Weekend Update

Game 1-

Colorado Thunderbirds 4 LA Selects 1-

Game 2- Clunker

Game 3-

Dallas Stars 1 LA Selects 1

Team finally played together- Everybody healthy and on the ice for the first time this year!!!! Nathan sopped 22 of 23. Team is showing some real positive signs.

Game 4:

LA Selects 2 Lemieux Academy 1

Probably our biggest win to date because of the rivalry. The Cleveland Baron game was big but these kids all know each other. Team really played well Nathan with 28 0f 29.

Game 5:

LA Selects 3 Colorado Thunderbirds 1

Another big win for the boys. We have not beat this team yet this year. With a full bench we are playing very well. I like our direction. Nathan with 34 of 35. This was a great win to end the weekend. Kids are very excited!!!!

Vancouver Vipers 96AAA

Nathan has been asked/selected to play for the Vancouver Vipers 96AAA team in the 2009 Challenge Cup in Vancouver BC. This is a huge AAA tournament for Western Canada and the Vipers traditionally do very well. Here is a link to the tournament site:

http://www.challengecup.com

This Weekends Game Schedule for the LA Selects

Friday 12/12:

12:10 LA Selects vs Colorado Thunderbirds 96AAA
6:15 LA Selects vs Dallas Stars 96AAA

Saturday 12/13:

11:00am LA Selects vs Dallas Stars 96AAA
5:50 pm LA Selects vs Lemieux Academy 96AAA

Sunday 12/14:

6:45am LA Selects vs Colorado Thunderbirds 96AAA

Thanksgiving in Valencia Bantam AA Tournament

The team went 0-4 over the weekend, but we were down 3 players. The team is showing some signs of developing into a very good squad. Nathan lead all goalies with a 95.7 save percentage. Nathan stopped 48 of 52 in a 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks and 38of39 in a 1-0 loss to the SoCal Titans. Good weekend. Also notice the A on the jersey, as he was voted Asst Captain on the team.

Taking this weekend off!!!

Nathan is staying in NoCal this weekend to recharge his batteries. He missed 3 days of school for the Nike/Bauer. You forget at times how much he sacrifices to play in LA between his friends, school and just being a kid time. It is a struggle for everyone, especially Chris, to help keep him caught up on school. He is a good student, but there is just so many hours in a week.

Nike/Bauer Update

The LA Selects went 2-2 over the weekend. They beat Honeybaked 4-2, lost 7-0 to the St Louis Jr Blues (#1 team in the country), lost 8-3 to the Washington lil' Caps (very forgettable) and beat the Cleveland Jr Barons 5-4(#5 team in the country). Nathan had a great weekend in net. The team is starting to show real stretches of good hockey. I think by nationals, this is going to be a very good team. Nathan was asked to join a 96AAA team in Detroit, was invited to the West Coast Selects (http://www.selectshockey.com/) and invited to join Team Taz next summer out of Cleveland (http://www.teamtaz.com/). Exciting time in Nathan's world. He loves the team he is with and is very excited about their upside.

The things you learn along the way

Do not fly Jet Blue!!!!!!! Jet Blue charges an extra $75 per ticket for any unaccompanied child under 14!!! Southwest's age limit is 12 and they are wonderful to deal with. Jet Blue was rude and questioned Christina's parenting about sending a child (with a beard) to LA unaccompanied every weekend. Trust me, if some wants to grab him and pay his hockey expenses I am all for it!!!!!!! Christina and Nathan are off to Denver on Thursday for the King of the Rockies. They are flying Southwest!!!!

Checking in on Nathan

We had our first real issue with the travel. Nathan came home last Sunday truly exhausted mentally and physically. Sorta had a melt down. Chris and I were wondering at this point if we were doing the right thing. At the end of the day Nathan is a 12 year old who catches a plane every weekend to play hockey. Yes it is one of the top programs in the US, but what toll is it taking? This past weekend my parents took him to LA and I think that was a good break for him and I was able to check in with them. They were able to monitor his sleep and social time pretty well. They did say he is playing great and having a great time with his teammates. So, it is heading back in the right direction. That little episode has taught to really check-in with him more often. It is a lot of freedoms for a 12 year old.

WEHL League Schedule for Denver

October 10-12th:

LA SELECTS vs. DALLAS STARS
LA SELECTS @ LEMIEUX ACADEMY
LA SELECTS vs. CO THUNDERBIRDS
LA SELECTS @ DALLAS STARS
LA SELECTS vs. LEMIEUX ACADEMY

LA Selects 2 LAHC Bantam AA 0 9/20/08

Nathan stopped 32 shots for a 2-0 shutout win against a good bantam AA team. The Selects are really improving and should be ready when Denver comes in 2 weeks.

Season record 4-2-1

Game Change Tomorrow

LA Selects PWAAA will play the JR Ducks Bantam AA tomorrow. Time for the boys to step up in class. This will be a tough game.

Game 3 Results

LA Selects PWAAA 9 LAHC Bantam A 0

Better speed in the game, but still the bantams were overwhelmed by the speed of the peewees. Nathan left with a 6-0 lead and 11 saves. The team moved the puck very well and played physical against the bigger boys.


Season Record 3-0-0

Nathan in LA Selects Gear

Game 2

LA Selects 18 Bay Harbor Red Wings Bantam A 1

Yes, that says 18-1. Booooorrrrriiiinnnnnggggggg!!!!!! Nathan with a whopping 2 shots and 2 saves. He is 6 for 6 this weekend. Thank god for running time after the first 5 minutes. We were told that we will stop playing Bantam A teams after this. Thank God!

Season Record: 2-0-0

Game 1 Results

The LA Selects PWAAA team beat the Inland Valley Wild Bantam A team 13-0 last night. The younger team was just faster with better puck skills. Nathan started and left with 6 minutes to go in the second period with the score 9-0. Uniforms came in and the team looked real sharp. More photos to come.

Season Record : 1-0-0

Heading to Anaheim Today!!!!

Nathan jumps a flight at 12:20pm today and the rest of us are driving down after school today. Nathan has a practice tonight, so the need to get him there a bit earlier. Thanks again to the Felty Family, as Eric is picking him up at Orange County. Nathan will be on the ice for about 2 hours tonight and should be a good tune up for tomorrows game. Ian actually gets to watch big brother, as the Jr. Sharks are not in action this weekend.

LA Selects PWAAA Schedule for Labor Day Weekend

All games will be at KHS Arena in Anaheim.

Fri 8/29 LA Selects vs Inland Valley Wild Bantam A @4:15pm
Sat 8/30 LA Selects vs Anaheim Wildcats Bantam A @5:45pm
Sun 8/31 LA Selects vs LAHC Bantam A @ 2:00pm
Mon 9/1 LA Selects vs. Inland Valley Wild Bantam A @ 11am

Mane of the Game

This photo was submitted today to California Rubber Magazine for the Mane of the Game contest. Christina (Nathan"s mom) took the photo today because Nathan thought it was time for a haircut. Do ya think? Maybe a shave too!!!!

Nathan visiting with the Ohio State Hockey Coach

Nathan sporting the LA Selects Gear while meeting with the Head Hockey Coach of Ohio State!!!

Nathan visited the campus and the hockey facilities on July 22nd.

Nathan and Claude Lemieux

This was taken in Chicago where Team California came in second at the Chicago Mission Chi Town Shuffle 96AAA division. They lost 2-1 to the Wisconsin Jr. Badgers. Great game and most of that team makes up the 2008-2009 LA Selects PWAAA team. They all played under the Lemieux Academy banner for the tournament.

Why LA Selects?

This was a very tough decision for the Churchill Family, as it is a family commitment. Our 3 choices were LA Selects 96 PWAAA, Lemieux Academy PWAAA 96, or SJ Jr Sharks 96AA.
Our criteria really came down to development, cost, and going to Quebec World Peewee Championships. Lemieux and LA Selects both have full time goalie coaches, but we had heard really good things about James Jensen at LAHC. LA Selects got the nod on this one. We felt Nathan's development would be best with LA and James Jensen. So far, Nathan has enjoyed skating with James. SJ Jr. Sharks have no goalie coach on staff currently.

Cost is a tough one to gauge. Club dues among the 3 were right at 3500-4k a year. All 3 typically go to the same tournaments, so that cost is the same. Airfare to Phoenix was about 230 per weekend, LA area is around 135 per weekend and we spent around $500 per month on gas playing in SJ last year. Phoenix would have been the most expensive, but Nathan would have been staying at Claude Lemieux home every weekend. That does rate on the cool factor.

Quebec- Both Lemieux and LA Selects are in the AAA division in Quebec, so they are an equal. Playing for Claude Lemieux in Quebec probably gets the nod here, but LA Selects have had great success in Quebec before and hopefully will again in 2009. Jr Sharks are a maybe in going to Quebec and would play in the AA division, if they go.

The decision came down to the Lemieux Academy Bulls or LA Selects. It was a tough one. We feel good about our decision. LA is closer for relatives to go and watch. We can drive and we feel very comfortable with the head coach, James Gasseau.

Nathan just got back from preseason camp in LA and had a blast, but a bit tired. He stayed at the Feltys home, maybe that is why he is tired. Thanks again Felty Family for your hospitality!!!!

Why a blog on the season?

People think we are slightly insane to have our son fly to LA each Friday and fly back on Sundays. Yes, Nathan has his own frequent flyer cards and knows his way around an airport. I read about, AAA is it worth it? Well by writing this blog and documenting our year, I hope to be able to answer that question and probably many more

Signing Day

This was Nathan after seeing his name on the list! The journey begins. What are we getting ourselves into..........