New or Current BYHA Members!
Your $50 Tryout Fee will be discounted from your registration fee for next season!
8/1 & 8/2
Our goal is to provide quality hockey development opportunities for kids of all levels, from entry-level play to travel hockey.
Every year, we help hundreds of kids who are new to hockey and skating to get on the ice and have fun while also offering high-quality youth hockey programs for boys and girls at all levels. We are committed to supporting our community and our arena through entry-level programs, fundraising initiatives, community outreach, and need-based scholarships.
New for the 2020/2021 season we will be offering travel programs at each age level in the Valley League in Massachusetts in addition to all the programs we offered this past season.
Youth Travel in Valley League in Massachusetts (NEW!) and Seacoast Hockey League n New Hampshire
Home Games at BIA and UNE
Less Travel than a typical MEAHA 10U Schedule.
Only 1 team at each age level.
Youth House - MEAHA Tier 4 Travel In Maine
Similar to this past season.
2019 10U State Champions!
Girls - Travel in Valley League in Massachusetts (NEW!) and MEAHA Tier 4 Travel (House) In Maine
The only Girls Youth Hockey Program in York County!
8U Co-ed Cross Ice House Program with Select Team
Similar to this past season with the addition of a Select Team to challenge more skilled players with additional tournaments and games.
Select Team:
Will play tournaments and more challenging cross-ice games.
Opportunity to play on additional games in Maine through ACH.
It is a supplemental program to work along the side of the existing 8U program and will be an addition to the regular BYHA Nor’easters 8U schedule.
The team will be made up of the top 10 skaters / 1 full-time goalie.
Introductory Programs - the same great development programs as last season!
Flex Program
6U - Cross-Ice House Program
Learn to Play
Learn To Skate
Try Hockey for Free! & Girls Play Hockey, Too!
I love the current program my player is in, is that offered next season?
YES!
All programs offered this season will be offered again next season.
Valley LeagueTravel play is new and offered in addition to these programs.
Why play in the Valley League?
Competitive Play.
It is a parity league, so teams play against other teams of similar skill - teams are moved around throughout the season to ensure competitive games.
Two Games, One Day Each Weekend.
Families will play one day each weekend - drive down, play two games and drive back.
Equates to similar or less travel time than the average MEAHA schedule.
Give families one free day each weekend.
We will also play home games at BIA and UNE.
Value.
We can offer a competitive travel hockey experience at the lowest total cost to families.
Home and away games.
Sponsors will still help offset the costs for families.
Makes Sense for BYHA.
Tier 3 play in MEAHA this year consisted of just 4 teams at 10U, for example.
Valley and Seacoast Leagues will provide a greater variety of competition.
We will free some up ice at the Arena for our other programs.
We will be able to support our growth and have the ability to provide community-oriented entry-level programs like “Try Hockey For Free” and “Girls Play Hockey, Too.” - that we have offered in the past.
These programs are critical to the future of our entire hockey community and our rink.
It sounds like too much travel time to me, is that true?
Compared to our 10U programs this past season, we project less travel time with our Valley League teams.
Playing two games, only one day a week, limits weekend travel to around 3 hours round-trip.
Playing in Falmouth one day and Auburn the next day, is nearly 4 hours of travel time from BIA.
We will also schedule home games at BIA or UNE
What is the downside to Valley League?
There are no home games in the Valley League, so we will supplement the schedule with play In the Seacoast League with home games at BIA.
We must travel one day, each weekend.
How do tryouts work?
Independent coaches will evaluate players for each level of play.
Roster decisions will be based on player skill.
Players will be notified within 7 days of tryouts.
Those players that do not make the travel team, will be offered spots on our competitive MEAHA Tier 4 teams.
Who is coaching and how are coaches chosen?
Coaches will be assigned to a team based on where their player is playing.
We will have no more than 3 coaches per team - 1 head coach and 2 assistant coaches.
The coaching director evaluates our coaches for placement based on coaching history and certification.
Will practices change?
No.
BYHA is an ADM program and will continue to utilize the American Development Model.
Age groups will continue to practice together where all our players can develop, build friendships and have a sense of community.
We will work hard to ensure convenient practice times.
Does BYHA have the numbers to support these new programs?
Yes. The 2019/2020 season was a growth year for BYHA. We had the highest number of youth program registrations in over a decade. We see this strong growth continuing.
We will NOT dilute our programs or our teams to meet goals, we will provide our families with the best hockey value we possibly can.
We will offer one travel team at each age group which will be supported by 1 or more teams in MEAHA Tier 4.
Our goal is to deliver the best player development opportunity and that requires us to ensure fun, competitive play for all our members at every level.