Bemidji Youth Hockey Parent Handbook

Bemidji Youth Hockey Parent Handbook

WELCOME to the Hockey Season! This handbook was developed to help answer any questions you may have regarding Bemidji Youth Hockey and where to find information. COMMUNICATION: Most communication will be done via postings to the website s home page www.bemidjiyouthhockey.org - and team pages and email. It is imperative that you check your emails and the website on a regular basis since there can be last minute changes in schedules. If a change has been made to your team schedule this will be communicated by email. If you do not have email, it will be your responsibility to get the information from your Age Group Rep. Board meeting minutes and other reports and documents are also available via our website. PRACTICE SCHEDULE: Practice schedules will be posted online at http://www.bemidjiyouthhockey.org/page/show/96263-calendar, the calendar tab of the website. It is crucial that you check the website DAILY. Schedules are always subject to change. For the most up to date schedule, download the mobile app for your smart phone at http://www.sportngin.com/mobile. This will also keep you up to date on game scores when you re not able to be there. INCLEMENT WEATHER AND SCHOOL CLOSINGS: Hockey is rarely cancelled. If the Bemidji School District cancels school, we will still have hockey unless you receive an email from your coach or Age Group Rep. As a parent, you need to decide if you can get to the rink safely. BEMIDJI YOUTH HOCKEY SPONSORS: BYHA could not do it without our sponsors. Please remember this by shopping locally, and tell them you appreciate them sponsoring your child s team and our organization. FUNDRAISING/CALENDAR SALES: BYHA participates in one fundraiser for the year. We have a raffle ticket/calendar sale. Families may opt out of the fundraiser during the registration process. Calendars will be available as soon as possible each season, usually toward the end of October. Multiple Skaters families will pick up their calendars from the parent rep of the OLDEST player. 1. ALL calendar money and stubs are turned in to the team manager/age group rep. If you have multiple skaters, this would all go to your OLDEST child s team manager/rep. 2. Make sure your envelope is clearly labeled with your child s first and last name. 3. Make sure your calendar numbers are on the envelope. (ex:,lo# 2134-2146) a. Any unsold calendars that you are turning in MUST have the ticket stub on them, and you will be responsible for the cost of each unsold calendar. b. If you choose to buy them and turn in the stub for the raffle drawing, you will be responsible for the calendar as if it were sold. 4. The deadline each year will be determined and is usually around December 1 st. The deadline date is the LAST DAY we are collecting calendar money! If you sell them all before this date you can turn them in early to your age group rep. Remember. ALL calendars must be turned in at the same time. 5. Raffle winners start January 1 st, and winners are posted on the BYHA website. All winners will be notified based on the information indicated in the raffle stub. Look for your friends and family! 6. Please encourage your child(ren) to send thank you notes to those who purchase calendars/raffle tickets. It makes re-sales the following year much easier.

VOLUNTEER COMMITMENT: Please see the DIBS Policy on the BYHA website or ask your parent representative for more information. BOARD MEETINGS: BYHA Board members meet the 3 rd Wednesday of every month. Meetings are usually held at 6:00 pm in the BCA meeting room, but please check the website calendar for any changes. Please show your support and attend the meetings. Minutes from each meeting will be posted on the website. Rink Rules: BCA, Nymore & City Rink (as applicable) 1. Zamboni There are to be no players on the ice, sitting on the boards, or in the player s benches while the Zamboni is on the ice. The Zamboni doors need to be closed before anyone is allowed on the ice. 2. Electronic Devices Cell phones, ipods, cameras, or any other electrical devices MUST stay out of the locker rooms. 3. Sticks Sticks need to stay in the racks in the locker rooms or remain outside of the locker rooms. 4. Floor Hockey NO floor hockey or puck shooting ANYWHERE in the rinks except for the ice. This includes the lobby! If players are caught shooting pucks they will be asked to immediately leave the building for the day and will be told not to return for 24 hours. 5. Open Hockey Players need to come with full gear on to participate in open hockey. Parents are not allowed on the ice during Open Hockey. Rink Monitors will be at the rink during Open Hockey to monitor the kids. 6. Helmets No one is allowed on the ice without a helmet. This includes coaches, parents, kids, etc. For New Player Skates, a helmet with a chin strap is acceptable (bike helmet, for example). 7. Second Level No gear is allowed on the second level (upstairs) in the BCA.

Bemidji Youth Hockey Volunteer Program Members are the lifeline of BYHA. Without volunteers contributing hours each season, BYHA could simply not exist. The entire community is needed to support a successful operation. The Volunteer program has been designed to hopefully eliminate the need for last minute volunteers and create a schedule that will allow each of us to choose our own volunteer hours. Volunteer hours will be logged and each family will have a set number of hours to fulfill during the year. This is a work in progress with the hopes that each year we will be creating a better organization for everyone. We are always looking for ideas and suggestions that will make a positive change with our volunteer schedule and allow it to run more smoothly. We re excited about the ever-improving volunteer system. Here, you are in control of your volunteer destiny, with all the benefits, flexibility, and accountability that go along with it. We ll keep everyone updated as this system continues to evolve. Some highlights of the program include the following: Volunteering will be on a first come, first serve sign-up Sign up on-line at your convenience. View all open shifts in one central location and select those that best fit your hectic schedule. Each family will have a set number of credits they need to fulfill and these credits will be logged using the Puck System. (DIBS) Each family will have their own user name and password that will allow you to register for the credits that you would like to work and view your own calendar. If you are unable to cover your shift it will be your responsibility to find a replacement for your shift. Each team will work their own home tournament. These will not count towards DIBS. Credits need to be fulfilled by adults. This means no siblings, neighbors, babysitters, etc. will be allowed to fulfill hours. Also, no children under the age of 16 are allowed in the concessions area at any time. All credits need to be logged on the computer scheduling system - DIBS Volunteer Opportunities Opportunities for volunteering for BYHA include, but are not limited to helping at: Tournaments Concessions Other opportunities will be available and can be viewed online as needed. Volunteer hours do not apply to fundraisers. Tournaments Each family is expected to volunteer for its own child s tournament. Tournament hours for your child s team will be counted in the Home Tournament category portion of DIBS and will need to be claimed via the DIBS page on the BYHA website. Age Group Reps and Team Managers will be making a schedule for their tournament and asking families to fill the positions. Additional positions not filled by your team will be available to the general membership for DIBS credit. High School Games High School Games will be available on DIBS for the general membership. However, each team will be assigned 2 games to work and any unfilled openings will be filled by that team. Mites The concessions stand may be open for Mite Practice. All positions will be assigned to parents. You will be responsible for finding a replacement for yourself if you are unable to fill the position.

Top 10 Expected Parental Behaviors at their Kids Games: 1) Parents should be seen, but not heard too often Watch your child play. But as a parent, you should try to blend in with the woodwork. Don t draw attention to yourself the games are all about YOUR child.they are NOT about YOU. 2) If you have to say something, it should only be positive praise. Very simple. If you feel compelled to cheer, make sure your comments are only positive! And make your comments generic in tone. That is, Way to go guys or Great job girls is much more effective than highlighting just one kid. Try and Root for the TEAM not just one individual kid. 3) Never openly criticize your kid.and whatever you do, never, ever criticize somebody else s kid! This is an absolute sin. If you feel compelled to coach your child from the sidelines or make some disparaging remarks, e.g. C mon, Mike, you re not even trying hard out there, or Sally, you gotta get back faster on defense, then you have really crossed the line. Coaching is the Coach s job -NOT yours. And even though it may kill you to stand there and say nothing, that s too bad. Act like the grown-up adult that you are. 4) Please do not do a play-by-play of the game. This applies mostly to youth coaches who try and dictate every play of the game while it s happening it happens a lot in soccer matches Okay, Sam, dribble the ball up now pass it over to Joe.Joe, pass the ball to Jerry.Jerry take the shot. Feel free to work with your kids during practice or at home but during the actual game, let the kids figure it out! If not, they ll become too dependent on you for constant instruction. Even worse, they ll feel that they can t be spontaneous during the game, lest you get angry with them and bench them. 5) If you can t control your mouth, then don t stand with the other parents.stay way far away from the others, and stand off by yourself.. Folks, you have to know your own personality. If you feel that you might get too emotionally involved in your kid s game, then stand by yourself during the action. You can come back and rejoin the sane parents during half-time. I d rather you do that than confirm that you re an out of control jerk AND embarrass your kid. 6) Refs are not there to be abused in any way. Nor can you influence them. Here s the deal. Without the refs, umps, or officials, the game quickly is transformed from a real game into just being a scrimmage. Understand that and accept that fully. Then, understand that the vast majority of sports parents DO NOT know where to draw the line when it comes to questioning a ref s call too many parents DO think that a ref can somehow be influenced during a game, and if that the parent keeps chirping and pointing out perceived mistakes, then the ref will begin to give the chirping parent the benefit of the close calls. In sports, bad calls are part of the game. You must understand and accept that as well. 7) It s okay to applaud a nice play by an opposing player.we re trying to teach our kids to be good sports and to respect their opponents. So if one of the opposing players makes a great play, applaud it! That s okay yes, even sometimes the opposing team makes good plays! You should tell your child that it s okay for their opponents to be talented as well. 8) Understand that you are a role model for the kids they will follow your behavior. Along those lines, ALWAYS remember that your son or daughter is watching YOU on how they should behave. If you re going nuts on the ref, or throwing a temper tantrum, or seem emotionally unsettled, don t be surprised if your kid starts acting the same way. And you know what? That s YOUR fault, not the kid s. Another case of monkey see, monkey do. 9) If a coach or a ref tells you to calm down, please take that caution seriously! If a ref, ump or official singles you out, and tells you to calm down, then consider yourself fully warned! You won t get nor do you deserve a second chance. 10) Try to give your kid a smile.when your kid looks over to the sideline and, for a brief moment, sees your face, please make sure you have a smile on it or at least, a look of pride. Kids DO look to parents for approval, and if you look like you re having a good time, then he/she will feel the same way. But if you re scowling, cursing, or stomping around, then your kid will take that as a sign that they ought to be nervous and angry, too. So, relax leave your game face at home and wear a relaxed face to your kid s game. Paraphrased from AskCoachWolff.com - OBNOXIOUS SPORTS PARENTS: The Top 10 Rules of Expected Parental Behavior by Rick Wolff on September 17, 2012 Posted