Ice hockey FAQ

For the 2019-2020 school year, the plan is to have recreation teams in the  Spring 2020 for Mites/8U (2012 birth year and younger), Squirts/10U (2010-2011 birth years), Pee Wee/12U (2008-2009 birth years) and Middle School (6th-8th grades).  For the Middle School team, there will also be an additional "Middle School show case" in March where our middle school team will play others and have the opportunity to meet our high school coaches as well.

The high school junior varsity and varsity teams participate in the regular scholastic season in the winter, but usually have optional leagues available during other seasons. 

You can sign up for our youth (Mites, Squirts, Pee Wee & Middle School) hockey teams via Community Pass. The high school coaches have their own process for registration, so it is best to reach out to them directly. Since there are many different opportunities throughout the year for children of all ages, it is always a good idea to stay tuned to this website, as well as our Facebook page. 

If your child is new to hockey, the Ridgewood recreation hockey program is a great program. We welcome children of all ability levels, and the commitment is minimal. However, the one area where we are limited is practice. A new skater will want to take skating lessons and perhaps participate in a camp or clinic. See our clinics page for details! If you are interested in a "club" team that has more practices and games, check out this page.

We recommend speaking to your child's coach to get a sense of what is required. However, if you would like to purchase gear in anticipation of the season, the salesperson at the local rink's pro shop (or Pure Hockey in Fairfield) can help outfit your child head-to-toe. See our "gear" section for details! 

You might have heard that ice hockey is a big time and travel commitment. Like other sports in town, there are varying participation levels that require varying degrees of time and travel. Our basic youth recreation program is a minimal commitment in terms of time and travel. We generally hit the ice once a week, and we play out of a home rink. For example, our Squirts team plays out of the Ice Vault in Wayne. 

The high school team hits the ice more often and travels to games, but once again, the travel is not beyond where you would expect to travel for other high school sports. 

For children who are looking for an extra challenge, there are other "travel" teams that practice more often and travel a bit more frequently for games. This is similar to other sports, such as as soccer, which feature "elite" teams that children can try out for. For more on the travel teams, check out this page. 

While the Ridgewood recreation youth ice hockey program does not have formal cuts, there is a roster size limit and requires hockey experience for the best experience for your child. You can find various local clinics in our Clinics page. As of the 2017 scholastic season, the high school team was not cutting anyone, either. 

One of the wonderful things about hockey is the fact that there is a team for everyone. If your child wants to see even more ice time, there are many local "travel" and "house" leagues that cater to all ability levels. Many of our recreation and high school players participate in other travel and house leagues throughout the year. A travel team requires a tryout and is more competitive, while a house team accepts everyone and plays all games out of the home ice rink.