Our four clubs have each experienced similar challenges in recent years, all of which are difficult to overcome as smaller organizations. At the core of these challenges is our athlete experience. Limited access to full-sheet practice time has been a hindering factor for many of our older teams. An even greater challenge has been providing the appropriate level of skill development in each age bracket. Some players are leaving our programs to seek more competitive options while others are leaving because it is too competitive -- in short, a “one-size-fits-all” approach isn’t working. 

We believe the unification of our four clubs’ resources will allow us to grow the game of hockey in Central Vermont. Together, we can improve the development experience and increase the opportunities available to players while keeping youth hockey affordable and inclusive in our communities. For more on how and why we decided to merge, see the Parent/Athlete Letter.

To ensure the merger goes as smoothly as possible, your volunteer Board of Directors has been working diligently on logistics and planning. We still have a lot of details to work through and we likely won’t have all the answers as quickly as you would like the information. Please know that we do value your feedback and will do our best to work through inquiries as best we can while we work on the tasks required of us to complete everything in time for this upcoming season's registrations. We want to thank you in advance for your patience if we have slow response times and we greatly appreciate your positive support as we navigate this process.

• More ice time! We’ll have greater access to additional ice time at all four rinks: CVMCC, Waterbury Ice Center, BOR, and Kreitzberg Arena.
   
• Full ice practices for the 10U and older age brackets!
   
• The ability to create multiple teams at each age level and align players by skill set to create a more positive learning and development environment for each individual.
  
  This includes an unwavering commitment to affordable and attainable community youth hockey. We’ll continue to provide many options for players who are new to the sport and those looking to play at moderate levels of competition. In fact, this will remain the core of our program offerings.
  
  Additionally, we can now offer teams in higher-level more competitive tiers with more robust schedules. These teams will have added practice time and will participate in more tournaments throughout Vermont and possibly out of state. Participation in these teams that travel more will be optional and based on tryout performance.
   
• More equitable options for female players including the ability to cross-roster on co-ed and all-girls teams.
   
• The Norwich University men’s and women's hockey coaches have offered ice time and skill development practices facilitated by Norwich University players and assistant coaches!
   
• Greater organizational structure. Each club will be equally represented with a minimum of two members of each Board of Directors representing the new Board of Directors and other members leading up important committees which will focus on matters such as (but not limited to):
  • Coach and Player Development
  • Team Managers and Coordinators
  • Fundraising
  • Scheduling
  • Communications