No Stand-Outs

Few bits of hockey news this week;

Number 1. Our next game is November 30th out on the Long Island. The bus to the game will be leaving right after school dismissal. Please make sure to pack some food, both pre-game (something light) and maybe something post game for the ride home. Coca Cola Bottling Co. of New York will be supplying the team with 'Powerade'.

Number 2. A reminder to parents that your league fees of $200.00 must be handed in to Beth Katznelson in the Ashar Main Office. We really would like to get all the accounting business out of the way, so please make your payment if you have not yet done so. Only those who have paid for the league will be allowed to board the bus for our next game November 30th.

Number 3. There will be no ...repeat NO ... ice hockey practice on Friday at Sportorama. I tried to secure some ice time, but they have hockey tournaments all day. Sorry we will try again in the near future.

Number 4. Many may have noticed last week we designated no ESPN player of the week. Both Dave and I honestly could not come up with any single stand-out. Our next practice is Monday night at 7:30pm, and we will once again be looking for the player who puts in the extra effort for the week.

Number 5. Our November 30th game against Halb will be a challenging one. We will definitely require our best lines on the court if we want a chance of winning. This is a game where the older and stronger players will be needed. In our team talks about our last game many players felt the younger players and short shifts effected their chances of scoring. In this game, the 7th and 8th graders will be tested to see if they have the discipline and stamina to take on a good team. My guess is in the second period they will be looking for some relief, and realize the value some of the younger boys add to the team.

ESPN Player of the week

Listening, learning, hustling, improving, all key ingredients for a player of the week.

Click here to see this week's ESPN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

The Season Begins

Before the game I told all the players that it would be highly unlikely that our young team would go undefeated this season. The feedback I am getting is that no other team has as many 5th and sixth graders playing.

Today we lost a game. Couple of little mental errors in the first period. But if you looked closer and really paid attention, you see how well we really did today.

Every young team comes out nervous in the first few minutes of the first game of the season. We did too. But our team was not overwhelmed. Down 2 goals we adjusted quickly. 3 goals was all they would see. Then it was Ashar's turn to show the experienced Hanc players that Ashar has what it takes to be competitive. Then almost 2 full periods of scoreless hockey, with not a single error. Positions were covered. Pumps were chased hard, and we had a few good scoring chances.

Best of all we did all of this without leaving a single player on the bench. Everyone got a chance to play, and everyone showed what David and I saw at the first hockey try-out. "The desire to play".

David and I are proud of all the boys. You did your best today, and you showed all that our team will only get better as we play on.

Note - as a display of Ashar sportsmanship the team recognized the Hanc Goalie as ESPN PLAYER OF THE GAME and is awarding him one of our ESPN sponsor gifts.
( click here for a post game photo )

ESPN Player Of The Week

Our sponsor ESPN has asked that each week the Ashar coaching staff single out a player to be honored as the ESPN PLAYER OF THE WEEK.

Any player who show extraordinary dedication, effort, and sportsmanship in the previous weeks practices or games will be eligible. Sunday evenings a player will be chosen and announced for this honor and will they receive official licensed merchandise directly from ESPN.

Click here to see this weeks ESPN PLAYER OF THE WEEK.

And We Have A Winner!

Yes we do have a winner ............ And the winner is the Ashar Hockey Program.

Special thanks to Apple Computer Inc. The Sports Authority and Terminal Hockey Inc. for sponsoring our 'iPod nano raffle' and to all those who made donations to the Ashar Floor Hockey Program. We appreciate it.

While the program benefits from all donations made, only one person got to win the raffle's Apple ' iPod nano'. At our last practice Ashar Principal Mr. Milton Frank drew the raffles winning ticket.

Click here to find out who had lucky Raffle Ticket #8.

The Season is Set

Coach Dave and I spent the night out on Long Island to get to meet the commissioners of the floor hockey league and all the other coaches. Everyone seems to have the right mind set to try and ensure the kids have fun this floor hockey season.

In our division are the following schools; Hanc, YCQ, North Shore,Haftr, Manhattan Day, Har Torah and Westchester Day. At this meeting league requirements and rules were given, and this seasons schedule was hashed out.

A link has been set up ( LINK section of this page ) on this Ashar News Page for this years schedule. The schedule will be updated regularly to reflect any last minute changes. If there are any updates, emails will be sent out to all team members and those on our email list.

If there are any major bar-mitzvah conflicts please bring it to our attention by the end of this week. After that there will be no looking back as all the schools have limited gym and schedule times.

As noted on the schedule page, any weekday night games the team we will need to leave from the school right after dismissal. On those evenings please be sure to have a bag dinner packed. The Coca Cola Bottling Company of New York has kindly agreed to supply us with cases of Powerade for all our 'away games'.

For home games, team players must be dressed and ready 30 minutes before game time. THAT'S DRESSED!. Lines will be made and instructions given at this team meeting. If players are not dressed and at the team pre-game meeting, then they will not be eligible to play in the first period. Any player who knows they will not be able to attend a game must inform the coaching staff ASAP via call or email. There is a lot to go over, we wont have time for distractions.

Finally (and I cannot stress this enough) every parent on the roster as every player has been informed that there are a number of children who have made the team strictly for development purposes. There are currently 21 players on our roster. Typically a game will play 13 to 15 players. Our first game will be a against a team with experience. We will need to put our most talented players on the court.

Our decision to develop the program has already paid off. We have seen a lot of growth both in ability and confidence by all players on our roster. We hope our decision of "not cutting a kid with the desire to play" is one we are made to regret. While we anticipate all player getting court time during the season, that does not mean it will be for every game. There will be long bus rides out to the Island made by some who might not see a 'second' of game time. By sending in your league fees, you have agreed to this very concept. Dave and I call this "clause number one" in your contract. Any time this issue comes up, you will be referred to this notice and be reminded of 'CLAUSE NUMBER ONE'.

Our goal is for our players to enjoy the sport. We practice as a team and need to play as a team with a common goal of giving our best efforts to win. Team members make sacrifices at times for the benefit of the team. If players only come away learning the responsibilities of always giving your team your best effort, we will have had a winning season even if we don't win a single game.

Steve