by
posted 03/29/2012
March 28, 2012
Dear Tri-Valley Families:
Tri-Valley Youth Hockey ("TVYH") is excited to announce that we are joining the Valley Hockey League ("VHL") for the 2012-2013 season. The Valley Hockey League, which consists of more than 60 programs and 580 teams, is regarded as the most competitive youth hockey league in the Northeast.
This opportunity was examined very closely by our Board of Directors and for several reasons we have decided that this move is in the best interest for the continued growth and development of our kids and our Organization. One major factor in our decision was the consistent feedback from TVYH families, coaches and players that 18 regular season games over a 26 week season was simply not enough competition for our kids to effectively improve as hockey players. Another major factor was that many of our most competitive "peer" programs such as Franklin, KP/Walpole, Framingham, etc., have already decided to leave the North Star Youth Hockey league. During our exploration process, we reached out to several local programs who have recently joined the VHL and the feedback has been nothing but positive. Joining the Valley League will provide our teams with a 35 game schedule over a 30 week season, not including playoffs. Virtually all games will be played on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays. VHL is committed to providing games at reasonable times and they do not schedule any games before 7AM.
The VHL is meticulous in its ice contracting and scheduling process in order to provide teams with the most convenient and comfortable facilities. League games are scheduled at over 30 of the top ice skating facilities throughout the area. The majority of a program’s games are scheduled at their preferred facilities to ensure maximum convenience for all participants (i.e. we get to choose the preferred facilities). The VHL is actively seeking and contracting ice time at a number of local facilities. Though we do not yet have specifics, our mutual goal is to ensure that approximately half of our games will be played at facilities no further away than where our games are currently played.
The league annually conducts 6 to 7 week parity rounds to determine suitable levels of competition for each team. Additionally, the size and depth of the VHL enables the scheduling of 12 to 15 highly competitive divisional cross-over games without sacrificing competitive parity. TVYH teams can expect to play approximately 15 different opponents throughout the season. This avoids the monotony of playing the same 5 opponents 4-5 times throughout the season as we have experienced in the North Star Hockey League.
One of the unique benefits of the VHL is its comprehensive, dynamic and user-friendly website that allows programs and participants to manage and track progress of all league information. Among other things, this forum provides access to:
Real-Time Game Scheduling
Contacts and Rosters
Auto Email Notification
Live Scoring Updates
Weekly Game Roundups
League Action Photography
Special Event
For more information, please feel free to visit the league website at www.valleyhockeyleague.com.
Though we anticipate, the vast majority of our teams will participate in the VHL, we are still investigating the various options for some of our other teams such as cross-ice Mites.
As a Board, we understand that change is hard and usually brings about more questions than answers. As such, we have created a new e-mail account
that you can access through our website which will allow you to submit questions and comments to the TVYH program administrators.
Ultimately, by moving our program to the VHL, our children will have the opportunity to further develop as hockey players through increased game play against more balanced and competitive opponents. We truly hope that you will share our enthusiasm for this opportunity as we continuously strive to grow our program and provide the best product possible for our players their families!
See you at the rink!
Yours Truly,
Dave Bliss
Dave Bliss
President, TVYH
