while emphasizing the ideals of good sportsmanship and teamwork.

Program Offerings:

         Development Programs

                  Learn to Play Hockey – This program is for our beginner hockey players ages 3 and up. Session 1 is a 5 week session (one weekend instructional hour per week) from mid October until the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.  Session 2 runs from December through mid March and consists of two weekend instructional hours (Sat. and Sun.) per week. Registration for Learn to Play Hockey opens in late summer.

                  Mite Development – This program is for our players (ages 4-12) that have already participated in a Learn to Skate or Learn to Play hockey program.  The Mite Development program runs mid October to mid March and consists of two weekend instructional hours (Sat. and Sun.) per week. Registration for Mite Development opens in late summer.

                  House League – This program is for kids aged 5-12 who have at least 1-2 seasons of skating AND hockey experience. Players are placed onto teams and have two practices and 1 game per week.  Games are played half ice, with real boards across the center ice line separating the two games. Games are played 4 verse 4 plus a goalie in net (using goalie equipment). The House League program runs from mid October to mid March. Registration for House League opens in late summer. 

         Travel Programs

                  U8 Mite Travel (2013 & Younger Birth Years) – CCYHA is compliant with USA Hockey ADM model at the U8 level. The mite travel teams consist of our more experienced players at the U8 level. Mite travel teams will compete in CHC. Tryouts are held in March for the following season. Mite Travel teams will have two practices per week plus 2 games per weekend. Most weekends consist of one home and one away game. The number of mite travel teams will be dependent on several criteria including; number of participants, birth years, and talent level. The Mite Travel program runs from late August to mid March.

                  U10 Squirt Travel (11 & 12 Birth Years) – We have offerings for all experience levels at the U10 level. We typically have several teams at the A, B and C levels. Tryouts are held in March for the following season. Squirt Travel teams will have two practices per week plus 2 games per weekend. Most weekends consist of one home and one away game. The number of squirt travel teams will be dependent upon number of participants. Our squirt travel teams will compete in CHC and will have the opportunity to qualify for Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4. Our Squirt AA team will also compete in the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League (EJEPL). This will consist of a 16 game schedule, 8 games of which will be played at two festivals and 4 home and 4 away games. The Squirt Travel program runs from late August to mid March.

                  U12 PeeWee Travel (09 & 10 Birth Years) – We have offerings for all experience levels at the U12 level. We typically have several teams at the A, B and C levels. Tryouts are held in March for the following season. PeeWee Travel teams will have two practices per week plus 2 games per weekend. Most weekends consist of one home and one away game. The number of peewee travel teams will be dependent upon number of participants. Our peewee travel teams will compete in CHC and will have the opportunity to qualify for Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4. Our PeeWee AA team will also compete in the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League (EJEPL). This will consist of a 16 game schedule, 8 games of which will be played at two festivals and 4 home and 4 away games. The PeeWee Travel program runs from late August to mid March.

                   U14 Bantam Travel (07 & 08 Birth Years) – We have offerings for all experience levels at the U14 level. We typically have teams at the AA, A and B levels. Tryouts are held in March for the following season. Bantam Travel teams will have two practices per week plus 2 games per weekend. Most weekends consist of one home and one away game. The number of bantam travel teams will be dependent upon number of participants. Our bantam travel teams will compete in CHC and will have the opportunity to qualify for Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4. Our Bantam AA team will also compete in the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League (EJEPL). This will consist of a 16 game schedule, 8 games of which will be played at two festivals and 4 home and 4 away games. The Bantam Travel program runs from late August to mid March. For those players that plan to tryout for their high school teams in the fall, we will explore offering a Bantam Half Year option. Players who plan to tryout for their high school must notify CCYHA on the commitment agreement so we can plan accordingly. These players will be guaranteed a spot on a travel team if they do not make their high school team. 

                   Midget High School Teams – CCYHA will be hosting Midget teams for the Wethersfield HS and Newington HS coop. These teams will be a half season team with players from those high schools on the roster. These teams will be undeclared midget teams.  Midget season will run from late-August through Thanksgiving.

                   U16 &U18 Midget Tier 2 and U15/U16 Split Season Teams – Building off the success of last year’s season at the midget tier 2 level, Central CT Youth Hockey (CCYHA) will be, once again, forming split season teams at the U16 and U18 Tier 2 levels for the 2021-2022 season. Our U18 team finished tied for second in Tier 2 and our U16 team went undefeated in state games and have been crowned STATE CHAMPIONS and will be representing CT at USA Hockey Nationals. These teams fill a void in our area at the Tier 2 level. Teams will be competing in CHC Tier 2 with the winners of the CT State Tournament advancing to the USA Hockey Tier 2 National Championships. Teams will practice and play at Newington Arena. Tryouts will be held in mid April.

Additional Program Offerings:

                  ProCrease – On-ice goaltender instruction for all Mite-Bantam teams two times per month.

                  Future Fitness -  Off-ice training for all Bantam teams two times per month.

                  Goaltending Director – CCYHA has a Director of Goaltending to help advance the skills of goalies within our organization.

                  Summer Ice – We will be offering ice throughout the summer. Each age group will have a weekly session to stay on the ice (if they wish). This will be a combination of skills, small area drills and scrimmage.

                  Skills Sessions – Regularly scheduled skills sessions will be offered throughout the season.

                  Turkey Shootout Pond Hockey Tournament

                  State Tournament

Tryout Links:

         Tryout Introduction:

                  https://www.leagueathletics.com/Page.asp?n=99381&org=centralcthockey.org

         Tryout Guidelines:

                  https://www.leagueathletics.com/Page.asp?n=99382&org=centralcthockey.org

         Tryout Schedule:

                  https://www.leagueathletics.com/Page.asp?n=86750&org=centralcthockey.org

Tryout Registration:

         CCYHA Mite through Bantam Tryouts:

https://www.leagueathletics.com/Registration/Restrictions.asp?RegID=210400&n=&org=centralcthockey.org

Tryout Registration:

         CCYHA U16 & U18 Tier 2 and U15/U16:

         https://www.leagueathletics.com/Registration/Restrictions.asp?RegID=210402&n=&org=centralcthockey.org

       Program Fees:

                  Tryout Fee: $100.00

                  Mite Travel: $2,325.00

                  Squirt Travel: $2,375.00

                  PeeWee Travel: $2,625.00

                  Bantam Travel: $2,725.00

                  Bantam Half Year: $1,500.00 (if we have enough players for a half year team)

                  Midget U16 & U18 T2, U15/U16: 1,850.00

CCYHA and ProCrease will be hosting a Try Goalie for Free Clinic on Sunday March 21st at 430p-530p.  Equipment will be provided for anyone interested. 

Please sign up at the link below just so we have an idea on numbers for attendance.

https://www.leagueathletics.com/Registration/Restrictions.asp?RegID=210592&n=&org=centralcthockey.org

CENTRAL CT YOUTH HOCKEY 2021 – 2022 TRAVEL TRYOUT INTRODUCTION

Central CT Youth Hockey - Travel teams starting at the u8 mite level and going through the u18 midget level

Welcome to the 2021 – 2022 Central CT Youth Hockey Tryouts. After an unprecedented and challenging season, we are happy to report the program remains in great shape to maintain our strong status for this upcoming season. The program has continued its’ strong status in CHC and we are showing signs of growth again this season.

Most people worry about where their child ends up in the pecking order of A, B, C. We should all be very fortunate that our children even have this opportunity to play the great sport of hockey. Please keep things in perspective during the tryout season and be courteous of the many hours our volunteers spend during the evaluation process. The evaluation committee will place your child in the position where they feel they have the best chance for growth and success.

This past season was very rewarding for our players and the overall membership in general. Starting at Learn to Play and our In House programs, we were able to witness the future of our program, peddling around the rink in October without much of a stride to seeing them progress by the end of the year playing small area games and moving the puck around the rink quite well. Our House League program continued with 5 teams with the goal being a smoother transition to travel hockey. We have enjoyed success at all levels and that is a true testament to the dedicated coaches and program volunteers that we have.

We are looking forward to another great season here at Central. Our fees are very competitive for our region and we have some of the most dedicated board members, coaches, managers and parents of any program in the state. We offer two practice sheets per week and we also mix in a good number of competitive games for all levels. A lot of our success comes from the many hours, days and years of volunteer work from our membership. Please join our group of dedicated helpers this season. Ask what you can do to help the organization!

If a player is evaluated and their skills are not ready for travel hockey, then we will recommend that the player stay in the house program. Our main focus is to place the kids on teams where they have the best chance to succeed while developing their skills.

CENTRAL CT YOUTH HOCKEY 2021 – 2022 TRYOUT GUIDELINES

• Players will be evaluated by a group of no less than 3 evaluators with extensive hockey backgrounds. At least two of the evaluators will be from outside the organization. Coaches/parents will not have any input on the evaluations.
• Each age group will have one  CCYHA Board Member overseeing that groups evaluators and placements. That CCYHA Board Member will not have a child in that age group and will be the only person allowed in the evaluation room.
• Players will be split into groups and attend three tryout sessions. Players must attend the tryout times assigned to them. Mites will tryout as one group, Squirts through Bantams will be split up A-L and M-Z for the first tryout (no switching times allowed). Players will be given a pullover with a number to wear for each tryout. After the first tryout, Squirt, PeeWee and Bantam players will be split into 2 groups (not alphabetically) and must come to the tryout time they are assigned to. The list will be found on the web site www.centralcthockey.org  under the tryouts tab for each age division after each tryout. Each player must attend at least 2 tryouts sessions to be eligible for placement.
• All Teams and Coaches will be picked soon after the conclusion of the final tryout and teams will be posted on the CCYHA website no later than April 15th.
• After the players are placed on their respective teams, we will have an open house at the Newington Arena on April 24th from 9AM – 1PM to do uniform fittings (for those players that need uniforms).
• Waiting list – Our goal at CCYHA is to keep the numbers on our teams manageable for maximum player development throughout the season. If a division reaches their limit for teams and a non CCYHA player has not been placed, that player will be put on a waiting list. If a returning Central player does not commit and pay their commitment fee on time, the player on the waiting list will be contacted to fill that position.
• Please refrain from any contact or attempts to engage in any type of conversations with the evaluation committee and coaches during the tryout process. The committee is there to provide a service to our program and their objective is to pick the teams based on skill levels, performance, and past evaluations.
• The evaluation process consists of the following:
  • 6 independent evaluators first ranking the players into two groups after the first tryout session, then ranking the players during the final two tryout sessions and place them on teams.
  • One CCYHA Board Member will oversee each age group. That Board Member will not have a child in that age group.
  • Upon completion of the on ice tryout process, our 3 evaluators and Board Member overseeing that age group will review the evaluators placements and will consult the players evaluations done by the previous seasons coaches to look for any inconsistencies in placement.

CCYHA created a Director of Goaltending position to help foster goaltender development within the organization.  The position's primary role will be to work with each coaching to staff to ensure goalies receive the proper attention & instruction during practices.  The Director will also distribute information about the position for coaches, goaltenders & goaltender parents, work with each team to track their goalies' development, coordinate with Procrease and be a general resource to answer any questions that come up related to goaltending & goaltender development.  Matt Allatin will be taking the lead as our first Director of Goaltending.  If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to him. He could be reached at 

Director of Goaltending

 

Responsibilities

• • Educating Coaching Staff - each team designates a goalie coach

  • Periodic check ins with each team’s goalie coach

    • Discuss progress - identify areas for improvement

  • Coordinate with Procrease as needed

  • Address any questions from goaltenders or goaltender parents 

  • Participate in goaltender tryout evaluations

 

Educating Coaching Staff

• • Each team will designate a goalie coach for the season - their job will be to work with the goalie during the season

  • The Director of Goaltending will provide education to the designated coaches - identifying basic fundamentals that can be reinforced in practice - in form of a meeting before the season starts (all coaches are encouraged to attend)

  • Discuss points where practices typically neglect goalies in practice - ways to improve practice plans

 

Periodic Check-Ins with Designated Goalie Coach

• • Coaches explain how the goalie is progressing through the year

  • If the goalie struggles with a particular facet of the game the director will work with the coach and Procrease to identify drills for improvement

 

Coordinate with Procrease as Needed

• • Communicating specific areas of improvement for each goalie as they arise

 

Address Questions/Concerns from Goaltenders or Parents

• • Answer questions & provide advice as needed to goaltenders or goaltender parents

 

Tryout Evaluations

• • Evaluates goaltenders at the goalie specific tryout session

    • One of several evaluators

    • Not involved in player placement

CCYHA Families

Below is a spring program offering through a friend of mine who has been doing this for years. The program is not affiliated with CCYHA. I am just passing along the information

Known cases must isolate but can return 10 days after symptoms began (or their test date if they are asymptomatic), assuming their symptoms have completely resolved for 24 hours or more.  Individuals quarantined because of close contact with a known case need to stay away from close contact activities (including sports) for 14 days and there is no test out option to shorten that quarantine.  Here’s why:

The risk of individuals exposed to a known case of COVID-19 developing COVID-19 symptoms and/or testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains significant enough throughout a 14-day period after last exposure to warrant quarantine of those individuals for a full 14 days.  The current recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and adopted by DPH, to allow for reduced quarantine of less than 14 days is dependent on a person’s ability to continue with daily COVID-19 symptom screening and continuous mask use when outside of the home, as well as the necessity to avoiding gatherings with people who are not in their immediate household, who are over 65 years old, or who have medical conditions that place them at increased risk for COVID-19.  This would preclude gathering with other athletes for engagement in team sports prior to completion of a full 14-day quarantine period.  As such, regardless of whether a shortened quarantine period allows individuals to engage in daily activities prior to completing a full 14-day post-contact period of separation, athletes, coaches, and other participants are precluded from engaging in athletic activities involving close contact (within 6 feet) with other individuals until at least 14 days after their quarantine period begins.

And definitely remind everyone that the less they do in their social lives outside of hockey, the more likely they are to be able to complete the hockey season without repeated quarantines of the whole team and opponents.  As we have been telling high school kids/parents, you can have a social life or a sports season, but it is unlikely you will be able to have both right now.

Thomas St. Louis, MSPH

Epidemiologist 4

Connecticut Department of Public Health

Hello everyone,

Bryan Avigne Photography will be back at Newington Arena on Friday, March 12th thru Sunday, March 14th.  The schedule below is for House League, LTP and Mite Development but if your Travel player missed out on photos earlier this year and would like the chance to get their photos taken,  reach out to Rich Faber at rich.faber@disney.com to schedule your photo shoot.

Friday, March 12th from 4:30pm to 7:30pm will be our House League.  Parents please look at when your House League team is playing that night to determine what time is best for you.  Teams playing at 5:30pm should get their pictures first.

Saturday, March 13th from 6:30am to 8:30am will be set aside for the Learn to Play group.

Sunday, March 14th from 7:30am to 10:30am will be our Mite Development group.

If you can't make the day/time that is scheduled for you, you may go to one of these other scheduled times.  If you are away that weekend but would still like to have photos taken, reach out to Rich Faber at rich.faber@disney.com to schedule another date for your photo shoot.

Congratulations to the CCYHA U16 Tier 2 team on winning the midget tier 2 regular season title by going 8-0-0 and advancing to the USA Hockey National Tournament. In 8 CHC league games, the U16's outscored their opponents 53-7. The team finished the regular season with a total record of 19-4-2. By being crowned regular season champions, the U16's will represent CT at the Midget Tier 2 USA Hockey National Tournament in Grand Rapids Michigan from April 28th to May 3rd. Congratulations to all players and coaches Anthony Giusto, Alex Rodriguez and Karl Sundquist. The U16 players are currently playing for their respective high school teams and will come back together after the high school season to prepare for Nationals.

Best of luck to each of the players during their high school season and at Nationals.

CCYHA Families:

New guidelines for youth hockey will be in effect as of Monday 3/1/21. The following rules will apply:

1.     Locker rooms may be used as long as 6 ft social distancing is followed.

2.     Scrimmages and game play is allowed.

3.     LiveBarn will be on.

4.     Equipment bags will be allowed in arena.

5.     Recommend players arrive partially or fully dressed.

6.     Players must not enter the arena prior to 30 minutes before the start of their scheduled ice time. They must exit the arena no later than 20 minutes following the conclusion of their ice time.

7.     There MUST be adult supervision in locker rooms at all times. 

 8.     Per the state mandate, cloth face coverings (masks) must be worn by everyone inside an arena at all times. This includes participants during on-ice practice and game play.

 9.     A maximum of four coaches are allowed on the bench during game play.

10 .   Only active players and the four coaches are allowed on the bench during game play. Players who are unable to participate may not be on the bench.

11.    Players who are instructed to quarantine by public health officials will be considered ineligible for participationfor the duration of their quarantine period. If a player instructed to quarantine plays in a game, rules subject toplaying an ineligible player shall be enforced.

12.    Dryland activities will not be allowed inside the arena common areas     

13.    Carpooling is not recommended.

14.    The parking lot shall not be used as informal meeting spaces for teams or parents prior to, during and after events. Congregating in groups larger than 6 is prohibited by state mandate

15.    Inter state travel will be allowed. It is still not clear if all of the 7 states in the inter state travel ban pact have lifted the ban.

16.  Youth athletic events shall not exceed 25% capacity, capped at 200 spectators. Adult club/recreational sports, with participants who are aged 21 years and older, shall not have spectators.

What better way to spend time while our kids are practicing and playing than to play some virtual golf. Overlooking the Red Rink at Newington Arena, Arena Golf will be open for business on Monday November 2 at 9am. Please visit www.arenagolfct.com for more information and to book time in our state of art golf simulator.

The Central Capitals Squirt AA team won the Columbus Fall Classic tournament at Northford Ice Arena in thrilling fashion with a 6-5 overtime win over Yale AA.  Luke DeFilio nailed the game winner with 34 seconds left in OT off a pass from Jackson Faber to set off the celebration!  Braeden Smith opened the scoring at 4:36 of the first period.  Soren Walsh followed with a goal to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead.  Yale AA would not go away, scoring two goals late in the 1^st period to tie the game.  Will "Knuckles" Roberts netted the only goal in the 2^nd period giving the Capitals a 3-2 lead heading into the 3^rd.  Jackson Faber and Braden Linskey both scored in the 3^rd period but Yale managed three goals to tie the game.  Griffin Fink, the Capitals star goalie, saved a barrage of shots by Yale late in the 3^rd period to send the game into OT.  That set up Luke DeFilio's dramatic game winner in OT.

The Capitals ran the table with five straight wins to capture the title.  Outstanding effort by all of the Squirt AA players!!

Congratulations to players and coaches !!!!!

The Coronavirus or Tropical Storm Isiais couldnt stop the House League Cup from being raised. In a stunning upset rivaling USA over Russia in the 1980 Olympics, the 3rd seeded Coyotes knocked off the 2nd seeded Blues then went on to beat the 1st seeded Predators to capture the Cup. Please check out the CCYHA House League Facebook page for pictures:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/713628269048142/?post_id=922074718203495

Thank you House League Director, Kevin Linskey and the many coaches and volunteers who helped to make our house league such a success.