Kansas City Stars Hockey

Kansas City Youth Hockey Association Communication

To: KCYHA Families

From: KCYHA Hockey Director Tom Tilley

Kansas City Youth Hockey Association is pleased to announce that Simon Watson has accepted the position of Travel Hockey Director for the KC Mavs Travel Hockey Program. Simon played for the Missouri Mavericks during their first two seasons and has most recently been an assistant coach for the Mavericks since 2011.

Simon will work directly with me in organizing and operating the newly unified KC Mavs Travel Hockey Program. His role will include evaluating and selecting the travel coaches, organizing and running the travel hockey selection process and communicating directly with the travel coaches to ensure the players and families have a great experience. Our goal is for the travel players to develop to their fullest potential while playing at the appropriate level against regional teams that will push them to get there.

We are excited to have Simon whose extensive hockey background makes him a great person to lead the highest level of hockey in our unified organization. Simon will also coach one of the KC Mavs travel teams which means he will be involved in all facets of the program.

There will be more information on the KC Mavs travel program, including tryout dates and the tryout process being communicated in the coming months. See Simon’s full bio below to learn more about his background.

Have a great summer and we look forward to making the Kansas City Youth Hockey Association a prominent hockey program in the Midwest over the coming years!

Regards,

Tom Tilley

KCYHA Hockey Director

Simon Watson Bio

Simon Watson retired from Professional hockey and was named the Mavericks' Assistant Coach in August of 2011.  The Waterloo, Ontario, native played for the Mavericks during the team's first two seasons and closed out his five-year career in the CHL with 95 goals and 125 assists in 298 games played and one CHL All-Star appearance (2007).  Watson was named the CHL's Man of the Year following the 2010-11 season for his contributions to the community off the ice.

Prior to playing pro, Watson played 4 years (2001-2005) of Division 1 college hockey at St. Lawrence University and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership.  Watson was fortunate enough to play Junior hockey for his hometown Waterloo Siskins from 1998-2001.

Since Watson moved to the Kansas City area, he has been heavily involved with youth hockey, running various camps and clinics.  He has acted as Camp Director for the Missouri Mavericks the last 3 years and helped coach the Mavs Elite AAA program the last two seasons.  Watson and his wife, Samantha, reside in Grain Valley, MO.