Thank you for inquiring about the Kitchener Lady Ranger Midget “A”
tryouts. In order to ensure that you will get the most out of this hockey
season, I wanted to provide you with a brief outline of what to expect your
commitment to be for the 2017 – 2018 season as we will continue this season be
working with our Midget “AA” coaching staff to ensure any call up opportunities
this season are as seamless as possible. We will reciprocate this with our
Bantam “A” coaching staff for our call up purposes as well.
Tryout Evaluations
Over the course of these tryouts, your daughter will be evaluated by as many as ten independent evaluators with no daughters playing / trying out for the team. I promise your daughter as fair and impartial look as any she has received in the past.
Games and Practices
Although not finalized at this time, the MA“Loop” last season included Cambridge, Guelph, North Halton, Oakville, Owen Sound, Saugeen, Stratford and Waterloo. We will play 22 regular season games against these centers with home games tentatively Saturday afternoon. Practices will be weekly on every Wednesday for 1.5 hours and every second week will add a 1 hour practice (2 practices one week, 1 practice the next).
Budget
This season’s budget will be approximately $1400.
Tournaments
We will be playing in at least five tournaments this season. Our goal will be to attend Tournaments that will offer the opportunity to “showcase” our TEAM’s skill and ability.
1. September – Oakville – Harvest Classic / Oshawa Fall Classic
2. October – Windsor - Hoctoberfest
3. November – Detroit CCM Invite / Kitchener – Fallfest
4. December – Mississauga – Chiefs Christmas Tournament
5. February – London
6. April - TBD when qualify for Provincials
Off Ice Training / On Ice Testing
Off Ice Training will take place on Monday nights at “Limitless Training” in Kitchener. Overall strength, conditioning and flexibility will help us win those on-ice battles and help reduce injuries. Fitness testing will take place post tryout, pre-season and post- season to assess continued development. The PWHL and MAA teams will also be off ice tested at Limitless and your results vs. the PWHL and MAA results will be provided to assist you in determining what you need to do to reach the PWHL / MAA levels.
Off season training will be the responsibility of the individual ladies. A strength and conditioning package, as well as a speed package will be provided in May and is expected to be followed throughout the summer months. September testing results will reflect the work done off season.
On ice testing will be conducted post April tryout, pre-season, mid-season and post-season to evaluate player (and team) speed and agility development. The ladies will be provided with a chart of their times in both speed and agility compared against the overall team average. Improvement from beginning of season to end of season will be the goal. The MAA team will also be off ice tested and your results vs. the MAA results will be provided to assist you in determining what you need to do to reach the MAA level.
Social
Midget hockey is very demanding for the girls on a number of fronts including school, work and other family obligations. We will have an early season team building and a mid-season social gathering for the ladies. Healthy Team Lunches / Dinners will also be built into Tournaments and weekend games away.
Systems of play
We will be running defensive zone, neutral zone and offensive zone “systems” this season. In short, you will need to understand all five player (F1, F2, F3, D1 and D2) responsibilities. There will be very little “traditional” positions of centre, left wing, right wing and defense. You will be provided with a technical package in May to assist in your understanding of this style of game play. As such, practices will be the most important piece of ice you will have. If you miss any ice time this season, I need it to be games NOT practices.
Our goal is to mimic portions of the MAA program so that when you have the opportunity to play up, you will have an overall idea of most of the MAA systems of play.
Nutrition - Proper nutrition “Off Ice” WILL help you “On Ice”
A nutrition component will be built into season including pre and post game nutrition, hydration and sport specific nutrition essentials including; Food as Fuel for Optimal Performance, Water and Hydration, Nutrition Overview and Food Shifting, Carbohydrates, Fibre, Protein, Fats, Game Time Nutrition, Fast Foods, Eating for Tournaments and Supplements. A nutrition package will be provided to you in May to assist in your nutritional development.
Coaching Staff Expectations
To ensure there is no misunderstanding regarding the coming season, the coaching staff want you to understand and be committed to the following BEFORE attending our tryouts.
1 - ALL of the ladies will be offered the opportunity to grow and develop as one piece of our seventeen piece team puzzle. Respecting how you see your daughter, NO ONE is the sole piece to our puzzle. Hockey remains a team sport.
2 - Our systems of play REQUIRE everyone to understand all five on ice positions and responsibilities. You will need to be versatile. Systems play results in forwards playing defense and defense playing forward during periods / games throughout the season.
3 – You will play with everyone in some form of a line combination at some point. You do not get to choose who you play with. The coaching staff will use everyone’s skills for the balance and benefit of the team.
4 – The majority of practice drills will have game applications. These may NOT be the same type of practices you are used to. Cardio is built into the flow drills that we will be running. In addition to weekly dryland, you will be provided a conditioning package in May for the summer as well as an in season fitness package. You WILL BE expected to follow it at home to increase your cardio level.
5 – Our goal is to prepare you to play at the MAA level throughout the season and beyond.
If you have any questions, please see me at the rink, give me a call or drop me an email.
Daryll