week of March 6, 2023

Save The Dates….

March 11: Sub pick up @ the rink

March 12: Patrick try-outs- by invite only

March 12: Last day to turn in Child Life donations!

March 18: Last day of the Season! // Registration Closes

March 21: Patrick Division Year End Banquet

March 22: Norris Division Year End Banquet

March 23: Girls Division Year End Banquet

March 27: Campbell Division Year End Banquet

March 28: Adams Division Year End Banquet

August 15-17: GYF Summer Camp

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2023/2024 Season Registration

Registration for current GYF players for the 2023/2024 season closes next week!    Please make sure to read the directions below and fill out the correct registrations to ensure your players spot gets held correctly!  Please make sure to closely verify all information is up to date and accurate or this WILL hold up your players registration!

To register, please go to https://www.griffinskids.org/registration/, and find the correct division.  Please make sure to register as follows:

-Boys and Girls, 1st-12th grade, playing in the Co Ed Divisions, click on Co Ed Grades 1-12

-Girls only, 7th-12th grade, click on Girls Grades 7-12

*if your player will be playing in both girls and co-ed divisions, you will need to fill out both registrations!*

If your child(ren) have decided not to play next season, please let Nichole know asap.  If you are unsure of if they will be returning- our suggestion would be to save their spot and reach out to Nichole later if you decide to drop.  We do have a waitlist already for next year, so if you do not fill out a registration, you could lose your spot in the program! 

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Playoff  Schedules

Playoffs officially start this week for all divisions Adams & higher!   This is the “hot time” of the year.  Players are fired-up about the tournaments, coaches are talking about “winning the little battles” for the puck, playing “hard” and to “not take a shift off”.  Every call or non-call by our refs are hyper-scrutinized by players, coaches and the parent/spectators.  It is competition at its best and worst.

Be positive with your player, their coach/team and the opposing team’s players and our refs as well!  Remember, our refs are all parent and player volunteers.  That young ref may be your player or the player of a parent standing next to you.  Use a light touch and remember why we are all here!
Please see the game schedules for this week.  Next week,  the winners of each game will play each other for first place! The TeamSnap calendars have been updated to reflect these games.
3/7 Patrick Division
Green vs Red @ 7:00pm
Orange vs Blue @ 8:20pm
3/9 Girls Division
Orange vs Pink @ 7:00pm
Green vs Blue @ 7:50pm
3/11 Adams Division  
Red vs Yellow @ 11:00am
Blue vs Green @ 12:20pm
3/11 Campbell Division 
Green vs Gold @ 1:40pm
Red vs Blue @ 3:00pm
3/11 Norris Division 
Black vs Green @ 4:20pm
Red vs Yellow @ 5:40pm

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Year End Banquet Schedules

The end of the season is fast approaching, please find below the dates for the end of the year banquets.
Olympian Division: March 18 at the rink. Details to come soon
World Junior Division: March 18 at the rink.  Details to come soon
Banquet information:
Here are the details for the end of the season banquets. All of the following divisions will have their banquets at the same location & the same time each day. As soon as the banquet coordinators finalize their plans for the parties, details will be sent regarding how to sign up to bring food & supplies, etc. If you have indicated that you would like to assist with the parties, you will be contacted by the party coordinators to help.
Location: Fraternal Order of Police
Address: 1753 Alpine Avenue NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504. Tan building with Blue stripe at the top 
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm 
Due to limitations with the size of the facility, we are asking that two parents or significant persons accompany each player. No siblings or extended family members, please.
Patrick Division: Tuesday, March 21
Norris Division: Wednesday, March 22
Girls Division: Thursday, March 23
Campbell Division: Monday, March 27
Adams Division: Tuesday, March 28

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Raffle Basket Fundrasier

Our annual Raffle Basket fundraiser will take place on Thursday, March 9, Saturday, March 11 & Tuesday, March 14.  Each year, baskets of miscellaneous hockey or Griffins related goodies are put together & raffled off. Raffle tickets will be sold at the front table on each of those days. The drawing will take place at the end of the day on Tuesday, March 14. Winners need not be present to win & baskets will be available for pick up March 15-18. We will have two t-shirts autographed by the Griffins team as well!  Please contact Eileen directly with any questions. (programmanager@griffinskids.org)

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Community Room

Springtime fun and book swap!! It’s almost spring and there are only 2 Saturdays left in the season.  Stop into the community room to make some fun springtime crafts. Remember to turn in your final reading slips this week and collect your end-of-season prizes. Also, take some books home for reading month and make a personalized bookmark!!

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Volunteers Needed 

Thank you to all who helped during the Star Wars game last Saturday!!!

-Scoreboard/Announcers- We need help for the following games (Sign Up Here!)

  • 3/7 Patrick- 7:00 pm Game (green vs red)- 2 people needed
  • 3/9 Girls- 7:00pm & 7:50pm- 1 person needed for each game
  • 3/11 Games:
    • Adams- 12:20pm (blue vs green), 1 person needed
    • Campbell- 1:40pm and 3:00pm- 1 person needed for each game
    • Norris 4:20pm and 5:40pm – 1 person needed for each game

-Refs Needed This Week- We need help for the following games, if you or your player has taken a ref class, please considering signing up for a time to help out this week!

  • 3/11 Games- (Sign Up Here):
    • World Juniors 9am game- 2 refs needed
  • 3/18 Games-
    • World Juniors 9am game- 4 refs needed
    • Adams- 1 ref needed for each game (11am and 12:20pm)
    • Campbell- 1 ref needed for each game (1:40pm and 3:00pm)
50/50 volunteers at the Griffins games are needed until mid-April. Lately, it has been difficult getting six volunteers for each of the games- we lose money if we do not have all 6 spots filled!  If you are interested in volunteering in this capacity, please sign up here.
Please contact Ms Eileen directly (programmanager@griffinskids.org) if you have any questions. Volunteers are expected to arrive at the Van by 5:30 & volunteer to sell raffle tickets until the end of the second intermission. Three tickets to the game & a parking pass are given to each 50/50 volunteer.

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Sub Sandwich Fundraiser 

If you ordered from our Sub fundraiser- your items will be available for pick up this Saturday, March 11th!

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Summer Camp Sign Up

This year GYF is bringing back our summer camp!  This is not mandatory or part of our regular season.  Spots are limited! If you have a player who plays in multiple divisions- they should choose one division to participate in during the camp.

When: August 15-17  *players must come for an equipment fitting on August 9th.

Olympians/World Juniors 5:00-5:50 pm
Adams/Campbell 6:00-7:15 pm
Girls/Norris & Patrick 7:30-8:45pm

Cost: $30/player

Registration and payment can be submitted here:
 https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/340240.
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Calling All Seniors!
We are thrilled to announce the formation of the Griffins Youth Foundation Alumni Association, to enable former GYF players and coaches to foster connections with friends and teammates, celebrate our history, share your stories, and take part in alumni events and reunions.

You are still part of our family- don’t lose contact with us just because you’re graduating!  Fill out this short form to be added to our GYF Alumni list: www.griffinskids.org/alumni

*If you are interested in helping us with this outreach process please let us know.  Feel free to pass this information along to anyone you know who is an alumnus of GYF.

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