JV Game @ Bloomington Jefferson

We have confirmed our matchup with Bloomington Jefferson Thursday evening at 6:00.  Please arrive at the fields by 5:15 with cleats on for warm-up.

Field instructions from the Jefferson coach:

The field where we play is slightly different than the one listed online (but only slightly, within sight of the field listed).  The field is in the back of Olson Middle School.  The address for the school is: 4551 West 102nd Street, Bloomington, MN, 55437.  The field is in the very back of the parking lot, so when you turn into the Middle School parking  go to the very back (South end) and the field is right there.

Please sign up in the comments if you wish to attend.  Also indicate if you need a ride from the carpool at Lindbergh.  We are looking for additional drivers.  Please contact Debbi Pavelka if you can drive.

Granite City Classic - Drivers Needed

Update (5/2, 9:00pm):  Schedules for GCC have been released and are linked  on the right hand panel.  Additional information on day start/end times are in the comments of this thread.  A more detailed post will follow tomorrow.

Waiver update:  The following players should have received a phone call or message from me to inform them that their waivers are incomplete.  Please update with USAU immediately or you will not be able to join us this weekend:  J. Condon, Z. Condon, Elias, Fern, Maynard, Mintzer, S. Stillman.  Contact Coach Mike with questions.

Original post below:

We are planning to send two teams and about 30 players to the Granite City Classic this weekend.  In order for this trip to happen, we need more parents to step up and drive.  Driving volunteers for this tournament is especially critical because it essentially consists of four 70-mile trips (Sat AM, Sat PM, Sun AM, Sun PM).

If the average vehicle holds four players plus a driver, it means we have about 32 driving slots to fill.  30 players and 32 driving tasks means every parent needs to find an opportunity to help this team get to St. Cloud or help it get home.  Or both!  We love spectators and the weather so far is predicted to be nice.

This is our last event outside the metro area.  We also have a road game at Henry Sibley this week, but after GCC, the JV travel schedule will calm down.  Please make every effort to do your part and help the team.  Contact Debbi Pavelka for more details.  We would hate to leave anybody at home.

JV Playing Time

The coaches are well aware of how difficult it is to distribute playing time with such a large roster. We have been looking for ways to get more points for everyone, especially our youngest and least experienced.

We have a couple of excellent opportunities for this to happen, but it requires a larger commitment from JV players and parents. Development of a reliable C team is an important step in the evolution of Hopkins Ultimate, and for those of you who are new to the sport, weekend ultimate tournaments are the reason why so many of us love to play and why we work so hard during the week and the offseason.

We have C team options for two tournaments. In order to accept these bids, we need to have a roster of 25 or more committed players. We have been reaching those numbers for our weekly league games, but not for our tournament sign-ups. If you've been coming to practices and games, please help your team by signing up for these tournaments. If you have a weekend conflict, it's OK to play just Saturday or Sunday. And as a reminder, even if you cannot play, we still expect you to post your status in the comments for the tournament sign-up.

• The Tournament Director of the Granite City Classic (St. Cloud, May 4-5) has offered us a spot in the B bracket in addition to our confirmed spot in the A bracket. The sign-up is live here. This is a great opportunity for our both our veteran JV players, who can field as competitive a team as possible, and for our younger players, who can get great tournament experience and lots of playing time against similar JV competition.
  

• The sign-up for the Hustle (May 18-19) will go up soon. Due to an excellent relationship with the tournament organizers :), we have also been offered an additional bid to this event in Maple Plain.

Both these tournaments are relatively local, but we will need more parents to pitch in and help us with transportation.

Without these opportunities, we will not be able to provide good playing time for all JV players. The coaches are beginning to take attendance at practice and playing time in games will be related to practice attendance. The next six weeks comprise the core of our schedule - the time where players demonstrate the progress we have made this year, and where players have the experiences that are the most memorable. Please help us make the next six weeks even better.

Thank you for contributing to our HURT community.

Hurt JV Tournament Sign-up: Face Off (Updated)

The JV Face Off is coming up next Saturday, April 21. It is a one-day tournament and is held in St. Cloud. We don't yet have any details on game times or opponents, but you can expect a departure from Lindbergh around 7:00am.

Because we have had such excellent turnouts at our league games, we may have to cap the roster for this and other tournaments. As a result, we will be more closely monitoring the tournament sign-ups.

For this and future sign-ups, I would like every member of the JV to reply in the comments with your status for the event, even if you cannot go. Just indicate whether or not you wish to attend.

For the Face-Off, please post your commitment no later than 9pm on Monday.

Update (4/17): We are in need of a few more parent drivers. Debbi Pavelka is organizing the transportation. If we get additional drivers, we will be able to take everyone who signed up on time.

JV Spring Tournaments -- Response Needed

I know spring break is upon us, but please take a minute to read this message, reply in the comments, and encourage your JV brothers to do the same.

We are looking to firm up the JV tournament schedule for this spring. Specifically, we are considering events for the two weekends surrounding Mudbath. There are tournaments in St. Cloud both weekends:

Face Off is a Saturday-only tournament on April 21. This is a B/C tournament only and has been held on Mudbath weekend in the past. This year, it is held the weekend before Mudbath.

The Granite City Classic is Sat/Sun, May 5-6. Last year, we played in (and won) the B pool of this tournament, but some players have indicated a preference to play in the varsity pool this year, as we have most other years.

We cannot commit to these tournaments unless we have commitments from players. Again, we will not submit a bid unless players express interest in the comments. We would need a minimum of 10 players for Face Off and 12 for GCC, as well as at least 3 parent drivers for each of the 3 tournament days. An official sign up will follow closer to the tournaments, but we need to know that we can field a competitive team.

Keep in mind that this schedule would include 3 tournaments over 3 consecutive weekends. Last year's schedule had the same tournaments except for the 1-day Face Off. Some of the tournaments have changed weekends, but last year's schedule did include three 2-day tournaments in a row, so you can use that as a reference.

Thanks, and have a great break.

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JV Tournament at St John's in Jeopardy...

... if we don't find people to drive our boys home on Saturday night. Right now, NO ONE has volunteered to bring kids home from St. Cloud.

No rides home = no one on JV goes = Varsity takes over the tourney because they can drive up there themselves.

Please contact Jennifer Kreiman or post in the comment section if you can help.

I know this sounds harsh, but this is the reality of the situation. Please consider helping your sons enjoy a great day of ultimate!

Mikey K