Anyone trying out for JR. Olympics?

[All Torhs Team 0]

Tryouts in Homer Glen, Il during May 19-21. Sounds like its a good deal, this will be my first year trying out, last year I did statewars, and doesnt look like Im doing that again. has anyone done Jr, Olympics before and have any comments on it?

[JSchultz 25]

Tryouts in Homer Glen, Il during May 19-21. Sounds like its a good deal, this will be my first year trying out, last year I did statewars, and doesnt look like Im doing that again. has anyone done Jr, Olympics before and have any comments on it?

I didn't even know that existed. Any reason you're not doing state wars?

[kovalchuk71 212]

You better be REALLY good to make jr. olympics...Itll be tough, as the best of the best play

[MDE3 0]

"JO" or "Junior Olympics" was the weaker division of the USAC/AAU championships in years past...not really sure if, or how much that has changed.... The "competitive" division was actually the strong one but they kept the "JO" handle to make younger kids and their parents feel good about what level they were competing at....all that may have changed of course. Various regions host teams which typically had tryouts for their local JO team in various age groups.

Not to be confused with the Jr. World Team tryouts for FIRS competiton..which really is the "best of the best" from within the group of players that compete in USAC/AAU regionals and Nationals, in both JO and "competitive". Normally very few players from the JO division made it onto the Junior World Team.

Maybe they now call that the Jr. Olympic team..which would be strange as there is no Olympic inline hockey competition as yet.

[All Torhs Team 0]

Statewars Dont wanna do that again, not worth the money, we play AAA tournys all year long, and why pay $300 for one tourny?

I thought Id give this Jr. Olympic team a shot cause Id never heard of any of my friends around here even talk about it. And we are pretty good around here, Five out of the 10 statewars spots were taken by the players on my travel team, so I dont think that statewars was anything special. Some teams were just absolutely horrible, and you would think that they were good. Like Missouri, with St. Louis, theyre supposed to be good, but the AAA guys were smarter then us Illinios guys, they didnt drop $300 for one tourny. This Jr, Olympic team sounds like a great deal because even if you dont make the team, its $165 to try out, and you get two practices and four games during the tryout process, with some top notch coaches. Only prob. with me is Im 15 and Im trying out with 17u's.

But its not to big of a deal, I play AA 18u. If you do make the team, its all this free gear, free air fare, free meals, so its pretty much the $165 for a blast. We'll see how it goes.

[MDE3 0]

Sounds like AAU and USAC is mimicking (maybe bad choice of words) the tryouts held by USA Hockey every year for four regions in the country, with a festival which was traditionally held in California, and where the players selected (normally 10 skaters and 2 goalies with 5 alternates) were then sent to play a weekend long tournament. There was also one team from Alberta that came down most years, so you had Team USA Jr's. from East, West, South, and Midwest, as well as Alberta sending players to the "festival".

However this was never called Junior Olympics...Just tryouts for the USA Hockey Inline Junior Development Program. A player could try out in any part of the country they wanted. For example TJ Oshie played for Team East even though he is from the northern mid-west (also on the Team USA Juniors that competed in the junior worlds[ice] over the past holidays in Vancouver)

For USAC/AAU Junior National team, which plays in the Junior World Championships, hosted by the FIRS , the players were mostly selected by comitteee, based on their play over multiple tournmanent during regionals and nationals, with maybe 3 spots open for the "tryouts". Maybe they are changing the format?

[MDE3 0]

Ok sorry for all the rambling....what you are talking about is in fact the USA Hockey Inline Junior develepment program, and tryouts for Team Midwest are hosted in Homer Glenn May 19 - 21 as you said....however this has NOTHING to do with Junior Olympics..although I could see how you might make that mistake.

[All Torhs Team 0]

Brochure says "National Junior Program" on the front.

And Im sure that your right, how theres prob. already players picked, but I think Ive got a shot, and even if I dont, I get my moneys worth with six hours of rink time.

[MDE3 0]

Yes it's part of the National Junior development program..if you look it up on the USA Hockey website. And the "pre-picked" players were for the AAU/USAC juniors NOT team USA Hockey Inline....

Trust me I attended 3 of these for Team East, and did my own selections....I was normally only off by one or two players between the alternates and the main team... all the players I thought would be selected were selected...just a couple I had as first picks were in fact selected as alternates....Very fair selection I thought..my son failed to make it his first try as a 15 year old, but made it the next two years and really enjoyed the experience...Even when he was not picked I never felt it was unfair..felt he didn't play well enough to be selected.

I have seen a lot of griping by parents in various regions after their child did not make it, but in the three tryouts I attended....I never felt there was any serious preconcieved notions..in fact I saw perenial selections NOT get picked because they played badly..and were not given a "bye" because the coaches had selected them to play at the festival in previous years...

Some of these guys went and tried out again successfully in a different region.

[pldhockey4 0]

i played in the 2001 or 200 jo's with a 16 u team. we came in 4th

[fusion34 0]

Who do you play for in Illinois?

[All Torhs Team 0]

Phantoms

sometimes we go by the IC phantoms because our rink is the Interstate Center

Or sometimes we go by bloomington phantoms or sometimes we go by our birth years like 90's or 89's.

But our org. is the phantoms.

[JSchultz 25]

You guys have to be much, much better than your predecessors, right? My brother is 19 and when he was 18u and 16u, played against Phantoms teams, and I remember some of the games were horrific on Phantoms end. He's an '86 though.

[pldhockey4 0]

i played in the 2001 or 200 jo's with a 16 u team. we came in 4th

it was an aau junior olmpic tournament.

no tryouts, your team just had to play in a qualifier tournament.

[usawest12u 0]

i did that last year i was on team usa west 12u it was pretty cool you play teams like australia great britan china canada and a couple others it was a good time but im not doing it this year because there only doing one tournement its not worth the money.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Ok sorry for all the rambling....what you are talking about is in fact the USA Hockey Inline Junior develepment program, and tryouts for Team Midwest are hosted in Homer Glenn May 19 - 21 as you said....however this has NOTHING to do with Junior Olympics..although I could see how you might make that mistake.

ahhhh, thats what I thought it was for... I thought it was for team USA west

[shelton 0]

i have just previously come back from the Junior olympics in new orleans the tournament was good we came 2nd you should go for it this year will be alot harder

[MDE3 0]

As mentioned earlier..this has nothing to do with Junior Olympic competition from AAU/USAC. This is an age 15 - 18 selection of the best junior players in each region, who go to an open tryout for 3 days, and of the 100 or so players who try out, 10 skaters and 2 goalies are chosen to make the "select" camp, as well as 5 alternates. Every player is given an individual evaluation at the end of the try-out camps. The camp is composed of a series of skill evaluations, practices and then scrimmages between teams which are formed early on in the tryouts.

This is run by USA Hockey Inline as part of their Junior development program.

Four teams are created from these open regional tryouts, and travel to "the festival" where those teams compete for 3 days. A team from Alberta Canada called naturally "Team Alberta" normally also attends the festival and competes with the four regionally selected US teams.

The players stay in a dorm type facility together. All expenses are covered except what players choose to spend beyond what is provided, if you make one of the "Festival teams", including food, travel, and lodging. Normally players get a complete free uniform including gloves and Labeda wheels for their skates, with a Team Usa Jersey.

In years past up to three of the top players from this junior selection camp are then given an invitation to try out for Team USA's World Cup men's team. This men's team competes every year in the IIHIF World Cup competition ususally held in July in Europe. In the past few years at least one or two of the top juniors has made the men's Team USA World Cup team (total of 2 I believe in the past 4 years).