WWFHA ASSISTS

Washington Wild Email Newsletter:
August 31, 2017

WASHINGTON WILD NEWS

Washington Wild Rep Teams Announced

WWFHA is proud to announce the player selections for the 2017-2018 Washington Wild Rep teams. Each team will play in the Canadian PCAHA Female League in their age division and tiering level. Rep teams will also compete in various US and Canadian tournaments, with the 19UAA and 14UAA teams going to the Pacific District Championship Tournament in CA in March in hopes of making it to the USA Hockey National Championship Tournament in Marlborough, MA in April.

The teams, players, and coaching staffs are:

19U Rep AA Team
- Alvanna      - Hansen        - Reeb
- Cauvel        - Johnson      - Spencer
- Clark           - Knabb         - Stensland
- Cook           - Mix              - Strbiak
- Duguay       - Naumchik   - Young
Coaches: Shaun Miller, Anne-Marie Dion

15 Year Anniversary Event on September 10!

The event will include free t-shirts, special guests, Shoot & Score Club Awards, a silent auction*, shooting net, floorball, meet Pro-Staff, WWFHL meeting, and surprises!

(*Silent Auction will include such items as signed sport memorabilia from NWHL teams, Olympians, WWFHA apparel, gift certificates, pro-team ticket vouchers, and more).

All WWFHA players, families, coaches, and alumnae welcome!

Interested in making a basket for the silent auction? Interested in helping? Please let us know by emailing today!
 

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WWFHA History: Through the Eyes of a Founding Player

As WWFHA celebrates its 15th anniversary we take a moment to look back at the organization's first season: 2002-2003. We reached out to various alumnae and spoke to Jane Pennock, a founding player on one of the inaugural WWFHA teams, and daughter to Shirley Williamson who lead the organization as president for years.

Emailing from Australia, where Jane lives with her family, she reminisces about her experiences with WWFHA the first year. Two teams were formed: the 19U team was called the Wild and the 14U team was called the Pheonix (briefly the Hawks) until 2012-2013 season when all teams were branded under the same name and logo – the Washington Wild.

Jane writes: “The first season was an interesting experience and eye opening as we [WWFHA] joined PNAHA and tried to create a relationship with PCAHA. Our parents had to volunteer and make extra efforts for the Wild to be accepted.  For example, my mom took on scheduling for all of the PCAHA girls' teams, at every age level and tier.
 
There was a lot of uncertainty in the first year as we made our place in the hockey community.  I may be more aware of the administrative stress as a first hand witness to the work my mom put in.  In the end, we had to play when and where other teams dictated, because their ice times were already locked in, so there were frequent Wednesday night games in Vancouver and a refusal to have their teams travel to Washington.  This meant we were also trying to find ice in Canada for our “home” games. In our first season we did really well in the 19u tier II group and over the following years that I played for the Wild we were consistently at the top of the rankings often in the top two for the league and then the playoffs.
 
The first couple of seasons were also really tough and we all got a TON of ice time – at times we fought about who could sit on the bench for just an extra minute.  The best examples of this are the early tournaments for the Wild where we only had seven or eight skaters and a goalie… and during one of these tournaments (in our second season) our goalie, Sam, showed up after the first period finished because she got lost on the way to the rink (that we’d already played three games at in the last two days).  Amazingly we prevented the other team from scoring for the entire first period with our tiny bench of seven players up against their full bench of 15+.  I think we lost the game but that memory reminds me that heart and determination matter.  I never knew I had that in me until then.

(2002-2003 19U and 14U WWFHA Teams)
 
The girls all had a lot of heart and determination to push through when disadvantaged by team size and constantly traveling to our games.  Even when the odds were really stacked against us we faced them head on and we really held our own against much bigger teams.  To save time traveling, after our first season, we would play two games in one day.  It was a big commitment but it proved our association’s dedication to being an active part of PCAHA and started to earn our place.
 
During these first few seasons the Phoenix [14U team] grew and changed as they played in PNAHA.  There would be girls as young as eight and as old as 16 all on the same team.  From what I witnessed, the team members were able to bond and form a strong and supportive team.  They would then feed into the Wild as their skills improved or as they aged out.   During tournaments the two teams would mingle and hang out in each other’s hotel rooms regardless of which team they played for.  There was a lot of support for each other which I’m so glad to see is continuing in the association.
 
I have to mention the amazing coaches we had. After playing with SKAHA and then SJHA, a welcome change for me was having great coaches in Gregg Kurek, John Morse, and Jason who made the sport fun again (they also inspired me to take up coaching when I graduated).  I also feel for them because the players and the parents were difficult at times but they were wonderful coaches and handled it really well.  All in all, we were a fun and rowdy group of girls who had a passion for hockey but not the wealth of resources that the association has today so we figured it out as we went.  We would joke around and sing along to the warm up music in games, trade make-up tips, listen to CD’s in the locker room (iPods came later), share our favourite stories about things that happened during games, run around the malls at tournaments, and try to create the image of the united team we were by organizing our own team warm-ups. We all would have LOVED more direction and instruction for how to progress in this sport but I’m glad our start has led to the WWFHA becoming such a well-recognized place for other girls that want the same things we did.”

In recognition of the 15 years of WWFHA hockey hisotry the association is hosting a 15th Year Anniversary party on September 10th in Shoreline, and will hold its annual Alumnae Game on December 28th at Xfinity Arena in Everett.
 

Donate an Item to the Silent Auction -- Help Aid WWFHA's Financial Aid Scholarship Fund

WWFHA will host a small silent auction at the 15th Anniversary Event on September 10th at the Spartan Recreation Center.

Please consider donating a small, unique item or fun basket to help raise funds for the Financial Aid Scholarship Fund, which gives more girls the opportunity to play the sport of ice hockey.

• Theme-related basket (hockey, chocolate, coffee, gardening, etc.)
• Signed sports memorabilia
• Vacation / time share property
• Business gift certificates
• Event tickets
• Airline miles

• Team track suits and hockey team shells are for players and staff only.
• The team hockey bag designed for hockey gear is the only one required for Rep/Travel players (travel duffles are optional).
• The Team Gear Store will be open between August 9 and August 31
• Shells must be ordered in the August session (due to restrictions from the manufacturer) so all Rep and Travel teams need to order before August 31.
• Items ordered in the Gear Store will delivered to practices sessions 15-20 later, depending on the item.

WWFHA League Makes History

On August 26th over sixty-two hockey players from the 8U, 10U, and 12/14U age brackets came out for a historic event; an evaluation skate for the first-ever girls’ hockey league in Washington State named the Western Washington Female Hockey League (WWFHL).
 
The players skated at Highland Ice Arena in Shoreline between 1:30pm and 5:00pm to earn a spot on an age-specific team in WWFHL for the 2017-2018 season.

Team practices start the week of Monday, September 11 at Highland Ice Arena, with league games starting in October.

 

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Washington Wild Travel Team Tryouts - Registration is Now Open -- and it's FREE!

Announcing the 14U/12U, 10U and 8U Washington Wild Travel Teams, which play in exhibition games and tournaments throughout the season.

The WWFHL will break for Travel Team away games approximately once a month (example: for tournaments). Travel Teams include an additional practice each week and games above and beyond what is played in the WWFHL. Playing for a Travel Team is optional and all players will be placed on a team after tryouts and the evaluation skate.
 
Mark your calendars! Placement tryout and evaluation skate schedule:
- 12U/14U Team: Saturday September 16 – 5:00-6:00pm - large ice
- 10U Teams: Sunday September 17 – 8:45-9:45am - large ice
- 8U Teams: Sunday September 17 – 9:00 - 10:00am - small ice

Click here to register - it is FREE!
 

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Register for WWFHA Today!

WWFHA registration is open! Please register before your first practice.

You should register online at the WWFHA website once you have been:

1. selected for a specific WA Wild Rep team

2. plan to play in the WWFHA League (WWFHL)

3. and/or plan to play for a Washington Wild Travel Tournament Team

Note: If you are coming from another association, please submit your Player Release to WWFHA's registrar prior to registering with the association. This is not required for dual-rostered players. Thank you!

If you don't know which team you will play on or if you have questions, please email Adam Young, WWFHA Registrar, prior to registering.

 

Submit Your Shot Logs for the Shoot & Score Club

Please submit your shot logs for the 2017 Washington Wild Shoot and Score Club Challenge!

Awards will be presented to those players that reached their goals at the 15th Anniversary Event on Sunday September 10th at the Shoreline Rec Center.

Please scan and submit your log to

Experts Edge

What is he or she doing this summer to get ahead? What team is she playing on next year? Who are they working out with now?

Finding a spot on an elite youth or high school team is one of the most worried-about aspects of a hockey player’s development and advancement.

It doesn’t need to be, however. Sure, playing on a top team in your age group or making a showcase squad for a major tournament may help in the quest for more exposure and better skills. But it’s not the most important thing for a hockey player’s growth overall.

The best hockey players will be found, no matter where they are playing. Opportunities will come to those who earn it."

Click here to read the full article.

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