North Valley Hockey invites you to join the team again, but the process is a little different this time. If you are interested in coaching next season, we are now taking applications!

A new coach application form has been designed for both In-house (recreation) and Travel. Because there have been offers from adults not currently coaching or involved in the program, we thought an application form would be a better way to determine the qualifications of those new to the program.

You may find the application in the FORMS section to the left and then mail it back to the North Valley Hockey office. The mailing address is at the bottom of the form.

We’d like to have your answer back no later than June 30.

If you have any comments in regards to the coach application, process or about the league operation, feel free to e-mail them to North Valley Hockey President Jeff Novak, jnovak@nvhsc.org . .   

On Sunday May 17^th the Chico Firebirds 14s team earned a second place finish in the silver division of the SIHL championships. We played our best tournament of the year! Our first game was against Redding and we won 5-1. We played at a frenzied pace from the drop of the puck. In the second game, we battled team Redline from San Jose. In the first half we built a 3-0 lead but, Redline came back to tie in the second half 3-3. The Firebirds answered with another goal and thought we had the game won only to give up a goal in the closing minutes to settle for a tie. Our effort in the first two games earned us a #1 seed for the championship! We faced Redline in the Championship, it was another exciting game. We traded goals and it was close the whole way. We missed tying the game with 2 minutes left by 3 inches!!

The thing that is most rewarding for Yak and I is that the whole team contributed in our effort at Davis. We had Toby bringing his maturity and scoring for our team. Adam had his best tournament of the year battling for the puck using his speed, strength and size. Ryan played excellent defense and made good decisions. Jason was an opportunistic sniper who fore and back checked hard. Dylan played with a lot of energy and battled for the puck against bigger guys. Benji played with intelligence and heart. Bryan had good energy and courage. Connor worked hard and played the team game. Garrett did a good job with positioning and almost had a few goals if not for a bouncing puck! Gabe had his best tournament scoring a goal or two and providing excellent defense. Charlie played in the net for our second game and did an outstanding job. And finally, Blaine was a wall in net. He provided leadership and won many battles from real good players. These are not only good players but, good kids as well. Their parents should be proud!

When I look back on the year I find I am very proud of how far this team has come. We didn’t score our first goal until our third tournament. We didn’t get our fist victory until our fourth tournament. We had a young team and for a few players this was their first Travel experience. Yet, we were 2 goals away from winning the cup! I feel a lot of the other teams considered us like a kid-brother. Today, they look at us with respect. They know we come to compete and we compete in an honorable way. I feel that Mike Yakemchuk has done an amazing job teaching the subtle points of hockey to our team. His knowledge and feel for the game inspires the boys to do their best! Go Firebirds!

                                    -Jim Wackerman