Applewood Hockey Association ‘A’ & ‘Gold’ Coaches Meeting

Applewood Hockey Association‘A’ & ‘Gold’ Coaches Meeting April 22, 2008 Strong Hockey Development 1030 Kamato Road, Mississauga

Agenda of Meeting • We will quickly cover the following: • Upcoming Tryouts • Coaching Credentials/Courses • Team Officials Registration • Police Records Check • Team Budget/ Finance Reporting • MHL Codes of Conduct • AHA Coaches Handbook • Support for House League teams • Sponsorship fees • Discipline & AHA Complaint Procedure • Coaches Survey • Jackets and Sportswear • Referee Complaint Form • Goalie Clinic • Practice Ice Allocation • Rink Duty • Tournaments • Refund Policy • Releases • Permission to Skate Forms

Criteria used in Coach Selection • Congratulations on being selected as our “A” and “Gold” Coaches for the upcoming 2008-2009 hockey season. We thank you in advance for your commitment. The Coaching Committee looked at the following when selecting its roster of coaches for this coming season: • Coaching Credentials (past coaching experience) • References • Coaches Survey scores • Any disciplinary actions taken at any time during last season • Against team players • Against coaching staff • Attendance at Coaches meetings and Rink Duty • Conduct with Applewood Board of Directors • Budgets/Finances regularly submitted to the AHA Treasurer

Coaches Credentials/Courses • All Team Officials need to have the Abuse and Harassment Certificate in order to be an approved team official. • All “A” Teams and all Gold and Red Teams MUST have one Team Official qualified in the Hockey Canada Safety Program. For purposes of this Rule, the Hockey Trainers Certification Program (“HTCP”) offered by the Hockey Development Centre Ontario is equivalent to the Hockey Canada Safety Program. In other words, these teams MUST have a trainer on the bench. • The Head Coach of any “A” Team must have as a minimum the CBET - Development 1 Certification. Development 1 is the certification required by Hockey Canada for all 'A', 'AA' & 'AAA' hockey coaches. • To cover those situations where a Team’s coaching staff is new to the MHL, the effective date for such certifications will be December 15 of each Season. • The Applewood Hockey Association will be investigating possibly conducting a Coaches certification course and/or an Abuse and Harrassment “Speak Out” certification course before the start of next season. Course Dates and Locations can be found on our website and/or the MHL website

Police Records Check • All Head Coaches and their staff (Assistants, Managers, Trainers) will be required to undergo a Police Records Search • Applewood is registered on the “Vulnerable Sector Search Agency List” • No Cost to you (for residents of Brampton and Mississauga) • It is the “requester” who fills out the form and personally submits it to Peel Police (i.e. not Applewoods’ Directors) • We will inform you when processing will begin and where to pick up your forms We will enforce this with everyteam – disciplinary actions will be taken if not abided to

AHA Confidentiality Agreement • As part of their role as directors of the Applewood Hockey Association, the board of directors agree to maintain the confidentiality of any information relative to individuals it collects during the 2008-2009 hockey season and not to divulge this information in any way to anyone outside the board of directors. • The Board of Directors also agrees to destroy all confidential information taken in the course of its term (so long as it is no longer of use to any incoming executive). • The President, Mark Zizek, certifies having acknowledged this confidentiality agreement.

AHA Guide to Quality Coaching • Can be found on our Applewood Website under Coaches Corner • Very Important Reference Material • Lists key practices the AHA would like to see in all of its coaching staff • Is the foundation of questions asked on our mid year Coaching Survey • Outlines important topics such as • Equitable playing time • Convening period • Is referred to when handing out disciplinary action such as reprimands, suspensions or expulsions

Coaches Manual (on Applewood Web Site in “Coaches Corner”) 1. Coaches Meetings 2. Mississauga Hockey League (MHL) 3. Applewood Website 4. Team Website Policy 5. Admission to MHL Games 6. Applewood Trophies Display 7. Convening (For House League teams) 8. Player Registration 9. Team Officials Registration10. Rink Duty - How to perform Rink Duty & Rink Duty Responsibilities11. Coaching Clinics - CBET Coach Stream for "A“ Coaches12. Hockey Trainers Clinics - Certificate Program13. Dressing Room Conduct14. Equitable Play Policy15. Coaches Survey16. End of Season & MHL Playoffs17. Team Fundraising18. Applewood Board of Directors19. Key Association Fundraising Events20. Applewood Hockey Association Constitution21. Players' Names on Sweaters22. Team Captains, Alternate Captains (and putting C's & A's on sweaters)23. Calling Up Players from Affiliate Teams24. Sponsors 25. Mentor Coaches26. Exhibition Games (Within and outside the GTHL)27. Tournaments 28. Suspension Appeals and Suspension Codes List 29. Medical Information Sheets

Upcoming “A” and “Gold” Tryouts • ‘A’ tryouts are from May 1st to 4th, Novice ‘Gold’ tryouts are on May 3rd and 4th • All teams must arrange for their own on-ice personnel to run their tryouts. The AHA will not provide this for you. • We encourage you to have at least a 5 to 10 minute game situation type drill such as a 4-on-4 to complement skill drills • If your team is picked after the 2nd tryout, you may use the 3rd allotted time as a team practice but the players must still pay the $10 tryout fee • House League tryouts (TBA – first weekend after Labor day) • The “A” level Head Coach for the same age category (along with his staff) is responsible to conduct the house league tryouts drills • As such, please plan those drills and consult with the house league coaches to see if they want any particular drills

Upcoming “A” & “Gold” Tryouts • Sequence of events • $10 fee for each child trying out, for each tryout • All players must wear full equipment for the tryouts (including neck guards) • Team Officials Registration Form to be completed by the coaching staff (deadline by June 1st, 2008) • Draft Team Budget(s) available for viewing by parents/guardians wanting to join the team • Player and parent/guardian reads and signs MHL Codes of Conduct Letter • Particular to ‘A’ tryouts • Player card is completed and player fee is submitted to Registrar • Particular to ‘Gold’ tryouts • Letter of Commitment is completed by the parent/guardian (on our website) and Registration Form is completed. Player fee is submitted to the Registrar

Permission to Skate Forms • There are two types of Permission to Skate Forms • Permission to Skate Form – OMHA • Used for a player that moves to, or wants to play outside the GTHL (i.e. wants to play outside Mississauga or Metro Toronto area) • Permission to Skate Form (GTHL - Minor Bantam and above) • Used for players in Minor Bantam or older who want to tryout for another team in the GTHL. Player must be a resident of Mississauga to play in the Mississauga Hockey League. • No Permission to Skate Form is required within MHL Associations • Applicable in April • Permission to Skate Form must have been filled out by President, VP or other designated director ….. and given to parent/guardian

Team Officials Registration • Any non-player who will be on the ice or behind the bench during the course of the season must be registered with the MHL. Volunteers must be certified in the Hockey Canada Harassment and Abuse (Speak Out) program. • All Team Officials and volunteers must be registered on the Member Services system. This will indicate their eligibility for an Arena Pass (in the case of Team Officials) or ensure that they have CHA insurance (in the case of volunteers). A team is allowed 5 admissions passes if it has a certified trainer, and 4 if it has no trainer. • No one other than these registered individuals is permitted on the ice or behind the bench at any time.

Player Registration Fees • Fees for 2008-2009 are as follows: • ‘A’ Level: $ 500 (No change from last season) • ‘Gold’ Level: $ 390 (Novice “Gold”) • Houseleague Level: • Pre-Novice $ 350 • Minor Novice $ 350 • Novice $ 350 • Minor Atom $ 350 • Atom $ 350 • Minor PeeWee $ 390 • PeeWee $ 390 • Minor Bantam $ 390 • Bantam $ 390 • Minor Midget $ 390 • Midget $ 390 • Juvenile $ 200 (no practices) Additional $500 team sponsorship

Mississauga Hockey League CODES OF CONDUCT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Each Association in the Mississauga Hockey League is required to provide, in writing the Association, League, and/or City of Mississauga Codes of Conduct in whatever format it deems appropriate. These Codes will be made available to each player and parent prior to or at the time he signs a Registration Certificate.The player and parent must be afforded an opportunity to review the Codes of Conduct before a Registration Certificate is signed.For any Association that utilizes an electronic, on-line method of registration, it will be acceptable for the Codes of Conduct to be made available for download in an electronic format subject to the on-line registration program providing the player and parent with a mandatory check box to be completed stating that he has read and understood the Codes of Conduct prior to completing the registration process.

Mississauga Hockey LeagueCODES OF CONDUCT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT All registered members of the Mississauga Hockey League must read and acknowledge understanding (and compliance with the codes during MHL and Association activities) CODES as listed below: • MHL CODE of CONDUCT • PARENT CODE of CONDUCT - CITY of MISSISSAUGA • PLAYER CODE of CONDUCT – CITY of MISSISSAUGA • COACH CODE of CONDUCT – CITY of MISSISSAUGA • SPECTATOR CODE of CONDUCT – CITY of MISSISSAUGA • GAME OFFICIAL CODE of CONDUCT – CITY of MISSISSAUGA • LEAGUE ORGANIZER CODE of CONDUCT – CITY of MISSISSAUGA Members under sixteen (16) years of age must have a guardian co-sign the acknowledgement. Members are required to communicate the Codes of Conduct to family members who may attend MHL activities for the respective player.

2008-2009 Refund Policy • The following are the fees the Associations agreed upon with regards to refunds last season. Fees for this upcoming season have not yet been determined but will likely remain the same. • $75.00 up to Sept. 1st • $125.00 from Sept. to Nov.15th • No refunds after Nov.15th

Releases • Once a registration card is signed, the AHA will not grant a release to a player except under compelling and unusual circumstances which necessitates the severing of such player’s relationship from the Team, having regard to the best interests of all concerned. The AHA shall make the determination of the existence of such circumstances in its absolute discretion • Per MHL rules, no release may be granted after November 15 of the current playing season. For any such release to be considered valid in the case of an “A” player, it must be delivered to the GTHL Office no later than the close of business on November 15th. No player released after November 15 will be accepted to play for the current playing season • A release form is only valid if signed by the President, Vice President or other approved AHA Board of Director. Copies of a Release Form can be viewed on the Applewood website

Support of House League Teams • “Gold” and “A” Team Head Coaches “are” to be used as mentors to the House League teams • Mentor coaches should communicate regularly with House League Head Coaches under them to see if any assistance is required • Perform functions including: knowledge source, leadership assistance, organizing assistance, offering suggestions and generally acting as a senior source of leadership in coaching • The Head Coach for “A” & “Gold” (Harry Patrinos)and the Head Coach for House League (Michael Raftus) can always be called upon for any questions or concerns

Team Budget/ Finance Reporting • Head Coaches are encouraged to develop and present three alternative team budgets – a low end budget, medium budget and high end budget – at the start of the season of which an approved budget will be passed by consensus of votes by the team officials and parents/guardians. • Your team bank account must be operated under two signatures one of which must be the team's treasurer. Both signatories must be team parents but cannot be from the same family or any member of the coaching staff or any relative thereof. When opening a bank account, please do not use the word “Applewood” anywhere in the name of the account. • Where the Board has provided its approval, the team must submit its initial budget and thereafter bi-monthly statement of revenues and expenditures to the A.H.A. Treasurer (a Budget Template is available on the AHA website). In addition, all books of account and bank records may be required to be submitted to the Audit Committee for review.

Team Budget/ Finance Reporting • A final financial statement detailing its fundraising activities must be submitted to Applewood Hockey Association Treasurer as soon as the season is over. Monies collected by a team by way of additional sponsorships, fund raising etc. belong to the entire team and are not to be attributable to any individual member or members of the team and any team funds remaining unused at the end of the season for which approval was given must be distributed on a pro rata basis to the team members at the end of that season and must not be carried forward to the next season. As a non-profit entity, the team's final bank balance must be zero. • Important Dates • Estimated budget at start of season • Interim financial updates on Sept. 15, Nov. 15 and Jan. 15 • Season end • Disciplinary actions will be levied on the coaching staff if this exercise in not conducted properly A Budget Template is on our Website

Practice Ice Allocation • Ice time allocation procedure is as follows • City of Mississauga will provide its ice time allocation to the MHL in August • The MHL will then distribute ice time per previous year usage and growth to the associations. • “A” and House League teams will be allotted one hour of practice ice per week as determined by the Ice Allocation Director. “A” teams may be given a 1½ hour practice (subject to availability). • The allocation of times will be at the Ice Allocation Director’s discretion. • Outside rink at Chic Murray is also available

Tournaments • Teams wishing to enter a tournament must do this on-line on the Mississauga Hockey League web-site under the “Tournaments and Exhibition Centre” tab. • You will be assigned a log-in name and password. You must pay the Tournament Application fee of $10 by credit card. • Your Tournament Application will be in “pending” status until reviewed by the authorized MHL or Applewood Association representative and will be either approved or rejected. • You should go back on the web-site to check on the status of your Tournament Application. • Teams cannot enter tournaments during the MHL playoffs. • All tournaments must be sanctioned (ie. GTHL, OMHA, OHF, ODMHA, etc). • “Gold” teams - tournaments are held on weekends and your MHL games are typically held on weekends. As such, “Gold” teams entering tournaments must request that the MHL reschedule their team's games during that weekend. This is called an exemption. • Teams are allowed 2 exemptions per year. Therefore, “Gold” teams can only enter 2 tournaments in a given year. • “A” teams do not play on weekends so they can enter as many tournaments as they wish • Copies of all tournament game sheets must be forwarded to the MHL within 48 hours of the tournament conclusion. Any and all suspensions not completely served during the tournament carry over to the player's next regularly scheduled MHL game. • Note: Applewood "NON-CONTACT" teams are NOT PERMITTED to enter CONTACT TOURNAMENTS

Game Sheets • Make sure to fully complete the Game Sheet prior to the start of the game listing ONLY the players eligible to play. • If you use a sticker with the player’s names, make sure you scratch out the players not playing, especially those under suspension. • All suspended players must be listed under “Suspensions” section along with the game number being served of the total number of games of suspension (example: “2 of 7”). • If you are using a call-up, place him on the list and add “AP” (Affiliated Player) after his name. • Make sure all bench coaching staff is listed at bottom of Game Sheet along with their respective certification numbers. • Check over your copy of the Game Sheet as soon as you receive it from the Timekeeper at the end of the game for any errors. If there are errors, address them immediately with referees and/or timekeeper (especially check the correct player name & number for suspensions). • Check opposing team’s listing of players, player #’s and suspension list for any errors or omissions. Report any discrepancies to referees.

Team Sponsorships • Forms are on our website • Sponsorship Request Letter • Sponsorship Receipt • House League teams (and Gold Teams)*** • The AHA needs to obtain $500 per team for a sponsor's name to appear on the team’s sweaters. All sponsorship monies raised are used to defray costs of the Association at large. Gold teams may have an alternate jersey for tournament but this will be at their own cost. Additional Sponsorship may help to defray that additional cost. • ‘A’ and ‘Gold’ Teams • May decide to have a sponsor per child and this sponsor’s name would appear on a player’s sweater. All sponsorship monies are used to defray costs of the team at large. • All Applewood coaches and team management are encouraged to solicit new sponsors, should the opportunity arise. Any potential sponsor should be directed to our Sponsorship Director

Rink Duty • Please don’t forget your responsibilities towards rink duty • Our website will post the rink duty schedule • Our Coaches Manual describes what you have to do • If you can’t make it, you are responsible for finding a qualified replacement (i.e. someone who has taken Harassment and Abuse training) • Each team is required to do rink duty 3 to 4 times in a season • A one game suspension will be levied on the Head Coach for any missed rink duty – no exceptions

Discipline & AHA Complaint Procedure • Available on our website • Abuse and Harassment Reporting Form • Complaint Form • Appeals Form • Internally, the AHA Executive investigates each complaint and completes • AHA Complaint Resolution Form • Complaints can be of various types • Team finances • Head coach or a coaching staff member • Player The AHA will enforce its policies and procedures!

Referee Complaint Procedure • The MHL has a Referee Complaint Procedure to properly record and investigate referee grievances • Please use restraint during games. You do not gain the favour of the referee by yelling. The call will not be changed and you will undoubtedly by assessed further penalties, ejection and suspension • The AHA encourages coaches to wait at least 24 hours, and if you are still adamant about a complaint, then put it in writing – and submit it to the AHA Discipline Committee • Referee Complaint procedure on our website • If it is a subjective call – forget about filling in a complaint • Legitimate complaints are where erroneous calls have been made; calls that are inconsistent with refereeing handbooks

Exercise Control over Your Team • The MHL and AHA are concerned with the following: • Higher frequency of penalties and suspensions • Higher number of discipline hearings • Higher number of informal and formal complaints against referees, coaches and other players SOLUTION: • Coaches should exercise greater restraint • Coaches should exercise greater control on players that are at higher risk of getting bad penalties or suspensions • Explain the rules to your players AND parents

Coaching Survey • Coaching Survey will be conducted • Typically conducted over the Christmas Holidays • Electronic questionnaires – Web browser • Parents and parents will each be given the same questionnaire (but with separate usernames and passwords • Two weeks provided to complete it • Confidentiality is maintained within the Board of Directors of the AHA • Disciplinary actions will be levied on the coaching • staff if this exercise in not conducted properly

Team Websites • The head coach of the team must fill out the “Request for Permission to Develop and Maintain a Team Website” form and agree to abide by the rules stipulated therein • Copy can be downloaded from our website • If the head coach is not granted a permit to construct a website and does so without the approval of the board of directors, the head coach will be subject to disciplinary action by the AHA.

Jackets and Sportswear Coaches will be informed about the AHA Jackets and Sportswear available to all of our teams by our AHA Director. Only the AHA- approved jacket and sportswear supplier can be used by our teams. Applewood Coyotes artwork will not be given to any coach for the purpose of using an alternate supplier. Sportswear Sizing • The first sportswear sizing for the upcoming season will be held in May • Sportswear sizing will be available at Chic Murray during the 1st week of September2008 Sportswear Pick-Up • All sportswear orders, both team and individual, will be ready and available for pick-up during the last week of September. • Payments by cheque to "Applewood Hockey Association" are preferred. • Payments can also be made by Cash, Visa and Mastercard.

Goalie Clinics • We can all agree that a goaltender can make or break a team, especially during the playoffs. To assist all teams last season, Applewood successfully ran two Goalie Clinics which are being planned again this upcoming season. • Our ‘A’ Teams will be given a special rate for these services (and would have to budget for it) • House League teams would be provided with these clinics • An evaluation of each goaltender will be conducted in the early part of the program and a report is submitted to each coach addressing the “areas of goaltender improvement”

Strong Hockey Development • Developed and run by Ken Strong who has 15 years of professional hockey experience • Unique hockey skills development training centre • Provides your players with much more than they can get out of a regular practice or private lessons • Improves a player’s skating power, speed, technique and balance • Eight stations provide skill development in power skating, shooting, puck handling, passing, core body strengthening and conditioning • Players have fun doing it Tour of the facility and live demonstration will follow this meeting

On the Lookout for Coaches • We are always on the lookout for top-notch, quality coaches to join Applewood to teach our players. • If you know of anyone that would be interested in coaching at the House League level (i.e. red, white, blue, green), please let us know.

Future Coaches Meetings • Please plan on attending our other coaches meetings, tentatively scheduled for • Mid September – Houseleague coaches only • Mid November – All AHA Coaches • Mid January – Coaches Appreciation Night • April – “A” and Gold Coaches

Thank you for volunteering to coach at Applewood. Our Association appreciates the efforts you are making in order to make Applewood a better place for kids

Applewood Hockey Association ‘A’ & ‘Gold’ Coaches Meeting