Co-ed Travel Team Composition Policy and Procedures
CO-ED TRAVEL TEAM COMPOSITION POLICY AND PROCEDURES
1. Mission Statement: Our objective in constituting teams is to act in the best interests of the children and the program. Team composition is an inherently imprecise and subjective exercise. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Parkway Youth Hockey, Inc. (“PYH”) to make the process as fair and transparent as possible, while protecting the confidentiality of individual players’ evaluative scores and coaches’ selections.
2. Coordinators: In advance of the tryouts beginning and, in any event no later than the February meeting of the Board of Directors (the “Board”), the Board shall choose coordinators for each try out level of the program. A coordinator need not be a member of the Board. Parents of players are not disqualified from serving in the role of coordinator. Multiple coordinators may be chosen for a level; however, one person must act as the head coordinator of that level.
Each coordinator is responsible for organizing the tryout sessions for his/her level, determining which players will report to which session, obtaining and assigning tryout pinafores, ensuring that accurate and timely communication regarding the overall process and session assignments is posted on the website, ensuring sufficient volunteer help is available on and off the ice, securing room and table availability, providing resources to evaluators and coaches (i.e., water bottles, pucks, clipboards, pencils, score sheets), entering and processing data from evaluations, maintaining the confidentiality of all results as appropriate, arranging and conducting the team selection meeting (see below) and making any necessary judgment calls in connection with the tryout and team composition process. The head coordinator must determine on which team, if any, each player is currently participating in the program.
3. Tryouts. The Board will determine, no later than at its February meeting, the weeks during which tryouts will be conducted. The Board may establish guidelines for each level’s tryout
process. As a general rule, each player will attend two tryout sessions held approximately one week apart (respectively, the “Week#1 Tryout” and the “Week#2 Tryout”); however, the numbers in a particular level may provide the Board with the rationale to require attendance at only one session by each player.
Large Levels. In cases where the number of players trying out at a level exceeds 40, it is recommended that the players be split evenly between two sessions held in consecutive time slots (for both their Week#1 Tryout and Week #2 Tryout). In such event, the coordinators shall endeavor to distribute the players between the two sessions for the Week#1 Tryout such that the respective talent levels are approximately equal. In doing so, the coordinator should see that each current team on which players participate is equally represented in each of the two sessions and that the talent is split evenly from each current team. For the purpose of the foregoing, the coordinator is expected to refer to the coaches season evaluation for players at the level and obtain a ranking of the players on each team. Once the sessions have been determined, they should be immediately posted on the website.
For the Week#2 Tryout, players shall be distributed in equal number into advanced and intermediate sessions based on the evaluative scores from the Week#1 Tryout. If the head coordinator in consultation with current coaches determines that any one or more of the 5 lowest scorers that would be assigned to the advanced session should be swapped with one or more of the
highest 5 scorers in the intermediate session, he/she may make that adjustment. Subject to any guidelines established by the Board, the head coordinator is responsible for making all decisions regarding the formatting and procedure for tryouts at his/her level.
4. Player Commitment. PYH recognizes that many of our members play on or try out for select teams and/or other programs. The Board shall set a date and specify the manner by which all players trying out and their family will notify PYH if they choose not to participate in PYH for the upcoming season. If notice is not received from a player by such date, PYH will assume that such player will participate on a Parkway travel team. No refunds or credits (for the tryout fee or otherwise) will be made to such player in the event that the player later determines not to play for Parkway.
5. Team Number, Roster Size and Coaches. No later than its April meeting, the Board shall determine the expected number of teams that it will field at each level, the roster size of each team and the coach of each team. In determining how many teams to have at a given level, subject to the Board’s ability to supersede, each team shall have no fewer than 12 registered skaters and a goalie and no more than 16 registered skaters and a goalie. In the event that there are three teams at a level, there shall be “A”, “B” and “C” teams. In the event that there are four teams at a level, there shall be one “A” team, one “B” team and two “C” teams. No team at any level should have more than one more player than any other team at that level. The larger roster size(s) should be allocated to the lower teams. Coaches shall be selected from those who have applied. Those coaches who have children at that level and wish to coach their child’s team shall only be eligible to coach a team for which their child may be selected under the rules below.
Players are not guaranteed a spot on a travel team by trying out; some players may not be assigned to a travel team due to the number of players/teams at a given level in a given year. Every effort shall be made to place a player in a program or team should they not be assigned to a travel team.
No “Grandfathering” Provision: There is no guarantee that a player will be placed on the same level team from season to season. No spots are reserved for returning players on any team.
6. Team Selection. The head coordinator of each tryout level shall arrange and conduct a team selection meeting. All of the coaches who have been selected to coach in the following season must be present. In addition, a coach or assistant coach of each current team that has a player to be selected must be present. If notwithstanding diligent efforts by the head coordinator of a level, he/she cannot secure the presence of a required attendee, then a waiver may be sought from the Board. In case of players who currently play in either the House Mite program or play exclusively in the McLaughlin League, coaches from those programs should be represented. Those in attendance at a level’s selection meeting constitute that level’s Selection Committee. The head coordinator shall chair the meeting and be a member of the Selection Committee.
Evaluative Scores. All evaluative scores from any tryout session shall remain strictly confidential and shall be shared only with tryout level coordinators. Hard copies of the evaluative scores in respect of a level shall be made available to the members of that level’s Selection Committee at the selection meeting only. All such hard copies shall be returned to the head coordinator at the close of the meeting. Unauthorized disclosure of evaluative scores may result in sanctions including but not limited to removal as a coach, removal from the Board of Directors.
Evaluative scores are used to determine automatic selections and the universes of players from which coaches may make their selections. For large levels for which the Week#2 Tryout consisted of an advanced and an intermediate session, the players from the advanced session shall be deemed to be ranked ahead of those in the intermediate session.
Week#1 Selections. It is often the case that on the first night of tryouts, a few players distinguish themselves as clear “A” players. It is the strong bias of PYH to have players complete both tryout sessions before being placed; however, the head coordinator may place a player onto the “A” team on the basis of the performance of that player in the Week#1 Tryout. Only second-year players who score in the top 5 of their session will be eligible for selection in this manner, however, even among such players, the bias should remain that players attend the Week#2 Tryout and no player should expect to be placed in this manner. Among the factors that a head coordinator should consider in exercising his/her discretion to place a player in this manner is the player’s evaluative score relative to others and the team on which the player participated during the current year. The sole purpose of these selections is to remove players from the Week#2 Tryout who clearly belong on an “A” team and who, if they attended the Week#2 Tryout, would be expected to dominate play and reduce the time evaluators have to observe other players.
Head Coaches Evaluations. Each Head Coach shall fill out an evaluation sheet that is substantially similar to the one used by the tryout evaluators for each player on his/her roster. In addition to the numerical ranking for each skill, the head coach shall include a brief narrative for the player as well as that player’s “ranking” on the present team (i.e. 1st, 2nd out of 14 skaters). The Head Coaches evaluation shall only be used for the purposes providing the subsequent coach with additional information aiding the selection of players eligible for the team but not considered “Automatic Selections” (i.e. Coaches Selections). All Head Coaches evaluations shall be submitted to the Tryout Coordinator prior to tryouts.
Automatic Selections. At each level where there are multiple teams, there shall be automatic selections based solely on evaluative scores. The number of automatic selections for each team shall be equal to its roster size minus five and shall be those players with the highest evaluative scores who have not been selected to a higher team. For purposes of the foregoing, players placed pursuant to the previous section are deemed to have been automatic selections (i.e. if an “A” roster has 13 skaters, there are 8 automatic selections; if 2 places are filled after the Week#1 Tryout, then only 6 automatic selections remain).
Coach Selections. The remaining five shall be chosen by the team’s head coach from among the players with the next fifteen (15) highest evaluative scores (“Eligible Players”). The head coach must consider the input from each Eligible Player’s coach. In close situations, the head coach should favor second-year players over first-year players and those currently on Parkway teams over those who did not play for Parkway in the most recent year. In the event that a member of the Selection Committee objects to a coach’s selection, the Selection Committee may with a vote of no less than two-thirds of committee members reject the coach’s selection.
Goalies. At each level’s tryout, each goalie will be evaluated and provided a score. At the team selection meeting, the default is that the scores will determine placement. The Selection Committee, by simple majority, may supersede the default placement. In deciding to supersede the default placement, the Selection Committee should consider the input from the goalies’ current coaches, the difference between the players’ evaluative scores, the goalies’ status as first or second year players and whether they played for a Parkway team during the most recent season.
Absent Players. In the event that a player is unable to make one or more of the tryout sessions to which he or she is assigned, the player or his/her parent(s) should promptly contact the head coordinator and explain the reason for the absence. If the head coordinator excuses the absence, the player shall be placed on a team by the Selection Committee based on all available information about such player, including the level of the player’s current team, his/her coach’s view and placement of comparable players. Absences due to injury or illness and family emergencies shall generally be excused. If the head coordinator declines to excuse the absence, the player or parent may petition the Executive Committee of the Board. Unexcused absences may result in the player not being placed on any team or placed on the lowest team at that level.
7. Roster Movement. The Board must approve all pre-season roster changes. In the event that a player is lost permanently from a team, the President of PYH and the head coordinator of that level should be notified. If that loss results in such team having a roster that is 2 players less than the next lower team, the President of PYH and the level coordinator shall authorize the head coach to choose a player from the lower team to take a permanent roster spot on the higher team. If the loss is not season-ending, the higher team shall not be expanded. Instead, the higher team may choose players game-by-game consistent with the rules of the respective league governing the same.
If under extraordinary circumstances, the coaches of a team determine that one of his players is grossly misplaced, the head coach may petition the Board to have that player elevated to a higher team, provided that doing so would not create a roster disparity of 2 or more between the two teams involved. The Board may approve a roster change by a simple majority at a Board meeting.
Registering After Tryouts: If a player registers for PYH after the travel team tryouts have been completed and teams have been selected he/she shall be placed on the lowest level team in that player’s age classification. In the interest of proper placement, players rostered under the circumstances provided in this paragraph may be called up and rostered at the discretion of the coach, subject to the terms of Paragraph 5, at the next highest level as space permits. All players called up under this provision are required to participate in at least TWO (2) practice sessions prior to being permanently called up.
A late fee of $100 shall be applied to the tuition of a player registering after tryout sessions have been completed.
Leaving Program After Tryout and/or Team Selection: If a player leaves PYH after participating in tryouts or after teams have been selected and decides to come back that player shall be placed one level below, space permitting, the team they were selected or eligible for. In the interest of proper placement, players rostered under the circumstances provided in this paragraph may be called up and rostered at the discretion of the coach at the next highest level as space permits. All players called up under this provision are required to participate in at least TWO (2) practice sessions prior to being permanently called up.
8. Board Oversight. All matters set forth herein are subject to the oversight of the Board. The Board may exercise its authority to override any provision hereof.