Travel Program Highlights for the Upcoming Season
Mixed Teams at All Age Levels
For next season all Reston Raiders Travel Teams will be age-based mixed teams. This is a departure from our recent policy of trying to select birth year based teams. Each team selected during our Travel Tryouts for next season, will be a mixed of both birth years at a respectivie age level. We feel that this will allow us to better place those teams at the appropriate playing level with the CBHL and tournaments or any other games our teams will participate in. The top group of players as evaluated by our evaluation committee would be selected for our Blue team. Then the next group of players would be rostered on our Silver team at that age level. The third group would make up our Black team, and finally the fourth group would be our White Team. For the most part, we would expect our Blue Teams to play at the AA level, our Silver Teams to play at Upper A, our Black Teams to play Lower A and our White Teams to play at the B level. The actual playing level of any teams would ultimately be determined by the Head Coach of those teams following tryouts, but there is a possibility that any of those teams may play up or down a level depending upon the skill level of selected players following tryouts.
Raiders Girls Program
The Raiders are planning on fielding three Girls Teams for the upcoming season. All teams will play in the CBHL at the Tier 2 level. We intend to field a 19U, 14U and 12U teams. The age and skill level of the players that have registered for tryouts will ultimately determine the age level of the teams for next season. All teams will have two practices per week.
8U (Mite) Teams
We will be selecting an 8U Blue team during our May tryouts. The Raiders intend to field 8U Silver and Black travel teams as we have done in past seasons. Our 8U Silver & 8U Black teams will be selected as part of 8U House Evaluations in the early fall. Additional information regarding the 8U travel program is detailed below:
8U Blue
Tryouts:
- Team selection in May (during Travel Tryouts) as in previous years to allow the top 8U players to still have a mini-camp and attend any pre-season half-ice jamborees or tournaments desired.
- May choose to hold open slots for mini-camp if there is a significant drop off or large number of bubble players e.g. select 12-14 and hold 4-6 slots if deemed appropriate at during May tryouts.
Team:
- 18 total players on 2 Blue teams of 9 split evenly and randomly.
- One head coach for each team.
- This will allow for teams to participate in jamborees, games, tournaments, etc. and have the appropriate number of players. It will set clear expectations up front with parents and players.
- Blue team will be allocated full ice slots for games as in the past. These will be used by the two teams to host 2 half-ice games on each half. We would invite 1 or 2 other clubs based on their team size. (No additional ice allocation).
Practice:
- Blue team will continue two team practices per week, in addition to their House Team practice.
- One time per week will be with 8U Silver and one time per week with 8U Black.
8U Silver & Black
Tryouts:
- Team selection continues in the Fall as in previous years.
Team:
- 18 total players on 2 “groups” within each team with 9 each.
- One head coach for each team.
- This will allow for teams to participate in jamborees, games, tournaments, etc. and have the appropriate number of players. It will set clear expectations up front with parents and players.
- Silver and Black teams will be allocated full ice slots for games as in the past. These will be used by the two teams to host 2 half-ice games on those ice slots. We would invite 1 or 2 other clubs based on their team size. (No additional ice allocation).
Practice:
- Silver and Black teams will continue to have one team practices per week in addition to their House Team practice.
Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League (EJEPL) - TEAMS TBD -- A Decision on play and number of teams will be announced prior to Tryouts --
Goalie Training & Goalie Rebates
The Raiders have hands down the best goalie development program in the area. No local program offers the coaching and developmental opportunities that we have at the Raiders!! Next year we will continue to offer the areas best goaltender program. As we have offered for the last several seasons, the Raiders will continue to partner with The Goalie Academy/Loudoun Ice Centre to have Goalie Coaches on the ice for every travel practice. Additionally, we will continue to offer Goalie Clinics on a monthly basis for all travel goalies, both of these options are included in Raiders club fees. Most of the clinics will be held at Loudoun Ice Centre on Sunday evenings over the course of the season.
We will be offering Goalie Rebates for goalies who partiicpate in the Raiders Program next season. All goalies who participate in the majority of the team's practices and games will receive a $500 rebate to help subsidize the expense of goalie equipment. The rebates will be paid to each goalie family in January 2022.
Power Skating/Skills and Off-ice Training
The Raiders are excited to announce that we'll be partnering with Shaylun Young and Elite Hockey Science to provide on-ice Power Skating and Skills Instruction for our Raiders Travel Teams next season. Shaylun & EHS run the Hockey Skills Lessons and Camps/Clinics at Skatequest, as well as the Off-Ice Shooting Room, so we're looking forward to having Shaylun & his coaches work with more of our players on ice this upcoming season.
The Raiders plan to continue our off-ice program for our 12U Blue, 14U Blue and 16U Blue players with Washington Capitals Strength and Conditioning Coach, Mark Nemish. Both programs will be priced and included in the team fees at those levels.
