Pre-Season Notice for Players and Parents of the Name of Ringette Team

Pre-Season Notice for Players and Parents of the name of ringette team

Introductory comments: This template includes common parental questions and concerns from experience in diverse sports, not just ringette; modify and add content to suit association and team context;delete the template textonce your document is complete; create a hand-out like this or use it to speak to the points at a team meeting.

Sample: The purpose of this document is to provide information to players and parents/guardians regarding team expectations, commitments and costs before deciding to try out and play for this team.

The Coaching Staff

Sample:

Beth Bonnefont will be the Head Coach. Beth is a CI Certified Ringette Coach, and has coached in the local association for 3 years, at the U-10, U-12 and U-14 age groups. She also played Ringette in Montreal for 10 years, and has a degree in Human Kinetics from the University of Ottawa. Beth is also certified in First Aid, with Red Cross, and has passed a police check conducted last year. As required, she has completed her Respect in Sport and Managing Concussions training.

Samantha Sampson will be a coach in training. She is 17 years old and has played Ringette in our local association for 10 years. She will be working under the supervision of Beth for the season, and will be assisting in the delivery of on-ice drills.

Tryouts

Describe the number of ice sessions; expectations of players (e.g. what do you expect of goaltenders, defenders, forwards and centers); how players can prepare for tryouts; types of drills and gameplay employed; the evaluation criteria for each session; the role of the evaluators and coaches, and the tryout coordinator; how notifications will be made, and the appeal process.>

Guiding Values and Principles

Samples:

Assertive communications to ensure athletes and their parents are aware of expectations, and team events.
Compliance with the Long Term Athlete Development model of Ringette Canada and support for the Ringette Skills Matrix, which will guide skill development for athletes on this team.
Share coaching leadership with the bench staff to build future Ringette leaders and coaches.
Showcase this team to younger age groups.
Compliance with the fair ice policy (
Respect and dignity for athletes, coaches, parents and officials.
Compliance with the local Ringette association bylaws.

Goals for the Season

Discuss success in terms of winning, player development, team cohesion, coaching development, or by building capacity through engaging players and coaches from other teams in the seasonal program (e.g. all U-14 players may work out together for fundamental skills under a technical lead coach for this age group, 3 times per month).

Sample:

To compete well in our division;
To improve the team’s overall play from October to March, including offensive and defensive tactics;
To foster and attain strong team cohesion and spirit; and,
In support of team performance, for each player to improve her individual Ringette skills, leadership skills, self-awareness, self-confidence, and her sense of team.

Team Schedule

Sample: Overall, you can expect 4 days per week, including off-ice training, ice practices, tournament games and league games.

The team schedule is located on the Shutterfly website and will be updated by our team manager Mr. Marvin Marvelous. Please consider car polling where possible and notify the manager if transportation is needed to team events.

Season Plan

Sample: Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is a framework for the optimal development of athletes of all ages, interests and abilities. It provides a structure for design at the national, provincial community and club levels. It has been adopted by most major sports in Canada. In soccer it is called “long term player development.” The development principles are similar to ringette.

For more information on Long Term Athlete Development stages and how it relates to Ringette:

The plan for this season is based on the LTAD age related goals and our experiences as coaches with respect to what works best at this age group.

LTAD-based Objectives

To consolidate fundamental ringette skills in controlled and semi-controlled conditions
To develop and consolidate simple tactics
To further develop general physical fitness training and mental skills
To introduce and develop advanced ringette skills
To introduce and develop strategies (game plan)
To introduce and develop decision making skills in varied situations
To learn to cope with the challenges of competition and to strive to succeed and do their best

For development, players will move into different positions over the first two months of the season. Players will be told what is expected of them in each position and they will have time to practice the position specific tactics.

Drills we use in this season program are consistent with those used by other coaches in our local association. This will help these players progress to the next age group and will help them prepare for tryouts at a high caliber next season, if that is something they wish to pursue.

We have a specific goaltender program that is based on leading ringette goalie programs, and includes all the main skills based on the “Ringette Canada skills matrix” which describes player skill expectations for each age.

We follow a traditional season planning format: early in the season, we focus more on movement technique and posture, skating, ring handling, and game tactics to serve us well through the first two months. By mid-season, players will be assigned permanent positions, and our tactics will become more varied depending on our opponents and which line combinations are established.

For tournament preparation, we will be having player meetings, by position, and team problem solving sessions to help the players learn to identify what is working well and what could be improved. This serves to help mature them as athletes, and to foster an important dialogue between athlete and coach.

Video analysis and statistics, such as success rate of given tactics, shots on goals, and giveaways and takeaways and will be used to support coaching decisions.

Costs

Sample:

Team Rules

Summarize the competitive or recreational objectives of the local association and expectations; attendance expectations; 60 minutes prior to games and 20 minutes prior to practice; on the ice at the required time; listen to the coach when coach is speaking; respect team mates and bring them “no-harm”; discuss consequences of bad behavior, including reduced playing time; suspension or removal from the team and the association; let the coach do her job;follow the off-ice fitness program; follow eating guidelines and tournament rules for curfew, socialization with team mates and respect for hotels; show strong effort at training and games; and making good use of training time; there is a time to talk and socialize and a time to train and follow; listen to feedback and work within the coaching system.

Sample: given that this is a competitive team, ringette should be your primary activity during the winter ringette season. Players are expected to attend all team activities including practices, league games, tournaments, play-offs, provincials, off-ice training sessions, fund-raising opportunities and all other organized team events.

The occasional absence due to illness, injury, family or school event is unavoidable, but all absences should be reported to the Head Coach in writing (via email), in advance of the absence. If repeated absences occur, the Head Coach has the right to raise a concern with our local Ringette association executive.

Sportsmanship Expectations

Discuss and hand-out the code of conduct for players, parents, and coaches; discuss respect in sport and its importance; discuss the number of cases; home team is responsible for spectator behavior and coaches, spectators and players can be removed for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Communications

Sample: Coaches and parents of players share many common goals: they want the best for the players. Everyone wants to have a good time, and enjoy the experience. However, from time to time, coaches and parents of players may not agree – on team or player goals, nor how the coaching staff is striving to achieve those goals. This can lead to conflict and bad feelings.

As a Head Coach, I will discuss team goals and approaches with the coaching staff and the players. The coaching staff will provide input, and I may delegate certain decisions and activities to them. Generally, I do not discuss the business of players, their attributes, or their shortcomings, with parents. If a parent of a player wants to understand, and discuss her own daughter’s situation, one-on-one, I am willing and available to do so.

As a parent, if you find yourself in this situation of anger, disappointment, confusion, or misinformation, please take a breather and remove yourself from the situation. If you would like to speak to me about the matter, assuming it deals with team business, wait 24 hours, and strive to speak with me face-to-face or by phone. I feel that e-mails, sent out of anger and frustration, often escalate the situation; so, please, no e-mails on delicate matters.

Playing Time Allocations

Players develop through training practices and playing the game; discuss the line-up and how lines will rotate; discuss the fair ice policy that Ontario Ringette has promoted, and how you will adhere; describe how coaches have flexibility depending on player age and nature of competition (Provincials versus local games); describe how a two goalie system would work; indicate if league games and tournament games will be handled differently within the Fair Ice Policy.>

Sample: The team comprises 12 skaters and 2 goalies. The team will use the system of 2 centres, 5 defenders and 5 forwards. Centres will switch first and achieve 50 % playing time. Defenders will rotate through so that each player will get 2 of 5 shifts for a 40 % playing time. The same holds for 5 forwards.

In general, we strive for equal ice playing time. However, at provincials, we may use “power lines” in special situations, at the coach’s discretion.

Captain Selection and Roles

Describe the selection process and roles of the captain; some coaches want them to be like coaches and go between players and coaches; the Youldon Group suggests that players are not coaches; players resent having their captains act like bossy coaches – bad for team cohesion;

Sample: In Ringette, official rules indicate that only the captain may speak with on-ice officials in the course of a game. Goaltenders cannot be captains, even though they may have the perfect leadership qualities required. Hence the role of the captain, as a practical matter is limited. Nonetheless, players often want to go through the process.

We follow this process to select our team captains: (a) group discussion on captain selection process; (b) wait 6 weeks to allow players to get acquainted; (c) group discussion about captain expectations; (d) ballots to all players and coaches and each person selects three captains. Players cannot vote for themselves. Tally the results so that all player votes equal the input of the coaches (50 % players and 50 % coaches). Pick the top three players.

Emergency Action Plan and Injury Management

Describe the emergency action plan; health forms to record medications, and allergies; first aid training and the concussion management training that will be employed; discuss the injury reporting form; a 2012 SafeKids Worldwide survey found that nearly half of coaches reported being pressured by parents or the players to play an injured child during a game; discuss injury management.

Sample: We adopt a view of “safety first” on this team. Ringette is recreation and we do not want to place players in harm’s way. This means that we follow our first aid, concussion training awareness and engage medical personnel to decide when the athlete is able to resume competitive play and training. It is not up to the athlete or even the parents.

Even the best player on the team, in the event of an injury, will not play unless she has medical approval to compete. Plus, the coach needs to she can compete at a reasonable level.

Athlete Abuse and Harassment

Describe clear boundaries to prevent sexual abuse or harassment; discuss the two-adult rule to avoid 1 on 1 private coach athlete meetings; discuss the role of a mother in dressing room to prevent bullying; out of town trips require mature female leadership; discuss the degree of tolerance of yelling at officialsand consequences for such behavior; discuss how to coordinate who can pick up the athlete, in the event of parental separation; describe the ways and means on how athletes can safely and anonymously report emotional, physical or sexual abuse by a coach,to a responsible adult, whether it is to their parent or the local host association.

Sample: In our local association, we have a “Player Coordinator” who acts as a third party to handle disputesand formal complaints. Coaches are expected to follow the code of conduct and respect the values of the Coaching Association of Canada. However, if an athlete experiences or witness’s abuse or harassment, they can report it anonymously to the Player Coordinator, and there will not be consequences for them. It is in the interests of the local Ringette associations to rid itself of coaches who fail to comply with the expected standards of behavior.

Can I help support the team as a volunteer?

<Describe the roles that parents can occupy to support the team; participation in fundraising is mandatory to ensure fairness to all families; explain the schedule of roles for minor officials; year-end souvenir booklets or movies of season highlights can considered.

Sample: Parents can support the team by supporting in the following tasks:

Acting as a minor official, score keeping and time keeping;
Undertaking team game statistics and video;
Taking team event photographs;
Organizing fund raising events;
Hosting team socials; and,
Carpooling athletes to reduce costs and ensure athlete safety;
Being part of the emergency action plan in the event of an incident;
Arranging travel and accommodation in support of tournaments and out of town games.

Contact Information