DMV Girls Travel Hockey Clubs

[Anonymous]

Hello! We’re moving to the DMV this summer from the Northeast, and I’m trying to get a sense of where our daughters should look for girls’ travel hockey next season. We’ll be coming down in March and April for tryouts, so I’m hoping to narrow things down a bit beforehand.

We have two girls: a rising 12U (2015) and a rising 14U (2013). They’ve played A and AA at different points. They are not superstars, but solid, above-average players who work hard and love the game. Our biggest priorities are development, confidence, and keeping hockey fun. We’re not thinking about college recruiting or anything like that.

My husband played D3 “back in the day” and has always helped coach when the kids were younger, so he knows the game well, but he’s not necessarily looking to coach at this age group.

We haven’t settled on where to live yet and have some flexibility. We’re familiar with AGHF from a distance, but not as much with the DMV clubs up close. Right now we’re mostly looking at MYHA, St. James, Reston, and Potomac — maybe Nova or Loudoun too — but open to perspectives.

Would love to hear thoughts from local families on where we might focus, especially in terms of development, coaching, team culture, and just a positive experience overall for the girls.

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

I have boys, so can’t speak to girls teams but just letting you know our club, Caps Hockey Academy (CHA) is starting a girls team this year. I think it will be 12U. May be too green of program for your needs, but it has been a great community! They play at MedStar, the Capitals practice facility in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

See this recent thread to get a a bunch of feedback for some of the clubs in the DMV area.
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1309019.page

There are not a lot of girls only options, but there are some. I'm not sure for all clubs, but their websites will provide more offerings. If your daughters are interested in playing coed then you have lots of options. FWIW my DS has had girls on every team he's played on and they have always fit in well on and off the ice with the boys.

All, except maybe St. James, have parent coaches with usually similar experience of your husband.

Reston (has girls only teams), Caps Academy, MYHA are all very similar and solid programs. Ashburn is a win at all cost club (think yelling) that turns off some. Loudoun should be solid again after a 1 year hiatus due to a rink management closure turned into a last minute rink saving purchase fiasco. The next step down is the St. James (has girls only teams) and Potomac, they usually finish much lower in the CBHL, but could be a good choice too.

Figure out where you are going to live and then pick the closest rink. Certain areas may put you between two rinks. If you end up in Vienna, VA you might be equidistant to Caps Academy and Reston or if you end up in Chantilly you might be close enough to Loudoun and Ashburn. If that's the case reach out to the organizations and tell them what you are looking for and see what they say. Then tryout. Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

MYHA has two 12U and 14U girls teams at each age, so that probably helps if coming down to tryout.

Their 12U Blue team is a wagon…👀

[Anonymous]

Notwithstanding the PP’s characterization that St James girls’ teams are a “step down,” St James girls’ teams won CBHL 10U, 14U Gold, and 16U Gold divisions this year. The 14U team won its division at Nationals last year. Both 14U and 19U girls won PVAHA championship this season as well and are headed to Districts this month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Notwithstanding the PP’s characterization that St James girls’ teams are a “step down,” St James girls’ teams won CBHL 10U, 14U Gold, and 16U Gold divisions this year. The 14U team won its division at Nationals last year. Both 14U and 19U girls won PVAHA championship this season as well and are headed to Districts this month.

The "step down" characterization was in reference to St. James program overall as that paragraph is giving an overview of the other clubs listed as well. The St. James co-ed teams at the age group levels which the original poster was inquiring about are not top tier, therefore they are a step down. Not meant as a slight in any way. Completely based off of CBHL records over the past several season readily available for all to see on the CBHL website. Relax and try not to be so unnecessarily offended.

[Anonymous]

My daughter recently finished up 19u. It’s myha or st James. Both programs are good. Tri city is also competitive and can put good teams together. Tri-city is rebuilding after making a 19u national championship run last year so your kids could be good ages to join. We know girls at Reston that have had good experience, but all the other clubs except the 3 I mentioned are a big drop off. The traffic here can be deadly, especially when trying to get to 14u 5:30 practices, so I’d pick between those 3 based on where you live. once you decide where you’re living, reach out to the girls hockey director of the club you want to join to introduce yourselves, so they know your family before tryouts. Going in blind can be challenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See this recent thread to get a a bunch of feedback for some of the clubs in the DMV area.
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1309019.page

There are not a lot of girls only options, but there are some. I'm not sure for all clubs, but their websites will provide more offerings. If your daughters are interested in playing coed then you have lots of options. FWIW my DS has had girls on every team he's played on and they have always fit in well on and off the ice with the boys.

All, except maybe St. James, have parent coaches with usually similar experience of your husband.

Reston (has girls only teams), Caps Academy, MYHA are all very similar and solid programs. Ashburn is a win at all cost club (think yelling) that turns off some. Loudoun should be solid again after a 1 year hiatus due to a rink management closure turned into a last minute rink saving purchase fiasco. The next step down is the St. James (has girls only teams) and Potomac, they usually finish much lower in the CBHL, but could be a good choice too.

Figure out where you are going to live and then pick the closest rink. Certain areas may put you between two rinks. If you end up in Vienna, VA you might be equidistant to Caps Academy and Reston or if you end up in Chantilly you might be close enough to Loudoun and Ashburn. If that's the case reach out to the organizations and tell them what you are looking for and see what they say. Then tryout. Best of luck.

This person doesn’t know what they are talking about. If your girls can skate, it’s st James, myha, or tri city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Notwithstanding the PP’s characterization that St James girls’ teams are a “step down,” St James girls’ teams won CBHL 10U, 14U Gold, and 16U Gold divisions this year. The 14U team won its division at Nationals last year. Both 14U and 19U girls won PVAHA championship this season as well and are headed to Districts this month.

The "step down" characterization was in reference to St. James program overall as that paragraph is giving an overview of the other clubs listed as well. The St. James co-ed teams at the age group levels which the original poster was inquiring about are not top tier, therefore they are a step down. Not meant as a slight in any way. Completely based off of CBHL records over the past several season readily available for all to see on the CBHL website. Relax and try not to be so unnecessarily offended.

But the OP wasn’t asking about co-ed teams, were they?

[Anonymous]

Coming from AA/A in the Northeast, your daughters will be competitive for any of the programs around here. Talk to the girls hockey directors at programs around the area and see what clicks. Prioritize convenience to the place you want to live because getting to practice at rush hour is rough.

[Anonymous]

It really comes down to where you live and what level of competition you want. If you want the best local girls programs it's either St. James or MYHA. There are differences between the two but it really comes down to which is closer. If you want lower level travel, there are other options to choose from, again the biggest factor is location. One thing to point out is that don't judge a girls program by it's coed program - a lot of the local programs are run very differently within the same club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MYHA has two 12U and 14U girls teams at each age, so that probably helps if coming down to tryout.

Their 12U Blue team is a wagon…👀

As someone with a 16U daughter who has plenty of experience in local girls hockey, the only warning I would give is that I generally hear very, very positive things about the directors of the girls programs across the DMV. We are lucky to have such a dedicated bunch across clubs. I have rarely (maybe never?) heard anything positive about the MYHA girls director. Take that for whatever it is worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYHA has two 12U and 14U girls teams at each age, so that probably helps if coming down to tryout.

Their 12U Blue team is a wagon…👀

As someone with a 16U daughter who has plenty of experience in local girls hockey, the only warning I would give is that I generally hear very, very positive things about the directors of the girls programs across the DMV. We are lucky to have such a dedicated bunch across clubs. I have rarely (maybe never?) heard anything positive about the MYHA girls director. Take that for whatever it is worth.

You described him much more politely than I would have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYHA has two 12U and 14U girls teams at each age, so that probably helps if coming down to tryout.

Their 12U Blue team is a wagon…👀

As someone with a 16U daughter who has plenty of experience in local girls hockey, the only warning I would give is that I generally hear very, very positive things about the directors of the girls programs across the DMV. We are lucky to have such a dedicated bunch across clubs. I have rarely (maybe never?) heard anything positive about the MYHA girls director. Take that for whatever it is worth.

He develops tough, aggressive players. There. Now you’ve heard something positive.

[Anonymous]

I would also add that he is a very good skills coach and develops good skaters.

The rest of this thread is correct. MYHA and St. James are probably about even with + / - for each. I think Reston & Tri-City are likely fine as well but historically are a little weaker. I'd pick the one that is easiest to get to at 7pm during the week.

If you are coming from New England, a AA player there may be a AAA player here. It might be worth looking at Pride which is the only AAA girls club in DC. If nothing else, you could attend those tier 1 tryouts first to start getting to know some of the other girls in the area and get a sense of the skillset here.