Mar 24, 2013 | Mike Steele | 1329 views
Year End Wrap Up
Well, it all started back in September when I met 15 smiling faces ready for a season on Novice Blue. Little did I know what a Great Season was in store for me as Coach....
It has been my pleasure to have coached such a great bunch of kids. I remember our first practice of the year where the Coach takes a look at the talent and skills of all the kids and tries to figure out the pieces of the puzzle that will make the kids into a hockey team. With a good mix of major & minor players and some kids that have never played but eager to learn with some kids who have played for 3 years I knew we had a winning lineup
Novice Blue had a very successful season with an early tournament win in West Lorne and had only 3 season losses heading into our out of town tourney at the Motown Cup. That was such a fun tournament for the kids, parents and coaches, a great bonding experience that the kids will remember forever. After spending a few days in the hotel with the kids we had no discipline issues with any of the kids, maybe a few parents but that is another story lol
Cougars Blue came back for our last few season games and took a 3 game win streak into our first round of playoffs against a tough Strathroy Red squad who we had beaten twice in the regualar season but were both tight games. We took the series in 4 games scoring 31 GF and 8 GA in those 4 games. This earned us a trip to the League Finals in the B Pool against Lambeth 2 whom we knew had a high powered offence scoring the 2nd most goals in the league.
The Team was hungry for another tourney so we entered the St Marys funfest in which we were supposed to play only 3 games but ended up playing 5 games in an 8 hr span. This was unbelievable to imagine 5 games by these kids in what was one of the biggest efforts I have ever seen in my 30 + years of coaching minor league sports. I know they will remember that day going forward in their hockey careers, I will !! We did come away with some more hardware with a 5-2 win in the final
With a bit of spaghetti legs going on we played the next day in game 1 against Lambeth. The kids played hard all game and ended up tieing game 1. Game 2 saw a determined Lambeth team and Ava stood on her head to keep us in the game and we were on the losing end 2-1. In game 3 the Lancers came out flying , passing & shooting and put our kids on their heels early and took our kids off their game. We lost game three 6-0 but were determined to go down fighting for game 4 in Lambeth. This was probably our best game of the series with back & forth play but we came up a bit short in a 3-2 loss. Our team was very gracious in defeat but still celebrated on ice as there is no shame in being number 2. The kids got a nice medal as some good treats from Lynn after the game.
I am so proud of every player on Novice Blue this year. They all progressed in their individual and team skills and were always a terrific group of kids to have in the dressing room and on the ice. Parents, you should be proud of raising such a fine group of children. Congrats to Ava, Tat, Kyle, Hamish, Erika, Elijah. Kevin, Tyler, Josh, Owen, Jack, Raileh, Carter, Luke & Cameron. We ended up with 7 of our players getting 10 or more goals this year with a very balanced attack. I was always very happy to see plenty of assists on the gamesheets.
This season would not have been a success without the strong dedication of my Coach Staff. Thanks to Coaches Alan, Pete Sean & Steve. Your help and commitment to practices made my job much easier. I also want to thank our Parents Rep Allan for always keeping our team informed of what is going on in MBDAA and to Danielle for keeping our shirts smelling great all year. You will appreciate the shirt washer even more as the kids get older, they really start smelling at peewee, lol
I also want to thank our Team Sponsor Bravura Hair Salon who helped to pay for our out of town tournament. We appreciate the support !!
Most of all I want to thank such a wonderful parent group who was so supportive of the coaching staff and very dedicated in bringing your child to practice. We always had such a good turnout and that led to our success this year. I told the kids at the last game to look around the room at your team as this will be the last time all 15 of them will play on the same team again. It is sometimes sad to think about but I am sure they made some new lasting friendships and I wish success to all the kids going forward. I hope you enjoyed your season, I know I did !!!! Team party details to follow !
Coach Mike