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TBJ Elite Hockey, from adversity, to Nationals!

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I am telling this story about a Hockey team. A team that has survived the adversity of a brutal hockey season this year, that tested them each and every day, yet they still prevailed. As a father of two hockey players, one of which is on this team, and being a player myself for almost 50 years, I have seen and lived through just about every Hockey situation one can experience. Now this team, is an incredibly young but tough, "No Quit" hockey team that has dealt with unimaginable road blocks at every turn. I am talking about the Tampa Bay Juniors Elite Hockey team playing out of the Advent Health Center Ice Facility in Wesley Chapel Florida. This team has played their hearts out all season while enduring the impossible through illness, injury, loss of players, and everything else that came at them. Even though the team is made up of players from all over the country, some from other countries, they love Florida and are held together by a bond, a bond that only team sports in this country supported by great coaching can teach an athlete. No matter how bad things got, they never stopped working together to realize their dream of going to Nationals. The regular season is over, and they are qualifying to go to Nationals in first place position in their division this weekend. Hard to believe with all they have been through, losing their top goalie in the first week, concussions sidelining players throughout the season, broken bones, torn muscles and ligaments, personal family issues, and lots of winter illnesses with the Flu and Covid hitting us hard this season. They could have given up, but they didn’t. They endured through all of that, and now after their 7-month long season, they are heading to Playoffs and qualifying for Nationals with a battered and beaten team. All of them looking to fulfill their dreams of being National Champions in Utica New York. The Tampa Bay Juniors Elite Hockey Team has worked harder than every other team to get into first place in their division and has held that top spot for the last four months. They are the youngest team in their division, the conference, and the entire national USPHL league qualifying for Nationals this year out of 36 teams in the USPHL. The team got a new goalie to add to their goaltending unit, multiple players are now on the mend, everyone is training and playing harder than they ever have, as a team, as a unit, as a family, and amidst all the adversity, they just keep moving forward. These players at Nationals will be seen by hundreds of Juniors, College, and Professional Scouts. The value of the exposure they will get cannot be measured in terms of money. Possible college scholarships, training camps, and team advancement are in the hopes and dreams of all of them. This is what every athlete dreams of, national exposure on a national stage, at a national event.

The problem is cost. Playoffs and Nationals are very, very expensive, as most things are in Hockey, and sports. Playoffs are a 3-day event and Nationals will be a 6–7-day event. Funds will be used for flights/travel to New York, hotels, meals, bussing and transportation, additional practice time, medical expenses, etc. Each family must come up with just over $2,200.00 in the next two weeks or so to be able to fund the remainder of the season, Playoffs, and Nationals. There are a lot of families that cannot afford this expense. They can barely afford the expense of the regular season costs. There are many parents that have never seen their child play for this team in person. We have players from all over the country, making it very hard for parents to see the team play or be there for even a single game. Our team is made up of a lot of regular blue-collar families, some single parents, and a lot of them with more than one child. Unfortunately if a family cannot come up with the funds for the remainder of the season, they cannot attend Nationals, sending the team to New York with a partial roster, missing players from their team, breaking up their hockey family.

The team needs your help. Whatever can be raised will be distributed amongst the families of all the players on the team. A lot of these players will make the trip but not have any family with them in New York. But with your help, maybe a few families that were not able to afford the trip will now be able to go. If not, then at least the players will have their entire Hockey Team there to support them one last time, as they make the run to a National Championship.

We would appreciate any help you could give. Please help us keep this team together and send them to Nationals in Utica New York. The team roster and information about their journey can be found at Tampajr.com under the Elite Tab.
Please share the team's story with your family and friends. Thank you so much for all your support.
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Donations 

  • Anita Rahn
    • $50
    • 10 mos
  • Anonymous
    • $1,000
    • 10 mos
  • Anonymous
    • $200
    • 10 mos
  • Jill Cantrell
    • $100
    • 10 mos
  • Theo Camene
    • $100
    • 10 mos
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Organizer

Jason Thurber
Organizer
Bradenton, FL

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