Atom Director
The Division Directors of Lacombe Minor Hockey are a pivotal point of contact between the Executive and the teams within their division. The main purpose of the role is to provide leadership and direction for the day-to-day and long-term operation of the division.
A Director needs:
Flexibility and organization skills to deal with non-routine issues as they arise.
Good organizational skills to prioritize multiple issues at one time.
Good communications skills, both verbal and written.
An understanding of LMH Policies and Procedures, especially the Evaluation process and dispute resolution.
To be comfortable dealing with conflict.
THE ROLE AND ITS RESPONSIBILITIES
Evaluation process:
Know the process completely
Organize minimum 3 evaluators. Meet with evaluators to go over process.
Collect and compile player/parent info list from registrar.
Conduct initial contact with parents to inform them of evaluation dates (see guidelines on page 4). This should be followed with a meeting explaining evaluation process (perhaps during the first free skate).
Determine initial try-out formats. Includes:
- Arranging on-ice coaches. Meet with coaches prior to evaluations
- Setting drill sets
- Arranging jerseys, dressing room assignments
- Creating evaluation sheets
- Collect and calculate evaluation results after ever session.
Compile evaluators results and distribute players to teams according to evaluators results
Compile coach applications and secure Head Coach Positions before player evaluations are started.
Post team final lists for team placement.
Handle parents questions/concerns after evaluations are completed
Facilitate any parent/LMHA meeting arising from evaluations.
Hand in the results of the player evaluations.
Ensure teams are balanced in talent, the best that we can, from the evaluation results.
Utilize the website for informing parents as much as possible.
Start of Season:
Establish contact with team managers
Receive and distribute practice ice time from LMHA ice convener
Establish contact with team representatives for tournament committee and help the committee get started.
Be a key stake holder and participant in the tournament organization, planning and preparation for the tournament.
Duration of Season:
Attend LMHA Operating committee meetings.
Act as liaison for LMHA to the teams within division.
Facilitate and organize any meetings with operating committee members and coaches/parents/players for disciplinary matters if it cannot solved at team level.
Be a resource for coaches, managers, parents and players within the division.
Ensure LMH policies and procedures are followed by division teams (coaches / manager) and parents to maintain a safe and controlled atmosphere for which families can enjoy and participate in.
Actively demonstrate and support the Association rules and guidelines (boundaries) set for safety, fair play, development, respect in sport, general principles, and conflict.
Guide to a Successful Evaluation
In order to have a successful evaluation COMUNICATION is a must. This is a guide for you to use as a Director. Three meetings need to take place before anyone evaluations begin. One meeting each with the on ice coaches and evaluators, and one with the parents. Go over each of the bullet points in this guide with the corresponding position during your meetings.
Atom division is one of the most difficult divisions to work with because it’s the transition to tiered teams. It is of the utmost importance to get the parents informed on the process. This will help them understand how their child got placed on a certain team. This guide will help you navigate through information that you should cover in your parent meeting and coach evaluator meeting.
EVALUATOR GUIDELINES
As much as possible there should be a consistency of evaluators for a given age group or division. This continuity ensures that the players are being observed by a group of evaluators who have a benchmark for performance and knowledge of the overall ability of the group that they are observing.
Generally the evaluators should:
Review all of the drills and skills to be observed so that you are clear on the on-ice process
Review the evaluation criteria prior to the process to ensure that all evaluators are evaluating the same skill with the same intent
Stay separate from the other evaluators and the spectators during the entire on-ice process
Make sure that all evaluators have the same evaluation page with the same jersey numbers and colours
Review your marks at the end of the session to ensure you have not made any entry errors
Evaluation documents should be given to the Division Director at the completion of each ice session
Do not share your comments or opinions with any players/ parents or other interested observers
Refer questions, comments or complaints that you may receive to the Division Director, without offering comment on the question or complaint.
Evaluation Forms
Evaluation forms will be provided in your package. The purpose of these forms is to provide our association with a framework of how the information on each player can be gathered and synthesized to provide the results that best meet your objectives. There are a couple of items of note:
- All forms use a 1-20 scale (1 = POOR, 20 = OUTSTANDING). This scale has several purposes. This scale provides a broad enough range so that evaluators can be instructed that all numbers must be a whole number (.5 or .25 are not permitted). The other value of this range is that it gives the evaluator more latitude in differentiating the players from top to bottom.
- The 1-20 scale should be used fully within each session. Evaluators must be trained that within each session the top player in that session is a 20 and the bottom player is a 1 for any particular skill or tactic. The goal of these sessions is to be able to rank the players on the ice from top to bottom. For most evaluators it is virtually impossible to attempt to rank a player in session 1 against a player from session 3 – it is therefore imperative to have an accurate ranking of players from each session
ON-ICE COACHES
During the ice sessions there should be a minimum of one lead coach and 2 assistants for the duration of the session. The responsibilities of the on-ice staff include:
Keep up the pace and flow of the drills to finish within the allotted period. In order to accomplish this it is imperative the lead is aware of the time for each drill and the order that the drills occur.
Drills should be kept in the same order for each session
The warm-up should be controlled by the coaches to ensure a brisk and adequate stretch
If possible pre-ice the players prior to the session so that they are aware of the drills and the order which they will go through them
Ensure the players understand the drill - it is the lead coaches responsibility to put the players in a situation where they can show their skill and not struggle with understanding the drill
If a player has their performance affected by items out of their control it is the coaches discretion to allow the player to perform the skill a 2nd time
Check that all players have the proper protective equipment
Encourage the players to perform to the best of their ability
Do not share any of your personal insight with parents/players/other observers that may appear to bias or alter the process
Verify with evaluators that they have had ample time and opportunity to review players in the given drill.
EVALUATION PROCESS
Players trying out at the Atom level should not pre-select a position, with the exception of Goalie. The selection of players at these levels should be on their overall hockey skills and ability to "play" the game.
Teams at the Atom level are tiered. This will be the first time of being part of a tiered process for many of the parents so take the time to answer their questions.
TEAM SELECTION GUIDEINES
Our numbers at the Atom level are normally between 40 and 50. After one free skate,the group will be split into twogroups for first skills session. Goalies will skate all skill and scrimmage sessions. Drop top/bottom 4-6 players from each group. Remaining “bubble” players skate 2nd skill session. Calculate skills scores (50%) and redistribute ALL players again to two even sessions for first scrimmage. After the first scrimmage session the top and bottom 4-6 (depending on numbers) of each group will be removed and not skate second scrimmage session. This will leave roughly 50% of the players for evaluators to go over during second scrimmage session.
(Eg: 40 players)Skills 1Skills 2Scrimmage 1Scrimmage 2
Group1202020 (10vs10)12 (vs 12 from 2nd group)
Group 220n/a20 (10vs10)n/a
Using scores only, the top 70% of the A team is decided. The Director will assemble a small list of the next group of players that are Atom A eligible for the head coach to select from to make the final 30%. The head coach only makes this selection if their own player is in the top 70% (otherwise the evaluation team makes decision). The 30% coach selection process is repeated for Atom B. There are now three teams that are tiered A, B, C. Goalies will be evenly distributed to teams.
DIRECTOR GUIDELINES
The success of the evaluation sessions from an administrative perspective will often be measured on the preparation that is done for the ice sessions to keep players well organized and in order. Generally the Director should:
Ensure that each player has a jersey with the correct number/colour corresponding to their tryout number/colour
Ensure that all equipment including pucks, pylons and other ice time equipment are present for the beginning of the session
Deal with any late arriving registrations or players who have attended the incorrect ice session.
Coordinate dressing room supervision since often there are no coaches assigned to the teams prior to the completion of evaluation
Have all materials on hand: skills drills, evaluation criteria, evaluation forms, parent hand books etc.
Finally the most difficult job of this position is finding Evaluators. Start looking and asking for volunteers as soon as possible. These should be individuals that have a hockey background, are in no way related to any of the players, and are willing to commit to all ice sessions. Although you only need 3 Evaluators (2 for players, 1 for goalies), it is good practice to have a list of 6 – 9 on hand just to cover your no-shows.
Guidelines for Contacting Players and Parents
As soon as you are aware of evaluation locations and times the parents and players must be informed. It is absolutely essential for the process to be effective to have a strong communication structure to avoid missed selection times and player absenteeism. Here are a few guidelines to keep stakeholders in the loop:
Begin phoning and creating an Email list as soon as you receive the list so that players and parents receive as much notice as possible
Identify yourself and the reason for calling
Advise players of the date, time, and location of their scheduled selection session. It is strongly encouraged to speak with a parent to ensure that the information has been written down by the players
Advise players to arrive a minimum of 30 minutes prior to the ice time in order to register and assign the proper jersey
Log your calls and who you talked with so that there is a clear record of contact being made
Do not leave messages with children other than the player, leave your number under either scenario so that the parent can call back.
If you leave a message on an answering machine provide all details for the scheduled selection and ensure you leave a call back for the parent to confirm the time. Try to make contact directly even if a message has been left on a machine. (Confirmation is key)
Retain your completed contacted list so that there is a record kept of the communication and for future reference.
Have a parent meeting at the rink prior to first evaluation session to inform parents of how the process will work and to give an opportunity for any questions
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