Division Manager Manual

 

 

Vancouver Minor Hockey Association (VMHA) Division Managers play an important role in every successful hockey season. The Division Manager is the primary liaison between the VMHA Board of Directors and the association members and participants and may interact with multiple directors over the course of the season. Division Managers are encouraged to attend monthly board meetings to provide updates on their division(s) as well as raise any concerns requiring the Board’s attention.

 

The Division Manager’s workload is heavily weighted towards the start of the season. Prior to, all Division Managers will be assigned a VMHA email address and provided access to their division in TeamSnap. It is expected that the member information provided by these platforms remains private and is used solely for the management of the division. A timely reply to all emails/inquiries is also expected.

 

All Division Managers are required to attend both the PCAHA and VMHA Coach/Manager meetings as scheduled. (Mid- to late- September/early October.)

 

 

Player Evaluations & Team Formation

 

Prior to the start of the season, the Registrar (registrar@vmha.com) will provide Division Managers with access to their division via TeamSnap. Evaluation groups and their schedules will be uploaded in advance. Division Managers may communicate with participants via TeamSnap or their VMHA email. An introductory email should be sent to all participants prior to the start of evaluations to ensure everyone is aware of the schedule, check-in procedures, etc.

 

Division Managers for U11 to U18 (A&C divisions) will need to obtain pinnies in advance of the first evaluation session. Please email the Equipment Manager (equipment@vmha.com) to arrange pick-up. Depending on scheduling of A and C evaluations, you may need to work with the other Division Manager in your age group to ensure the pinnies are available for those sessions as well.

 

U6-U9 and ‘C’ Division Managers will also receive a list of eligible team officials/parents already registered to volunteer with VMHA. The Division Manager should confirm with each volunteer their desired position (Coach/Manager/HCSP) and distribute officials fairly across all teams in the division.

 

U7 and U9 Assessments

 

Volunteer coaches in each division will be responsible for on-ice activities as well as player evaluations. Typically, the head coaches remain off-ice to assess the players, while the assistant coaches run the on-ice activities. The Division Manager should ensure each assessment group is adequately staffed; on-ice and off. Practice plans can be provided, if needed.

 

At the conclusion of assessments, the Division Manager will be responsible for ensuring agreement is reached on the rating of each player, and meet with the coaches to draft balanced teams. Division Managers may receive requests for certain team officials to work together or for participants to be placed with a specific coach or player. Effort should be made to accommodate such requests provided they are reasonable and don’t significantly impact the formation of balanced teams.

 

  

‘C’ Assessments & Draft Playing Groups

 

Each player will need to be uniquely identified for assessment (by numbered/coloured pinnie) both on the ice and in the chosen evaluation software (currently TeamGenius).

 

Volunteer coaches in each division will be responsible on-ice activities as well as player evaluations. Typically, the head coaches remain off-ice to assess the players, while the assistant coaches run the on-ice activities. The Division Manager should ensure each assessment group is adequately staffed; on-ice and off. Practice plans can be provided, if needed.

 

Players will be assessed on a variety of skills and their cumulative rating will be used to create the initial playing groups for the division. At the conclusion of assessments, the Division Manager will be responsible for ensuring agreement is reached on the rating of each player.

 

Division Managers may meet with coaches to draft the preliminary playing groups or may choose to create the groups themselves. When created by the Division Manager, playing groups should be reviewed/fine-tuned with the coaches in advance of the first balancing game. Division Managers may receive requests for certain team officials to work together or for participants to be placed with a specific coach or player. Effort should be made to accommodate such requests provided they are reasonable and don’t significantly impact the formation of balanced teams. Goaltenders should not be formally assigned to teams until the end of the balancing games.

 

 

‘A’ Assessments (U11 and up)

 

Please refer to the VMHA ‘Rep’ Hockey Policy for detailed information on the ‘A’ assessment process.

 

Division Managers will be responsible for overseeing organization of the assessments including player check-in, distribution/collections of pinnies, and notification of playing group placement and/or release to ‘C’ hockey at the conclusion of Phase One.

 

Once participants have been assigned to a playing group (A1, A2, etc.) the Division Manager is responsible for setting up the required exhibition games for each group. Division Managers must be present when players are released from each team in the division and should assist with email introductions to the new playing group (A or C).

 

‘A’ Division Managers should only take on a division in which their child does not participate. Where this is not possible, the Division Manager should excuse themselves from the ‘A’ assessment group in which their child is involved.

 

 

Balancing (U7, U9 and ‘C’) & Exhibition Games (‘A’)

 

The Division Manager is responsible for the scheduling of balancing/exhibition games based on ice times requested from/provided by the Ice Allocator.

 

Contact the Equipment Manager (equipment@vmha.com) to obtain jerseys for the teams in your division. Division Managers are encouraged to enlist a parent volunteer to assist with jersey distribution and collection over the course of the balancing/exhibition games. It is strongly recommended that jerseys are distributed and collected at EACH game to ensure none are lost as players are released or moved between playing groups.

 

In ‘A’ hockey, initial exhibition games should be scheduled in accordance with the VMHA ‘Rep’ Hockey Policy to ensure all players have equal opportunity to be evaluated. Additional games may be scheduled as opportunity presents or upon the coach’s request. For all home games, Division Managers are responsible for obtaining game numbers from the PCAHA League Manager, requesting officials, and arranging for score- and timekeepers and payment of officials. Additional information on these tasks can be found in here:

 

Manager’s Manual – Vancouver Minor Hockey Association (vmha.com)

 

In ‘C’ hockey, balancing games should be scheduled such that each team plays every other team at least once. Game numbers may be required for in-house balancing games; please confirm with the appropriate PCAHA League Manager at time of scheduling.  The Division Manager will need to request officials for each game (refassignor@vmha.com). The Division Manager should be present at each balancing game to record their observations, arrange score- and timekeepers and ensure the officials are paid.

 

 

Finalizing Teams

 

U7 & U9 and ‘C’ Balancing Report

 

At the conclusion of balancing games, the Division Manager will meet with the coaches to discuss any adjustments required, facilitate any final trades and assign goaltenders. The Division Manager will then forward the final team rosters to the Registrar who will ensure all players and team officials are properly assigned in TeamSnap and HCR. The Division Manager should also forward the names and contact information (email address) for the Head Coach and Manager of each team to the appropriate PCAHA League Manager.

 

The Division Manager will write a balancing report, outlining the outcome of each game, identifying strengths and weaknesses of each team, and explaining any player movement between teams. It is imperative that every effort is made to create balanced teams and that the balancing report accurately reflects those efforts. Should there be a significant disparity between teams, PCAHA can require rebalancing as late as December 1^st. The balancing report should be provided to the appropriate PCAHA League Manager, as well as the VMHA President and Coach Coordinator, before the start of league play.

 

‘A’ teams

 

As teams are formed, the Division Manager’s help may be required to identify/secure volunteers for any roles (manager, treasurer, HCSP) not yet filled. The Division Manager may hand over day-to-day operation of the team as soon as these officials are in place. In younger divisions, this may take more time as parents may be new to ‘A’ hockey and unaware of the duties of and qualifications required for each  position.

As teams are finalized, the Division Manager will forward the rosters to the Registrar who will ensure all players and team officials are properly assigned in TeamSnap and HCR. The Division Manager should also forward the names and contact information (email address) for the Head Coach and Manager of each team to the appropriate PCAHA League Manager.

 

 

Affiliate Players

 

In U7, U9 and ‘C’ hockey the Division Manager will compile a list of players who would be able to safely participate with the age group above, if needed. (For example, a U11C player to be used as an affiliate player in U13C.)  

 

In the example above, this list of players would be provided to the U13C Division Manager for distribution to the U13C teams. The list should include the player’s name and contact information, as well as the name and contact information for their U11C Head Coach.

 

In ‘A’ hockey, affiliates are usually selected by the Head Coach from players that participated in tryouts but were not selected for the team. The Division Manager should forward the names of such players to the registrar as the rosters are finalized.

 

It is the responsibility of the team requesting an affiliate player (AP) to be aware of and follow all PCAHA rules, guidelines and limits pertaining to affiliate players.

 

 

In-Season Duties

 

Throughout the season, Division Managers are encouraged to attend monthly board meetings to provide updates on their division(s) as well as raise any concerns requiring the Board’s attention.

 

The Division Manager remains the first point of contact for team officials with inquiries and/or complaints that are unable to be resolved at the team level. Such inquiries may be handled with the assistance of the appropriate board member or forwarded to them to address. More information around complaint handling can be found here:

 

VMHA_Complaint_Resolution_Process_August_2016.pdf

 

Division Managers may also be asked to forward relevant information to their teams and assist with distribution of team equipment and/or other materials related to fundraising, Photo Day or similar. It is expected that such tasks are completed in a timely fashion.

 

 

End of Season Duties

 

The Division Manager will assist the Equipment Manager with the collection of all jerseys/equipment assigned to the teams in their division.