Mutants Hockey Parent Handbook Chief Mutant 2013
Table of Contents Parent Handbook...2 BACKGROUND...3 PARTICIPATION...4 Participation general...4 Participation appropriate...4 Participation behavior...4 GAMES AND PRACTICES...6 Exhibition Games...6 League...6 TOURNAMENTS...7 SUBS/Spares...7 PRACTICE SESSIONS...8 MUTANTS Saturdays...8 MUTANTS Tuesdays...8 SELECTS HOCKEY BC...9 JERSEYS... 10 HELMET STICKERS... 10 TRACK SUITS... 10 HATS and T-Shirts... 10 EXHIBITION GAMES... 11 PAYMENT TRACKING... 11 PAYMENT Barriers... 11 FUNDRAISING... 11 ATTENDANCE, TIMES, PARTICIPATION and TIMING... 12 Attendance... 12 Times... 12 UBC League and Exhibition Games... 12 Tournament Games... 12 GAME PLAYING TIMING... 13 Contacts... 14 Chief Mutant 1 of 15
Parent Handbook Dear Mutant Parents, This book is intended to help you get up to speed with the current happenings in the Mutant world. Spring is a busy season for the Mutants. We want to ensure everyone involved is having the time of their lives in hockey rinks around Lower Mainland and beyond. Yours, Chief Mutants: Shane Johnson, Coaches, and Division Managers. http:// Chief Mutant 2 of 15
BACKGROUND The MUTANTS hockey team has given over 80 players a chance to play in many different situations: leagues, tournaments, pickup games and travel teams. The core group of players is the 2004 age group. However, this year we have added 2003, 2005 and 2006 teams. The focus has always been, and continues to be, fun. We want all the players to have a great time when they come out to play. As part of that, we always plan to allow and help our players improve and compete. We help players improve through our practice/skill sessions. In addition, by choosing the appropriate levels for the players to compete and be challenged, their skill level grows. Practice/skill sessions and pick up/exhibition games are ongoing. We participate in tournaments when/where there is interest from enough players to form a team. With the Mutants there are no tryouts and no cuts. Everyone that wants to play has an opportunity to play. We do group the players by skill level so players/teams can compete. At a pickup game, we will organize the appropriate skill level players to play against each other so everyone can enjoy the game. For league or tournament play, we do the same so everyone has a chance to participate. Everyone gets equal (or as close to as we can) ice time. Our players cover every skill level. Some of our top players have also gone to play for some of the Elite teams in the area and have enjoyed great success with those teams as well. Congratulations to those players on their successes. Chief Mutant 3 of 15
PARTICIPATION Participation general Everyone is welcome and we will find a way for everyone to participate. That doesn t mean everyone will have exactly the same opportunities to participate. Simply put, the more you participate the more opportunities you will get to participate. Invites usually go out first to the person standing nearby when the thought occurs or the game is offered, etc. The more often we see you, the more likely you ll be invited. Coaches/Managers/Team officials/volunteers/corporate donors, etc. also are typically invited more often since they are giving their time to make it all possible. No one is purposely excluded. Participation appropriate We will always try to find the most appropriate way for your player to participate. In the UBC league this means we try to give each player opportunity to play most games at a level that will allow them to participate fully. They will most likely also have opportunities to play at levels where they will be very challenged (may not touch the puck) and at levels where they get more time to handle the puck/participate/score. Similarly, some tournaments are more/less appropriate for some players. Everyone will be offered opportunities to play in tournaments at a level appropriate to their skill. Shane (Chief Mutant) makes most of those decisions. If at any time you want your player s opportunities to increase/decrease or change in any way, please feel free to speak to Shane (contact info on the last page). Please also feel free to speak to any of the other Mutants coaches when and where you feel it appropriate. Just a reminder: Please keep your conversations appropriate and calm. Participation behavior Everyone reading this has seen/heard inappropriate behaviour at the rink. For the players, the first thing we would hope for is that the player WANTS to be there. We also hope the player will be respectful of all the other players, coaches, parents on both teams, and the officials. Players that are not respectful will not be invited to play/practice as often. For the Parents we want you to CHEER as LOUD as you can ALL the time. Chief Mutant 4 of 15
We do NOT want you to yell at the other team s players, coaches, parents or the officials. We do NOT want you to yell at your player, your team s players, parents, or coaches. Finally, coaches please do NOT yell at each other. We want everyone to participate as POSITIVELY as possible. Everyone on both teams should be having fun including the coaches and parents. ***If you want to coach/manage/participate/volunteer in another way please let me, the division managers, or any of the hard core Mutants parents know. Most of the coaches strongly support any kind of baking arriving at early morning practices. Chief Mutant 5 of 15
GAMES AND PRACTICES The schedule for the games and practices are posted on our website. http://mutantshockey.com/wp/?page_id=28 The MUTANTS play a lot of games. Last spring, several players played more than 50 games. We also provide a lot of times to practice Exhibition Games Most Mutants have already been offered an opportunity to play in an exhibition game this year. We arrange as many exhibition games as we can find so everyone a chance to play with the Mutants throughout the year. Exhibition games are $15/game. Please make a payment to Shane or your division manager. League This year the Mutants will be playing in the UBC Thunderbird Youth Hockey League. This is a 12 game league. Games run from the end of March until the end of June - usually skipping long weekends. http://www.icerink.ubc.ca/leagues/tyhl-youth-league.php The individual player cost on a Mutants team will not be more than $300. This year we are hoping to bring that down to approximately $230. Cost is dependent on the number of players per team and the price per team we can get from UBC. The Mutants put more teams in this league than anyone (3 teams last year) and have had more success in the league than anyone. It is a flexible league (age groups are flexible) allowing us to have players play on teams and in games where they can compete. Games are played on Saturday or Sunday. Our experience in the UBC League is that we haven t seen a game start earlier than 9am, with most at 10am or later. The latest games start at 2:30pm. The schedule does not come out until after the first two tiering games. The season typically begins around the 2nd week of April. The tiering games are played at the end of March/beginning of April. Chief Mutant 6 of 15
TOURNAMENTS The Mutants play in a lot of tournaments and have had more success in tournaments than any other Vancouver City based team. More importantly, we ve also had WAY MORE FUN! The following is the list of tournaments that we may participate in depending on interest. Division managers have collected information on which tournaments you may be interested in. Last year costs varied from $50 to $115 per tournament. This figure is dependent on the tournament cost and number of players. Here is the list of potential tournaments Mutants will be playing in. You will be notified if you are IN for any of the listed tournaments (indicating you are available does not guarantee a spot). Tournament Dates Aprox cost Easter FaceOff Burnaby March 29-30 $105 Pirates Kamloops Apr 05-07 $160 Mainland Apr 19-21 $150 Showdown / Sizzler Burnaby Apr 26-28 $105 Kelowna Blast May 03-05 $160 May Madness, Burnaby May 10-12 $105 Havoc Hockey, Calgary May 10-12 $165 Challenge, Lower Mainland May 17-20 $150 Meltdown, Steveston May 24-26 $105 Quest Burnaby May 31-Jun02 $105 SUBS/Spares Many people are away during the spring and we use a lot of spares/subs. By playing as a 2004 sub with the Mutants, most players will be offered opportunities to play more often than as a full timer in some other programs. Last year we had a lot of spares from other teams come to play with the Mutants just to get more games in. Everyone is welcome. We will find a way for everyone to participate. Please let your division managers know if you are only available to spare for whichever activity. ***If you want to coach/manage/participate/volunteer in another way please let me, the division managers, or any of the hard core Mutants parents know. Chief Mutant 7 of 15
PRACTICE SESSIONS *Goalies are special! There is more information specific to goalies that will go directly to the goalie parents. If you are a goalie parent, please contact the 2003 division manager and we will get goalie information to you (contact information on the last page). MUTANTS Saturdays At present we practice Saturday 7:30-8:45am. This practice is open only to players that do NOT have a minor hockey conflict at that time. After spring break, that will change to 2 practice sessions on Saturday mornings (based on demand): 7:15-8:15am and 8:15-9:15am. Saturday Mutants practices in the spring are $15/session and are drop in. Sessions are run by Mitch Ward. Mitch is the best coach we ve seen with young players and mixed age groups. Practices are held at UBC. MUTANTS Tuesdays We will continue to practice Tuesdays morning 7:00-8:00am. These practices are primarily for the 2004/2003 age group. Please contact Shane directly if you are interested in joining these sessions. They are not designed as drop-in sessions. Tuesdays are $30/session. Since these practices are not designed as drop-in, a commitment to the series of practices is preferred. Mutant Tuesday practices are run by coach Milan Dragicevic, Tyler Kuntz and Graham Thomas. These coaches are the UBC Thunderbirds Varsity Coaching staff! Practices are held at UBC. Chief Mutant 8 of 15
SELECTS HOCKEY BC The Mutants are a Selects Hockey BC affiliate. Selects hockey is a fairly large international sports organization. More information can be found at http://www.selectssports.com As an affiliate, our players are always eligible to try out for Selects teams. The Selects provide practice opportunities our players may be able to join, based on their level of development. These sessions are not drop in. Players have to register for the full session. For this Spring, the proposed sessions are: 2003 s Saturdays 4:45-5:45pm (waiting on the cost) 2004 s Saturdays 2:15-3:15pm & Sundays 9-10:15am cost is $588 (including taxes) 2005 s -- waiting on days/times/cost 2006 s Saturdays 11:00-12noon and Sundays 7:00-8:00am (waiting on the cost) All Selects Hockey programs run in Richmond. Chief Mutant 9 of 15
JERSEYS If you are playing with or want to play with the MUTANTS on a regular basis for the Spring, you will need to have MUTANTS jerseys and socks. Please contact JASON Jbell_bellconsulting@telus.net if you need to order jerseys or socks. We are going with two jerseys this spring: Mutants Gold and Mutants Orange. The black and white jerseys (if you have them) should be worn for practices. However, players are welcome to wear anything for practices. For some practices, you may be emailed requesting your player to wear a certain colour. HELMET STICKERS The Division Managers have helmet stickers for everyone. The cost is two for $1. The money collected from sale of the stickers is used to recover the cost (30 cents per sticker). The balance goes toward buying spare jerseys. TRACK SUITS Chris Bogart chris@mutantshockey.com is putting together tracks suits for the MUTANTS! Please talk to Chris about track suits if your player wants one. Track Suits are NOT mandatory. http://mutantshockey.com/wp/?page_id=304 HATS and T-Shirts We have HATS! (flat hats for the players and/or adults and more traditional hats for adults). We also have T- shirts! Please talk to Tammi 2006@mutantshockey.com, 2006 division manager about ordering. Hats are NOT mandatory. http://mutantshockey.com/wp/?page_id=304 Chief Mutant 10 of 15
EXHIBITION GAMES All Mutants exhibition games through the fall and spring are at a cost of $15. For EXHIBITION games, you're only "in" if you've been invited and you've replied that you'll be there. We're trying to make sure everyone gets offered a chance to play in an exhibition game or two between now and the end of February. For the 2004 s, we should accomplish this. For the 2003 s, 2005 s, 2006 s, (2007 s?) we are working on setting up games. They will be posted/players invited as soon as we have the dates/teams confirmed. PAYMENT TRACKING No one keeps track of what you attend and what you have paid except you. Please don't ask what you owe for what. An email goes out to the group letting everyone know the costs. Hopefully you can make payment when you see Shane following that. If you still owe something for last spring, please make payment if/when you can. PAYMENT Barriers We do NOT want anyone to miss out due to cost/expense. We do NOT want cost to be a barrier to play and fit in. We have spare jersey sets (5) for extra players that do not have their own jerseys. We can cover apparel costs if your player really wants it. If anything is a challenge for anyone at any time, please speak to Shane directly. We will find a way to make most things (league, local tournaments, apparel) happen. FUNDRAISING As part of covering all the cost and trying to keep those costs down, we are working on some different fundraising ideas. Right now we have: Burger and Beer Fundraiser (contact your division manager for details) 100 pounds in 100 days fundraiser (contact Chief Mutant for details). We have other ideas in the pipeline with information to follow soon. Chief Mutant 11 of 15
ATTENDANCE, TIMES, PARTICIPATION and TIMING Attendance Please be considerate of the time the coaches and managers put into organizing practices and games. If you have said you are going to be there, please show up. If you have said you are not coming, please do not show up without checking first. It is challenging to run a bench with too few or too many players. Times For practices, please show up so that your player can go on the ice at the scheduled practice start time. For games, we will be doing something a little different depending on age group. UBC League and Exhibition Games For UBC League & exhibition games, please have your player dressed and ready 5 minutes before game time. This applies to all ages. Tournament Games 2006/7 s please be at the arena 25 minutes before game time. Be dressed and ready 5 minutes before game time. 2003 s, 2004 s, 2005 s please be at the arena 40 minutes prior to game time. Players should immediately do a bag check. We will then do our off-ice warm up followed by dressing. Players are to be ready 10 minutes before game time. When Shane is coaching, parents/siblings/pets are welcome to be in the room to listen/watch before the game until we go on the ice. If you stay for the pre-game chat, please remain as an observer. Do not distract/interact with the players while the coaches are speaking. Players friends are not recommended to be in the room during the talk because they are almost always distracting. Other Mutants coaches may have a slightly different approach. They will let you know what it is. After games parents/siblings/pets/friends are allowed in the room immediately following games EXCEPT when there is something to be distributed to the players after the game. We want the players to have the first opportunity grab snacks or whatever it is before giving siblings/friends access. Chief Mutant 12 of 15
GAME PLAYING TIMING For our 2006/7 players, at all times, we will be rolling the lines. Our goal is to give players as close to equal ice time as possible. For UBC League games, (2003/4 s) we will be rolling the lines at all games until the playoffs. Playoffs are the last two games of the season. During the playoffs, if the game is close, during the last 5 minutes of the game we may adjust ice time in attempt to win. No one will be benched during that last 5 minutes but some skaters may have longer/shorter shifts, play a penalty kill or a power play. For 2005 s, there will be a blend of the above approaches. If you have ice time issues at any time with any coach (including Shane) please let Shane know immediately -- even during a game. Please do not interrupt the other coaches during games. Speak to Shane directly (if Shane is not there, call him). Chief Mutant 13 of 15
Contacts Role Name e-mail Chief Mutant Shane chiefmutant@mutantshockey.com Goalie coordinator Sandra 2003@mutantshockey.com Jersey coordinator Jason Jbell_bellconsulting@telus.net 2003 division manager Sandra 2003@mutantshockey.com 2004 division manager Nada 2004@mutantshockey.com 2005 division manager Elizabeth 2005@mutantshockey.com 2006+ division manager Tammi 2006@mutantshockey.com Mutants gear coordinator Tammi 2006@mutantshockey.com Tracksuit coordinator Chris chris@mutantshockey.com Chief Mutant 14 of 15