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..........