Cross-Ice (All)

Greetings, Cross-Ice families:

My name is Danny Schneider and I'm the ALD (Age Level Director) for MYH Cross-Ice this year. I'm testing out the "team feed" feature on our new website. I'll post some basic pre-season information here:

1) My email is crossice@middletonyouthhockey.com

1a) MYH and Suter Legacy 20 Arena are partnering to offer two "Try Hockey for Free" dates in the very near future. On Sept 29 at 11:45 and 12:45 and on Oct 13 at 8:00a. You can learn more and register for those (free) dates here: https://www.legacy20arenamiddleton.com/p...

2) We'll use the CrossBar mobile app to communicate this season. It's the best way for you to share your skater's availability & RSVP for practices and games (essential). Our practices & games will be viewable on our CrossBar website and app; I'll also email a copy of all of our confirmed times and dates closer to the start of the season.

3) Jerseys & Gear: We will hand out two jerseys to each skater (black & red) on the first days of practice. MYH will have 1-2 gear days for those of you that will be renting gear for your skater this season. Dates TBD but will be in October. If you're not renting gear, you'll want to start acquiring a full set of gear for your skater.

3a) Gear tips: Off the top of my head, the things you'll need and appx sizes are: youth helmet and cage, neck guard (required this year), shoulder pads (Youth Sm or Med), elbow pads, gloves (size 8 or 9 inch), hockey pants aka breezers (Sm or Med), you may want suspenders for the hockey pants, shin pads (8 or 9 inch), hockey skates (generally fit 1.5ish sizes below shoes (so a kid that wears 11 shoes might wear 9.5 skates, etc). Hockey skates are important to try on and fit well - not too big. They're also fairly easy to find at Play It Again Sports, Facebook Marketplace, EBay (once you know your sizes), etc. Your kid might go through skates quickly so used is great. I recommend getting them sharpened at a 1/2 inch radius from a reputable gear shop or a Sparx machine. The last thing your skater will need are hockey socks to cover their shin pads. This one is a little tricky but essential for keeping your player from coming undone on the ice. You can find cheap youth shin socks cheaply - but securing them to your player is an art form. My favorite method is to buy socks that have velcro on top (you'll know it when you see it) and then buy a pair of jock/jill shorts that have velcro to attach them to. Some people prefer to use sock or hockey tape to wrap the shin pads a few times and then wrap the top near the hamstring/quad muscles. Your third option, and still a good option, is to find a pair of sweatpants that fit over their shinpads and below their breezers. A few wraps of tape around the shin pads will secure this method nicely. The last note - it's helpful if you put a strip of lightly colored hockey tape on the front and back of your skater's helmet and sharpie their first name on. That will help coaches in the early days.

4) As of now, our Saturday practices will begin on November 9th. Mostly mornings with just a few early afternoons. Mostly at Suter Legacy 20 Arena but one at Bakke on the UW Campus.

5) We're not certain when Sunday games against regional teams will begin but our first ice sheet set aside for it is November 10th. We need to wait until the Dane County League that organizes U6 hockey has the schedule put together. I'll keep you posted. It's unlikely that we'd start games that early; we're more likely to begin Sunday games a few weeks after practices begin.

6) We won't have a game on December 22nd for the winter holidays. We also will not have a game on February 2nd due to local playdowns.

7) Our Cross-Ice season will likely wrap up by the weekend of February 22nd.

8) I will likely be emailing about finding some coaching help. The requirements prior to coaching are a pretty low hurdle and then we'd just ask that you're generally available during the weekends through the season. Things do come up (illness, work, family trips, etc) so we try to have a few coaches for each team so that we can all exist a bit flexibly. Coaching isn't for everyone - but for me, it's one of the highlights of my year. If you've played hockey or even just skated a little - you're welcome. If you want to be on the ice with your skater - there's likely a place for you. It will get harder to get started as your kid gets older; if you have thoughts of being involved on the ice in your little one's hockey journey...now is the time :)

9) At this age level, we try to build balanced teams and we focus on fun, basic skills, and working together. Last season we had four teams. So far, we have registrations this season for two teams but kids tend to sign up a little later for our season since school is just starting, fall sports are ongoing, and we don't get started until November. We have plenty of room so if you know any 4- to 6-year-olds that have skated a little - please send them our way! We will generally practice at the same time as our novice Learn to Play group and we will end up with a few of those kids once they feel ready to play games. If you know kids that haven't skated but would like to - please send them to LTP@middletonhockey.com. Nate, our LTP ALD, is great!

10) We currently have an ongoing Middleton Youth Hockey apparel sale through October 6. You can find details on the MYH website homepage.

Ok, that's a ton of information and I'm still not certain how the website will deliver it to you. Please don't hesitate to contact me (crossice@middletonyouthhockey.com) if you have questions or need anything. A few of the finer points of our season (and Middleton Youth Hockey in general) will be clearer once our Board finalizes a contract (our first ever!) with Suter ice rink. It's been a long process but we're likely nearing the finish line.

I can't wait to welcome you and your skaters to the hockey season. Thanks for choosing to share the adventure with us!