Print this pageA Guide to Hockey Development
What is Hockey Development?The SMHA Hockey Development Program The Evaluation Process
Volunteers
What does "full equipment" mean?
What is Hockey Development?
Hockey Development is a Program within the Stittsville Minor Hockey Association (SMHA) that involves all Initiation (ages 5 and 6) and Novice (ages 7 and 8) children – both boys and girls.
The primary goal of the program is to provide every child with an opportunity to develop basic individual hockey skills in a consistent and progressive manner; all done in an environment characterized by fun, camaraderie and personal and team reward.
SMHA follows the Hockey Canada Skills Development Program recommendations for a progressive plan with the appropriate allocation of time spent to develop each skill. Both the player’s age and skill level will define the seasonal plan. All seasonal plans are based on the following Skill Development Pyramids.
Goals for the Initiation Program (IP) are:
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Initiation Program recommended practice time distribution:
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Expect to see Initiation practices designed to work on individual technical skills 85% of total practice time.
Goals for the Novice age category are:
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Novice Program recommended practice time distribution:
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Expect to see Novice practices designed to work on individual technical skills 75% of total practice time.
SMHA's Novice program also has an accelerated component. These teams (discussed later) will be oriented more towards an Atom style program where technical skills will be very high for children in this program allowing coaches to introduce more individual tactics, team play and team strategies.
The SMHA Hockey Development Program
A Brief History and Where We're At...
The current Hockey Development program was started in 2004 as a Novice only program designed for the SMHA by Daniel Strasbourg (Director of Canadian Shooting Stars hockey school). This program was intended to provide a balanced, progressive skills development plan that would help teach our young skaters their fundamental hockey skills. It also ensured a consistent development environment for all children.
This program was extended to include Initiation in '05 and altered slightly in '06. Although the program was developed and is currently mentored by Daniel, this program is more of a framework. The goal of the program is to give our children an opportunity to learn and master the core fundamentals of skating and basic hockey skills at all levels of play, regardless of who the coach is or what team they are on, and to ensure all skills defined in the program are delivered in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
Some of the highlights of the program include:
- Coaches sign up with the expectation of complying with the detailed plan outlined by the Association.
- Coaches retain the ability to remain creative. In the first half of the season, where drills are outlined in the manual, coaches are free to tweak drills according to the needs of their skaters. In the second half of the season, coaches can repeat various drills or can structure their own practices to the needs of their team.
- The mentor will provide feedback to the coaches to help improve practice design and execution, thus maximizing the quality of a 50 minute practice. This will translate in better skill development for our children.
- The program encourages ample use of assistant coaches and on-ice helpers to optimize the instructor/player ratio.
- Practices and drills are designed to maximize learning and skating time while reducing time spent waiting in lines and listening to instructions.
- The program strongly recommends that “practice starts 10 minutes before the ice is ready.” This time is used in the dressing room to outline drill instruction or basic concepts to skaters so that when they step onto the ice they are ready to go. During this time parents can also gain an understanding of what the upcoming practice will be about.
- Use of the ice surface is thoughtfully optimized. Less time is wasted moving kids from one drill to the next as drills are more progressive and are strategically positioned on the ice surface.
- The Hockey Mentor is available for consultation to coaches – he functions as a “coach for the coach” and will, on a weekly basis, be available for on-ice assistance during practice sessions as well as for off-ice advice.
- The Hockey Mentor will scrutinize and evaluate the on-ice progress of teams on a weekly basis until the end of the season, providing feedback sessions for coaches.
- The Hockey Mentor will watch games in order to provide insight and recommendations for improvements.
Levels of Play
Initiation children will be grouped by ability and will practice a majority of the year with a few exhibition games (usually as a result of entering in a tournament or Initiation Program (IP) Fun Day) towards the end of the season. There are only slight differences between the programs designed for all Initiation kids. As one would expect, they are based on ability and will usually only vary based on the expected skill level and speed of execution.
Novice on the other hand is more diverse; with teams being broken into three distinct groups. The first group is typically a group of less experienced skaters, possibly entering hockey at the Novice age. These kids will be placed on 2 (or more) teams and will progress through the basic level skill development program all year long. Additional full-ice sessions will be made available to these teams to arrange possible home-and-away exhibition games with other teams. (equivalent to C house).
The second group is a blended group of players and will make up the majority of Novice skaters (equivalent to B house). These kids will progress through the more advanced development program over the course of the year. The program will have two stages; an intense development period and an in-house league. The development period will run from the time teams are formed to mid-December and will be reviewed during practices throughout the remainder of the season. This more intensive practice schedule will include games (controlled scrimmages) during the last weekend of October and November. During these games the kids are taught game skills like off-sides and positioning. This will wrap up with a "Novice Challenge" tournament near the end of December. The mini in-house league will start in the New Year and will continue till March, following a game-practice-game-practice rotation (as ice provides). This league will consist of SMHA Novice B teams only and will wrap up with playoffs in the Mar/Apr time-frame.
The third Novice group is an accelerated group of players who have already mastered the majority of the skills offered in our Development program. These players will play on teams participating in the LCMHL (A house) program at the start of the season.
The number of teams at each level may vary from year to year based on the ability of the kids playing. Regardless of the level of play, remember, no child is more or less important than any other. It's all about the opportunities we give them and experiences they take away that are the most important.
Who plays where
A skater entering the Development program at age 5 must spend two years in the Initiation Program before they can advance to the two year Novice program.
A first time skater entering the Development program at 7 or 8 years of age will be placed on a Novice team based on ability. This may include a Novice development team that will progress through the same program as the Initiation age kids. This is necessary so that they may learn the basic fundamentals that all other skaters their age have already been introduced to and give them a fair chance by playing with children of the same ability.
A few other examples of placement based on ability...
- All players will be evaluated after a number of conditioning sessions to allow for proper placement at their respective level (IP or Novice). Evaluations will be based on the program outlined in the SMHA Conveners Handbook.
- An accomplished 5 year old skater may be placed on a team with a 6 year old of similar skills. Likewise, 7 year olds may be placed on a team with 8 year olds for the same reason.
- A 6 year old, who is a first time skater, may find himself on a team with a 5 year old who is also a first time skater (within the Initiation program).
- Per the ODMHA Rules and Regulations; an Initiation aged skater cannot play on or be affiliated to a Novice team.
"Level of play" Expectations
ALL levels of play MUST follow the Fair Play Guidelines. (equal ice time and equal opportunity)
As you can imagine, all players and parents will have different expectations of the hockey program based on previous experiences and motivation levels. Ultimately the team is the sole responsibility of the coach. That said, we do not encourage dictatorships!) Generally speaking, it will be up to the team to decide what is best for the team. This starts with the coaches meeting and continues throughout the year by regular communication both at and away from the rink.
Expect that the coach will want your child to be there ready to go on the ice at least 10 minutes before your scheduled ice time begins. As the level of play increases, the time requirements will also increase due to the additional preparation involved. Don't forget; the dressing room is part of the experience... your child will have as much fun there (bonding with their team mates) as they will on the ice.
Expect that beginner skaters in hockey development will be encouraged to have fun more so than they will be challenged to perfect that next skill. The objective is to keep their interest in the game as they struggle to master the basic skills required to play. If it's not fun, then their desire to continue will quickly vanish.
At the other end of the spectrum, expect that our gifted players will be challenged continually, but not at the expense of having fun. Ultimately we will be grooming these children for the competitive program that begins at Atom. If your child is placed on one of the A level Novice teams, there will be higher expectations from both the children and parents. Coaches will want to teach more about competing effectively. They may want to attend tournaments and buy more practice ice to further develop their players. This may translate into additional costs that will come either from fund-raising or parents directly. Expect that all these details will be communicated by the coaching staff and agreed to by the parents at the beginning of the season.
Expect that regardless of the level of play, your child's experience will vary significantly based on everything from the level of interest a team has to the amount of help a coach gets running the team... so if you have great expectations, don't forget to help out accordingly.
The Evaluation Process
Both IP and Novice have a tiered level of play so that players may learn with others of similar ability. SMHA has a standard conditioning and evaluation process that is used at all age and levels of play. The Initiation and Novice evaluations are conducted using this standard process with drills altered slightly to account for ability.
Although the same process is used, the conditioning and evaluation schedules may vary somewhat for Initiation and Novice kids. This is because we have Novice A teams playing in the LCMH League and their season starts around the beginning of October. As a result, there is a need to get our conditioning and evaluations completed at the Novice level in a timely fashion. This will give Coaches the time needed to form teams and start practicing prior to the season starting.
Initiation on the other hand, doesn't play in any league. As a result, there is no urgent need to evaluate players. The tendency will be to continue with the conditioning sessions for most of October to give everyone the best opportunity during evaluations.
For more details on this process, please ask your convener for a copy of the SMHA Conveners Handbook.
Volunteers
A program is only as good as the volunteers that make it run and strive to mold it into something better.
Our hockey development program is headed up by the Director of Hockey Development. This person, a volunteer, is primarily responsible for defining the program and putting the pieces in place so that it will run as effectively as possible. The person also sits on the SMHA executive as a voting member. See the SMHA Constitution for more of these specific details. A Director may also coach a team, but should not hold the position of convener. The Director is the 3rd person in the chain of command for problem escalation. You should consult with both the coach and convener before getting the Director involved with a problem.
The Director of Hockey Development is responsible for recruiting two Conveners; one for IP and one for Novice. With the size of our organization, we are now looking at co-conveners to help reduce the workload for a single volunteer. The convener(s) will be responsible for identifying, contacting and organizing all other volunteers at their respective level. Their goal is to put together the detailed plan for executing the conditioning and evaluation sessions that will start the year. The convener(s), along with the Director, will identify, interview and select coaches and align them with the assistance to ensure an appropriate division of talent between the teams. They will oversee team selections, support coaches when required and will coordinate the practice ice schedules for the teams. The convener can also be a coach. Conveners are 2nd in the chain for problem escalation. You should consult with the Coach before getting a Convener involved with a problem.
All teams will have one Head Coach. This person must be certified; IP coaches must have their “Introduction to Coaching/IP certification while Novice must have a Coaching Stream certification. Because the coach shoulders the responsibility for the actions of their team, the head coach should have the final say for what a team does or doesn't do. This is not usually an issue within the Hockey Development environment, but is the standard set for all teams within SMHA.
That said, a coach can not do it all, so they will need a strong supporting staff.
NOTE: "ALL" team staff MUST have attended a Speak-Out clinic before they can enter the dressing room.
Our goal is to have at least one certified Assistant Coach per team. In addition, each team will require a group of on-ice helpers. The development plan requires a minimum of 4 coaches on the ice for a practice to run effectively. The goal is to maximize the attention provided to each skater, so the more help a coach has, the more individual attention they may give players.
One of the most important members of a team staff is the trainer. Every team must have a certified trainer present when the team is on the ice. The trainer must be on the bench for all games. The coach may ask the trainer to sit near the bench area during practices to be ready to assist with equipment adjustments, water bottles, loose skates, etc. This will allow on-ice personnel to maintain the flow of the practice.
NOTE: Trainers are not mandated at the Initiation level. Therefore, monitoring and addressing medical issues is a role shared by parents, coaches and helpers. The trainer role is, however, a "nice to have".
Another very important member of a team staff is the manager. This person will generally look after the off-ice details of the team. Refer to the SMHA Managers Handbook for more extensive details on how a manager may want to organize their team.
Remember, we are all volunteers trying to do our best... If you are not happy with issues around the team, assuming they are not Risk and Safety related, please remember to exercise the 24 hour rule before approaching the head coach with your issue. Only contact the Convener if your issue is not being addressed by the coach. Only approach the Directory if your issue is not addressed by the Convener.
What does “full equipment” mean?
In order for your child to play hockey at the IP and Novice levels, they are required to wear “full equipment”. This protective equipment plays a crucial role in the prevention of injuries. As a parent you are responsible for ensuring that your son or daughter is properly protected. If you have any questions on equipment talk to your coach or team trainer. If you are starting hockey for the first time, please use these links as a guide to what you will need and how hockey equipment should fit to ensure your child is properly equipped.
Important things to remember;
- Kids cannot go on the ice without both a neck guard and a mouth guard.
- Make sure the equipment fits properly. If it doesn't, it won't protect and your child will struggle unnecessarily.
- A stick should come up to your child's chin on skates. If you don't know which way your child shoots, most stores offer straight sticks that will be sufficient until they decide for themselves.
- Skates that are too small may result in sore and cold feet.
- Blade Sharpening:
- New skates do not come sharpened, so get them done before first ice.
- Frequency of sharpening depends on frequency of use. (~ once per 4-6 ice times).
- If your child walks on concrete without guards, their skates will need to be sharpened immediately.
Pucks and water bottles will be supplied by the coach.