PIEDMONT HOCKEY CLUB   RECREATIONAL YOUTH HOCKEY

FROM THE BEGINNING -- INTRODUCTORY HOCKEY PROGRAMS AT THE HAYMARKET ICEPLEX

In addition to its many Learn to Skate programs for the various ages, the Haymarket Iceplex offers on a recurring basis introductory-level programs for prospective hockey players.  These programs are tailored to prepare graduates for direct entry into the Piedmont Predator house/recreational programs and for potential growth into Predator Travel-level competition.  Parents/families looking to satisfy their curiosity and gain hands-on insight into the challenging and fun sport of hockey can have their skater take to the ice in full hockey gear without having to make an investment in buying the equipment.  The programs highlighted below are described in detail and registration is available at:    www.haymarketiceplex.com

TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE

Does your child have a basic ability to ice skate and wish to see if hockey is for him/her?  The Try Hockey for Free Program at the Haymarket Iceplex is totally free of cost and provides the opportunity to satisfy his/her curiosity and gain the confidence necessary to begin participation in an exciting sport. The Iceplex will provide, on a loan basis, all the non-personal gear necessary to take to the ice.   Check out the program details at www.haymarketiceplex.com . 

LEARN TO PLAY HOCKEY (LTPH) PROGRAM    Detailed information, session dates, fees and prerequisites, and registration procedures for the two courses described briefly below are available at www.haymarketiceplex.com.

LTPH1 Ages 5-9 (Birth Years 2014-2018)

LTPH1 provides 12 on-ice periods over a six-week span to introduce a skater to hockey skating skills, basic puckhandling, passing and shooting exercises and mini-scrimmages.  Graduates of LTPH1 can seamlessly transition to house hockey at the beginning of, or during, the house hockey season.

LTPH Ages 10-16 (Birth Years (2007-2013)

LTPH 10-16 includes the same session content and goals as the LTPH1 course but restructured in format and delivery to acknowledge the learning curve and older age of the registrants.  Graduates of LTPH 10-16 can seamlessly transition to house hockey.

PIEDMONT HOCKEY CLUB 2023-2024 RECREATIONAL YOUTH HOCKEY PROGRAM

Teams of the Piedmont Hockey Club’s 10U, 12U, 14U and 18U Recreational Division age groups will continue their successful and rewarding association as participating members in the Capital Corridor Hockey League (CCHL).  Together with teams from 18 other local-area hockey clubs; our Rec teams will play and compete at the 10U, 12U, 14U and 18U levels in the CCHL throughout the 2023-2024 season, inclusive of the CCHL’s end-of-season Joe Loschiavo Memorial Cup tournament. 

The CCHL is a competitive league at a level consistent with house and recreational- level hockey programs.    The CCHL is sanctioned by USA Hockey; is an affiliate within the Southeastern District of USA Hockey and a member of the Potomac Valley Amateur Hockey Association (PVAHA). CCHL objectives are to provide an opportunity for young men and women to participate in an organized and competitive environment; to foster player development; and provide opportunities for personal growth and enrichment. The league currently consists of nineteen (19) clubs located throughout Washington DC, northern Virginia and Maryland. The CCHL is a league for house/recreational level players; male players rostered on Tier I or Tier II Travel Teams may not play in the CCHL. Skaters from Middle School and High School JV and Varsity teams may participate if they are not also playing Travel Hockey.  

The Piedmont Hockey Club’s Rec Division’s 2023-2024 regular season will run from September 5, 2023 through February 24, 2024; the season-ending CCHL-wide Joe Loschiavo tournament will follow.  All participating players must be 2023-2024 USA Hockey members and of the age ranges specific to the 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U or 18U categories.   Note:  The 16U age group is contained within the CCHL 18U age group.  CCHL age groups for the 2023-2024 season are comprised of the following Birth Years:

10U (Birth Years 2013-2014)

12U (Birth Years 2011-2012)

14U (Birth Years 2009-2010)

18U (Birth Years 2005-2008)

NOTE: All players and goalies of Birth Years 2006 or older must complete USA Hockey SafeSport training prior to being rostered on a team.

A complete set of ice hockey equipment is mandatory fall all practices and games, inclusive of mouthguards. Neck protection is encouraged, but not mandatory.

Skill/Experience Prerequisites:  At a minimum, all Rec-level skaters must be graduates of a formal Learn to Play Hockey program, graduates of the Future Caps Learn to Play program or equivalent courses of instruction; have a minimum of one year experience at a rec-level program in another hockey club, or receive an individual skill evaluation.

It is the PHC’s intent, commensurate with final registration totals, to field a minimum of two teams in each of the four CCHL age categories.  Teams will consist of a minimum of 10 skaters and a goalie to a maximum of 18 skaters and 2 goalies. 

Teams in each CCHL age category will be formed to be equivalent in skill mix; there will be no A and B teams. Individual requests for specific team assignments to be with friends, car pools, neighbors, etc. will be considered and permitted only when team equivalence can be maintained. 

Rec Division registrations for each age group are monitored daily to assure that team compositions remain within the maximum limits.  When registrations exceed those necessary to form two teams per age group, registrants will be notified that they are being considered as conditional until a sufficient number of registrations are received to constitute a third (or subsequent) team in that particular group.

For team uniformity each player must have personalized home and away CCHL game jerseys and a matching set of hockey socks.  The cost of these items (approximately $145. total) is not included in the registration fee.  At registration, players/parents will be contacted and asked to select individual jersey numbers.  Players with existing select/tournament jersey numbers will retain these numbers; new players will choose numbers not currently in use.  NOTE:  PHC Rec/CCHL jerseys and number assignments are not the same as those of the PHC Travel Program.

Season Schedule:  Following a short period of PHC player assessments and team-forming, team practices, and a pre-season scrimmage or two, CCHL League play will commence on/about October 14th. There is a 6-game home and 6-game away league seasonal per-team minimum; up to two additional non-league home games may be scheduled by each PHC team.  League schedules will be developed and published in late September.

Regular season CCHL games are held predominately on Sundays with occasional games on Saturdays as necessitated by ice availability.   Expect that during seasonal play one team of each PHC age group will play at home and one team will play away on any given weekend.

14U and 18U age levels will play checking hockey; 10U and 12U age levels are competitive contact only. The terms “checking hockey” and “competitive contact” are defined by and contained in USA Hockey rules. Checking instruction/clinic will be provided during practices prior to the start of league play.  On-ice game officials are members of the Southeast Hockey Officials Association and are USA Hockey affiliated and certified.

Complete information on the CCHL, including rules and bylaws, is contained on its website:   www.cchl.statmonsters.com

Goalie Training

PHC Rec Goalies receive a $250. discount from the standard rec fee; goalies registered prior to July 31 may attend the Travel Goalie Mini-Camps without charge.  Additionally, registered Rec goalies will each receive a $500. credit toward training with Paddledown Goaltending.

Fees:  Recreational Division 10U-18U:  For the 2023-2024 Season  $1,995

A $100 early registration discount is available through July 31.  Credit card payments may be spread across three installments.

NOTE:  A $100 family discount is available for each player greater than one from the same immediate family.  This discount will be processed as a credit against the registration fee previously paid.

All fees quoted herein are inclusive of 22 weeks of practice ice (two practices per week per team), 12 league games, up to two scrimmage/preseason games; CCHL league fees and a per-team end-of-season tournament fee.  Fees do not account for jerseys and socks or for any personal costs incurred while travelling to/from CCHL hockey venues.  Overnight travel for regular season away games is not anticipated but cannot be ruled out.

PHC Rec Practice Schedules:  PHC Rec division teams will each have two weekly practice ice slots, shared with the other team in the same age group. One slot weekly will emphasize power skating and skill development and the other slot used primarily for team-level training.

Practice days/times are planned to be as follows:

(Note:  the plan below is predicated upon having two Rec teams at each age level.  Should any level have a team count other than two the listed plan will require adjustment)

Monday:   14U Blue             8:10-9:30pm

Tuesday:  10U Blue, Gold   5:10-6:20pm

                 10U Silver           6:30-7:50pm

                 12U Blue, Gold   6:00-7:10pm

                 18U Blue, Gold   8:50-10:10pm

Thursday: 14U Blue             6:00-7:20pm

                 18U Blue, Gold   9:00-10:20pm

Saturday:  10U Blue, Gold   7:10-8:20am

                 12U Blue, Gold   8:10-9:20am

                 14U Blue, Gold   9:30-10:50am

                 14U Blue, Gold   12:30-1:50pm

NOTE:  All Rec teams will have 22 weeks with practice times.   Major youth hockey travel tournaments being scheduled at the Haymarket Iceplex during four 2023-2024 holiday weekends will require realignment of some practice times for these weekends. Parents/Teams will be notified of adjusted practice times at least one week prior. All teams will have a practice session during the week prior to their Joe Loschiavo tournament participation.

Holiday No-Skate Dates

November 23-26, 2023

December 18, 2023 – January 1, 2024

PHC Rec  Home/Away games.

PHC Rec regular season league games will be played against CCHL Southern Division teams.    PHC Rec teams are expected to take maximum advantage of “non-league” games that may become available with CCHL Northern or Southern Division teams as well as games with non-CCHL opponents.

As a “weekend league”, CCHL league games are scheduled for play primarily on Sundays.  On occasions necessitated by ice availability at area rinks, games may be scheduled on Saturdays. No game may begin before 6:00am.  Rarely, CCHL games may be scheduled on weekday nights; weeknight games may begin not before 6:00pm and not after 10:00pm 

Home games:  PHC regularly-scheduled  home ice times at the Haymarket Iceplex on Sunday mornings can accommodate multiple game starts between 7:20am and 1:20pm. Should visiting team travel schedules preclude use of the regularly scheduled time slots, alternate ice times may be made available.

Away games:  Away games will be scheduled at times commensurate with the availability of ice times for the home team at their individual venues.  As mentioned above, no game may begin before 6:00am.  The PHC has no control of game times at away rinks.

PHC Recreational Division Participation in Non-CCHL Tournaments

Age-group coaches who wish to develop tournament/select teams with PHC Rec players to compete in skill-level specific (A, B, C) non-CCHL activity may do so on a voluntary pay-as-you-go basis.  The PHC Rec director will assist in coordination of and approve these endeavors on an individual basis.  Non-league initiatives may not interfere with scheduled CCHL activities.

In sanctioned tournaments where Piedmont Hockey Club teams are competing, Piedmont Hockey Club registered players may participate only as members of a Piedmont Hockey Club-sponsored team.

Coaches, Managers and Off-Ice Assistants

The Piedmont Hockey Club is actively seeking on-ice coaches, assistant coaches, team managers, volunteers (timekeepers, scorekeepers, penalty box and locker room monitors) for each age group in our Rec division.  Team coaches and assistants must be fully USA Hockey certified prior to being rostered as coaches.  Coaches, Team Managers, and Monitors must be USA Hockey members with a background screening every two years and must have completed USA Hockey SAFESPORT training (SAFESPORT refresher training is required every season).

You need not have played AAA-level hockey to be a good hockey coach; knowledge of the sport, an ability to skate, dedication and perseverance are the foundation to build on.  For information about any of the positions please contact Coach Leo Mullin  PHC Recreational Division Hockey Director.  His email is coachleo43@gmail.com.

            Note:  Although PHC Rec coaches receive no remuneration for their service they are provided with a set of warm up wear; also, expenses incurred for their coaching certification is reimbursable (receipts required)  via credit applied against their player’s account.

Piedmont Hockey Club reserves the right to make any changes deemed necessary to the above details.

The Piedmont Hockey Club relies on the volunteer efforts of parent coaches.  Please submit the coaching application below and be a part of our team.