These are tough times out there and I feel badly for all the players that must bear the burden of this pandemic. I am aware that some teams are just practicing, and other teams are playing in some manner, mostly out of state. I wanted to take this opportunity to say, ‘stay safe’. When you decide to continue with hockey in whatever form it may take, you are taking on the responsibility for the safety of your teammates, schoolmates, and family.

On the ice the rules of behavior during play are always in place. We still receive game reports even if you are playing out of state. Injuring an opponent, verbally assaulting officials and fighting will be dealt with severely. Remember, if we are hoping to convince anyone that we can play the game safely in these extraordinary times, bad behavior works against our cause. Your adherence to health guidelines helps keep your families and all those around you out of peril. Gatherings with your friends without social distancing, indoors and without masks risks the spreading of this virus. Teams have had to shut down already due to COVID-19.

We all want to see our sport come back, but we want to see everyone alive and well when it happens. So please, be safe out there and remember each of us is responsible for those we come in contact with, on or off the ice and in or out of school.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the rink as soon as possible.

A four-year varsity defenseman for co-op Nazareth, Alex Maggos played a lot of roller hockey and rat hockey with his older brother during the quarantine, focused on improving his stick-handling and shooting. He’s driven to continually improve, just like his teammates.

Maggos & company are motivated to erase the misery of last season, when Nazareth finished last in the nine-team IHSHL Hayes-Suburban Division with a 3-22 league record and a league-low for goals-for and third-most for goals-allowed.

Saint Ignatius has one collective goal this season, just as it does every season, just as every team in the Chicago Catholic Hockey League carries: Win the Kennedy Cup.

If you have not skated in the Catholic League, you might not truly understand the drive for this revered title, but the Wolfpack do, as do all teams in the league. Without question. Catholic League players often say, Winning the Kennedy Cup is more important than winning the State Championship.

Amelia McKenna, a senior at Saint Viator who skates for the co-op District 211/214 Rebels, is the epitome of a student-athlete. On the ice, she is a three-year varsity skater as this is the team’s third season. She had 5 goals, 3 assists in 15 Metro Girls games last season, including 2 game-winning goals.

“My style of play is controlled, but I’m aggressive when I need to be. I like to envision what I’m going to do on the ice before it happens,” said McKenna, 17, who lives in Arlington Heights and sports jersey No. 14.

T.J. Skipper was a freshman captain last season for the Neuqua Valley JV2 team that ultimately lost to the Cobras for the Hayes Championship.

“We had a very good season and did really well, going from starting off slow to making it all the way to the finals,” said Skipper, 15, now a sophomore who lives in Naperville. “I’m really thankful that my coach thought that I was worthy of being captain; I tried every game to motivate everyone in the locker room and on the bench.”

Many are wondering how they can be seen by college coaches and scouts if we are not playing games. On Thursday, November 12, the AHAI Girls Committee will be hosting a webinar that will shed light on what can be done during this pandemic to get your name and skills in front of college coaches, what to expect as a college athlete, nutritional information, importance of injury prevention and rehabilitation, and what else is out there for you in the hockey world. Follow AHAI’s social media platforms and the AHAI website for registration details. Registration for this webinar will be November 1-9, 2020. Webinar link will be sent approximately 2-3 days before the event to the email address(es) used in your registration. Parents are encouraged to be part of this webinar as well. Players, you will be required to add a parent’s email address to your registration.

The A Step aHead partners are excited to announce the 10th year of our program! We are proud of the work that has been done to educate our youth hockey community about sports safety and provide free baseline neurocognitive testing. We look forward to another 10 years of working to keep our athletes safe while they play the game they love. This year the free baseline testing will be offered through November 30, 2020.