SMHA had a great turnout last night for the first Coach Meeting at the Sackville Arena.

Coach Meeting Sept 2023 - Powerpoint Presentation

Thank you to our in-house presenters including Craig Foley (VP Risk Management), Morgan Spicer (U11 Division Coordinator), Rod Sturge (Vice President), Matt Brown (VP U5 & U7), and especially to our Guest Speakers including Brad Taylor, the Technical Director of Hockey Nova Scotia and Jason Hale, our Halifax East Zone Regional Director with Hockey Nova Scotia.

We'd like in particular to draw your attention to two things:

• Helping Kids with ADHD Thrive in Sports - Check out this article shared during Morgan Spicer's Neurodiversity and Coaching presentation, which was also reiterated by Brad Taylor.
• Coaches & Volunteers - If you're planning on joining a team roster this year, please review the Coaching Certification info linked in the powerpoint and also on our Coaching & Volunteer Certifications page. 
  • Certification Deadline: Dec 1, 2023
  • Countdown: 81 Days! Don't delay on this - we don't want to have to remove anyone from a bench!

Thanks

Please read on for updates related to the following five topics: 

1. Try Goalie Sessions This Weekend - Sign Up Now!
2. SMHA Player Assistance Fund
3. U9 Evaluations Information
4. Tryout Jersey Pickup Times
5. Recreation Coaching Applications

Try Goalie Sessions This Weekend - Sign Up Now!

We are pleased to offer three FREE Try Goalie Sessions this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!

Interested participants should bring their player gear. No Goalie Gear or Goaltending Experience necessary - Bring any goalie gear you have on hand, and we will also have some gear to share. 

Sign up for one, two, or all three sessions!

• Fri, Sept 8 - 5p-6p @ Sackville Sports Stadium
• Sat, Sept 9 - 8a-9a @ Sackville Arena
• Sun, Sept 10 - 8a-9a @ Sackville Arena

Questions can be directed to SMHA Vice President Rod Sturge - VicePresident@FlyersHockey.ca

SMHA Player Assistance Fund

As a reminder, the SMHA Player Assistance Fund is now accepting applications from SMHA Families for funding. Please visit SMHA's Financial Aid webpage for more information and to apply today.

U9 Evaluations Information

The following information was sent out to the primary email address from HCR for all Registered U9 players on Sept 2 by our U9 Division Coordinator, Trisha Munroe.

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Your U9 volunteers are hard at work preparing for the upcoming season. Here's some information for you:

Preseason Camps: Dates, times and groups are been posted here. 

U9 Evaluations Format: There will be 5 ice sessions, 4 of which will be evaluated. The first session is skills stations and WILL NOT be evaluated so players have a chance to have a run through/skate before evaluations begin. The next 2 sessions will be skill-based stations. The final 2 sessions will be half-ice 4-on-4 games. Goalies will be evaluated with specific goalie criteria. Evaluators will be using the TeamGenius App to record scores. In order to place players in their optimal group for player development, attendance is mandatory at all evaluated sessions.

Opting-Out of Evaluations: Players who are new to hockey - or those who do not wish to be considered for a U9 Advancing or U9 Intermediate team and would like to be placed directly on a U9 Developing team - do not need to attend evaluations. Please email Trisha Munroe (U9DivCoordinator@FlyersHockey.ca) by Friday September 8th to let us know if you do not plan to bring your player to evaluations.    

Evaluation Schedule: All U9 evaluation sessions will be at Sackville Sports Stadium (SSS). U9 has been allocated 3 hours of ice per evaluation session. Players will be divided into 3 groups and each group will be assigned one hour of ice time per session. Player Groups for Session 1 and Session 2 will be a “snake draft” and will be posted by next weekend. Following the Session 2, players will be sorted into new Player Groups for Session 3. 

Tentative U9 ice times for evaluations are: 

• Session 1 - Sat, Sept 23 - 8a-11a @ SSS - Skills session - Not Evaluated
• Session 2 - Sat, Sept 23 - 4p-7p @ SSS - Skills session - First Evaluated Session
  • New Player Groups will be made following this session - Families must check SMHA's Website for their player's Group for Session 3.
  • Every effort will be made to post the new groups for Session 3 by 10pm on Saturday September 23rd. 
• Session 3 - Sun, Sept 24 - 8a-11a @ SSS - Skills session - Second Evaluated Session
• Session 4 - Sat, Sept 30 - 8a-11a @ SSS- Scrimmage - 4-on-4 Half-Ice Game - Third Evaluated Session
  • New Player Groups *may* be made following this session - Families must check SMHA's Website for their player's Group for Session 5.
  • Every effort will be made to post the new groups for Session 5 by 7pm on Saturday September 30th. 
• Session 5 - Sun, Oct 1 0 8a-11a @ SSS - Scrimmage - 4-on-4 Half-Ice Game - Fourth Evaluated Session

Jersey Pickup for Evaluations: Wednesday September 20th @ Sackville Arena Mezzanine 7p-9p.

PLEASE NOTE: Jerseys will be collected and redistributed twice during U9 Evaluations: between Sessions 2 and Session 3, and again between Session 3 and 4. It is imperative that players return their jerseys at the end of Sessions 2, Session 3, and of course at the end of Evaluations following Session 5. Failure to return jerseys will result in a $50 charge to the player’s account. 

If you have questions regarding the on-ice portion of the evaluations please contact Ryan Brewer VPU9@FlyersHockey.ca.

Any other questions can be directed to Trisha Munroe U9DivCoordinator@FlyersHockey.ca or Chris Erwood MMHL@FlyersHockey.ca.

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Tryout Jersey Pickup Times

Please note the following Tryout Jersey Pickup Times:

Wednesday, Sept 13th - 7-9p @ Sackville Arena Mezzanine

• U13 AAA Tryout Participants (Natalie LaFleche - U13Comp@FlyersHockey.ca)

Wednesday, September 20th - 7p-9p @ Sackville Arena Mezzanine

• U9 Evaluations Participants (Trisha Munroe - U9DivCoordinator@FlyersHockey.ca)
• U11 Competitive Tryouts Participants (Morgan Spicer - U11Comp@FlyersHockey.ca)
• U13 Competitive Tryouts Participants (Natalie LaFleche - U13Comp@FlyersHockey.ca)
• U15 Competitive Tryouts Participants (Ben Harvie - U15Comp@FlyersHockey.ca)
• U18 Competitive Tryouts Participants (Marc Keats - U18Comp@FlyersHockey.ca)

In keeping with the Competitive Tryout Policy, requests for a specific jersey number cannot be accomodated. 

If a player's assigned Tryout Jersey is not returned at the end of the Competitive Tryout Process, there will be a $50 Jersey Replacement Fee added to the player's HCR account. 

Players released from the Competitive Tryout Process keep the same assigned jersey throughout the Recreation Evaluation process in October. 

Information about Recreation Evaluations will be announced by early October.

Recreation Coaching Applications

We are now accepting Applications for Recreation Coaches!

Note: If you already submitted your name in the Head Coach Google Form in August 2023, there is no need to resubmit - your information has already been received.

The deadline is Saturday, September 30th, 2023. Please Contact Dan MacDonald at VPRecreation@FlyersHockey.ca for more information.

Good evening,

The Competitive Tryout Policy has been updated for the 2023 Season, and can be found on the Constitution, By-Laws, and Policies page of our website.

Stay tuned for the groups for both U9 Evaluations and the U11, U13, U15, and U18 Competitive Tryouts, which will be posted starting later this week. U5 and U7 Families will hear more about their start dates in early October.

Good luck and have fun!

A note from SMHA's President, Rob Nurnber:

Attention Sackville Minor Hockey Association Coaches!

We will be hosting a Coaching Information Session on Sunday September 10th, from 6:00pm-8:30pm in the Mezz at the Sackville Arena.

If you are planning on coaching this season - in particular as a Head Coach - please do all you can to attend. Assistant Coaches are also welcome and encouraged to attend.

We will be covering Expectations, Best Practices, Tools and Resources, Code of Conduct, and much more. In addition we will have several high profile guest coaches attending for a coaches hotstove session.

Please confirm your attendance to Rob Nurnber at President@FlyersHockey.ca and cc Melissa Berkvens at Secretary@FlyersHockey.ca so we can confirm your spot.

Best regards,

Rob

Good morning,

Welcome to one of our bulkier Pre-Season Emails!

There is a *ton* of important info and links contained within this message, so please read on!     

1. Pre-Season Schedule & Info Posted
2. Coaching Certifications
3. Registration Deadline: This Thursday!

Pre-Season Schedule & Info

You will now see a "Pre-Season Schedule & Info" header on SMHA's website. It has been updated with screenshots of the master pre-season schedule, as well as a page for each Pre-Season program with a detailed schedule.

As soon as possible after Registration closes, these pages will also be updated with Group Lists.

Coaching Certifications

SMHA's Risk Management Team - headed up VP Risk Management Craig Foley (RiskManagement@FlyersHockey.ca) - wants returning and prospective coaches to start thinking about their Coaching Certifications for the upcoming season. Do Not Leave Your Certifications Until The Last Minute! 

• The Risk Management Team will offer a Coaching Certification Presentation at the Arena Mezzanine before the start of the season. Stay tuned for details.
• Hockey Nova Scotia - Certifications
  • Hockey NS has updated their Certifications page.
  • NEW: First Aid Certification
    • There is a NEW requirement for certain ratios of Bench Staff to have valid certification for CSA-Approved Basic (Emergency) First Aid, CPR (Level C) and AED. The requirements vary by division. See the link above for details.
    • If you already have a valid First Aid certificate, please get ahead of this by emailing your Proof of Certification to info@HockeyNovaScotia.ca along with your Full Name, Birthday, and Association, so that it can be added to your HCR profile.
• HCR: Find A Clinic
  • There are many Online and Virtual Clinics already available on HCR: Find a Clinic.
  • There are now end-user fees for the Find A Clinic certifications. SMHA will be reimbursing Find A Clinic fees; More to come...  
  • Make sure you select Hockey Nova Scotia from the drop-down list at the top of the Find A Clinic page.
  • Cross-reference the Hockey NS Certifications Page and your own HCR Profile to see what training (if any) you need this season.
• Risk Management Page
  
  • The Risk Management page on our website still needs to be updated for the current season, and that will be done in the coming weeks.
    
    

Registration Deadline

This season's Registration Deadline is this Thursday, August 31, 2023, at 11:59pm.

This deadline is Firm for Competitive Tryouts.

Other programming (i.e. U5, U7, U9, and Recreation) will continue to be available after the deadline, with a $50 Late Fee added to Registration.   

Good morning,

The following information is being sent out on behalf of our VP Development John Hubley.