We decided to blog about the 2010-2011 season on how Nathan is doing living and playing in Chicago for The Bantam Major Team at Chicago Mission.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Winners at the 2009 Honeybaked Invitational!!!!
Belle Tire 96aaa team went undefeated in winning the 96aaa division at the 2009 Honeybaked Invitational. Belle Tire and Nathan shut out Chicago Mission 5-0 in the championship game. Nathan went 3-0 and allowed 1 goal all weekend!!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
St Louis Blues Labor Day Tournament 2009
Belle Tire 96AAA team won the Championship with a 6-5 double ot win over the St Louis Jr Blues. Awesome Game!
Round Robin Scores:
BT 6 Chicago Mission 0
BT 2 STL Blues 3
BT 5 Western Canadian All-Stars 4
BT 5 Rochester Alliance 3
BT 6 Team Illinois 2
Team Record 5-1
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Labor Day Schedule in St Louis
Friday Sept 4:
Chicago Mission @ Detroit Belle Tire @ 650pm
Saturday Sept 5:
Detroit Belle Tire @ St. Louis AAA Blues @ 1150am
Detroit Belle Tire @ Western All-Stars @ 530pm
Sunday Sept 6:
Rochester Alliance @ Detroit Belle Tire @ 950am
Detroit Belle Tire @ Team Illinois @ 440pm
Monday Sept 7:
Championship Game @ 930am
Chicago Mission @ Detroit Belle Tire @ 650pm
Saturday Sept 5:
Detroit Belle Tire @ St. Louis AAA Blues @ 1150am
Detroit Belle Tire @ Western All-Stars @ 530pm
Sunday Sept 6:
Rochester Alliance @ Detroit Belle Tire @ 950am
Detroit Belle Tire @ Team Illinois @ 440pm
Monday Sept 7:
Championship Game @ 930am
Nathan is in Detroit Now
We dropped Nathan off in Detroit on 8/16/09. Very tough day for Christina and I, but sometimes the hardest decisions are the best decisions. Nathan is living with the head coach's family (Joe Smaza) in Howell, Michigan and playing for Belle Tire's 96AAA team. School starts on September 8. Yes, after Labor Day!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Spring Summer Results
Challenge Cup in Vancouver with the Vancouver Vipers:
5-1 but came in 5th. 8gaa in 6 games.
West Coast Selects:
7th place in Sweden
3rd at Prospects(Toronto)
2nd at Ronald McDonald (Toronto)
1st at NAPS in Buffalo
Nathan had a Great Summer
5-1 but came in 5th. 8gaa in 6 games.
West Coast Selects:
7th place in Sweden
3rd at Prospects(Toronto)
2nd at Ronald McDonald (Toronto)
1st at NAPS in Buffalo
Nathan had a Great Summer
Monday, April 6, 2009
Article from Youth Hockey Report
Belle Tire defeated the LA Selects 4-1 to earn a spot in the USA Hockey National Championship game at the Pee Wee Major level. Nathan Churchill did all he could in goal for LA to keep them in the game as he stopped 52 of 56 Belle Tire shots but Belle Tire was just to good. Peter Kessel, Marcel Godbout, Chris Brown and Jacob Turowski had the Belle Tire goals. Pat Newell had the lone LA goal. Belle Tire now waits for the winner of the St Louis vs. Rochester game to see who they will meet tomorrow for the Championship.
http://www.youthhockeyreport.com/Articles/nationalspwsemis040409
http://www.youthhockeyreport.com/Articles/nationalspwsemis040409
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
CBS Channel 5
Nathan was interviewd by Kim Coyle for an upcoming spot on the evening news. I will post when it is going to be on.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Regional Update
The LA Selects won the Pacific District Regionals. They beat the Kent Valley Elite 6-2 on Saturday and came back on Sunday with an 8-0 win over the Jr Kings. Nathan ended the weekend playing 8 periods with no goals against. Pretty good job!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Regionals
LA Selects with a 11-2 win over Seattle. Good way to start the tournament. Nathan played the first half and left with a 7-0 lead.
Day 2- Friday May 6
LA Selects with a 5-1 win over the Jr Kings. Nathan left after 2 periods and a 4-0 lead. Boys are playing great and have a good shot at Nationals.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
California State Champs
The LA Selects defeated the Jr Kings 2 games to none in the best 2 0ut of 3. The scores were 7-0 and 4-1. Great effort by the boys! Off to Quebec on Thursday!!!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
California State Championships
State Championships are next weekend (Feb 6-8). The LA Selects have a best 2 out of 3 with the LA Jr Kings. We should take care of business in the first 2 games. That really isn't going out on a limb. The Jr Kings are mostly 97 birth year and will be an excellent team next year. Win or lose both teams will advance to the Pacific Regionals being held in Seattle Washington. We beat the Jr Kings 3-2 last weekend and we were without Coby and Evan. Makes it a little tougher without one of the top scorers and one of the top defensemen.
Quebec PeeWee World Championship Schedule
We open up with the New York Jr Islanders on Feb. 16.
Also, the games will be televised via the Internet. Here is the link to the main site:
http://www.tournoipee-wee.qc.ca/EN/index.html
Also, the games will be televised via the Internet. Here is the link to the main site:
http://www.tournoipee-wee.qc.ca/EN/index.html
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
MLK Weekend in Arizona
The LA Selects were playing in the Lemieux Academy MLK Tournament over January 16-20. They did awesome!!!!
Results:
Game 1 1/16/09
LA Selects 6 Houston Hitmen 1 - Houston was a AA team and the game was pretty lopsided.
Game 2 1/16/09
LA Selects 3 Arizona Hockey Union 1 - The boys took them a bit lightly and the AZ bunch came ready to play. Escaped this one, but a good start to the tournament.
Game 3 1/17/09
LA Selects 3 Dallas Stars 3. We scored with 29 seconds left to tie. Great game, but I thought we could have been on the right side of this one.
Game 4 1/17/09
LA Selects 5 Colorado Thunderbirds 2. Probably the best played game of the year for the Selects. Nathan was big in this game.
Game 5 1/18/09
LA Selects 8 Alaska All Stars 2 Alaska was pretty beat up by this game.
Game 6 1/18/09
LA Selects 4 Lemieux Academy 2. This game was the one we all circled. LA dominated this game, as they ran out to a 4-0 lead. the boys were very excited and they have won 2 straight against the Lemieux boys. Good friends on the Lemieux team and they played hard.
Game 7 1/19/09 Championship Game
LA Selects 3 Colorado Thunderbirds 5 We ran out of gas and the Thunderbirds played a great game. Tough team to beat twice in the same weekend.
Results:
Game 1 1/16/09
LA Selects 6 Houston Hitmen 1 - Houston was a AA team and the game was pretty lopsided.
Game 2 1/16/09
LA Selects 3 Arizona Hockey Union 1 - The boys took them a bit lightly and the AZ bunch came ready to play. Escaped this one, but a good start to the tournament.
Game 3 1/17/09
LA Selects 3 Dallas Stars 3. We scored with 29 seconds left to tie. Great game, but I thought we could have been on the right side of this one.
Game 4 1/17/09
LA Selects 5 Colorado Thunderbirds 2. Probably the best played game of the year for the Selects. Nathan was big in this game.
Game 5 1/18/09
LA Selects 8 Alaska All Stars 2 Alaska was pretty beat up by this game.
Game 6 1/18/09
LA Selects 4 Lemieux Academy 2. This game was the one we all circled. LA dominated this game, as they ran out to a 4-0 lead. the boys were very excited and they have won 2 straight against the Lemieux boys. Good friends on the Lemieux team and they played hard.
Game 7 1/19/09 Championship Game
LA Selects 3 Colorado Thunderbirds 5 We ran out of gas and the Thunderbirds played a great game. Tough team to beat twice in the same weekend.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Games on 1/10 and 1/11
The LA Selects hosted the SJ Jr Sharks 96pwaa team this weekend in Lakewood. Little emotional for Nathan, I think, as this was his old team and friends. The LA Selects won on Saturday 5-3 (Nathan played the entire game) and they beat SJ 6-3 on Sunday. Nathan came in at the beginning of the second with the score 4-3. They were both good games, as the Jr Sharks are the #1 aa team in the country according to myhockeyrankings.com. The LA Selects head off to Arizona this weekend to play in the Lemieux Academy MLK Tournament. I will keep everyone posted!!!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
West Coast Selects
Nathan was in Detroit, MI on January 1st trying out for the West Coast Selects. There were 60+ skaters and 8 goalies from across the US and the 3 western Candian provinces. Nathan was selected as one of the 2 goalies to represent the Selects this summer on the trips to Iceland, Sweden, Toronto, Montreal and Buffalo. If you can believe this, the other goalie was taller than Nathan!!!!Sunday, December 14, 2008
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!!!!
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!!!!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
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:
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
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
Monday, December 1, 2008
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.
Also notice the A on the jersey, as he was voted Asst Captain on the team.Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
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.Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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!!!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
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 vs. DALLAS STARS
LA SELECTS @ LEMIEUX ACADEMY
LA SELECTS vs. CO THUNDERBIRDS
LA SELECTS @ DALLAS STARS
LA SELECTS vs. LEMIEUX ACADEMY
Monday, September 22, 2008
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
Season record 4-2-1
Sunday, August 31, 2008
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
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
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
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
Saturday, August 30, 2008
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
Season Record : 1-0-0
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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.
Monday, August 18, 2008
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
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
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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!!!!Monday, August 11, 2008
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!!!!
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
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Signing Day
This was Nathan after seeing his name on the list! The journey begins. What are we getting ourselves into..........
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