Daily Reports - Tornado Tryout Camp  Detroit

TTBC members – Val Pettay, Barb and Chad Simpson in attendance and assisting the coaching staff

Day Five:  Sunday, June 14   All Important All Star Game

Well, here we are on Sunday at 7:08 EST back at the hotel. This morning Val had to be at the airport at 6:00 for her flight back to Dallas, so we got up and moving at 5:00.  Val has to work tomorrow so she needed to get home but she sure hated to leave before camp was finished. 

After I dropped her off I went to get more gas in the car. In case you are wondering, gas here is $2.89 a gallon. 

Then it was back to the hotel to pick up one of my shuttle kids at 7:45 for his 8:30 game.  Then it was back to the hotel to pick up another group.  Took them to the rink and picked up the first kid.  I think you get the idea - pretty much I just drove in a loop for hours, 100 more miles on the car today. 

 

At one point I had 6 kids at the hotel and they all needed to get back to the rink so they could see if they were on the list for the All Star game.  Out of the 6, 4 had made it and were going to play in the game.

I felt awful for the two who didn’t.  At least they were not alone as many didn’t make that list.  It was hard on me as well as them and for those of you that don’t know me, I am a crier.   

When you spend time with the guys the one thing that you learn is they are still kids.  I was thankful for the time that I had getting to know them, but gosh it sure was hard to see them after they learned their part of camp was over. 

One thing that I saw at the hotel and the rink that I have never seen before was hockey gear all over the place. 

t was on top of cars, in the grass, on the sidewalk, and hanging in trees to dry out.








I took a few pictures because I thought it was so funny.  I suppose it was all laid out to try and dry their gear before packing to leave, but it was pretty funny to see if you ask me.

I actually got to watch some of the All Star game!  The Yovanic family came to watch too so I spent some time talking with them. As far as the All Star game goes, the guys looked great!

 

How could they not be with Paul Yovanic coaching the “white team” - Yovanic’s Maniac’s. Jason Bloomingburg coached behind the bench for the “black team” -  Bloomy’s Benders.  I heard that because Paul’s team lost he had to take Bloomy out to dinner after the game. 

With so much at stake tryouts can get physical as the boys try to show what they have.

 Hockey is a tough sport and the boys all know that but I sometimes cringe when I see the blood!

After the game it was time to start shuttling kids to the airport for the trip home (another crying opportunity for me).  It was so hard to say goodbye to the guys!!!! 

I would like to thank Mrs. McLean for taking four to the airport.  They were all traveling together and 3 were on the same flight.  I would also like to thank one of the scouts for taking 2 kids to the airport.  I was taking the Kelly’s to the airport and after dropping them off Chad and I went out for a nice sit down dinner.  Only the 2^nd one we have had since we have been here.  It was nice to sit down on real chairs, eat, and take our time.  After dinner it was back to the hotel to pack, write this report and send the today's pictures. I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures Chad and I have taken. 

It was a long day today but camp is finished and it is finally time to rest. I would hope everyone would get involved. Meeting these young men is so rewarding.

Days away from home - 5 Miles put on the rental car – 615 Trips to and from the hotel & rink – 30 Opportunity to help at tryouts, and meet some great     kids who hope to play for the Tornado -- PRICELESS

Please Note:  DALLAS CAMP

As you probably know we have another camp next weekend in Dallas and we’ll be doing this all over again.  One thing that Tony has asked Booster Club members to do next week is to shuttle kids to our Frisco rink and give them a tour.  How fun is that!!!  We will also be helping guys around as much as we possibly can.  As tired as I am I can’t wait for camp next week! Hopefully some of the guys we’ve met here will be in Dallas too so we can get to know them a little better. 

Day Four: Saturday, June 13   Six Games Today

When we woke up this morning about 8:30 and it was raining.  The high today was supposed to be 69 degrees.  The weather other than the rain is BEAUTIFUL!!!!  It is so nice to not be hot for a change.  I love Michigan summers!

Today was a very busy day for the Booster Club Shuttle.  We made about 8 trips to and from the hotel to the rink.  So far we have put over 450 miles on the rental car - good thing we have unlimited mileage!

One of my main goals today was to get some pictures of the kids that we have been shuttling.  I also wanted to get some pictures of the kids that I know are Draft/Tenders.   

There are about 120 kids here so it is kind of hard to find the Drafts/Tenders.

About 11:45 we were sent on an errand to pick up lunch for the coaches and scouts.  Wendy’s was the order of the day.  Due to all of the shuttling I was not able to watch much hockey but when I was at the rink there was actually a fight on the ice.  Who would think there would be fighting at a tryout camp! 

This evening, when I got back to the rink after taking a couple of kids back to the hotel, I walked in and was surprised to Paul Yovanic's Family. It has been two years since we have seen them at the last Detroit camp.  I love talking with Sophia, the knowledge she has about hockey is incredible!

Once again I would like to give a shout out to a couple of parents that helped us shuttle players.  Mr. Kelly and Mrs. Yovanic both took players back to the hotel for us tonight after the last game.  I really want to thank them for taking the time to help. 

Val, Chad, and I were able to enjoy a major “perk” tonight. After the last game we were invited to the locker room with the coaching/scouting staff to have some pizza.   Why would that be a “perk” you might be asking?  One thing that we are enjoying so much is seeing how a team is built.  There are many things that are taken into consideration when looking at a player.  What a treat to be able to listen in as the coaching staff was talking about kids and why they liked or didn’t like them as a candidate.  What kid’s have as strengths and development to compete in NAHL.  I can’t begin to tell you how cool it was to hear the conversations.  Of course it was all confidential so I cannot talk about what was said but what an insight into hockey!!!  I have to admit that it was also nice to know that they trust us enough to allow us to see the inner workings of coaching and selecting a team. 

Tomorrow we have 3 more games starting at 8:30 am before the All Star list is posted at 1:00 then the all star game is from 2-4.  After that I will be taking kids to the airport.  It is late and I am really tired and have to get up at 5:00 am and start shuttling at 6:00.

More tomorrow...

Day Three: Friday, June 12  Main Camp Begins

Today the full camp starts with all the draft picks, tenders and open tryouts arriving. Should be exciting.

Got up this morning and went downstairs for a bite to eat at the hotel, ran into “Hammer” one of Tony’s good friends and a scout for the camp.  Richie was also down there and the two of them were talking hockey.  Had a bagel and then it was off to shop for more camp treats!  Love having a K-Mart close by.  After lunch we dropped Chad off back at the hotel and Val and I headed to the airport.  We made that trip 3 times today.  It felt great to know that we were needed. 

We have met some great kids and some great parents.  I would like to thank the Deur family for helping us shuttle kids back and forth between the hotel and the rink.  They drove to Detroit so their son could try out for the team and have been a great help to us. They have two SUV’s here! I would also like to thank Mr. Kelly for bringing Val and I coffee this evening at the rink, it was so nice of him to think of us. 

Twelve goalies made the cut from the Goalies Only session yesterday and they will remain for the full camp.  We had a lot more to do today especially with getting everyone registered. It is fun to see the eager faces of the players as they arrive to register. They come from all over the country. Some are invitees from the Chicago camp. They all know that most won’t get selected to be a Tornado but they want to show what they’ve got and hope they catch the eye of a coach.  It’s so fantastic to see Tony once again coaching for the Tornado!

Ben, Billy Skwarczewski, and Paul were all on the ice again tonight and Jason Bloomingburg was calling lines from the bench. 

After getting registered the boys immediately got into action with three games starting at 5:30 pm. A lot of boys and a lot of work but it’s a whole lot of fun!

Chad took these pictures and we hope you enjoy them.

We have had a very busy day again today, and tomorrow will be no different.  We have one more player to pick up at the airport Saturday morning.   The guys that were coming in either from Dallas or through Dallas had a tough time getting out after the storms this week and are still arriving.  It is 11:29 EST as I type this and I still have not had dinner so I am going to close for now and grab a little something to eat.  More tomorrow!

Day One: Wednesday, June 10

We landed in Detroit without any problems and even arrived a little early! While waiting for our luggage we let Coach Curtale know we were in town.  We drove to the hotel to get checked in and were met by former Texas Tornado Paul Yovanic. 

We all drove around to familiarize with the area and the rink. We then went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. The conversation was great and mostly about hockey from mites to the NHL and everything in between. 

Some other former Tornado players expected to help with this camp per Paul are as follows:  Ben Miller, Jason Bloomingburg, and Billy Skwarczewski.   Some of the former players that might be here are Brett Blatchford & Jason Guerriero and Julian Mikola. 

While we were at the restaurant Val got a call from Tony about picking some kids up at the airport Thursday and Friday.  We will be picking up 4 boys trying out this week and 3 of them are listed as tenders or draft picks.  At this point we will be picking up 1 more boy on Friday afternoon. Anxious to see everybody and get started helping with camp.  More tomorrow….

Day two: Thursday, June 11 – Goalie Tryout Day

Woke up and went to breakfast about 10:30, then out to buy “supplies”, bubble gum, M&M’s, and Cracker Jacks for the scouting/coaching staff.  Back to the hotel where we ran into the new Texas Tornado assistant coach to be announced in the near future. Richie Salsman, a long time friend of Tony’s, is also helping with the camp. 

They invited us to go to White Castle, a restaurant chain similar to Krystal Bugers. 

About 3:00 headed to the airport to pick up a goalie, then to the rink.  It was great to see Tornado alumni Jason Bloomingburg, Paul Yovanic, Billy Skwarczewski, and Ben Miller. 

The goalie session was from 6-10 pm, with about 25 goalies on the ice.  Cuts will be made tomorrow morning to trim the roster down to 12 goalies. 

Went out to dinner after leaving the rink and we are now back at the hotel and ready for a good nights sleep.  Next report - tomorrow.