Hanover Hockey Families,

This outlines the process for the upcoming spring placements for next season’s travel teams. Please take a few moments to read this letter to help familiarize yourself with the process. Registration will be closing April 01, 2024.

The Placement Process Registration and Sign in

• Per HHA's no-pay, no-play policy, the $250 non-refundable tryout fee and any overdue player fees from the prior year must be paid in full or a formal payment plan must be in place before a player can participate in tryouts.
• On the first day of placements, players will check in with the Registrar and receive an assigned pinny. PLEASE be sure to return the pinny after each session!
• For age groups that will field multiple teams we will be instituting a call back process in order to decrease the number of players on the ice and be able to focus on those that need further evaluation. After the first evaluation skate I will post a list of players that will be called back for the next evaluation on the HHA website. If your player’s name is not on the call back list this does not mean they did not make a specific team. It simply means all coaches and evaluators were in unanimous agreement after the first evaluation as to placement.
• At the beginning of each night, please check in with our Placement Coordinator, as a daily attendance sheet will be given to the evaluators. The HHA Registrar is NOT involved in any way with player evaluations.
• Questions, inquiries, and issues of concern should all be directed to the Placement Coordinator.

IMPORTANT: The ice times are set and cannot change. Conflicts are inevitable. If your child cannot attend any one of the tryout sessions, or will be late to the session, you must notify the Registrar or Placement Coordinator for the age group so we may make note of it in advance for the evaluators.

On-Ice Evaluation Sessions

On-ice coaches will work from a standardized practice plan that will include hockey drills (skating, shooting, passing, 1 v 1, 2 v 1, 2 v 2) etc. and scrimmages.  Scrimmages will range from 3 v 3, 4 v 4 and 5 v 5 and will be both full ice and 1/2 ice. The scrimmages are intended to simulate game-like sessions.

Evaluation Committee and Process

Each age group will be evaluated by an Evaluation Committee consisting of no less than two Evaluators. The Committee is charged with assessing the players and creating the rosters for each team. One member of the Evaluation Committee is designated as lead Evaluator to help facilitate the process. The lead Evaluator is NOT solely selecting the team; rather he/she is responsible for guiding the post skate discussions and collecting the evaluator’s responses.

Additionally, one coach from the “rising” age group of players, and one coach from the “returning” age group of players will provide input and be invited to meet with the Evaluators to ensure that prior coaching input is solicited as necessary and that individual players are not overlooked which otherwise might result in a gross evaluation error. The only other person attending any of the evaluation meetings will be the Placement Coordinator.

As much as possible we will avoid having parent coaches involved in the placement process for their own skaters. In some instances, this may be unavoidable given our policies, and in those situations we ask that you give HHA and our process the benefit of the doubt. Our goal is not to favor any one person or player or exclude anyone. Our goal IS to run a transparent placement process with clearly communicated policies and place each player on the proper team to provide them with a meaningful opportunity to develop and the best hockey experience we can provide. We are an all-volunteer organization and therefore parent participation may be unavoidable but our promise to our members and the players is we will do our absolute best for all involved. 

On-Ice and Bench Coaches

The on-ice coaches are responsible for running drills based on the standardized practice plan and/or specifically requested by the Evaluators. On-ice coaches are NOT involved in the evaluation of the skaters, do not attend the post session meetings, and are not involved in the evaluative discussions or decisions in any way. The on-ice coaches may confer with the Evaluators in order to make any adjustments to the practice plans to assist the Evaluators in the evaluation.

The bench coaches are responsible for opening the door to let the players on the ice during scrimmages. Although bench coaches may have a child present at tryouts, they will NOT be on the same bench as their child. They will NOT give instructions or advice to any player on the bench. In addition, they play no role in the selection process. During a scrimmage the bench coach will do their best to ensure that each player has an opportunity to skate at both forward and defensive positions. Keep in mind that this is not always easy to keep track of and accomplish.

Additional Information

If you would like your child placed on the lowest level team in his/her age group, please notify the Placement Coordinator prior to the beginning of tryouts and as soon as possible.

Process Oversight 

The tryout process is overseen by the Placement Coordinator of the HHA Board of Directors. The Placement Coordinator will address all questions related to the placement process and placement decisions. Please do not ask Evaluators or coaches about placement decisions.

Posting of Rosters

Due to potential overlap with girls trying out for co-ed teams we will not post rosters until every team has completed their evaluations. If we have no overlap, rosters may be posted immediately following the final skate. In some circumstances, scheduling of the evaluation meeting may preclude such immediate posting.

The HHA Coaching Coordinator will endeavor to select the coaches for each team. Coaching assignments will be posted on the website as soon as possible.

We truly hope that the efforts put forth will result in a process that will be smooth, transparent and “stress-free” for all, especially the players. We ask that you show appreciation for those that donate the valuable time on a volunteer basis for HHA and your children.

Questions or concerns regarding the placement process should be directed to the Placement Coordinator.

Sincerely,

Placement Coordinator 

HHA Placement Schedule. TBA

* Denotes call back date