U18 Astros-RED (Spring)

Hello Parents and Players,
Welcome to the Astros/Maroons Field Hockey Club!

1. This week at practice, we had a series of parent meetings to run through the ins and outs of the spring league.

2. We have now divided the players into teams. Please see the attached document for the full rosters. You may continue to practice on the evening that works for you (or both nights if players can attend both). Your team may be named Astros or Maroons or Astros/Maroons. For practices, we are together in the respective age groups. For games, we have enough players that we will have multiple teams for each age group.
a. For U12s, we will have Astros-RED and Astros-BLUE
b. For U14s, we will have Astros/Maroons-RED and Astros/Maroons-BLUE
c. For U18s, we will have Astros/Maroons-RED and Astros/Maroons-BLUE

3. Please create a login on TeamPages, our club’s interactive organizational website. All team information will be posted there. We will be updating the rosters shortly. Please mark your own presence/absences for games under attendance. This will allow us to call up subs from our other teams. To keep it simple, try the TeamPages app!

UNIFORMS

• U12 and U14 will receive team jerseys and socks. We will get them for Sunday.
• U18 will have a more formal uniform, which they can buy or rent. Jerseys will be the same as last year – $20 to purchase; otherwise a post-dated cheque for July 1st for $50 is required to rent
• RED team will have red socks; BLUE team will have blue socks

 
OTHER PLAYER EQUIPMENT

• Mouth Guard (mandatory) – you can get these at SportChek, etc. or a dentist
• Shin Guards – soccer ones are fine; bigger is better for field hockey!
• Water Bottle
• Running Shoes or Turf Shoes (cleats are NOT permitted at UC)
• Dress for the weather (including sunscreen!)

Here is in for the offer for a formed mouth guard from orthodontist that is sponsoring our Astros U16 tour team.

• COST: $50. Players will need to come in for an impression and then return to office to pick it up. The turn around time with the lab is usually about 1 week.
• CONTACT: Dr. Nadia Nizam, Impressions Orthodontics
• ADDRESS: 30 Springborough Blvd. SW
• PHONE: 403-457-7700
• EMAIL: info@impressionsortho.ca

U12/U14 PRACTICES

• Wed., May 10, 6:30pm – 8:00pm, Ernest Manning High School (20 Springborough Blvd SW)
• Thurs., May 11, 6:00pm – 7:30pm, Calgary West Soccer Centre (11014 Bearspaw Dam Rd NW)
• Wed., May 17, 6:30pm – 8:00pm, Ernest Manning High School (20 Springborough Blvd SW)
• Thur., May 18/25, June 1/8/15/22, 6:30pm – 8:00pm, Queen Elizabeth High School
• Wednesday May 24, 31, June 7, 14, 21, 6:30pm – 8:00pm Queen Elizabeth High School
• Thursday May 18/25, June 1/8/15/22, 6:30pm – 8:00pm, Queen Elizabeth High School

U18 PRACTICES

• Wed., May 10, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, Ernest Manning High School (20 Springborough Blvd SW)
• Thurs., May 11, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, Calgary West Soccer Centre (11014 Bearspaw Dam Rd NW)
• Wed., May 17, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, Ernest Manning High School (20 Springborough Blvd SW)
• Wednesday May 24, 31, June 7, 14, 21, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Queen Elizabeth High School
• Thursday May 18/25, June 1/8/15/22, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Queen Elizabeth High School

U12 GAMES

• Sundays mornings at Ernest Manning High School (20 Springborough Blvd SW)
• Games run May 7, 14, 28, June 11, 18, 25
• No games – May long weekend, Sun., May 21 or Sun., June 4 due to tournament on Sat., June 3 in Red Deer

U14 GAMES

• Early Sundays afternoons at University of Calgary, Hawkings Field (3876 Collegiate Rd NW)… OR Ernest Manning High School (20 Springborough Blvd SW)
• For U of C, parking is in either Lot 10 or Lot 59. Single entry is $7 cash/credit at the pay machines. There are also some spots with pay meters along the road. Here’s a U of C Parking Map. Do not leave valuables in your vehicle as there have been break-ins.
• Games run May 7, 14, 28, June 11, 18, 25
• No games – May long weekend, Sun., May 21 or Sun., June 4 due to tournament on Sat., June 3 in Red Deer

U18 GAMES

• Sunday afternoons at University of Calgary, Hawkings Field (3876 Collegiate Rd NW)
• Games run May 7, 14, 28, June 11,18, 25
• No games – May long weekend, Sun., May 21

TOURNAMENTS

• Red Deer Tournament (for all ages): Saturday, June 3, will start as early as 8am and run until 4pm, Location TBA
• CJP Festival (U14 and under): Saturday, June 17, will start as early as 8am and run until 4pm, University of Calgary Hawkings Field

VOLUNTEER TASKS (as part of $100 Volunteer Bond)
Parents and/or players are asked to give back to the program and volunteer! To encourage commitment, each family is being asked to provide a $100 volunteer bond (post-dated cheque for July 1st). There are several ways to volunteer:

• Team Manager (4 credits)
• Coaches’ On Field Practice Assistant (4 credits)
• TeamPages Data Manager (4 credits)
• FunStix Assistant (4 credits)
• Volunteer Levy Coordinator (2 credits)
• Uniform Coordinator (4 credits)
• Photo Day Assistant (1 credit)
• End of Season Party Coordinator (2 credits)
• Equipment Manager (4 credits)
• Equipment Pick Up / Drop Off (1 credit)
• Field Set Up / Take Down (1 credit)
• CJP/Red Deer Festival (2 credits)
• Athlete Sign-In (2 credits)
• Astros Apparel Sales
• Astros Apparel Coordinator
• Fundraising Coordinator

Here are the links to our volunteer sign ups for all the Astros/Maroons Teams:

• U12 Astros-RED: https://www.volunteersignup.org/TWR8F
• U12 Astros-BLUE: https://www.volunteersignup.org/TTL83
• U14 Astros/Maroons RED: https://www.volunteersignup.org/YC9YR
• U14 Astros/Maroons BLUE: https://www.volunteersignup.org/RW9CT
• U18 Astros/Maroons RED: https://www.volunteersignup.org/P7FQQ
• U18 Astros/Maroons BLUE: https://www.volunteersignup.org/3YT97

Cheers,
Joanne White, Astros CJP Coordinator
Verla Wong, Astros Club President
Sandra Smith, Astros U18 Coach

We are excited about the upcoming season! Games start this SUNDAY — they will be posted on the TeamPages CALENDAR.

Some updates for everyone…

We have two teams for each age group in our Astros/Maroons club for CJP. Having two teams will allow the kids to all get lots of playing time and touches with the ball. One team is called Maroons (Wednesday practices with additional Thursday practices) and one is called Astros (Thursday practices with additional Wednesday practices). The players can go to both practices if they can make both practices. Some players can only make practices on either Wednesday or Thursday. There may also be times where players/parents can’t make a Thursday, so the Wednesday is an option … and vice versa. It just allows for some flexibility.

Each age group will practice together at the same time on each of the Wednesday and Thursday. The GAMES are on SUNDAYS for all the teams. Some players will practice on Thursday, but play on the Maroons team and vice versa. Again, we want the players on both teams to get a lot of playing time so we are trying to balance the numbers. At the same time, we will be trying to take into account considerations for carpooling as well as players that are close friends and wanting to play together.

Some players (on the older end of an age group) may be asked to play with the older age group in our club, either on a regular basis or as a call-up. We are aiming to balance skill level and size (and sometimes physical strength with size for safety considerations) and also aiming to make sure that all the kids are learning and challenged a bit and get lots of touches with the ball. We want to balance between being challenged too much, having lots of success and fun with learning, and also being bored because they aren’t challenged quite enough.

We ask for your patience as we work with the kids during the season to ensure that they are on the appropriate teams while learning and having fun. We will work with you to ensure that we communicate the various changes to rosters during the season.

UPCOMING ASTROS/MAROONS PRACTICES
The WEDNESDAY practices will still outdoors this week. However, for the next 2 THURSDAYS, we will still be at the Soccer Centre. That is because there are a couple of large tournaments for the high school teams starting each of the next 2 Thursdays and the Queen Elizabeth School field is one of the fields being used.

There is also some time available at Ernest Manning (turf) for May 10th and May 17th, so these are the updated practice times/locations:

• May 10th, 6:30pm – 8pm, Ernest Manning (half field + end zone) … U12/U14
• May 10th, 7:30pm – 9pm, Ernest Manning (half field + end zone)… U18
• May 17th, 6:30pm – 8pm, Ernest Manning (half field + end zone) … U12/U14
• May 17th, 7:30pm – 9pm, Ernest Manning (half field + end zone)… U18

ASTROS/MAROONS CJP COACHES (Head Coach is in *CAPS)

• Astros U12 (Thursday practices): ALI MCMILLAN, Melissa Buirchell, Ashlene Harvey, Marge McGillivray
• Maroons U12 (Wednesday practices): LAURA FERGUSON, Manvir Grewal, Kevin Bremner (Thursday practices), Nick Hignell
• Astros U14 (Thursday practices): KRISTEN MURRAY, JOSE ESPOSITO-FESTEN, Erin Scott, Emily Gilman
• Maroons U14 (Wednesday practices): KENNETH SERRIEN, Ashpal Atwal
• Astros U18 (Thursday practices): SANDRA SMITH (N/A for June), JOANNE WHITE (June + Wednesday practices), Charlee Witschi (TBC),
• Maroons U18 (Wednesday practices): KENNETH SERRIEN, Ryan Toy, Henre Meier
• FunStix: Kenneth Serrien, Manvir Grewal, Sandi Dawson, Toni Dawson, Avery Vadnai, others as required
• Backup Coaches (as needed): Cate Petan, Colleen Hoy, Lindsey Logan, Maryanne Umbsaar, Verla Wong

The spring Calgary Junior Program (CJP) is almost here and the Astros and Maroons Clubs will be having a U12, a U14 team and a U18 team in this program. We had a terrific turnout and great start with the inaugural Astros Jr. Boot Camp – thanks to all those that participated!!

There will be additional (OPTIONAL) indoor turf practices starting NEXT Wednesday (before moving outside) if players and parents are interested/available. During the season, Maroons and Astros players have the option to attend one or both practices (WEDNESDAYS and/or THURSDAYS).

ATTENDANCE

• To help the coaches plan practices and game lineups, please reply “YES” if you can go (or NO if you can’t) when you get those email reminders; this will automatically update the ATTENDANCE tab
• We would appreciate if you could update availability on the ATTENDANCE tab as things come up (http://www.teampages.com/teams/791766-Astros-U18-Spring--field-hockey-team-website/attendance)

ASTROS PRESEASON JR. BOOT CAMP — DONE FOR 2017; SEE YOU AT ASTROS/MAROONS CJP PRACTICES

• Dates are April 3rd, 5th, and 10th from 7pm – 9pm at the Viper Dome (2221 Crowchild Tr. NW, North Dome), which is in the north end and east side of McMahon Stadium parking
• Registration: https://www.teampages.com/forms/13244-Astros-Jr-Club-Registration-Junior-Camp-Jamboree-April-3-5-10-12-

CJP LEAGUE

• Registration: http://fieldhockey.ab.ca/get-involved/register/
• U12/U14 Registration: http://fieldhockey.ab.ca/get-involved/register/u14-cjp-registration/
• Practices will start with indoor turf sessions (THURSDAYS)
• Outdoor grass practices @ Queen Elizabeth (THURSDAYS)

Astros U18 Team:

• Indoor turf practices @ Calgary West Soccer Centre (11014 Bearspaw Dam Rd NW) – April 13/20/27, May 4/11 … 7:30pm – 9:00pm
• Outdoor grass practices @ Queen Elizabeth HS – May 18/25, June 1/8/15/22 … 7:00pm – 8:30pm
• Outdoor turf games @ at University of Calgary Hawkings Field (3876 Collegiate Rd NW) – May 7/14/28, June 11/18/25 (no games on May 21st long weekend)

Maroons U18 Team:

• Indoor turf practices @ Calgary West Soccer Centre (11014 Bearspaw Dam Rd NW) – April 13/20/27 … 7:30pm – 9:00pm
• (NEW) Indoor turf practices @ Calgary West Soccer Centre (11014 Bearspaw Dam Rd NW) – April 19/26 … 7:00pm – 8:30pm
• Outdoor grass practices @ Queen Elizabeth HS – May 3/10/17/24/31, June 7/14/21 … 7:00pm – 8:30pm
• Outdoor turf games @ at University of Calgary Hawkings Field (3876 Collegiate Rd NW) – May 7/14/28, June 11/18/25 (no games on May 21st long weekend)

Tournaments:

• Possible Preseason tourney April 28, 29 and 30 (U14 boys and U15 girls)
• Genesis Center 7555 Falconridge Blvd NE #10

• Red Deer Tournament (for all ages) : Saturday June 3; Tourney will start as early as 8am and run until 4pm
• Location TBA