Catchments
Catchments
Overview
All students who attend one of the defined public/private high schools within a team catchment area are eligible to play for that team.
Students who attend either a private (not affiliated with a team), charter, or are homeschooled, will be assigned to the team affiliated with the public school for which they are zoned based on their home address.
If you are unsure which team you are assigned to, please contact the League at LHSHL@tampabaylightning.com
Below is a summary of the catchment areas for each LHSHL team along with the related schools approved by the LHSHL Board of Directors for the 2025-2026 season:
LHSHL TEAM CATCHMENTS - 25-26 SEASON
| CATCHMENT TEAM | COUNTY | PURE OR COMBINED | SCHOOLS IN TEAM'S CATCHMENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cypress Creek | Pasco | Combined | Cypress Creek, Sunlake, Pasco |
| Durant/Bloomingdale | Hillsborough | Combined | Durant, Strawberry Crest, Plant City, Armwood, Bloomingdale, Brandon, Hillsborough, Blake, King, Middleton, Jefferson |
| East Lake | Pinellas | Pure | East Lake |
| Lakewood Ranch | Manatee | Combined | Lakewood Ranch, Braden River |
| Freedom | Hillsborough | Combined | Freedom, Wharton, Gaither, Leto, Chamberlain |
| George Jenkins | Polk | Combined | All Polk County Public Schools |
| Jesuit | Hillsborough | Pure | Jesuit |
| Land O' Lakes | Pasco | Pure | Land O' Lakes |
| Mitchell | Pasco | Combined | Mitchell, River Ridge, Anclote, Fivay, Gulf, Hudson |
| Newsome | Hillsborough | Pure | Newsome |
| Palm Harbor | Pinellas | Combined | Clearwater, Countryside, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs |
| Palmetto | Manatee | Combined | Palmetto, Parrish, Manatee, Bayshore, Southeast |
| Plant | Hillsborough | Pure | Plant |
| Riverview | Hillsborough | Combined | Riverview, Spoto, Robinson, Lennard, Sumner, East Bay, Morgan |
| Sarasota | Sarasota | Combined | Booker, North Port, Riverview (Sarasota), Sarasota, Venice |
| Seminole | Pinellas | Combined | Largo, St. Pete, Seminole, Boca Ciega, Pinellas Park, Lakewood, Northeast, Hollins, Gibbs |
| Steinbrenner | Hillsborough | Combined | Alonso, Sickles, Steinbrenner |
| Tampa United | Hillsborough | Combined | Tampa Catholic, Berkeley, Tampa Prep |
| Wiregrass | Pasco | Combined | Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass, Zephryhills |
"LHSHL Grandfather Clause" : A LHSHL player whom has participated in the Lightning High School Hockey League for the previous two (2) seasons (Sophomore & Junior) and whom is a senior and in his/her final season of eligibility may be “grandfathered” for the player’s final season, if the player has elected to play for the team in which the player has played with the two (2) previous seasons
Catchment area adjustments are based upon the following factors including but not limited to: statistical data from USA Hockey on player registrations, player population changes, actual number of player registered in the LHSHL, the geographical high school boundaries, demographic shifts in population based upon zip codes, the quantity and location of ice rinks and necessary time and distance to travel to ice rinks, the limited ice availability, elimination of “pool players” from participating in the league and the historic perspective of the Lightning operating the LHSHL.