Saskatoon Redwings
November 2003 Newsletter

- Newsletter in Acrobat format
(suitable for printing)

Contents (some of these links will take you to a different page)

Commissioner's Comments

Playing time is always an issue in all team sports. It is our goal to consider this throughout the year. Although it is impossible for coaches to insure that every player gets the exact same ice time each and every game, they have been instructed to make ice time as equal as possible from game to game. The rule in PeeWee, Bantam and Midget is that the last five minutes of a game is the coach's, so he can play whomever he wants, for as long as he wants.

Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association is discussing rezoning and boundary realignment again. I am sure that this will be happening just down the road. A committee will be assembled to deal with this issue. It is my hope that we have strong representation on this committee, as any decision will surely impact the Redwing zone.

In closing, I would like to thank all the coordinators and their spouses for the time they have spent on our tryout process, making hundreds of phone calls, sifting through stacks of papers and taking phone calls from parents. Also, thank you to the rest of the Executive. Your dedication sometimes goes unnoticed, so we appreciate your commitment to your children's development. TO ALL, remember to keep promoting the positives of Redwing hockey - Great players, Competent coaches, Supportive parents and an Enthusiastic, Efficient Executive. We are there for you so any feedback and ideas on ways to improve would be greatly appreciated!

Respectfully Submitted,
Kevin Wilhelm (373-2909)

Assistant Commissioner's Comments

In my first year in this role, I can say that the start-up to the year has gone relatively well. We have all the young athletes tiered and put on their respective teams. Coaches have been selected and have been on the ice building their skills.

I hope as the Assistant Commissioner that I can assist you and your families in making hockey more fun and lend a hand in developing your athletes to strive to become better players and better people.

I wish you all good luck this year and hope you all have a very successful season.

Todd Plaxton

Zone G Technical Director's Report

This year's tryout process, although not free of glitches, went relatively well. Delaying the start of our season by one week was a favourable decision with Redwing parents. I think having non-evaluated scrimmages at the beginning of the tryout sessions was also a positive move in that it provided every player the opportunity of getting back on the ice and getting a feel for the game without having to compete unfairly with the individuals that had been on ice all summer.

Providing the parents with a "tryout process" handout at registration helped to reduce the number of phone calls from parents unsure of what is happening to their sons/daughters throughout the process. All coordinators followed the process that was described in their particular handouts, and except for some communication problems and a couple of scheduling mistakes by myself, I felt the parents were well informed and the coordinators well organized.

We did have some problems at the Novice level because of the unexpected numbers that registered in our zone. We had projected 120 players and had 140 register. Because the ice was scheduled according to our projected numbers, we did not have enough ice to comfortable accommodate all the players. This problem could be alleviated in the future by assigning the ice for all age groups after registration week is over. It would require a substantial number of phone calls to be made but we could also be asking for parents to help make these initial calls.

Lessons learned from this year's tryout process:

  • individual evaluation scores must be documented and retained throughout the process as a reference when justifying the placement of any individual. Some movement of players required the evaluators to identify the top few to move up or the bottom few to move down without much of a description as to why the particular players were chosen. For future tryout years, any player movements must be accompanied by a skill evaluation sheet filled out by each evaluator. It is very difficult for evaluators to score all 30 players on shooting, skating, passing, positional play, effort, etc., in a one hour scrimmage. It is very easy to score all of those skills when you're asked to identify a smaller number of individuals such as moving the bottom ten players down or the top ten up. I will design an evaluation form that is user friendly and will provide all necessary information about a player's skill level.
     

  • this year we tried to group players with their peers from the previous season. Some of the peer groups were questioned and a slight change could resolve the concerns. When grouping players initially for the non-evaluated scrimmages, players could probably be grouped with their teammates from the previous season. When we have overlap of players, movement should only happen randomly one level at a time. For example: any overlap from tier 3 goes only to tier 2, tier 2 to tier 1, etc. Moving from one age group to another would also be for one level. For example: an overlap at Atom 1 would move to Peewee 3.
     

  • the zone needs to reinstate the player evaluation forms that require each coach to evaluate the players on his/her team at the end of the season. In the past, these forms were used as a valuable reference for the coordinators during the tryout process.
     

  • the Zone G Constitution needs to clearly identify the Zone's position on what criteria is used throughout the selection process for final player placements.
     

  • the Technical Director's responsibilities and coordinator's responsibilities during tryouts need to be clearly identified.

Once all teams are in place, I will meet with the coordinators to discuss the issues mentioned above.

I feel that this year's tryout process did what it was supposed to do. Problems were minimal, parental concerns were minimal. All coordinators were committed to giving every boy/girl in their age group fair and equitable treatment throughout the tryouts. Because of that commitment, we are confident that each player in our zone will be competing at the level he/she is best suited for.

Technical Director
Bob Fawcett

Non-Contact Coordinator's Report

Welcome to the 2003-04 year of hockey!

This year in PeeWee, we are having two teams: the "Redwing Matrix" coached by Nile Armstrong and the "Redwing Razors" coached by Kerry Peru. We also have a Bantam team coached by Richard Vanhouwe. The Midget-aged players have joined up with the Raiders to make a team.

Unfortunately, there were not enough registrations in the Senior Division across the city so it will not take place this year. At this time, however, I would like to thank the coaches for volunteering to coach their respective age groups this year and wish them and all the players in Non-Contact the very best for the season!

Sincerely,
Iris Rugg, Non-Contact Coordinator

Pre-Novice Coordinator's Report

Welcome to another season of Redwing hockey. This year, we have six teams in the Pre-Novice division, three beginner and three advanced teams.

I would like to introduce and thank the following individuals for stepping up and providing leadership as Head Coaches for the six Pre-Novice hockey teams. We have many individuals who are willing to help but only a few who were able to make the commitment of a Head Coach.

Being a Head Coach is not easy. It involves a lot of time; time away from family and work to participate in the Initiation Coaches Clinic, the Safety Clinic, and the "Speak Out" Clinic. It also requires time to prepare practices, be the first one at the rink, and, most of all, the commitment to always be there for his/her child as well as yours. Always, and I mean always, THANK YOUR HEAD COACH AND HIS/HER ASSISTANT COACHES after each and every game and practice.

Pre-Novice (Beginner)
Redwing Raptors - Carmen Millham
Redwing Huskies - Mark Hetherington
Redwing Blades - Dennis Perillat

Pre-Novice (Advanced)
Redwing Rockets - Bill Burgess
Redwing Fire - Dale Lambert
Redwing Ramblers - Arley Olson

R.B. (Rob) Kelln
Pre-Novice Coordinator

Atom Coordinator's Report

I would like to welcome all the players and parents new and returning alike to a very busy yet promising year of Redwing hockey. I hope that everyone had a chance to enjoy the beautiful summer weather and that you are ready to hit the ice!

This year we have eight teams in Atom Contact: Two Senior, Four Intermediate, Two Junior with 126 players registering.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family: my wife, Veronica, who handled many of the calls and organized my time for me and my children, Nicholas and Nathaniel, who had to share me with all the players and parents during evaluation time. Thank you for being so understanding.

Likewise, my job would have been much harder if it weren't for the help of all the parent volunteers who came out and spent time on the ice and helped at the rink during evaluations. A great big "Thank You" to Dwight Zolinski, who kept me grounded at the rink and was always willing to lend a hand. Not one day went by that Dwight wasn't there to help out-your efforts are much appreciated.

In addition, many thanks to Kevin Wilhelm and Bob Fawcett for the continuous assistance and support. It was very common to see Kevin and Bob whisking from meeting to meeting in that flashy "Redwing Mustang". Thanks guys.

All Atom players have now been levelled, coaches selected, and practices are underway. I expect that this year will be challenging for our young Atom division; however, with Redwing persistence, we plan to face this year with a solid effort and great determination.

The Head Coaches are as follows:

Junior Atom
Dean Owen
Chris Peterson and Steve Spicer

Intermediate Atom
Steward Brandt
Jeff Rohlicek
Don Steele
Dan Wingerak

Senior Atom
Rick Garman
Dave Pufal

Without your efforts and commitment, our program could not prosper. I have no doubt that these coaches will do their best to make each hockey player feel valued and treated as equal amongst their teammates.

Thank you to all the players during tryouts for their outstanding showmanship of skills and abilities. There were many tough decisions that had to be made but I am confident that all the hockey players will have a positive year and will learn many new skills from their very knowledgeable coaches, co-coaches, assistant coaches, and managers. This year evaluations were done by a group of independent people whom I believe were objective and fair in their evaluations. However, should anyone have any questions or concerns, my door is always open.

As you are well aware, as with most organized sports, there have been some challenging hurdles that have been encountered. Most notably, was the attempt to have an alteration made to the SMHA Grid system. After an early assessment of the quantity of first year Atoms, Zone G approached the SMHA to allow an additional Tier 3 team; unfortunately, this appeal was not approved. Thus, in closing, I offer my sincere good wishes to each and every player and parent, and hope that everyone has a positive experience and an enjoyable season.

Best Regards,
Dan Wingerak, Atom Coordinator