MUSKEGON – The newly created Lakeshore Junior Lumberjacks will unveil their new uniforms at Friday night’s Muskegon Lumberjacks game at Mercy Health Arena, marking an exciting new beginning for youth hockey in the area.
The Junior Lumberjacks have also announced a new partnership with MuskegonSports.com, which will provide media coverage highlighting various local teams and players, beginning in the fall.
The Lakeshore Junior Lumberjacks were formed through a recent merger of two smaller, competing organizations – the Lakeshore Chiefs and the Muskegon Junior Jacks – and will operate under the banner of the Lakeshore Youth Hockey Organization.
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The Junior Lumberjacks will be forming travel teams (more competitive) and house teams (more recreational) in seven age groups – Mini Mites (6 and under), Mites (8 and under), Squirts (10 and under), Peewee (12 and under), Bantam (14 and under), Midget (16 and under), and JV (18 and under).
There will be a lot of pluses to having a single youth hockey organization in town.
Having kids from the two former organizations playing together will mean that Junior Lumberjacks teams will be able to go toe-to-toe against opponents from the top organizations in the state. Lots of championships and trophies are likely to come as a result of the merger.
The top youth coaches in the area will also be working together on the same page to help the young players develop, instead of against each other.
The new organization will also have three rinks at its disposal – two at Lakeshore Sports Centre and one at Mercy Health Arena – making practice and game scheduling much easier and more convenient.
[2]Finally, families will no longer have to be split up between two junior hockey organizations, with one kid playing for the Junior Jacks and another playing for the Chiefs, which was a problem in the past for some.
The creation of one united youth hockey organization has already been greeted with enthusiasm by players and parents, according to Ryan Alter, president of the LYHO.
“We have had nothing but extremely positive feedback,” said Alter, who talked to MuskegonSports.com on Tuesday at Mercy Health Arena during tryouts for the Junior Lumberjacks’ spring season.
Before the competition begins, however, the Lakeshore Junior Lumberjacks will have a moment in the spotlight on Friday night, unveiling their new look between the first and second periods of the Lumberjacks’ game against Green Bay.
The new uniforms will be introduced during a presentation on the ice, and the LYHO will have a table set up on the arena concourse to provide information for the public.
[3]Anyone who’s in a hurry to see the new uniforms before the appointed time will be disappointed, he added.
“We’re not going to reveal the look until we do it on the ice,” Alter said. “The jerseys have been locked up. We’re going to have four young skaters come out on the ice wearing them – a couple of little kids and a couple of bigger kids – and that’s the first time the jerseys are going to be seen.
“I haven’t even seen them myself, but from what I understand, they are outstanding.”
Following the unveiling of the new uniforms, the Junior Lumberjacks will begin marketing a line of apparel on a yet-to-be-launched website, offering various types of clothing featuring the organization’s logo and colors.
The Lakeshore Chiefs and Muskegon Junior Jacks had similar lines of apparel available to the public, but this will be on a much larger scale, Alter said.
[4]“We already have people from well outside our organization asking how to get jerseys and other apparel, which is pretty interesting,” Alter said. “This is going to be a 24/7, 365-day website. People will be able to get as much Junior Lumberjacks apparel as they want. You name it, we got it.”
Alter also expressed his excitement about the new agreement with MuskegonSports.com that will provide media coverage for the area’s youth hockey talent.
MuskegonSports.com already offers extensive game-to-game coverage of the Muskegon Lumberjacks, along with area high school hockey teams, so the extension of coverage to youth hockey is a natural progression.
Youth teams rarely attract media coverage, but with such a high degree of talent in the new organization, and so much interest in the local teams, it’s time to start spotlighting the community’s younger players, Alter said.
“The partnership between the Lakeshore Junior Lumberjacks and MuskegonSports.com will be groundbreaking for youth hockey,” Alter said. “Youth hockey does not typically get the type of coverage that is going to be provided for us. It will help us attract even more talent and gain more recognition online.”