Good Morning,
With regards to the U9 evaluations that start tomorrow, I
just wanted to provide some more information in hopes that the process is
enjoyable by all. I know as a parent, a coach and former player they can be
very stressful to say the least.
Arrival
Please do your best to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to
your ice time. Be sure to have all your equipment (including a jersey and water
bottle). When you arrive one of two things will happen….
- 1. You will see (2) sign in tables. One will be located near the Tom Graham ice pad entrance and the other would be located near the PJD ice pad entrance adjacent to the stairs. Please proceed to the one adjacent to the stairs as that will be the sign in table for the U9 tryouts. The other table will be U8 tryout sign ins for the 2015s. Once signed in you will receive either a black or red pinnie with a number on it. That will remain your pinnie until Sunday. After Sunday’s ice time all pinnies must be left in the dressing room.
or
- 2. We are currently having trouble finding volunteers for a sign in table. If we cannot find any non parent volunteers, we will not have a sign in table. If that is the case please look at the PJD dressing room assignment board and look to see what dressing rooms are assigned for U9. Then proceed to those dressing rooms. Once you get to the dressing rooms you will notice that one has been assigned for players wearing “Black” pinnies and the other has been assigned for players wearing “Red” pinnies. This along with your player’s pinnie number will be posted just outside the dressing room door. Once you enter the dressing room you will see the pinnies hanging up. Please grab you pinnie and proceed to get read for your on ice evaluation.
I plan to come by each dressing room just prior to each ice time to say hi and hopefully calm any player’s nerves before they hit the ice.
Ice Times
Morning
The morning ice time is all individual skill based. We will open with an 8-minute warmup skate that will allow us to easily evaluate skating ability (forward, backward, start/stop). From there we will go into (4) skill-based stations that will allow us to evaluate each players skill sets. We will rotate each station every 8-minutes. Once all players have cycled through each station, we will then have a very brief discussion and dismiss the players.
Afternoon
The afternoon skate is what we have referred to as “battle stations” and will see the players compete in puck battles, 1 on 1s, 2 on 1’s, etc. Similar to the morning session, we will open with an 8-minute warmup skate that will have a little more flow to it and display edge work, it will also include a little bit of puck control and some shooting. After the warmup we will then go into the “battle stations” and evaluate each player on their skills, hockey awareness and level of compete when faced by other players. After cycling through the stations, we will quickly talk to the players and then dismiss them for the day.
After both these sessions please be sure to take your assigned pinnie with you as it is directly linked to the Unique ID you received for your player and is the only way we can identify and evaluate them.
Sunday
Sunday’s games will be half ice games. Players will wear their pinnies that have been assigned (so remember to bring them with you). Black and Red will play each other. Currently we may be short (2) goalies per session. If you have a player that would like to play in one of these games, please email me and I will arrange for them to play in net. After Sunday’s games all pinnies must be left in the dressing rooms for collection.
Releases
The first three sessions are being watched by all coaching staff for the Red, White and Blue Team as such players will be evaluated for each team throughout. Following Sunday’s ice time, the first releases will happen. The Red Tier 1 team will post players invited back for the Monday's Intrasquad game. If you do not see your unique number on the team red website your player will have been released from the red team. If that is the case, please refer to the team white and team blue websites which will post which players (via unique ID) have been invited to their combined 4th evaluation on Tuesday and will provide further direction on those ice times. Players with unique numbers not posted on either website will have been released to house league and should expect further directions regarding their October evaluations next week.
With regards to the Red Team, we will have releases following Monday’s game and after Wednesday’s scrimmage against Waterloo.
Player’s released Monday or Wednesday by the Red team will then join in on the Blue and White teams’ evaluations.
Our Goal
Each coaching staff’s goal is to evaluate each player and place them where they will not only succeed but also have fun. It isn’t necessarily fun for a player if they are never involved in the play or never get to touch the puck. Similarly, its not fun expecting someone to play Beethoven if they don’t yet know how to read music. Each player's needs are different and we need to make sure they are getting the proper placement to help them succeed and have fun in the process.
Lastly, this experience is greatly impacted by the parents. As a parent, I know its stressful but please do your best not let your emotions get the best of you or stress your player out. At the age of 8 they will do their best just going out and having fun.
Following tryouts, I will be happy to provide any feedback. That being said I would ask that you please wait a week until us coaches have time to get our teams in order.
Best of luck and have fun!
Coach Josh