Rep Tryouts: The Final Tryout

obviously rep trials pose a lot of questions for families and players and we’re hoping today we can answer a few of those questions and at least in a general sense and give you a better idea what to expect as your child goes through the rep trial process in semi-amu minor hockey the first question probably the most obvious one Dave who picks the teams so the teams are are picked by a series of evaluators at each division has usually four to six evaluators that are maybe a little bit more of a googly evaluator in in each division and these are the coaches the head coaches of the of the teams that we’ve we’ve named um non-parent paid coaches and any assistance that they have that are non-parent non-paid and we’ll find a few other um we’ll call independent evaluators so these are good hockey people with good background from the community that we bring in to supplement that that crew so we have a decent number of data points and opinions so through phase one and phase two we call the evaluation team concept so let’s say there’s six evaluators in that in that series of ice times they each provide an independent opinion and evaluation at each of the each of the ice times and they each carry equal weight um with regards to the team selection so it’s not any one coach or anyone person that is having an outsized influence on who does and doesn’t make the team at that point when we move to phase three which is the practice group phase um a little bit more decision making swings to the coaches the head coach of that particular team that’s going to live and die with these players over the course of the season and gets a real opportunity to have an intense evaluation of them over that phase three period of exhibition games and ice times so bit of a subtle change in in the selection process there and and with each and during that evaluation phase three there’s there’s always a member of the board there to provide oversight generally yourself or our executive director Scott acco’s there as well purpose of that is to make sure that the process is being followed that there’s not a lot of you know collaborative grading or scoring happening or any of that actually and that the conversation piece which will happen at various points during the process is managed so that there’s no opportunity for any type of favoritism or anything like that based on you know where they played last year where they played over the off season things like that it’s intended to that the process is followed and that transparency and objectivity can be remain or sustained we find we find that provides first of all peace of mind we hope for for parents that there is another level of oversight um and and sort of guardians of the process I guess and and encouraging um the evaluators to have frank robust discussions about different different players and and also being on the lookout for any issues any potential for perceptions of bias or any of those type of things we want to make sure that there’s someone overseeing those particular um particular pieces and and if we do get to a stage where we have a challenge on a player selection we’re able to have that oversight to say you know what the process was followed and we’re making sure that or someone was in there making sure that that was the case so it’s been helpful step as far as providing another level of comfort and transparency we hope how are the players graded or scored so when the player grading through the phase one and phase two we use an app or a computer program called Team Genius we’ve used it for the last several years and it’s it’s evolved over the last few years so each of the evaluators has access to a scoring app that just shows the pinny number doesn’t show the player player name and from that they would watch those particular scrimmages and they would enter scores on a certain criteria for each of those players usually like a one to ten um grading and each of those like I mentioned if there’s six evaluators they’d each put in six independent scores on the players in that grouping and we would use that as a kind of a general basis for player discussions so I like to say that the computer doesn’t pick the teams so we don’t just spit out the results of these numbers and say there’s your there’s your team everybody go home um what we we use that data then to start having some real robust discussions in the room about the merits of player A versus player B and we can go back and say hey listen you guys all ranked um this player as as a highly ranked player why tell us what you like about him and if there’s a contrarian in the in the room that says you know what I I think that player B is actually better than player A this is their opportunity to speak up and and make their points on that and it’s generally we we use the data to guide things but it’s good hockey people having good open honest discussions about the merits of the players that really drive the process can parents or families see the scores um they could the scores don’t really help that much it’s just a series of numbers to be honest and and we don’t show you know player A versus player B on their scores we could tell someone where they fit based on those scores relative to the group that data is available a little bit but again the scores alone don’t tell a great story we’ve we’ve shared them with parents but it does take a lot of then discussion on what they actually mean but certainly if someone wants to see that we could provide that that number to them how and when do parents typically find out when their child plays next so the process moves quickly usually you know during that two week process the kids are on the ice almost every day so at what point during the day or after their ice time do they find out where they’re playing the next day yeah well let me start by saying each division has a volunteer division manager and these are people from your age group in your community that have stepped up to take on the role of helping manage the logistics of the tryouts and a big part of that is the communication so it’s a lot of work and a big thank you to those those people that have stepped up into that role and if you get a chance to say thank you to them please do um but but their job is really a lot of it is related to that communication people want to know where they’re where they’re progressing um through the through the process and and obviously where their next ice time is because they probably have other things going on in their lives so generally at the end of each day um set of set of scrimmages um the coaches will have done their evaluation work and will communicate to the division manager these players will play in scrimmage one these ones in scrimmage two these ones in scrimmage three um and they’ll compile the division manager from there will compile the emails of those groups and send them out that evening or or afternoon generally we we try to not make it too late at night because sometimes there’s a quick turnaround to your ice times on on the next day but it’s a it’s an email process where you’ll find out where your next skate is great um as we get later into the process like prior to phase three um how do releases work so or how do you practice group replacements work yeah so again as you move through the the matrix and the progression you’ll be able to see your pathway towards the different practice groups and again you’ll receive an email from your division manager um as we kind of get closer to the end informing you you’ve been selected to go to practice group one practice group two practice group three um along the way there we do at that point make some releases to the C division depending on the number of players um that are in the tryout I mean obviously we we have more players trying out than we can have spots for in the rep process so some players do need to be released back into the recreation division and we try to make those releases in time for them to be able to join the the recreation division before they kind of get started too far down in their process so we’ll make those handful of releases and communicate to people via email that they’ll report to the C division and given some information on what the next assignment would be for them in that particular area and when we’re in the practice group phase of phase three and now we’re down to final releases so whether that’s A1 to A2 you know A2 to A3 and so forth and so on and in some cases you know A4 to the C division how do those releases occur so those ones are a little bit different um the coaches will have much more of a relationship with that player over the course of that that time frame um they’ll have ability to really sit down with them and and let them know their strengths and weaknesses and those type of things so this is a in person um meeting where the the coaches would sit down with the players and potentially a parent to join in as well and give them some feedback on their performance through the entire tryout process in particular into that third phase and some rationale of why they’d be better suited developing at the next level of team and we’d expect that coach also to talk to the coach of the other team again for continuity of development to say um you know this particular player would benefit from working on ABC and D as far as skills go it’s it’s a hard process no coaches get into coaching to have to release players it’s one of the hardest parts of the job you establish a relationship with this player you’ve watched them play for um the whole period of the the tryouts you’re in the most part coaches are rooting for all the different players and but they do understand that um first of all they’ve got a job to do to select the team but also that um players are help the best at the level that they’re suitable for and and they want to make sure they’re put in that situation but it’s it’s really hard decisions and and there’s often very little difference between you know the player that moves to the A3 team and the the player that stays on the the A2 team and it certainly doesn’t mean anything for their long-term um development so that player could develop hopefully just as well um on the the other team as they would have on that team and they have to have that perspective and that is the purpose suited to put them in a place where they can develop the best so one uh one reminder for parents is that the 24-hour rule those conversations can be tough at that point in the process um you know just keep in mind that to Dave’s point the the it’s a tough spot for the coach obviously a tough spot for your player um tough spot for the parent um any you know feedback or disagreement or what not that you have with the decision um just a reminder to keep that you know to yourself for for a day before you address it uh through the appropriate channels um speaking of which uh the appeal process should you not agree with the decision yeah we do obviously have a have an appeal process um if you do feel that there was process wasn’t followed or bias or those type of things um you you have an avenue for for appealing that decision so there’s a tight timeline obviously as the the teams are are moving forward so within um I think it’s two days of of the final selection um you can send in an email outlining that you’re you’re um looking to appeal the decision and um we like to tell people the appeal is only eligible on grounds of procedural fairness we know we’re not going to entertain an appeal that um you know in your opinion player A is better than player B necessarily but if you think there was a process wasn’t followed or there was a bias those type of things we want to hear about it so so let us know and we would investigate that and and have a process yeah I think we all understand that as a parent you’re always going to expect little Johnny is the best player you know on the ice at all times and and that’s okay and that’s that’s your prerogative as a parent for sure but that doesn’t play into the to the process from an evaluation standpoint right okay um couple couple easier ones for you um what what happens if uh your player gets sick or injured during the trial process yeah we do have some contingencies for that obviously life life happens um injuries sickness uh those type of absences um first of all we’d like you to let your division manager know as quickly as possible uh if that’s the case so they can relay it to the evaluators and and ourselves in the office here and we can um look at the timeline of the their each case is pretty individual how long are you going to be out how many ice times are you going to miss is it a longer term injury where are we in the process those type of things um but we try to make sure that there’s not a negative or bias held against you but at that point we’ve got if you’re going to miss significant amount of of tryouts uh we have to weigh as many factors as we can as to where your your proper positioning would be so past performance may come into play a little bit um where you fit with your your peer group that you played with the previous season we make some maybe determinations there uh and decide a bit of a starting point for you when you’re you’re healthy and able to come back if you just miss one ice time or so in the process um we would deal with it maybe a little bit differently and and uh we would have hopefully some data from the first couple of skates if you’re going to miss the third skate or something along those lines um that we can use to to keep you moving along through the process yeah I think that last part’s key if if there is data that supports moving along through the process we will allow the players who you know due to unforeseen circumstances miss something to continue to move along until the data suggests differently right exactly great um what happens if a player is away during tryouts uh that’s a little bit trickier um you know it isn’t intense period of time there’s lots of ice times in in a small period so it’s you know if you have to to miss a significant chunk of it because you’re away for whatever reason um it becomes more challenging again then we would try to weigh in some other factors at that point we would certainly not try to prejudice too much in terms of what your position would be but um we can’t necessarily hold a spot if you’re going to miss the tryouts so yeah I mean I think the expectation is is that you know players and families who are trying out for rep know when the process is and I think it’d be safe to say it’s recommended that you try to be in town for those two to three weeks I think is the best way to look at that um barring again unforeseen circumstances um last two Dave um roster sizes for for the different rep teams um this has changed a little bit over the last few years but um is it fair to say the roster sizes aren’t necessarily set in stone and they’re somewhat dependent on the skill evaluation and and again best fit for where the players can develop yeah it really depends a bit on the player pool that we’re working with and um I mean we try to keep uh in the U11 U13 we try to aim for about uh 15 skaters that’s usually reasonable but there’s also uh the positional piece of things we don’t necessarily look on every team for nine forwards and six defensemen especially in the in the younger age groups we’re really looking for the 15 best players so to speak in that area and we feel there’s a bit of fluidity of people from positional play as we move into the U15 U18 positional play becomes a little bit more important but also we have the ability there to maybe look at a little bit bigger team sizes um there’s a little more physicality uh leads to uh injuries maybe suspensions those type of things and also they have longer um ice times and more games and just more wear and tear on the players and in the U18 division we also have players that are moving up and down to junior teams or um zone teams and those sort of things so there’s a little more fluidity so we might have a slightly larger rosters in those age groups on the positional play um just because your player might want to be a forward doesn’t mean that they will necessarily make a team as a forward if the the evaluators and then coaches see an opportunity and again going back to that comment of best place for development to play defense or vice versa um that will happen yeah yeah I think particularly in the the the younger ages the U11 U13 I think um pigeonholing a player by position in those ages can be dangerous um I think encouraging your your player to be flexible in their positional play is going to give them more opportunities to to make these teams because the uh the coaches are going to be looking at the raw skills of a player and you know that player is a great skater they can do all these things really well and they might be a really good candidate to to play defense they may not have played defense but they might think of themselves as a defenseman but the coach can say you know what with those skills and and I can help this person contribute to the team as a defenseman they might not make it as a forward but if we can move them to defense they might be able to do it so there’s that kind of flexibility is is important and encouraged um so be open to that is my comment especially at the younger ages um you know if you come and say my 10-year-old is a centerman and only a centerman um that might limit their opportunities to to make teams and and develop as a player what if a player wants to self-release they’ve they’ve made the A2 team and their best buddies on