It's Tryout Time for the Pittsburgh Hornets !!!

A most wonderful thing occurs in our sport of hockey every year. As soon as one season is completed, another one starts all over again. At the Pittsburgh Hornets, we don't rest on our laurels and our successes. Once the season is over, we begin in earnest preparing for the upcoming season and striving once again for a national championship. As such, it is now tryout time at the Pittsburgh Hornets. If you are interested in becoming a member of one of the best Tier 1 AAA amateur hockey programs in the country for the upcoming 2006-2007 season, we would encourage you to go to our organization website at www.pittsburghhornets.com to learn more about our organization and the upcoming tryouts. You can discover the upcoming tryout dates for the Pittsburgh Hornets by viewing the same on our webpage www.pittsburghhornets.com or BY SIMPLY CLICKING THIS INTERNET LINK FOR THE HORNET TRYOUT DATES.

A special word about tryouts: For those families new to the travel hockey tryout process, get ready for a new, confusing and strange experience, and realize that you will never be more loved, cajoled, recruited, pressured, persuaded, and the object of more affection from local hockey associations more than you will in the next 60-90 days. You will be told that your aspiring young athlete will be on his or her way to the Division 1 college or the NHL (regardless of their current age) if ONLY you decide to play for their organization. You will be told that they "know" people in the US or Canada, that they do things "differently", that they can get you "seen" to get into juniors or college or what not.

When you ask for more specifics on these things, or how many of their players have been developed and moved on to juniors, colleges or even the NHL, or you ask for a "game plan" on how these things will be accomplished, you will never get specifics, because many of these "recruiters" simply cannot deliver the goods.

Then, as the continual pressure and persuasion attempts become more desperate to get you to commit to their organization, the negative stuff will then start surfacing, where these groups will base their recruiting of your son/daughter by saying "negative" things about other organizations. Desperation is a sad thing indeed.

Truth be told, there are a myriad of different routes to climb the ladder of amateur hockey. And indeed, there are some good coaches and organizations around that run fine amateur hockey programs at all levels of hockey. And hockey organizations all offer different experiences, some of which may be good for your family circumstances, some of which may not.

In choosing a AAA hockey program for your child, you deserve to be with the best organization that meets the needs of your family, and your young athlete. We recommend that if you are interested in doing so, you do check out other organizations, compare what each group has to offer, and make your decision in the best interests of your family, and which organizations will help your child become the best hockey player, and person, that they can possibly be. Some questions you should ask and things you should consider and compare between competing organizations:

• Who will be the coach for my child?. How many years of actual coaching experience at the AAA level does that person have? Will they be committed to be on the ice for practices and games, or will they essentially never be there, leaving everything to assistants.?
• How are players selected for a team? Are they selected by a team of evaluators picking the best players possible in a competitive tryout or are tryouts essentially meaningless, with the Coach placing favorites and friends on a team over talent? Do they have a published "evaluation" standard?
• What is the overall cost to participate on a team? How much ice time will the players get during the week? Are there any hidden fees, like tournament fees, additional ice times needed for practices, etc.?
• What league will the team play in, or if they play an independent schedule, do they consistently play the top teams in the country, both home and away, or do they rely upon entering into tournaments to get their competition?
• What has been the organizations track record over the years? Do they have a long history of developing young athletes and helping them reach the higher levels of hockey? How did their teams perform during the most recent season? Ask for names and specifics and details.
• Try and talk with current players (even past players) that were members of an organization. The current players are the best to talk with. Do they like the organization? Do they believe the organization helped them in their journey to success, both on and off the ice?
• For some additional questions (and answers) to consider, please go to this Pgh Hornets link for more details.

For want of a better description, this comparison and evaluation process can be called:

"The AAA Hockey Parents and Players Tryout Bill of Rights."

We believe that:

"All parents and families have the right to ask these questions of a AAA hockey association, and more importantly, all parents and families have the right to get honest ANSWERS to their questions as well."

When you ask these questions, when you get answers to your questions, when you compare the strengths and weaknesses of each organization in a fair and honest manner, we believe it to be more likely than not that you will find the Pittsburgh Hornets AAA Hockey Association to be the place to be for your aspiring athlete, and your family, to be for the 2006-2007 season.

Please come join us at tryouts !

Meet our players, meet our coaches, ask us to provide recommendations from others about our organization, and discover why, if you are seriously interested in the best AAA hockey experience possible, that the Pittsburgh Hornets AAA Hockey Association is the best place for your family, and your child, to be. See you at tryouts.

A Final Farewell to the 2006 Pittsburgh Hornets National Championship Participants

Well, the 2005-2006 AAA hockey season is now history, and the Pittsburgh Hornets AAA Tier 1 AAA hockey teams have a lot to be proud of. It is perhaps the first time in USA Hockey history that an organization has sent 4 teams to the boys Tier 1 AAA National Championship competitions. Additionally, are other younger teams have had great years as well. Such accomplishments underscore why the Pittsburgh Hornets are one of the top amateur hockey associations in the country as the Pittsburgh Hornets constantly produce winners, both on and off the ice. We give a final salute to all of our younger teams this year for great seasons, and in particular to our following Pittsburgh Hornets hockey teams for their great accomplishments on the national stage as well:

• Pittsburgh Hornets Midget Major U18 Team-2006 USA Hockey National Championship semi-finalist.
• Pittsburgh Hornets Midget Minor U16 - 2006 USA Hockey National Championship quarter-finalist.
• Pittsburgh Hornets Bantam Major U14- 2006 USA Hockey National Championship particpant.
• Pittsburgh Hornets Pee Wee Major U12 -2006 USA Hockey National Championship runner-up

Congratulations to all of the players, parents, coaches and administrators in our association for working together and creating the best season our association has ever had ! We now move on to next season, and begin the journey once again !!!

Pittsburgh Hornets U12 Team lose to Dallas Ice Jets in USA Hockey Tier 1 National Championship Game 5-3

It's a sad day in Pittsburgh as the Pittsburgh Hornets U12 Tier 1 Hockey team has lost in the National Championship game against the Dallas Ice by a score of 5-3, ending their season as the runner-ups for the USA Hockey National Championship. The Hornets were down 4-3 in the third period but fought gallantly back, outplaying Dallas at the end of third period, only to have the Dallas Goaltender Frye make save after save as Dallas won this contest. It was heart-wrenching to listen to the radio broadcast as the Hornets hit the post 2x in the final 2 minutes of play that would have tied the game in regulation. The Hornets pulled the goalie with 1:10 left in the third period with a faceoff in the Dallas end, and had a flurry of shots on goal, all of which were stopped by Dallas, before Dallas iced the pucked into the empty net, and icing the 5-3 win for their team. Congratulations to the Dallas Ice Jets on a hard fought battle, the Hornets salute you.

Although the result today is disapointing for the U12 team, it has been nothing but a glorious run at the USA Hockey National Championship competitions by the Pittsburgh Hornets Hockey Organization. From the hard nose, battling hockey of the 1991 U14's in round robin play (highlighted by an amazing overtime game with Shattucks) to the Midget U16 team's brand of unselfish and power hockey in its march into the quarter final round, to the Midget Majors U18 grab for glory in winning an amazing triple overtime game and valiantly competing with essentially no rest into the semi-final round, to the 1992 U12's heartwrenching struggle in the championship game after a tremendous run through the tournament, these Hornet teams have further established the credentials of the PittsburghHornets Hockey Association as one of the pre-eminent Tier 1 Hockey Association in the United States of America.

And more importantly, these teams have accomplished these milestones doing things the right way, with clean, hard and fair play, playing by the rules and conducting ourselves with honor, with dignity, with class and always in the best interest of the young athlete, respecting our opponents and the game itself, while always challenging ourselves to be the best, both on and off the ice.

The sounds of exellence made by the Hornet organization at these USA Hockey National Championships will continue to reverberate through the amateur hockey community for a long, long time after these tournaments have ended, spreading the word about the excellence of our organization, and setting the standard for others to emulate. Well done Hornets. Well done indeed !!!

Pittsburgh Hornets Tier 1 U12 Team Plays for National Championship Today

The Hornet flag at Nationals is still flying proudly today as the Pittsburgh Hornets Tier 1 U12 Team play for the USA Hockey National Championship today at 1 pm in Lawrence Massachusettes against the Dallas Ice Jets. This team of 1993 birth year players, lead by Coach Don Barber, have been on a tear through the tournament, going 5-0 into todays championship game. Check out all of the action on todays championship game by going to the USA Hockey Website and drilling into THIS RADIO LINK and listen to the game live on internet radio! Good luck Hornets and bring home the National Championship !!!