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March 23, 2010

Be true to your school

High school hockey is more than 20 programs strong in Northern California and growing

By DJ Powers
California Rubber

 

Editor’s note: This is part 1 of a two-part series about how high school hockey is taking hold in Northern California

It is still very much in its embryonic stage, but make no mistake, high school hockey is growing in Northern California.
 
There are more than 20 varsity and junior varsity programs in Northern California, most of which are part of the HP High School Hockey League. Furthermore, these programs also have close ties to existing Nor Cal programs.
 
High school hockey began in 2001, but it wasn’t until 2005 that it started to gain momentum. Parochial schools Bellarmine and Valley Christian were the first to establish programs, followed by Archbishop Mitty. They are the only varsity schools in Northern California that field what are known as “pure teams” – that is, all of the players are students of those respective schools. As the sport continues to grow in the high schools, the goal is to expand the number of varsity and junior varsity pure teams.
 
The San Jose Jr. Sharks and the Tri-Valley Blue Devils were the first Nor Cal programs to help establish and stock the high school teams with players from their in-house programs. Other programs followed suit. Many teams also include players from lower-level travel teams as well as roller hockey players.
 
The geographical makeup of rosters is almost as widespread as the Nor Cal hockey territory. The league has players from as far north as Ukiah, as far south as Carmel, and as far to the east as Manteca.
 
The 16 JV teams make up the majority of the Northern California high school teams. The JV season closely parallels the Nor Cal travel season, and that has become a challenge to JV programs that have players who also play Travel/Tier hockey.
 
“The way that the teams are made up is that any kid can sign up through me,” said HP High School Hockey League Coordinator Matt Adams. “I will place them on a team depending upon the geographic location of their school. I also run sort of a one-time scrimmage to judge these kids on a 1-3 level to make sure that I can even out the teams as best as possible. At least half of the players that make up these teams are from the same geographical area of the school that they are playing for. We also want to make sure that every kid that wants to play has the opportunity to play.”
 
Many JV programs include players with affiliations to more than one Nor Cal team.
 
Cardinal Newman in Santa Rosa is one example. The northern-most high school program in the state, Cardinal Newman began sponsoring hockey in conjunction with the Santa Rosa Flyers two years ago. The team also includes players with ties to the San Francisco Sabercats. The Cardinals program is the brainchild of JV head coach Mike Kovanis.
 
“I’ve always been kind of a proponent of raising the level of high school here,” said Kovanis. “I wanted to create a high school team because in my mind I think it develops players a lot better as far as players at the same age and skill level playing together.”
 
Several JV teams made their debuts this season season, including two public high schools in the San Jose area – Oakland Tech and Santa Teresa. They also are the only public high school pure teams. Oakland Tech is a Sharks Ice-sponsored team, while Santa Teresa is the first public school in the South Bay region to establish its own program. The Santa Teresa program is unique because it was created from a grassroots efforts by students.
 
Another pair of JV teams – the Blues and the Devils, debuted this season as sponsored teams of the Tri-Valley Blue Devils. The teams also include players from as far away as Stockton, Livermore and Walnut Creek.
 
“This (high school hockey) seems to be very, very popular and catching momentum,” said Tri-Valley Director of Coaches Mike Holmes. “To get these kids some recognition as well as some support from the (area) high schools I think is really important because that is what is going to make this go. I also think that it’s going to get even more popular and it’s going to really grow.”