Player Evaluation and Team Selection Process

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1 SENECA VALLEY INLINE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION Player Evaluation and Team Selection Process SVILHA P.O. Box 2153 Cranberry Township, PA Adopted by the SVILHA Board on May 26, 2016 Revised by the Board of Directors on the following dates: This document explains the purpose and guidelines of the SVILHA Player Evaluation and Team Selection Process as well as the expectations and responsibilities of the players, parents, coaches, evaluators and the SVILHA Board of Directors.

2 The purpose of the Seneca Valley Inline Hockey Association (SVILHA) player evaluation process is to place each player on a team that best suits their skill and maturity level and that will provide the best environment for improving their self-confidence and their enjoyment of the sport of inline hockey. The goal is to place each and every player who wants to play inline hockey on a SVILHA team. The player evaluation process was developed to evaluate a player's skating ability, hockey skills and commitment to teamwork, coupled with team coach evaluations from the player s previous season (if applicable) and the new team coach s vision/preferences/needs for the upcoming season in order to place him or her on a team that is the best fit possible for everyone on the team. The evaluation process has been designed by the Board of Directors to achieve fair, impartial, and accurate player evaluations. Evaluation coordinators, evaluators, and coaches are all volunteers dedicating their time and personal commitment to ensure that the process is carried out in a consistent and unbiased manner. Any SVILHA player or parent who has questions should feel free to contact the Vice-President of Player Development. We discourage any parents to contact either the Evaluation Coordinator or any of the Evaluators during the evaluation process as it presents a conflict of interest. We kindly ask that everyone respect and adhere to this part of the process. We understand that there will be scheduling conflicts. We ask that parents send an to the Board of Directors or Vice-President of Player Development detailing any conflict that your player may have by utilizing the SVILHA website. Each case will be assessed by the Vice-President of Player Development and the Evaluation Coordinator for that specific age group. We will use all information at our disposal to make a reasonable team placement decision based on the facts of each individual s situation. All skaters and goaltenders that wish to be considered for a SVILHA team should attend at least one session of their scheduled evaluations. It is strongly encouraged that players attend all of their scheduled sessions. Exceptions made are generally for unavoidable situations such as families moving to the area, injuries, etc. Board approval is required for a player to be placed on a team without having attended a tryout session. The Board and Vice-President of Player Development will review each specific situation and make a fair and equitable decision based on the circumstances. The evaluation sessions for SVILHA teams will be held after the conclusion of the season and prior to the start of the upcoming season, typically in May or June. Evaluation dates and times will be communicated and posted on the SVILHA website, communicated to the membership via and advertised to the community in certain ways. In order to participate in the evaluation process, all players must pay the initial non-refundable deposit for the upcoming season and all returning players must be paid in full for the prior season. The non-refundable deposit is not a tryout fee; it is a deposit towards the next season s player tuition. The number of evaluation sessions may vary with each level depending on the number of players registered. We want to provide players every opportunity to show their skills, while at the same time obtain thorough and consistent evaluations. The following player and team evaluation guidelines have been established and there are no exceptions to these guidelines without the approval of the SVILHA Board of Directors. If the Board of Directors approves exceptions to these guidelines for a particular player, team or level, the exceptions and the reasons to approve the exceptions will be communicated to the parents of that player, the parents of that team or to the entire SVILHA membership, respectively. 1

3 Evaluations The Vice-President of Player Development will create a committee of evaluators at each level (Elementary, Middle and High School/Varsity), overseen by an Evaluation Coordinator. Evaluators will be chosen based on several factors including their playing experience, coaching experience, knowledge of players, and ability to fairly and independently evaluate players. The evaluators will consist of at least one evaluator who coached (either at the team or assistant coach level) at the age level those players played at from the most recent season. The goal is to provide as much first-hand knowledge as possible of the players from the most recent season. The Board recognizes that this policy on occasion may result in a parent/coach serving as a member of committee evaluating their own children. The Board understands the conflict of interest this might represent, but has determined that the benefits of including a coach with knowledge of the most recent season outweigh the potential conflict of interest. Evaluators will use a standardized scoring system that will assess skating ability and hockey skills at each level during scheduled evaluation sessions. If an evaluator happens to have their own child skating at that level, the evaluator will not be allowed to score his/her own child. All skaters are given evaluation numbers to wear during evaluation sessions instead of names. Evaluation scoring sheets are issued to the evaluators with evaluation numbers only. Evaluation Sessions Guidelines Evaluation sessions will consist of drills that allow players to display their individual skating abilities as well as their shooting and passing abilities with an emphasis on situational play in scrimmages. Evaluators are instructed to rate players using a standardized evaluation system, with an overall score that takes into consideration the following skills and experience: Skating Skills Stride, Turns, Speed, Crossovers, Forwards & Backward Skating Puck Skills - Puck Handling, Shooting, Passing, Control Game Sense - Playing Position, Getting Open, Play Making Effort Small Battles, Fore-check, Back-check, Overall Aggressiveness Team work Generally, the weighting of each of these categories will change at each level (Elementary, Middle and High School) and at each Tier with the change in the style of play. At the entry level or lower Tier level, skating and basic hockey skills will be weighted more than at the upper levels or Tiers where teamwork and situational play become more important as a skill. Note: The number of goals a player scores during scrimmage play does not necessarily mean he/she will receive high ratings for that tryout session. Ratings are based on overall skill, performance and knowledge of the game. All of the factors listed above contribute to the overall rating. Encouraging your son/daughter to play more physically aggressive than would be the norm or appropriate for game like situations or to focus only scoring goals will not be advantageous to their evaluation rating. Important Note on Prior Year Placement Placement on prior year team does not guarantee placement for the upcoming season. It is possible that a returning player may be moved down one team or tier level if deemed during the tryout process and through prior year coach evaluations that other players are stronger candidates and should be placed on the team ahead of a returning player. 2

4 Absent or Injured Player Policy Players who are not able to attend all tryouts sessions will be placed based on their evaluation performance for the portion they are able to attend, coaches evaluations, and the placement of similarly ranked players from their previous team. When a player is injured and not able to attend any of the tryouts: A player staying at the same age level will typically be placed on the same team level as their previous team. However a player may be placed one team level lower than their previous team level or may be placed on a higher team level, if the evaluators feel there is clear evidence from the prior year coach evaluations that the player should be moved up or down a level, respectively. If a player is moving up an age level, they will typically be placed on a team at least one level lower than their previous team level unless there is clear evidence from the prior year coaches evaluations that the player should be placed at the same or higher level. Coach Evaluations from Prior Season At the end of every season, coaches submit evaluations of their players to the Vice President of Player Development. Coaches will evaluate each player on skating and puck skills, game sense and character. The Coach s evaluation form provides a similar scoring system, (1 to 5) in the range of skills and characteristics, to the evaluation sessions. Coach evaluations also provide space for comments on individual players, as additional information available to be considered for the selection process. These evaluations are a critical component to assist in making team selections. In addition, dedication, commitment and respect to SVILHA, including its coaches, mentors and players has always been a priority. Commitment levels, as measured by attendance at practices as well as games, may influence team placement. Likewise, behavior, sportsmanship, leadership and other relevant information from current coaches will be considered in the placement decision. Team Selection Teams at each grade level will be formed and selected by the Committee of Evaluators with input from each team coach and oversight from the Evaluation Coordinator. There are several factors that go into how and where players are placed including but not limited to, coach s evaluations from the prior season, evaluation scores and new team coach s vision/team construction. It s the combination of these components that we believe provide the most fair and accurate evaluation and team placement for each player and for each team. The team at the highest team level, Tier 1, within a given grade level (Elementary, Middle and High School) will have their team players selected first. The remaining team levels (Tier 2, Tier 3, etc.) will have their team players selected in their respective order using the pool of players remaining that have not yet been selected to a team. Experienced players may be given priority over first year players in the event that scores and evaluations are similar. In addition, a player s position (ex. Defenseman) may be given priority over another player playing the opposite position (ex. Forward) that has scores and evaluations similar to each other but the team coach is in need of a Defenseman to balance the team and fill out the roster. Finally, it should be noted that players with similar or even slightly lower scores and evaluation may be given priority due to prior coach comments pertaining to characteristics such as commitment levels, behavior, sportsmanship, leadership, etc. 3

5 The Vice President of Player Development and each grade level Evaluation Coordinator will work with the committee of evaluators and each team coach during the team selection process to ensure that the number of players on each team is properly distributed with respect to the number of players registered to play at each grade level. This is a factor that can play a role in determining team selection for certain players. Board of Directors Responsibility It is the responsibility of the Vice-President of Player Development and the entire Board of Directors to ensure that the player evaluation and team selection process, as outlined in this document, is followed correctly and without bias or favoritism. Once the teams have been selected by the committees of evaluators and team coaches, the Board of Directors will ensure that the evaluation and selection process was followed appropriately and approve the team rosters and communicate them to the SVILHA membership. Teams will be announced to the membership shortly after the conclusion of each grade level s evaluation session. Coach Selection Prior to and during the evaluation process the applicants for coaching positions are reviewed and Team Coaches are then identified by the Vice-President of Player Development and recommended to the Board. Every effort will be made to have the best possible Team Coach available to coach each team. All Team Coaches for all SVILHA teams must be approved by the Board of Directors. Discipline It should be noted that inappropriate behavior by a skater or parent on or off the rink during the evaluation sessions will not be tolerated and may eliminate a player for consideration on a SVILHA team. Inappropriate behavior includes, but is not limited to penalty situations such as illegal checking, elbowing, tripping, and harassment of other skaters on or off the rink and use of foul language. All players must read and sign the Players Code of Conduct found on the SVILHA web site that will be distributed a period of time after player registration. Grievances Any parent who has a concern with the selection process and/or a player s placement is asked to please contact the Vice-President of Player Development first. After the Vice President of Player Development has been made aware of your concern, you may then contact the Board of Directors if the situation has not been addressed to your satisfaction. We hope that this summary of the player evaluation and team selection process has been informative. We understand that frustrations can arise, as this process unfolds - it is not an exact science, and different people have different opinions about the relative talent of a group of players. Please keep in mind that we are doing our very best to evaluate your children and to place them on the correct team that will allow them to improve as hockey players but more importantly to have fun, meet new friends and develop life skills along the way. Experience has shown that an individual player will achieve the most success and make the most developmental progress over the course of the season if that player is competing at the proper level for his or her ability. If you have any questions about this process, please contact a SVILHA Board Member. Please Do Not Contact the Team Coach. 4

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