AUBURN — The Auburn U16 Bolts hockey player development program ended its first season with several significant accomplishments. Unanimous support was expressed from players, parents and coaches for continuing and growing the program.

The team’s record qualified it for state playoffs where it competed very well in spite of missing five players. And most significant to the heart of the program is the number of Bolts team members that made it onto high school rosters with 13 on varsity and five on JV rosters. Of the 13 varsity players, six are freshmen, six are sophomores and one is a junior.

According to Head Coach Jeff Guay, “Considering the number of young players from our program that are now on high school varsity rosters, especially the number of freshman, clearly proves that with focus on hockey fundamental and player development, more local players can significantly improve their skill level. I am looking forward to see this program grow and start to serve more players long before they become teenagers. I am very pleased with all the positive feedback we received from players and parents along with their interest in participating in our next session.”

Due to the level of support for growing the program from both participants and others who watched the development program from the sidelines, plans are in the works for the next session’s agenda.

Dynamic changes are on the drawing board to enhance the educational and training value of the program. Significant focus will be placed on capitalizing fully on the new classroom and training room facilities that will be available in the near future at Ingersoll Arena. An expanded training schedule will include more physical fitness instruction along with more video and off ice training sessions.

Tryouts for the next player development program will be scheduled in early spring. A series of both educational and training activities will commence during the summer months leading up to the full player development program agenda that will begin in late August.

Tryout dates will be posted on the Auburn Youth Hockey web site (http://auburnyouthhockey.com) once scheduled. For those who want to be on a notification list for upcoming events, e-mail Thom Labrie at [email protected] or Denis Berube at [email protected].