President's Message
"Lucky 13" - Lots to be Thankful For
Welcome to another great season of HERicane hockey everyone, the 2010-11 season promises to be the biggest and best for us yet.
With so many competing interests we can be thankful that a caring, well-organized program supporting the health and social development of our daughters thrives right here in Norfolk County with the NGHA!
I am pleased to represent the Norfolk Girls Hockey Association as its President for a 4th year and thank the board members for their continued confidence and support. It has been a sincere honour and pleasure working with such a great and dedicated group of parents, coaches, bench staff and of course the kids. One of the most enjoyable aspects of my involvement has been to watch the faces of new girls coming in to play hockey for the first time and witnessing first hand their development and improvement every week. Playing hockey and being part of a team of girls just like them is exciting, rewarding and builds the confidence and social skills they'll use for a lifetime. And the NGHA is committed to providing the best environment possible for all this to happen. From coaching and training to ice scheduling, registration, equipment management, tournament organization, special events and so much more, these wonderful hockey parents and friends demonstrate they really do care and it shows every season. Thank you one and all!
The Norfolk Girl’s Hockey Association will be able to provide playing opportunities for our girls at both the House League and Representative levels over the 2010-11 season, a team for a girl of almost any age to play on. We have teams from Atom through Intermediate in House League as well as Peewee B, Midget C and Midget BB at the Representative level. Our goal now is to recruit enough players to fill a gap and add in a Bantam Rep team as well, something we are working hard to achieve.
As we move into our 13th season I am encouraged by our good fortune with the significant growth we have experienced over the past several years. Much of this success is due to the very hard work of Board members and friends implementing our Try Hockey days in August, a time when new players can come and meet coaches, parents can ask questions and the girls can play a little on the ice in full equipment to get a feel for the game. We have also worked diligently over the past 3 years on our Skills Development, a 12-week Power Skating and puck-handling program for developing new players that has been extremely popular. This year we intend to add to our player development efforts by implementing weekly Advanced Skills classes for those more skilled players who want to take their game to a higher level. And we continue to work with Norfolk County and our community partners to obtain enough ice to properly develop our expanding teams and these programs. I am very pleased to say that our consultations and attendance at ice meetings over the summer has paid off and that the NGHA now has enough quality ice to run our programs effectively. As a result players will experience some increased ice time and more ice alloted to special training, exhibition games and other events.
We look forward to our continuing sponsorship arrangements including one to provide mouth-guards at no cost to our players and skate sharpening at a reduced price. Last year saw the implementation of our NGHA Scholarship Program for senior girls graduating from high school and moving on to University or College. NGHA players who have played with the organization for at least three continuous years and who have shown support for women’s hockey through volunteerism and other activities are eligible to apply for a $1000 scholarship to further their education. This is a program we are excited about and will continue with.
As we look forward to coming seasons I see the need to continue expanding our numbers, especially in the younger divisions, so that we have a steady stream of young ladies playing girls hockey in Norfolk as the years go by. We will also need new and committed parents and friends coming in to the NGHA, people who will bring fresh ideas for the growth and development for our girls. I would encourage everyone who supports women’s hockey to pass the word on to prospective new players, whether they are first timers or perhaps already in a hockey program elsewhere, that we have something special here at the NGHA and they are all invited to be a part of it.
From the dressing rooms to the games and beyond, the friendships I have seen develop with girl’s playing Canada’ s game are priceless. If you are looking for a place for a young lady to play and meet new friends just like her, why not contact an Executive member or parent to find out more. You’ll be glad you did.
See you at the arena everyone.
Go 'Canes Go!
Jim
