by Andover Hockey Association posted 06/11/2011
Welcome to Andover Hockey Association’s 2011-2012 season. AHA continues to be one of the largest youth hockey organizations in New England with approximately 500 boys and girls participating in our association. Our 2011-2012 season will feature 18 co-ed teams between the Mite and Bantam levels, seven girls teams, four high school age boys and girls teams, three initiation programs (i.e., learn to skate, learn to play hockey and fall/spring cross ice). While many of the other town programs struggle to remain viable, AHA continues to maintain solid membership, which is a reflection on the quality of the program, the dedication of the many volunteers who are committed to making the program the best it can be and our facilities at Phillips Academy. AHA represents the best that town programs can offer: a top quality and competitive hockey experience in an equal play environment, a manageable travel commitment, a convenient and first class practice facility, and a venue for players to develop new, and foster existing, relationships with friends from Andover.
2010-2011 was another strong season for AHA on the ice. Our Squirt 3 team in particular had a terrific season winning the State Championship and the Valley League title in their division. Our Mite 5, Pee Wee 4, Girls U12 and Bantam 2 teams all enjoyed championship seasons as well. As a program AHA tied Reading and Lexington-Bedford for first place with 6 medals in the Valley League playoffs. This is a great accomplishment for our players in a league that features over 100 teams.
In 2010-2011, AHA co-ed and Girls U10 continued to compete in the expanded Valley League schedule that provided teams with a 45-game schedule. AHA will again participate in the expanded Valley League schedule in 2011-2012. In terms of the Girls program, the older level Girls teams (i.e., U12 & U14) will participate in the Middlesex Yankee League, which was selected for its quality of competition, and will be supplemented with either participation in the new Valley League Girls League or an independent schedule. AHA believes that this combination of leagues and competition puts the Girls program in the best position to develop players, enjoy success, and continue grow into one of the region’s most formidable programs. Our girls program will be larger than ever in 2011-2012 with 2 U8 teams, 2 U10 teams, 1 U12 team and 2 U14 teams.
In terms of player development, AHA has selected Dynamic Skating to mange our supplemental skills program for the Mite through High School age players (boys and girls) for the 2011-2012 season. Dynamic Skating has a 34-year history of teaching the most important aspects of skating to players at every level of hockey. The program will run from September to November and is free of charge to AHA players. AHA Goalie Skills for the 2011-12 season will once again be run by Brian Daccord's Stop-It-Goaltending. AHA goalies will continue to participate in skills sessions at Stop-It-Goaltending's facility in Woburn. This allows us to leverage a small group environment at Stop-It's Goaltender Development Center and by creating Goalie Groupings by age; we are striving to provide each AHA goalie with more personalized instruction. In addition, Goalie Skills will begin later in the season in an effort to avoid fall sports conflicts.
AHA’s Initiation Program (Learn to Skate/Learn to Play Hockey) continued its growth last season. We had nearly 200 players participating in these programs last season. The Initiation Gold program has proven to be extremely successful at meeting the goals of developing our youngest participants’ ability to skate while at the same time making their first experience with hockey a fun and challenging one. Likewise, the Initiation Blue enjoyed a very successful campaign with four 15 player in-house teams. The focus of this Learn to Play Hockey program is the development of the players in a structured but less intense environment than the travel teams. The Blue program has incorporated the small game concept, which involves fewer players on a smaller ice surface (i.e., cross-ice), which has been endorsed and strongly promoted by USA Hockey. Small games have been shown to enhance player development while at the same time increasing the children’s enjoyment, as players are more “involved” in the game with increased “touches” of the puck, more scoring, and improved/quicker decision-making skills. AHA’s experience with the small ice approach has confirmed the benefits of the program, so we will again be utilizing small games as part of the Initiation Blue player development strategy in 2011-2012. The quality of players coming out of the AHA Initiation program has firmly validated AHA’s strategy relative to the development of its youngest players. The number one goal for our Gold and Blue program is for the kids to have fun while developing a love for our game.
AHA endeavors to maximize it players’ development in a fun environment, and balance the fostering of the competitive spirit with good sportsmanship, discipline, and fairness. We believe that our balanced philosophy has produced a recipe for success. With the scores of dedicated and qualified volunteers, the coaching support system in place, the quality of our practice facilities (Phillips Academy), we firmly believe that AHA is one of the best town hockey programs in the state that rivals most “select” programs. We sincerely hope you enjoy your 2011-2012 season!
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January 23, 2012 
