Dear GSC members,

As many of you know, over the last several years, the GSC girls’ hockey program has made significant progress in creating a more competitive girls’ program.  We have hired Shannon Doyle to oversee our program and have invested in additional professional coaching and skills sessions.  Jessica Weiner spear-headed our first all-girls mite team in 2020-2021 which ultimately grew to three teams this past season.  And our 13U girls team had a fantastic season, culminating in winning their D1 CGHL tournament.

While our growth over the past two seasons has been nothing short of remarkable and we continue to look for ways to supercharge our progress and growth, all of this has been happening over a backdrop of increasing competition from for-profit organizations that recruit many of our top players and a low number of girls hockey players overall that make fielding two balanced teams unachievable.  And fielding one team at each  U10, U12, and U14 level in 2022-2023 would have been difficult given numbers.  We have looked at different ways to combat this trend but have realized the challenges of accomplishing our goals within the constraints of a membership cap (250).

As we worked through the next step for our girls’ hockey program, in early 2022 we were approached by representatives from the Mamaroneck girls program, who also share a similar history of success while dealing with increasing competitive challenges.  Mamaroneck has specifically struggled with girls leaving to play at CJR in recent seasons.  The players most common reason for leaving has been that Mamaroneck is a local program without depth, and the allure of playing for a “Tier 1” program.

The GSC Hockey Committee worked diligently with Mamaroneck to develop a plan for merging our girls travel hockey programs.  We have been comfortable partnering with Mamaroneck based on their strong history, similar philosophies and great people.  The boards of both programs approved this merger and believe it is in the best interest of our girls and families and should provide a better overall experience than what we can provide today. 

Best Regards,

The GSC Hockey Committee

GSC 10u-19u Girls Hockey FAQ’s

What: The Greenwich Skating Club girls travel hockey program merged with the Mamaroneck girls travel hockey program in the spring of 2022 to form the Stateline Hawks.

Age Levels and Teams: The Stateline Hawks program applies to age levels 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and 19U.  The GSC 8u girls will continue to play in the existing mite program at GSC.  We will also continue to maintain a developmental house league program at GSC for any members that are not ready for travel hockey, or do not want to commit to a travel schedule.

Why:  The partnership will help GSC and Mamaroneck assemble competitive, balanced teams in light of the increasing competitive environment.  Our players and families will greatly benefit from having two or more teams at each age level.

Where: When GSC opens in late October, practices and games will be split between GSC and Hommocks Park Rink (13 miles from GSC).  In September and October, the practices/games will be at Hommocks in addition to Hamill and other outside rentals.

Governance: The new program will have a board which consists of three members from GSC and three from Mamaroneck.  In year 1, the GSC board members will include Jessica Wiener, Brent Brower and John Unger.

GSC Membership: This merger provides additional ice time that benefits our girls and all our other programming.  We will maintain the club’s policy of requiring Greenwich residency (or child attending school in Greenwich) to join the club.  Any players that are not GSC members will not have GSC club access (free skate, free hockey, training ice, etc.) other than for practices/games.

Schedule and Leagues: The top teams at each age level will play a competitive schedule throughout CT, NY and Mid Atlantic/New England, and will be eligible to play in the NY State championships.  14U and above will be eligible to play in NY states and Nationals.  Second teams at each age level will play in the CGHL (CT Girls Hockey League).

10U and 12U — all teams will initially play in the CGHL.  In the future, we will evaluate if top teams are a good fit for the AGHF.

14U — the top team will play in the AGHF (https://atlanticgirlshockeyfederation.com/).  Many games will be played against closer teams in the league including Brewster, Hartford and Massconn.  Road trips will be scheduled to play multiple games in a weekend against teams in a specific area such as Philadelphia.  The 14U second team will play in the CGHL.

16U and 19U — these teams will play a split season schedule to accommodate prep/high school players, though there will be some Sunday practices/games during prep/high school season.  We will evaluate appropriate leagues once teams are finalized after tryouts.  Options to consider include NYSAHA, AGHF and CGHL.