GHPYH Community,

It’s that time of year again. We are less than a month away from the start of the 2021-2022 season!  The board is working to get everything ready for the start of the season; jerseys, ice time, equipment, etc.  Some parents have been reaching out with questions so I thought now is a good time to send out some useful pieces of info as the season gets closer.

The two most important items that you can help us with:

USA Hockey number – If you have not already provided it to us, please do so ASAP. This is mandatory and is our insurance policy. Kids and Coaches cannot go on the ice without a 2021-2022 USA number on file with the league.  You can go to the “edit my account” section of our website and update it under the child’s name.  You can also email it to   . Anthony Bonfiglio is taking the lead with USA Hockey rostering duties. So be on the lookout for emails from him if you don’t get this in.  Let Anthony know if you have any questions.

Payments – Please continue making your payments. You should have made multiple installments at this point.  The next payment will be due 9/1/21.  You can pay both online and via a check through the mail.  If you have any questions regarding payments, Shawn Guertin can assist via email at   .

Now for some updates as we get ready for the season:

1. Start Dates – As of this week, the City is telling us the rink will be ready to go by 9/7. So be prepared to have a practice/skill session on 9/7. 
2. Game schedule - Games are slated to start 9/11 for the Valley League.  We do not have the game schedule yet. We don’t anticipate our parity schedule to come until the end of August, at best. Once we have that, we’ll post it right away. Mite teams, especially instructional teams will start games a few weeks later.
3. Practice schedule – As is always the case, we create practice schedules based on game schedules. This allows us to maximize our practice time without conflicting with games.  Because of the lack of a game schedule, we’re holding off on publishing a full practice schedule. Though, be on the lookout for Fall Skills sessions and some weekday practices to be added shortly as those do not conflict with games.
4. Practice Ice times – We have secured our Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday/Sunday practice days once again at the Haverhill High school. Much like last year, we will also be adding times on Monday and Wednesday at the rink.  Practice Sessions will be 50 minutes in length.  Weekday practices will start around 5pm and go until 10pm (5 hours each weeknight to be divided up).  Weekend practices will start as early as 8am and go to 12pm. Our goal is to continue to provide as many practice sessions as possible for each of our teams.  (see the bottom of this email for more details and approximate schedule guides by age.)
5. Skills Sessions: Pride Hockey will provide our skills instruction on Tuesdays. We are excited to continue to offer skills for 25 weeks, throughout most of the season.
6. Goalie Skills:  We continue our partnership with “In The Zone Goaltending” and Mike Lane. Mike and his company ITZ, has also been a long-time partner of ours and has proven to be very successful in developing the critical components of effective goaltending.  This weekly goaltending session will run for 25 weeks and is open to all full-time goaltenders (squirt-midget ages).
7. Available Space:  If you know anyone interested in playing, but they did not attend tryouts, we still have space available at most ages. Have them go to our website to sign up asap. 
8. Coaching help: If you are interested in helping coach, please reach out to your teams head coach. They are always looking for on and off ice assistance. Our coaches meeting will be scheduled for late August and more info will be provided soon.
9. Bocce Night Save the Date!: December 4^th Methuen Sons of Italy. We are very excited to bring our Bocce fundraiser back for this year. This will be the can’t miss parent night of the year once again! Be on the lookout for more info soon including registration info.
10. Learn to Skate / Learn to Play: More info will be out soon. Learn to skate will begin in mid-October. Bruins Academy will also begin in mid-October. Our learn to play program will begin in early December

I will share more information/schedules for you as soon as we have it available.  As always, please let any of the Board Members or I know if you have any questions or concerns at all.  Thanks, and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Chris Baker

GPYH – President Board of Directors

Typical ice time:

Instructional Mites (8U): Tuesday skills 5pm fall and 6pm winter. Saturday afternoon games. Sunday morning practices 8am.

Travel Mites (8U) (Fairly consistent): 1-2 Practices per week + 1 game.Tuesday skills 5p fall and 6pm winter. Game – Saturday or Sunday. Practice – Saturday or Sunday. Additional weekday practices where available. Typically 5pm one day Monday/Wednesday/Thursday.

Squirt 10U, (Varies): 2-3 practices per week + 1-2 games.Tuesday skills 6pm fall and 7pm winter. 1 weekday practice per week. Typically Thursday with Monday or Wednesday possible. 1-2 games per weekend. If available, additional practices added on the weekend.

Peewee (12U)(Varies): 2-3 practices per week + 1-2 games. Tuesday skills 7pm fall and 8pm winter. 1 weekday practice per week. Typically, Thursday with Monday or Wednesday possible. 1-2 games per weekend. If available, additional practices added on the weekend.

Bantam (14U) (Varies): 2-3 practices per week + 1-2 games.Tuesday skills 8pm fall and 9pm winter. 1 weekday practice per week. Typically, Thursday with Monday or Wednesday possible. 1-2 games per weekend. If available, additional practices added on the weekend.

Midgets (18U) – Tuesday or Thursday practice @ 9pm. 1 Game per week. Additional practices added where available.

Hello Thunder Families,

 Hopefully, everyone is enjoying the spring sports season, warmer weather and increased sunlight. Before you know it, we will be back at it.  We are excited to officially kick off the 2021-2022 season and are looking forward to a more normal season than we have had over the last 15 months. At the April 24^th meeting, we finalized the tuition and fees schedule for the 2021/22 season. It is with excitement that I share, for the 7^th consecutive year, we will maintain consistent tuition rates flat for the upcoming season:

•                 Instructional Mites (Graf League) - $900
•                 Travel Mites (Valley Hockey League - $1400
•                 Squirts, Peewees and Bantams - $1800
•                 Midgets - $700
•                 Full time goaltenders will receive a 40% discount
•                 3^rd child discount of 50%

The board reviewed our budget numbers and based upon on comments from our community, focused on these areas the best we could.

•                 Less players on a team / increased ice time
•                 Desire to return to full in-season skills sessions
•                 Desire to maximize in-season practice time

This decision to maintain tuition rates was one that was not taken lightly and will require some modifications to the offerings this upcoming season. But in line with our mission to provide a cost effective and comprehensive hockey program, we felt this was the best decision for the 2021-2022 season.

 We fully expect to operate this season at a significant operating deficit. We recognize what the last year has been for many and felt compelled to maintain tuition levels for one more season. Valley League is projecting a 5^rd straight year of increases to game fees. The city will be increasing practice ice fees. All other costs continue to increase. Through the boards fiscally responsible approach over the years, we have positioned ourselves to make this decision. We don’t expect to keep tuition flat forever, but we continue to meet the goal of providing some of the best value in the area.

We had to make the hard decision between raising tuition or removing summer skills.  We saw the overall usage of the summer skills being about half of our community, whereas raising tuition would affect everyone. This became the overriding factor in our decision.   That is the only change in our program for this year.  Even with the removal of the summer skills our program is going to operate in an incredibly significant loss this year.  We hope you understand our decision.  Pride Hockey, who runs our skills programs, has been a great partner and we will continue to work with them for our in season skills offerings.  If you are in the camp of those who would gladly pay more to keep the summer skills, we encourage you to contact Jeremy Tabb at Pride Hockey to get information on his summer program offerings.

Program offerings for the 2021-2022 season include all the following benefits:

•        Fall Skills Sessions (25 weeks)
•        35 Game Valley Hockey League Schedule (25 for mites, 11 for midgets)
•        2+ Practices per week (average is 2.6 per team during normal years)
•        25-week Goalie skills session with Mike Lane and ITZ Goaltending for full time goalies
•        Thunder Practice Jersey
•        Game Socks

Please take the next 24 hours prior to responding.  There are no other programs out there that have kept their fees consistent for this long. We are thrilled to do it but recognize some may be disappointed to lose summer skills. We will have our next board meeting on June 7th if you would like to come and discuss anything within your program.

We thank you for the continued support of our program.

Thank you,

Chris Baker

President - GHPYH Board of Directors

Hi parents,

 Quick update. 2020-2021 season is officially underway. The Haverhill Veterans Memorial Rink opened yesterday, and our teams began practicing. The VHL teams also started playing games over the weekend and we’re excited to be back on the ice. If you have not registered for the city registration, please do so immediately. The link is below and here.

Also, VERY IMPORTANT REMINDER. We must operate under strict rules if we want our kids to play this year. We’ve already received many reports of parents ignoring program guidelines at games and practices. To reiterated here are some key points for Veterans Memorial Rink:

• Players must arrive no earlier than 15 minutes before their ice session begins
• Players and 1 spectator must be registered with the City before entering Veterans Memorial Rink. Plan ahead.
• 1 Parent per player
• 0 Siblings allowed as spectators
• Players must come dressed into the rink (except skates, helmets, and gloves)
• Please adhere to in-building traffic flow. (get dressed on bench side, leave on penalty box side)
• All must wear a mask/neck gaiter/face covering (players may remove face coverings during practices)
• Spectators must socially distance (on the penalty box side of the rink)
• All must leave the rink within 10 minutes of the conclusion of practice
• Strongly encourage parents to wait outside or in their car when possible. Your kids will be fine!

These are not optional guidelines or suggestions. They are in place so that our kids can play hockey. They are state, city and league rules. If you choose not to follow them, your child will not be able to play.

If you have any concerns, please let me or a board member know.

Thank you,

Chris

Haverhill Rec dept player registration: www.haverhillrec.com

USA Hockey Registration: https://membership.usahockey.com/

Valley Hockey League Registration: https://admin.vahockey.com/VHL2021/playerregistration?code=8213DD4B2

Parents,

 As we reach the midway point in the summer, our voluntary summer skills are about to begin. We’re excited to return to some semblance of normalcy during these challenging times. Our goal is for the children in our program to safely return to the ice and prepare for the upcoming season. To do that, we all need to follow the guidelines set forth to ensure we maintain compliance with the rink and USA hockey guidelines and directives.

These guidelines will be enforced by the rink and our board membership. Please adhere to them so that we maintain our ability to use the facilities. They are as follows:

1. Players must come to the rink dressed and show up no more than 15 minutes prior to your scheduled ice session. Player must wear a mask entering and exiting the rink. Space will be provided to put your skates on in a socially distant atmosphere. No locker rooms will be available for use.
2. Players must leave within 15 minutes of the end of their session. Players cannot linger at the rink while other siblings are on the ice.
3. Valley Rinks strongly recommend drop off only. When that is unavailable, only 1 spectator per skater is allowed in the building. Spectators must wear face masks and practice safe social distancing.
4. Masks are not required while player are on the ice.
5. Players must provide their own water bottles and fill them at home. Water fountains will not be available.
6. If your player is ill, coughing, fever, or other flu like symptoms they should not attend
7. If any player of family member in attendance receives a COVID diagnosis after attending our sessions, they must report to the league president – . We will anonymously communicate a positive diagnosis to the families of participants in our program and the hour that the player attended a session. No further information will be provided to the program out of consideration to the privacy of that individual/family.
8. Hand sanitizing stations will be provided by the rink.
9. Participants and spectators must not spit under any circumstance.
10. Participant may only attend the session for their age group.

Session schedule:

Monday’s, 7pm - Squirt, Peewee, Bantam, Midget Goalies ONLY

Tuesday’s

Mites – 5pm-5:50pm

Squirts – 6pm-6:50pm

Peewees – 7pm-7:50pm

Bantams – 8pm-8:50pm

Midgets – 8pm-8:50pm

• Location: All Sessions will take place at Haverhill Ward Hill Forum. Address is 7 Parkridge rd Haverhill Ma
• Schedules: Sessions begin July 20th and 21^st and will run for 5 consecutive weeks. 
• What is it?: A summer conditioning program geared towards improving core hockey skills on ice.
• Is this mandatory?: These are not mandatory sessions. Kids may attend as many or as few sessions as they would like for their assigned age group. You are not required to attend both on and off ice sessions each day. No discounts are provided to your annual tuition for not attending some or all of these sessions. 
• Cost: There is NO additional cost. However, Team placement deposit must be made in order to attend these sessions. To make your team placement deposit, go to www.hpthunder.org. If you need to make arrangements with the league please email:  @gmail.com as soon as possible.  
• USA Hockey numbers are required for this session and the GHPYH season. We must have an updated, 2020/21 USA Hockey number on file in order to attend the session. Go to https://www.usahockeyregistration.com to sign up prior to the first session.  Once signed up you can upload it online as well. Click on "edit my account" then select the childs name. Finally scroll down and enter it in the USAH Confirm. # field and click submit. Please also email it to us at  .

Looking forward to getting the kids on the ice. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Chris Baker

GHPYH – President, Board of Directors