On Tuesday March 6, Aspen Junior Hockey will be celebrating the 2017-18 season with the Daily Awards at Lewis Arena.  This important event begins at 5:30 and will conclude with pizza for all by 7:00.  This season we have changed our format to ensure all in attendance are better engaged in the celebration. We are cordially inviting all families and friends of Aspen Junior Hockey to attend with all our teams from 6U Mites through 19U Girls and Aspen High School.  

ABOUT THE DAILY AWARDS

The Daily Family Sportsmanship Awards came into being 23 years ago, in March of 1995, shortly after Art Daily’s wife Kathy and sons Tanner and Shea were killed in an accident in Glenwood Canyon returning from a Mites game in Vail. 

They all loved hockey, and Art wanted to give something to our hockey program that we could remember them by. Tim Cottrell and Art came up with the idea of a Sportsmanship Award, and the Daily Awards are just that, they are Sportsmanship Awards. 

Why a Sportsmanship Award?

Art wanted an award that every player on a team had a chance to win. It’s not a most valuable player award in the normal sense. It doesn’t necessarily go to the highest scorer on a team, or even to the best hockey player. The ability to play the game well, to score goals and to win games, are important components of a player’s performance, but maybe what matters most is the spirit that a player brings to the game - the energy and enthusiasm and dedication and joy with which he or she plays it - and the way the player conducts himself or herself both on and off the ice. 

Sportsmanship is conduct that speaks well of a player, involving fair play and honest rivalry, courteous relations with teammates and opponents, and graceful acceptance of results, whether in winning or losing, whether in a close game or a blowout. There are four basic principles that the coaches are asked to apply in selecting the winners.

The Daily Award is given to the player on each team that, in the best judgment of the team’s coaches:

1. Puts out a 100% effort throughout the season

2. Puts the interests of the team first

3. Treats teammates, coaches and opposing players with respect

4. Maybe most importantly, plays hard to win and has a lot of fun doing it   

In essence, the Daily Award is intended for the player that works hard at both ends of the ice, both in practice and in games.  It is for the player that plays for the sheer joy of the game, that plays as a member of a team and not just for himself or herself.  Based on conduct on and off the ice, the Daily Award Winner brings honor to the him/herself, their team, and the great game of hockey.