Ozaukee Youth Hockey

At OYHA our philosophy is simple: the kids come first. Hockey is a great sport  which promotes teamwork, character, integrity, the value of hard work, honesty, excellence and fun.

Youth hockey is a lot of fun and creates lifelong friendships for the both players and parents, but being new to the sport can be a little intimidating at times.  Not to worry, we are here to help and we have a small army of super friendly hockey Mom’s and Dad’s to make sure you have a great experience.

Where to Start:

If you are new to OYHA you are probably asking, like all parents before you, where do we begin?  As parents we need information on where to place your child, practice and game schedules, cost and much more.

Hopefully the following information can answer those questions or point you in the right direction.

• Hockey levels are based on the birth year of your child.

• Our levels offered at OYHA (Birth Years Listed Accurate as of 2023/24 season):

  • Learn to Play**  (formerly Mini Mites)

    • Birth years 2017 or younger

  • 8U** (Formerly Mites) Co-Ed & Girls

    • Birth years 2015-16

  • 10U (Formerly Squirts) Co-Ed & Girls

    • Birth years 2013-14

  • 12U (Formerly PeeWee) Co-Ed & Girls 

    • Birth years 2011-12

  • 14U (Formerly Bantams) Co-Ed & Girls

    • Birth year 2009-010 (players who are Freshmen in High School have a choice to either play 14U or H.S. but cannot play both)

  • 18U (Formerly Midget) Co-Ed

    • Birth Years 2005-08

  • Ice CHIPs** - a program at OYHA for any player who is new to hockey. It stands for the Children’s Hockey Introductory Program.  This is for new players who didn’t get the chance to learn hockey at our Learn to Play level.  It is typically for ages 8-14.  

** The levels listed above have their own tab on the website for detailed information!

• Costs/Fees:

  • Fee structure is under the Registration Fees tab on the website

  • Please also consider that, much like other sports, there are potential additional costs for travel, (for older levels), end of the year parties, and coach & manager gifts.

• Practices & Games & Schedule

  • On average every team practices 2x per week, 50-60 minutes each.  Also, coaches may ask for off ice training to be added.

  • Learn to Play is only on Sat. & Sun. for 45 minutes each session.  Ice Chips has a schedule of 1x per week early in the season.

  • Game by level on average - Mites 15-20 games, Squirts 20-25, Peewees 30-35, Bantams 40-45 

  • Each team will play 1-3 tournaments per year with attempt to only have 1 away tournament. The other tournaments are relatively local within a reasonable driving distance where a hotel stay would not be needed.  NOTE: Learn to Play (6U) do not play tournaments. Mite (8U) teams play in 2 local tournaments per season. For details see the Tournament Limits Policy under the Policies tab.

  • Schedules will come out in the beginning of the season and will be adjusted slightly throughout the year based on what tournaments the team decides to participate in, swapping ice and other opportunities that come up throughout the season.

About OYHA:

Below you will find a list of contacts for any questions you may about OYHA and our activities both on and off ice.

The Youth Hockey Committee oversees all of the operations of Ozaukee Youth Hockey.  For information on who is on the committee and ways to contact them CLICK HERE.

When it comes to on-Ice activities, you will want to get to know our Hockey Development Committee, or HDC for short.  For information on who is on the committee and ways to contact them, CLICK HERE.

OYHA follows the national lead of USA Hockey and follows the American Developmental Model (ADM) developed by that organization.  A major part of that is called “Age-Appropriate Hockey”.  The ADM breaks down the proper development of your athlete based on their age.  To learn more about that, CLICK HERE.

For information on how OYHA breaks down our players by birth year, what those age groups are called and how your young athlete will progress with OYHA, CLICK HERE.

OYHA is also a part of the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association or WAHA.  WAHA overseas all of Wisconsin’s youth level league play; sets rules for each level of play, organizes State Tournaments and much more.  If you want to learn more about them CLICK HERE.

One of the great links on their page is a list of rinks with full addresses for  your GPS and a link to the association web sites. CLICK HERE for that.

We hope you and your family have a wonderful experience with OYHA and that you continue to play and enjoy the great sport of hockey long after your days as Ice Dogs and Ice Dog parents.