[Monthly Recap - January] Burnaby Wildcats Novice

Burnaby Wildcats Novice having fun at practice

Division: Novice
Manager: Joanne Lee
Games Played: 6 GP
Results: 3 Wins - 3 Losses

The new year started off with a light schedule for the Burnaby Wildcats Novice team. After a busy December in which the team not only played league games, but also participated in a tournament over the Christmas holidays, the month of January saw the team with only 6 games to play. The slight break in the schedule allowed for the team to focus more on practice. With players ages 5-8 years old, practice is especially important because it gives the coaches a chance to work on the fundamentals of ice hockey, which are sometimes hard to work on in game situations. It is always a tendency for young hockey players to skate to where the puck is rather than to where they need to be. Practices give coaches a chance to explain things like positioning, shooting, passing, and just overall hockey IQ to the players. Practices are also important in helping to build team chemistry. At novice age, a blank sheet of ice is an open invitation to play some hockey and have some fun!

All the skill-development work that the Novice girls have been working on will be on full display in February. The team has already participated in the 2014 Junior Pond Hockey Tournament up at Grouse Mountain. The tournament ran from February 5th to 9th and it was a unique opportunity for players to enjoy playing outdoor hockey on Grouse Mountain's 8000 square foot rink, while enjoying some friendly competition with their opponents and some enjoyable moments with their teammates and families. The tournament is played at 3-on-3 format - lots of skating, lots of goals. The Burnaby Wildcats team is the only girl's team to have entered this tournament. It'll was quite a challenge playing against boys, but the girls enjoyed showing the boys what they are capable of doing! While at this tournament, the team was also given a chance to strap on some skis and/or snowboards so they could try their hands at a few mountain sports.

Look for some updates and pictures from the tournament on our blogger page and on Twitter - @BurnabyWildcats.

~ Jehan Jiwa