Team News

PHOENIX
At the end of 2010, the Phoenix had a 4-6-0 record and was tied for 6th place out of 11 teams in the boys' Pee-Wee Division of NPSHL; their most productive and successful 1st half of the season ever! The team has enjoyed playing in several tournaments this year with the most recent trip to Langley, BC to participate in the Angels on Ice tournament held at the end of December. The Phoenix players look forward to traveling to Wenatchee, WA to play in the 1st annual Apple Puck girls' hockey tournament over the weekend of January 21st - 23rd.

WILD 2
At the start of 2011, the Wild 2 had a 6-1-0 record in PCAHA regular season league play and was tied for 1st place! The team has attended two tournaments thus far in the season -- the Angels on Ice tournament in Langley and a tournament in Burnaby, B.C. In the New Year, the team looks forward to the 1st annual Apple Puck girls' hockey tournament in Wenatchee over the weekend of January 21st - 23rd. As the Wild 2 team continues to perfect their offensive and defensive systems there is continued interest in the team from local girl hockey players. The team grew by one recently and a few other players have already committed to join the team next year!

WILD 1
At the end of 2010, the Wild 1 had a 2-2-4 record in PCAHA regular season play, was in 5th place in the league and had an overall record of 12-13-8, including league pre-season and exhibition games. The team has attended three tournaments this season -- Nanaimo (1-2-1), Burnaby (2-2-0) and the Connecticut Polar Bear Tournament (1-2-1). A Media Guide was created and sent to collegiate scouts with strong response from many ACHA club and NCAA varsity DI and DIII coaches, including Princeton, Trinity and Union College to name a few. During the trip to Connecticut the team watched the Quinnipiac University NCAA Division 1 Women's team practice and afterwards Associate Head Coach Harry Rosenholtz of Quinnipiac took the girls on a tour of the hockey facility. Later that evening a majority of the team returned to watch the Quinnipiac Men's hockey game against University of Nebraska Omaha.

For statistical information on all teams and players visit wwfhahockey.com — ZH

Mandi Schwartz's Coaching Debut

On Saturday, December 11th Mandi Schwartz made her coaching debut for the WWFHA Phoenix team. After months of treatment for Leukemia Mandi was excited to get back into a hockey rink and made her way onto the bench for her first minor hockey league coaching experience. The WWFHA Phoenix played the Kent Valley boy's team and the team was excited to finally have Mandi on the bench as they have played all season with a number '17' patch on their jerseys and have retired their own number 17 jersey for the season. The game started evenly matched with a 0-0 game through the first period. Mandi was bundled up as warmly as anyone in the rink and worked the entire bench encouraging girls throughout the game. The Phoenix were motivated to give Mandi her first win, which they did as they compiled three goals to achieve a 3-0 win over the Kent Valley team. Both Rick and Carol Schwartz, Mandi's parents, were in the stands for the game and brought homemade cookies for the girls after their impressive win. Mandi made her on-ice practice debut Tuesday December 14th at the Highland Ice Arena, her first time back on the ice in a very long time! For more information on how you can help Mandi in her battle with leukemia, please visit becomemandishero.org — PK

WWFHA Receives Seattle T-Birds Grant

WWFHA was presented with a $2,500 grant from the Thunderbirds Community Sports Foundation — thunderbirdsfoundation.com. The monies have been earmarked for association scholarships and Learn to Play Hockey programs. The grant has already had an impact on the association as several scholarships have been awarded for the 2010-2011 season. The WWFHA Board has also begun preparation for free Learn to Play Hockey sessions and a program to involve local Girl Scouts in the sport, in conjunction with USA Hockey, with the goal of getting more girls on the ice. The programs are being planned for the spring and summer of 2011. — ZH

Player Perspective
Each newsletter we hope to interview one of the players in the association and ask her about a hockey and non-hockey experience that has impacted her life. This month's interview is with Jasmine Schubert, a forward on Wild 2 and a musician.

Jasmine Schubert is 15 years old and in 9th grade at Northshore Junior High School. It is her first year on the Wild 2 team within WWFHA and she has been playing the sport of ice hockey for 8 years. Jasmine holds talents off the ice as well as she has been playing a musical instrument since she was 4 years old.

Jasmine started her musical career playing the piano and has since learned the flute, guitar and most recently the Theremin, an electronic musical instrument that is played by the position of one's hands between two metal antennas, so it can be played without being touched. Jasmine has played the flute in the Northshore Junior High Symphonic Band for 5 years; however, her favorite instrument is the piano because as she states, "Only because I am the best at it."

When asked how training for hockey and practicing to play a musical instrument are alike and how they are different Jasmine says, "They are alike in that you have to practice regularly to get better and it takes dedication. They are different in that you can practice for a long time in music, without getting tired, and you can also memorize pieces to the point where you don't have to think about them at all; while for hockey you always have to be alert on the ice for constant changes."

Playing hockey and learning to play an instrument both have their challenges as well. For Jasmine, she believes that the most challenging part of hockey is how tired you get; however, she says, "You still have to keep playing hard." When playing an instrument Jasmines says the most challenging part is the amount of practice it takes to improve just a little bit. On the other hand, the work ethic and dedication she has learned to improve in music has impacted her hockey development and she believes that playing an instrument has taught her a lot playing hockey. She says, "It has taught me that practice makes perfect, and even if something seems impossible at first you can achieve it if you set your mind on it."

Jasmine has other hobbies as well such as sewing, cooking and Tae kwon do; however, hockey and music take front seat. She recommends that others give either activity a try as she points out, "You make a lot of friends and they are both fun!" For more information about Jasmine's hockey and musical experiences, be sure to ask her. Or, if you want to learn to play a musical instrument contact your local high school or a private teacher — it will enrich your life much like hockey does! — ZH

Collegiate Hockey Preparation Zone

To play NCAA Division I or Division III Women's Ice Hockey it takes several years of preparation both on and off the ice. This month's article will focus on the high-level NCAA recruiting rules for student-athletes in their freshman and sophomore years of high school, which are important years to get a good start on the process.

The NCAA recommends the following steps to eligibility for freshman and sophomores:

• Start planning now! Work hard to get the best grades possible.
• Take classes that match your school's NCAA list of approved core courses.
• Check out the NCAA website to see the core courses.

On-Ice you should consider:

• Playing for a team that will challenge you and that travel to tournaments that are scouted by collegiate coaches
• Tryouting for USA Hockey festivals
• Having a private coach to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as a player and begin focusing on improving your skills

Off-Ice you should:

• Ensure you are warming up off-ice prior to practices and games
• Begin a workout regime that is designed for ice hockey players during the season and off-season.
• Investigate other forms of exercise that will strengthen your core and improve your balance (example: core strength training and yoga) during the season and consider cross-training with other sports during the off season.

In respect to marketing:

• Start looking at colleges that you might want to attend. Select a broad group of colleges and check to see if they have a women's ice hockey program.
• Write the coach (email) and introduce yourself. Consider sending them your player profile and get on their prospects list; note: you may not hear back from coaches your freshman or sophomore year.
• When traveling to tournaments, write to coaches to let them know where you will be, what team you play for and your jersey number.

NCAA DI rules for freshmen and sophomores from the NCAA website are:

• You may receive recruiting materials on camps or questionnaires.
• You may make calls to coach at your expense only.
• College coaches cannot call you.
• You may make an unlimited number of unofficial visits.
  • The NCAA says: An unofficial visit is any visit by you and your parents to a college campus paid for by you or your parents. The only expense you may receive from the college is three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest. You may make as many unofficial visits as you like and may take those visits at any time. The only time you cannot talk with a coach during an unofficial visit is during a dead period.
  • You may NOT make an official visit or make off-campus contacts The NCAA says: Any visit to a college campus by you and your parents paid for by the college. The college may pay all or some of the following expenses:
    • Your transportation to and from the college;
    • Room and meals (three per day) while you are visiting the college; and
    • Reasonable entertainment expenses, including three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest.

The above rules are slightly different for NCAA Division III teams and do not apply to the ACHA non-varsity (club) teams; although ACHA teams do abide by the on-ice rules once you join a team and actually abide by a stricter grade-point average than NCAA teams. ACHA teams do recruit, and reaching out early to a coach of a school you are interested in is advisable as they may be able to meet you on campus, give you a tour and introduce you to the team – all beneficial in making your collegiate decision.

For more information on NCAA DI and DIII rules and regulations visit the NCAA website and check out the tool kits each division at Becoming a Student Athlete on ncaa.org — ZH

Final Call for Scholarship Applications

Contact WWFHA if you would like to apply for a scholarship for the 2010-2011 season. Partial scholarships are now available to apply for and will be handed out on a case-by-case basis based on financial need. Look for application forms and requirements on the WWFHA website in the 'Registration' section. Contact cindydayley@yahoo.com for more information.

Pass this Newsletter On

We encourage you to distribute this newsletter to people that have an interest in female hockey, whether they currently play or may have interest in playing in the future. We thank you for your commitment to girls' hockey and your help in sharing news and information with others.

If you don’t already receive this newsletter directly from WWFHA and would like to, please send an email to zoeharris@yahoo.com. If you want to read past issues of the newsletter please visit the newsletter archive at wwfha.com.