TRAVEL HOCKEY

Travel Teams:

This GSC travel hockey program typically includes 2 teams per age group for boys (Squirt, PeeWee, Bantam) and 1-2 teams per age group for girls (U10, U12, U14) depending on the # of players that register to try out.  All players of Mite age (ages 6-8 years) will make a team and the number of teams will be determined by the number of players trying out.

The 2019-20 teams include:

* two Squirt teams

* two PeeWee teams

* two Bantam teams

* one U10 girls team

* two U12 girls teams

* two U14 girls teams
 

Tournaments/No Hockey "Blackout" Weekends

The following tournament/blackout schedule applies to all GSC Travel teams.  Only the Hockey Committee may approve deviation from this schedule:

*  Early to mid-November Tournament (Lake Placid) – participation and dates to be determined by the Hockey Committee and communicated to the membership pre-season.

*  Thanksgiving Holiday - no sanctioned practices, tournaments nor games from Thursday through Sunday.

*  Christmas/New Year's Holidays - no sanctioned practices, tournaments nor games during a period to be determined by Hockey Committee and communicated to the membership pre-season.

*  Martin Luther King Weekend or President's Weekend Tournament  - many teams will choose to play a tournament during either of these holiday weekends.  Logistics to be determined by team coaches and schedulers.

*  CHC Tournaments (state and regional) - all teams will participate.  It is expected that all players will participate in both tournaments.

All teams should expect to play all other weekends throughout the season.  

Scheduling

Coaches and schedulers should attend the CHC scheduling combine in August to determine the schedule for the following season.  Coaches and schedulers should perform due diligence before attending the combine to determine the level of competition that each team should be expect for the season. 

We will endeavor to minimize changes to the schedule as much as possible in order to minimize disruption to the parents, players and their families’ lives. 

Attendance

Attendance to all events (practices and games) by coaches and players is mandatory, as far as practical.  It is difficult to practice and play games if certain members of the team are not in attendance - hockey is a team sport and a one-player shortfall can ruin the fabric of the team.  Any cancellation for sickness, family events, etc. should be communicated to the coaches as far in advance as practical. 

It is up to the coaches' discretion to determine how far in advance of the prescribed ice time that players should arrive, but the following guidelines could be effective:

Ø      Practices - everyone to be on ice, on time.  Players should be dressed in the locker room 5-10 minutes prior to practice in order for the coaches to have team meetings/discussions, blackboard drills and/or discuss the format of the practice prior to the practice.  Remember, ice time is precious.

Ø      Games - at least one-half hour before the game

Ø      ‘Far away’ and important games - at discretion of the coach to account for traffic   issues and 'mental' preparation.

Player Ice Time

All travel players, regardless of skill level, shall have the opportunity to develop their fundamentals of hockey equally.  Greenwich Skating Club teams will play to win, however, winning will not be the only measure of success.  Travel coaches will try to achieve a balance of playing time for their players over the course of the entire season.  Reasonable inequities in individual playing time during a specific game, state or regional tournament, shall be at the discretion of the coach. 

This policy aims to ensure that all of our children have the opportunity to develop to their potential over the course of their hockey experience.  All players must have a comparable experience of competing, building confidence and developing fundamental hockey skills over their career at the Greenwich Skating Club.

Games vs. Practices

The overall goal of our travel program is to create skilled and disciplined teams that compete successfully in the Connecticut Hockey Conference.  In order to fulfill this overall goal, a balance of games and practices must be carefully developed to allow for proper player development while providing our players the experience of competing and challenging for various tournament, state and regional titles.  The balance must allow any given travel team the ability to meet the game requirements of the CHC for post-season play, while adhering to the club's beliefs that individual player development is greatly enhanced through a program that provides dedicated instruction covering the fundamentals of hockey.  The development of this game/practice balance shall be implemented and monitored by the Hockey Committee.

Coaches/Parents/Players’ Meetings

Communication is the key to a successful program.  All coaches will be required to meet with the Hockey Committee or its designees to discuss goals and objectives for the upcoming season.  All coaches are required to have a parents’ meeting early in the season to discuss expectations and review the rules of the road and the code of conduct as well as discuss any other issues deemed important to the either the parents or the coaches.  The Hockey Committee expects each coach to have a similar off-ice session with his/her players to discuss the rules of the road and code of conduct with the players as well.  Frequent and open communication with the Hockey Committee, coaches, parents and players will help avoid potential problems down the road

Dress Code

Off-ice dress code to and from games and tournaments is at the discretion of the coaches.  On ice, all travel players should wear the official GSC shell, our matching Club socks and matching Club jerseys.  Game jerseys and practice jerseys are owned by GSC and will be returned at the end of the season in good condition.  One pair of game socks will also be issued to each travel player at the start of the season. Additionally, all travel players are requested to wear red helmets (there is no need to change helmets but please buy red if you are buying one).  We are a team and should look like one.

Grievances

Any concerns about how the league is run, how coaches are coaching or how referees are officiating should be referred to the Hockey Committee without the players being present.

 If you have a complaint resulting from a game (or practice) situation, speak with the coach on the following day without the players being present (the "24 hour rule"). 

If there is a serious problem, notify a member of the Hockey Committee on the following day without the players being present (the "24 hour rule").

Connecticut Hockey Conference (CHC)

GSC Travel Hockey will operate and perform within the guidelines of the Connecticut Hockey Conference (CHC) in a manner that preserves the Club's excellent relationships with CHC, our league opponents and the referee association.  All league tournament requirements and player eligibility rules will be honored.  Games with opponents will not be cancelled unless by mutual consent and with the full knowledge and approval of the coach and the master scheduler.