NEW AAU YOUTH PROGRAM FOR ICE JETS

 Written by: Ice Jets Staff  

Originally posted on JuniorHockey.com by the Ice Jets staff 

The Ice Jets, Innovative Hockey Group (IHG) are pleased to announce the creation of its new AAU-Ice Jets hockey program focused on the development of youth hockey players within the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) for the 2013/14 season. The AAU-Ice Jets will work toward building teams from 8U-20U and offer teams the opportunity to attend monthly AAU tournaments from September to March and compete for a National Championship.

AAU Hockey has selected Minnesota Made, in the St Paul MN area, to host the AAU 2014 Mite and Squirt National Championships on March 6-9, 2014. AAU plans to include 72-84 Mite teams and 36-48 Squirt teams participating at several competition levels within the tournaments. Teams will be selected from AAU Leagues and regional qualifier events throughout the nation.

In addition to creating the AAU-Ice Jets program, we are also excited to announce the launching of the AAU American Revolution Showcase Series. This new tournament series is a collaborated effort between the AAU-Ice Jets, Houston, Tulsa Jr. Oilers and Lafayette IceGators. This new AAU tournament series format will run from 8U (Mite) -18U (Midget) and include teams from around the country. The tournament series will offer full ice games for Mites and checking for Pee Wee hockey!

Ice Jets Hockey looks forward to introducing AAU hockey as part of the Ice Jets youth program:

"As a hockey training and development company our priority is first and foremost to our players. It is our responsibility to constantly look for opportunities which will enhance the growth of our athletes and provide them with the resources to maximize their potential. We believe AAU gives the Ice Jets program a pathway to increased training and competition and offer new experiences for our membership. Our WSHL Ice Jet Junior A' team has played under AAU for two seasons and we have enjoyed the experience and have had great success on the ice and in sending players to NCAA Div III. We see the value in both USAH and AAU hockey for our players and having the ability to offer the best of both worlds and two paths to development will prove to be invaluable as we move toward the future".

AAU ice hockey is aggressively growing programs throughout the United States and will be sanctioning youth ice hockey opportunities throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, during the coming 2013-2014 season. Mite and squirt clubs from Dallas, Houston, Tulsa and Louisiana have recently been formed to hold monthly games to prepare for the upcoming regional qualifiers for the national championships.

Founded in 1888, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is the oldest youth athletic venue in the world. It is also the fastest growing ice hockey program within the United States. AAU Ice programs are currently operating within Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming, as well as Ontario Canada.

The advantages of AAU are significant for competitive youth hockey players:

• Full ice practices and games for the mite level, including tag up off-sides
• Full contact for Pee Wee age level including tag up off-sides
• Pathway to National Championship for Mites and Squirts for 2013/14 season.

The American Revolution Showcase Series will be releasing information for the upcoming season in the near future. Please continue to visit our Ice Jets Hockey website for more information.