If you were anywhere near the Inwood Ice Arena during the weekend after Christmas, you might have thought the place had been invaded by hockey players.

You would have been correct.

All shapes and sizes of kids. Helmets, skates, sticks, pucks, with one game right after another starting at 6 a.m. and finally wrapping up for the day around 11 p.m. Forty games in three days at the West Jefferson Street facility.

That's what happens when the Joliet Jaguars Holiday Shootout, a tournament involving 23 teams in five divisions — silver mites (ages 5-6), gold mites (7-8), squirts (9-10), peewees (11-12) and bantams (13-14) — takes over Inwood.

The tournament's third year, by all counts, was well-received.

But, you can bet that tournament director Rich Cuda, also the Jaguars' in-house program director, and his assistants, Dave Czajka and Diane Slachetka, were counting pucks as they went to sleep.

Tournaments, of course, don't just happen. You don't drop the puck and then go sit in the bleachers. It's a lot of effort, a lot of late-night calls and tons of planning.

"We usually start planning this tournament in late October when our house program begins and, yes, there's plenty to do," said Cuda.

In the finals, played Dec. 28, the Jaguars' No. 1 silver mite team beat Jaguars No. 2 6-5 in the finals.

Other results:
Gold Mite — Arctic Red Wings 3, Oak Lawn Rangers 1.
Squirt — Oak Lawn Flyers 2, Arctic Avalanche 1.
Peewee Arctic Red Wings 3, Joliet Jaguars U-14 girls 2.
Bantam — Oak Lawn Shamrocks 5, Oak Lawn Canucks 1.

Cuda noted that the finals in all divisions were taped and will be replayed weeknights for the next two weeks on Comcast Cable's Joliet local access Channel 6.

"We couldn't have this tournament without the volunteers, which involves a very strong parents' group," he said.

"We were satisfied with the results, we got a lot of great compliments and there was only one injury of note (a player broke an arm). Things ran very smoothly."

The tournament, although still relatively new, has had no trouble filling the field. Cuda had aimed for 20 teams this year and got three extra as a bonus.

"These teams in the tournament are from the house leagues at the various leagues. I really don't have to do much advertising, the teams that come in from out of town seem pleased and want to stay in the tournament," he said.

Ice time, always a mountain to climb in any hockey program, kept the field from getting any bigger. Cuda said his aim is to keep the tournament at one site, Inwood and, as noted, there are only so many hours in a day. Six a.m. to 11 p.m. is not a regular work shift — it's more like a marathon race.

Cuda never played organized hockey when he was young, but he does have two kids in the program.

The attraction of the sport? "Our program has 23 teams with 340 or so kids. When you see what happens, that it keeps a bunch of kids off the streets, gives them something they can have fun doing as they learn to compete, well, that's very attractive," said Cuda.

"It usually takes kids 2 to 3 years before they learn to skate well, handle the puck and all the other parts of hockey. The house leagues help kids build their knowledge about the sport.

"There's also the factor that some of these kids are starting to skate when they are two years old and, as they build their ankle strength and other facets, that's what makes them so agile. By the time they get older, hockey can be a beautiful sport, poetry in motion when it's played the right way.

"That's our goal with the in-house program, to teach the kids to do things the right way and help them develop their skills so that they can go on to the travel teams and other levels if they choose to."

Cuda and his associates are building the tournament slowly, adding a new wrinkle each year. But, they are carefully avoiding biting off more than they can chew.

"The key is for the kids to have fun, to enjoy themselves during the tournament," he said. "This year we added photographers (from Tin Type) to take pictures of the kids as they played. They can look up the photos on the computer, which gives them a kick and also is nice for parents."

Next year's wrinkle? A petting farm of sorts is a possibility and the tournament staff is also thinking about hiring a clown to entertain with fun and balloons. "We really haven't decided, but those are among the things we've kicked around," said Cuda.

Along with Czajka and Slachetka, Cuda is impressed with the help he receives during the tournament and in the in-house program.

"Most parents just don't drop off their kids at the rink. They are there for them. When you need something, you mention it and they say 'no problem' or 'what can I do?'" said Cuda. "Yes, it's work, but with the help we receive, it makes things a lot easier."

01/07/04