Dear
Parents,
I
just wanted to start this message by thanking you all for your continued
support, patience, and engagement as we roll out an innovative hockey program
during very trying times. We have navigated mountains of health and
safety protocols, changes in venue occupancy limits, significant ice
availability constraints and even an exploding Zamboni!
Things have not been perfect, but I am extremely proud of the hard work and long hours put in by our board members to get our children playing hockey again in a safe environment. It is particularly impressive seeing the effort and passion displayed by this group when one considers that on top of paid employment, family and even hockey, they are volunteers. Special thanks go to Bryan Smith, the GMHA’s Operations Coordinator, who has worked tirelessly (and possibly burnt-out his phone) while juggling countless balls and keeping everything moving along.
A couple of important items:
Player Movement Between Tiers
As part of our program we have committed to trying to focus on development across the organization this season. One of the results of this is the potential for a few players to move from their current cohorts into higher levels of the development program, whether that be between competitive groups (aka Rep) or from our recreational program (aka House League) into the competitive one. The opportunities to move players is limited by the registration numbers as we are required to guarantee that players are at least placed at a level of skill equal to their placement last year. To facilitate the decision on which players would move up, members of the board are currently meeting with competitive program coaches to review lists of eligible players for movement. The list of potential players to be moved were drawn from the Affiliated Players (AP) for each team during the 2019-20 season, input from last year’s development coaches and where necessary input from coaches. In almost all cases, the number of AP players was more than sufficient to cover the movements in each age group. Assignments to another development tier are not necessarily for the entire season, nor does it indicate potential for team placement when we return to tryouts and a normal season. Where possible we are committed to giving other players in each group the opportunity to play at a higher level and this is again dependent on number of registered and eligible players and feedback from the development coaches.
Communication Channels
If you have any hockey or organizational questions, please direct them to your development group’s head coach. They may be able to answer the query right away, but if not, will be able to direct it to the appropriate members of the board for a response. Any questions related to payments or registration may be sent to Bryan Smith ([email protected]). Similarly, any concerns or sensitive matters should be directed to you Rep Director (D’arcy Ronan AE-AA; Murray Saramack AAA) or in the case of the recreational program your cohort convenor or Jackie Wright in her capacity as Director of House League.
Best wishes for a safe and fun hockey season.
Dave Christiansen
President, GMHA