Free Tryouts This year!

Please click on the image below or go to our front page and read more about FREE Tryouts. http://lajollajaguars.org

In House Game

La Jolla Jaguars Midget 18A - Silver Stick Tournament 2007

PeeWee Coaches Announcement 2008/2009

The La Jolla Jaguars are very excited to present this years PeeWee Coach. Grecia Bocharov has signed with the Jaguars for one year. Grecia has over 11 years of coaching experience at the Mite through Midget AA levels. Grecia’s ability to develop young hockey players is second to none. Prior to joining the Jaguars, he coached with the San Diego Gulls, Desert Coyotes and Inland Valley Wild. Born and raised in Russia, played Russian Pro Hockey along the side with Valerie Bure and Sergei Brylin. He went to the russian central sports academy with major in hockey, first two years were taught by Anatoly Tarasov (Anatoly was one of the first Russians to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.) Grecia’s strong approach to skill development is a great asset to the program.

PLAYER HISTORY

Red Army (Russia)
Novator (KHIMKY, Russia)
Bulat (Kazakhstan)
Bramas Forth Worth, TX

COACHING HISTORY

San Diego Gulls
San Diego Surf JrA
Desert Coyotes
Inland Valley Wild

Relax it is just a Game

Sunday afternoon: It's -10 degrees, you're 200 miles from home and you're walking into an ice rink to coach a youth hockey game. Some would call this insane - others would call it a dream. So why do coaches decide to sacrifice their free time to put in countless low/un-paid hours with a group of 10-20 kids for 6 months out of the year?

We all hope coaches know why they're there. In youth sports, it's not about the coach - it's about the kids. But how many times have you walked into a rink to hear a coach (or coaches) screaming at a group of kids? Most likely your answer is "more than once." Next time you come across that scenario, take a look around the rink at the reactions of the players and parents. Do you see parents nervously pacing? Are the players hanging their heads? Shoulders slumped? This can be one of the saddest parts of the game. Far too often coaches put too much emphasis on winning. Teams go through win streaks and slumps. During the difficult times, it's even more important to focus on the things that will help you get back on track. This begs the question, "what will get us back on track?"

Each group of kids is a unique puzzle for the coach to put together, but most kids gets involved in hockey to play a game they enjoy. Key words - "game" and "enjoy." Every coach wants to win, but if we don't keep the great game of hockey fun for kids, we're missing the point. There are several indicators to help you gage how much fun your group of kids is having. Ask yourself these questions and answer them honestly:

When you walk into the rink, are your kids excited to see you - or are they intimidated?

Whether it's a practice or a game, the kids should be excited you're there. This one is usually pretty easy to tell. When you come through the rink doors, do the kids come up to you? If they're truly enjoying themselves in hockey, they recognize the coach is a big part of that.

After practice, do your players have sweat on their heads and a smile on their face?

There are plenty of ways to work hard and have fun. Too often we see kids coming off the ice dripping in sweat and in a bad mood. Why? Most likely they just spent the last 15 minutes doing "60 second drills." Big surprise, this isn't fun for any kid! Push the kids within reason based on their talent level, but be creative when it comes time to 'condition' them. What you gain in conditioning by doing 60 second drills isn't worth what you'll lose in morale.

Do the kids feel comfortable enough with you to ask you questions?

Sometimes as a coach you'll see a player make the same mistake over and over again. We as coaches have to ask ourselves why they're repeatedly making that mistake. Do they know what they should be doing? If that player isn't sure, they should be comfortable enough to ask you questions about what they need to do. If they're not comfortable enough, they probably feel intimidated by you and don't want to put themselves through the pain of asking and feeling dumb. We need to create an environment where the kids can learn and be comfortable with making mistakes and asking questions.

Do your players look forward to coming to the rink - or do they dread it?

If the feeling in the locker room is tense (especially on a practice day), then the chances your players are having fun are fairly minimal. Remember, it's only a game. Win or lose, the sun will rise again the next day!

If you weren't able to make it to a game, would your players be happy about it?

Is there a sense of excitement or happiness when you announce you won't be able to coach at the next game? If there is, this goes back to the players being intimidated. This one should be a sure-fire sign that things need to change.

Finally, remember that we're not dealing with professional athletes here. We're working with a group of kids whose parents are paying thousands of dollars for them to play a game. Let the kids have fun. There's nothing wrong with being competitive, but remember - your game probably won't be on the news - or even make the newspaper, so is it really that big of a deal that little Johnny at 8 years old missed an easy breakout pass? Certainly not - instead, let's make sure Johnny knows how he can catch that pass next time and not turn it into an even more negative experience than it already was for him. As Coach Don Lucia says, "let's continue to give the game back to the kids." Let them have fun and learn in a safe, positive environment.

See you around the rinks...

Article written by Kevin Muller for HockeyShare.com

"Jaguars Around The World" Challenge

As summer vacation approaches, we know that a number of our Jaguars will be traveling to far and away places.  Let's show the world just how far reaching our Jaguar community does extend.  Here is our challenge for you - when you (Mom and/or Dad and/or kids) go on vacation to your exotic destination(s), bring your Jaguars jersey with you and take a photo at a notable landmark!  Then, send in your photo with a brief caption.  We'll select one of our entries and try to get it highlighted in our end of summer entry in the "California Rubber" Hockey Magazine (www.calirubber.com) (all photos will get some form of recognition on our website :)

How far will our Jaguars community reach this summer?  A Jaguar at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, at the world famous Matthias Church in Budapest, at Canada Place in Vancouver - and this is just from one Jaguars family!  Other families' travels will take them to the cherished Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, the culturally rich Denmark, the vast beaches of the Hawaiian islands, to name just a few.  Accept this challenge.  We look forward to seeing your photos!  Please send your submissions to our Hockey Director (cristopher@lajollajaguars.org or icetownhockey@gmail.com) and Coach Troy (coachtroy@lajollajaguars.org).

La Jolla Jaguars in Cali Rubber Magazine

Here the link to the May Issue of California Rubber Magazine.

http://calirubber.com/assets/200805May.pdf

Mites 1 Game Summary - 31 May 2008

Hello Jaguars,

Great game yesterday!  We are proud of the way everyone played.  Just a couple of things that perhaps the parents can pass on to the players.

• First off, in yesterday's game Matty and Spencer did an excellent job of forechecking (forechecking is skating as hard as you can towards a player who has the puck in his end of the rink and trying to get it from him).  This is something that everyone should try hard to do whenever they are on the ice.
• Well done to Zeke and Benjamin for making some great contact with the puck.  Keep working hard!
• Also, Kaz, Alex and Tyler were very helpful to the new players showing where to lineup for faceoffs. Keep it up guys.  Remember that we are a team and teammates help each other.

Parents:  One of the things that we would like to instill in the players is how to properly handle themselves, both when they win and when they lose (as both will happen).  We would like to teach the Jaguars to "Win with Humility and Lose with Dignity".  The coaching staff will try to pass this philosophy onto the players but if you could also explain this to your son/daugther in your own way that would be very beneficial.  Some people confuse this philosophy with not wanting to win; that is incorrect.  We will try our best and will try to win every game but when it is over we want the players to properly shake hands with the other team, congratulate them on a good game and even shake hands with the refs and thank them for a job well done.  We feel this is an intergral part of becoming a well rounded hockey player so please try to pass this onto your Jaguar.

Thank you for your support.  See you at practice!

Coach Geoff / Coach Troy