A New Date and a New Division for the Future Stars of Ball Hockey

USA Ball Hockey (USABH) is excited to announce that it will carry out its plan to partner with the Canadian Ball Hockey Association (CBHA) and host its first ever youth event called “The Future Stars Invitational.” Due to the global pandemic, the previously scheduled late spring of 2020 event will now take place August 27-29, 2021 at the state-of-the-art Buffalo Riverworks Sports and Entertainment Complex in upstate New York. This complex is the city’s newest premier waterfront boating, sports, music and entertainment destination located along the banks of the Buffalo River.

“We’ve all learned a new level of patience due to the circumstances of the world,” says Sean Green, the Director of Athletics and Sponsorship for the complex. “With that time of waiting comes excitement about the future. We hope to add a Ferris Wheel to the list of recreational fun for all of the families traveling to this event in the summer.” Male players born between 2006 and 2009 will remain eligible, altering the age divisions to U-15 and U-13 for 2021. “We want those players who tried out and made their respective teams a year ago to have the opportunity to play as planned,” says USABH’s Director of Hockey Operations, Cory Herschk. Herschk and his staff have devised a plan to launch a third age group to the card. “It’s been a long time coming for female players to have a stage of their own. We are proud to have devised a tournament circuit for girls under the age of 16,” Herschk tells us. The U-16 Girls Tournament Circuit includes 3 events. Each finishing spot will earn a team a given number of points. These points accrue through the season and will lead to an overall champion at year’s end. The U-16 Girls Circuit is made up of these major events:

The Club Championships, May 21-23 in Pittsburgh, PA

The Future Stars Invitational, August 27-29 in Buffalo, NY

Oktoberfest, October 23-24 in Dracut, MA

Like the U-15 and U-13 Boys, four different states will host tryouts for the girls. “The goal is to offer young ladies a place to develop their game,” says Alessandra Glista, USABH Assistant Director of Hockey Operations. “Instead of cutting players from the U-16 teams altogether, those who don’t make the tournament rosters will be invited to participate in camps and practices with the teams,” she continued. “Our goal is to encourage more females to play the game,” Herschk states. He shares another reason to be excited, “More women from our silver medal national team are getting involved in coaching these girls. It’s an awesome way to give back to the sport. We’d like to get more states participating as well.” “We want to give these athletes a taste of what World Class competition is like, while developing their game for future success in hockey and in life.” Glista says, “Our vision is to add elements beyond hockey as well, giving these young players a chance to learn what it takes to set and achieve goals and become better people in the process.”

The Future Stars Invitational will follow the USA Ball Hockey rules and guidelines. This will include player of the game awards along with champion and runner-up prizes. Team USA coaches and players will also host a youth clinic for local players. A Fan Zone is scheduled to be available to the public with music, raffles and auctioned memorabilia. “Bringing more opportunities to play ball hockey to cities like Buffalo is a part of our ‘Grow the Game’ initiative,” says Herschk. “We are going to continue our work with the NHL, NWHL and with junior ice hockey programs in the Buffalo area to show people that the game of ball hockey translates to the ice very well, especially by way of off-season training.”

If you are interested in entering your state into the field, or you are searching for more information on the Future Stars Invitational, please email info@usaballhockey.com. For tryout information or coaching opportunities with the U-16 Girls Circuit, please contact the team General Managers:

– Larry Furman, Team Massachusetts, Lfurman@usaballhockey.com
– Jason Kelly, Team New Jersey, Jkelly@usaballhockey.com
– John Schouten, Team New York, Jschouten@usaballhockey.com
– Willie McKeen, Team Pennsylvania, Wmckeen@usaballhockey.com

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