In the organization’s second year, Arizona Titans director Justin Rogers has implemented a new Mites development program open to players ages 4-8 years old.

The new program, coached by Jim Rogers, is geared toward providing the game’s youngest players with the opportunity to focus on development and enjoying learning the sport.

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As hockey continues to grow across the nation, the organization hopes to grow with it and expand its reach each year.

“When we looked at the organization as a whole, we felt like we needed to do a better job with the grassroots,” said Justin Rogers. “With the ever-growing Little Howlers program, we needed to give those players an option to continue playing at AZ Ice Arcadia. It was the perfect opportunity for the Titans to grow and reach more kids. We wanted to give these kids a place to transition out of their introduction to hockey and grow into full-blown hockey players.”

This is the organization’s first step toward building a generation of Titans players from the ground up. It is a step toward fostering an environment where players can grow up together in the organization as Titans from the start.

“It’s our first initiative in helping grow the grassroots of hockey,” Rogers said. “It is so important to us that we are focusing on building new hockey players because these kids are the future of the Titans program.

“We want to breed an environment where these young hockey players want nothing more than to grow up and continue playing for our organization. We want them to feel like this is where they belong, this is their home – because it is.”

The Titans realize that growing the game at this level is an opportunity to shape the future and the direction of the entire organization.

“This is a chance for us to teach them the fundamentals and the love of the game from the very beginning,” Rogers said. “If we can get them familiar with our coaches and help feed their passion for the game, we are better able to build a solid foundation for the organization in the years to come.”

Jim and Justin Rogers have become two of the state’s biggest advocates for growth in the hockey community. They want to challenge players to push work harder and have more fun because that’s where they will find the most development.

“I want all of the kids to grow into better players over the season and to have fun every time their skates touch the ice, game or practice,” said Justin Rogers.

When Justin Rogers took on building a new program last year, he wanted to build a program that was inclusive in every sense of the word because hockey is for everyone.

“Our goal is to ensure everyone has a place to play regardless of skill, ethnicity, gender, or economic background,” Rogers said.

The new development program will run the duration of the Titans’ season from August to March and will skate three times a week with the Mites teams, structured to give players two skills practices and one scrimmage session each week.

Although the season has already started, the Titans development program is still open for players who may be interested in joining.

For more information on the program or how to register, please contact the VOSHA Titans administrator at aztitanshockey@gmail.com.

Photos/Moriah Hernandez

— Moriah Hernandez

(Sept. 23, 2019)