RISE OF THE PHOENIX

"A mythical bird that never dies, the phoenix flies far ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space.  It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it.  The phoenix, with it's great beauty, creates intense excitement and deathless inspiration."

The phoenix was a fabulous mythical Arabian bird, said to be as large as an eagle, with brilliant scarlet and gold plumage.

The tryout was attended by 96 players from 28 different high schools.  The 41 players on the two rosters will attend 18 different high schools in the fall.  Practices for both teams will begin on Monday, August 18th.  The rosters which are in printable form can be found in "Handouts" which is item #9 on the HOME PAGE menu.  

Following three very successful years of coaching the Kettle Moraine-Mukwonago high school hockey program, Chris Duncan and his assistant, Kevin Cline, have joined the PHOENIX HOCKEY coaching staff.  They will work with Peter Bakovic coaching the Midget Minor (16U) Team.

As the KMM Varsity Head Coach, Chris compiled an impressive 51-17-1 record.  In his tenure, his teams made two trips to the WIAA State Championship and won a Classic Eight Conference Championship.  Previously, the KMM hockey program had never won a conference championship or played in a state tournament.

Chris grew up and played hockey in Onalaska, WI, coached for five years in the Waukesha County Youth Hockey Association and has a Level 5 "Masters" coaching certification from USA Hockey.  In 2006, Chris was named the WIAA Section 7 "Coach of the Year".  We welcome Chris and Kevin to PHOENIX HOCKEY and are confident that they will make significant contributions to the development of the "committed" high school hockey players who participate in the program.

PHOENIX HOCKEY is a developmental "Before and After" Midget hockey program that has been in existence in various forms since the Spring of 2001. The program is designed to provide the committed high school player, who wants to excel at the high school level and beyond, with a combination of advanced skill development and a competitve (AAA) 20 game fall schedule. This program places a stronger emphasis on practices than games, and individual skill enhancement over team building. Players from 21 different high schools in Southeastern Wisconsin participated in the 2007 - 2008 program. Most of the players were from schools in the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area. Travel demands will be limited, and most games will be played within a 100 mile radius of "Home Ice".

The 2008 - 2009 program will commence with a tryout for both the U18 (PHOENIX FORCE) and U16 (PHOENIX) teams in late June. The coaches will select the best 17-25 players for each team at the tryouts. Practices for both teams will begin in mid-August. Teams will practice twice a week in August and September. In October, to allow the players to join their high school teammates for "Captain's Practices", the teams will practice once a week. Games will be scheduled and played on weekends (never on Fridays except tournaments) up until the high school tryouts begin the second Monday in November. The KERN CENTER, at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, will be used by the teams for tryouts, practices and games.