Great turn out in Valencia last night for the peewee AA pre-tryout skate, especially given the late notice and proximity to Memorial Day. The head of the program Pavel Sisak and the head coach of the peewee AA team Josh Berge were both on hand to explain their player development philosophy and talk to the parents about the upcoming season. It looks to be an older team with 15 of the skaters that were on the ice being '05 but I think there is still room for some kids that are AA ready but perhaps not happy with their current options.
It's also been a good spring for the peewee goalies in the program. They both lead their respective team to the finals for the 2 Valencia memorial day teams.
More good news along those lines, is that Goalie coach Rob Bowman, who has trained a number of successful goalies over the years, including one who just left the JK's for Shattuck, has for the first time been hired on with the Flyers.
Pavel's player development philosophy and program was explained, including the way the Flyers get their tier players on the ice for five hours per week where most other clubs have three. There is no added cost for the extra time as the various teams share ice with teams across the Tier program. Anyone who has seen one of Pavel's practices has seen the incredible preparation he invests in making these practices effective and challenging for the players.
Josh described his North American prostyle development philosophy as well. There is no better skating coach in socal, in my opinion, not to mention the number of AAA players past and present who have worked with Josh. The prospect of a year of coaching for a Peewee team, by a WSHL & USHL coach, even if it's for a season, is sure to be a unique and unprecedented experience.
I would expect tryouts to produce a competitive AA team, with a solid existing base of players, but I don't want to scare off folks that are still looking for a home, and perhaps a different program. As a local it's incredibly encouraging to see the momentum the Flyers have picked up in the last few years, and a youth hockey program that matches the quality of the facilities. The continuity from Peewee to Bantam is one that few programs can match in my experience.
Tryouts 5pm Friday, more info here:
https://www.valenciaflyers.org/2016-2017-valencia-jr-flyers-tryouts
Topic: Peewee AA Valencia (Read 5528 times)