Coaches Tip – Experience all positions: When coaching Minor Hockey the most important thing is to have fun, and develop the player’s skills. The best way for players to develop their skills is to learn every position, and become comfortable no matter where they are playing. This is especially important when players are in the younger age levels, and just learning the game. Players are often identified as a forward, defense, or goaltender at too young of an age, and it can make them become one dimensional, and in many cases they may not playing the position that suits them best.

Officials Tip – Learn from your experiences: Everyone makes mistakes, but it is important to learn from them and not to keep making the same mistakes again. Your supervisors should be able to identify any problem areas. As officials, we know when we make mistakes. The important point is to find a way to correct them. Ask your supervisors for help to correct any problems or concerns that you may have, even if he/she doesn’t identify them to you. One of your supervisor’s duties is to help you with any questions and to give you advice and tips to make you better.

Players Tip – Explosive starts: To become a complete skater, you want to be able to explode on the ice from a gliding or stopped position. Many skaters take too much time to gain speed. Hockey is a game of transitions, and you must master the quick start to gain speed quickly from any positions. By following the quick start technique you will gain speed a lot faster. You should also engage in off-ice training and conditioning, as your leg strength is the vital factor in achieving an explosive start. The proper technique’s to explode from a stopped position are as follows:

· Bend knees deeply (you will need all your leg muscles to engage in a powerful start)

· Form the letter ‘’V’’ with both skates with your knees pointing outwards

· Spring forward and drive off from the ball of your foot

· Fully extend your legs on each stride and fully extend the ankles (a lot of the explosive speed comes from the ankle flexion)

· Visualize yourself as a sprinter (you should be jumping and landing on your fist 3 to 4 steps)

· Focus on having ‘’quick’’ feet as the faster you execute your jumping strides, the faster you will gain speed

To be successful at this it is vital to have the deep knee bend and being able to get up on your toes is what will get you to explode faster.

Administrator’s Tip – Fundraising: Without a doubt a huge percentage of Minor Hockey teams revenues come from fundraising. This is why it is so essential to understand the most effective ways to raise money for your team or association. Here are some helpful tips that should help with your fundraising endeavors:

Motivate your sellers – If you don’t motivate your sellers, or provide incentives for the people who sell the most, they will do a mediocre job, and most likely only do the minimum selling required.

Demand – Choose products to sell that are in demand, and cost more then $5. If you sell inexpensive products it will be harder to generate a lot of revenue, and it will take longer to reach your financial goals.

Profit Margins – Ensure that your profit margins are at least 50%. Having profit margins lower then 50% will make reaching your goals difficult.

Trainer’s Tip – Over training: In hockey, players strive to be the fastest, strongest, and most agile player possible. In order to do this they spend a great deal of their time working on their fitness. The question is how much is too much? There is the perception that because Minor Hockey players are younger, they have more durable bodies, and they can push themselves more. This is untrue, and too much training too fast can cause serious and lifelong injuries. Athletes should remember that when they are training they should only increase their workouts by a maximum of 10% a week. An example for this would be if you were running for 30 minutes a night one week, the following week you should only be running for a maximum of 33 minutes.

Parents Tip – 24 Rule: Are you upset about some of the coaching decisions that were made in a game? Do you feel as if your child is being treated unfairly? Do you want to confront the coach, and discuss why this may be happening?

If you do indeed want to speak with the coach, the best and most effective way to do this is by waiting 24 hours. By waiting 24 hours you allow yourself some time to cool down, and take everything into perspective. Hockey can be very emotional for the players, coaches and the parents, and it is essential to have some cool down time before talking with the coach. This rule also avoids confrontations in front of the players.