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.

Good morning,

U9 Coaching Applications are now OPEN! We are seeking both Head Coach and Assistant Coach applications for U9. The deadline for submissions is August 30, 2023.

As a reminder - Head Coach Applications for U11 and older have been open for several weeks, and will be closing at the end of August as well. Thank you to all applicants who have expressed their interest in Head Coaching so far. Applications must be submitted through the form to be considered for Head Coaching positions this season.

Thank you

Good morning Sackville Flyers Members & Families:

Registration for the 2023-24 Season is opening this morning at 11:00am!

See the Registration Page on our website for a link to register, and complete details.

We have two Items to highlight prior to Registration:

1. Birth Certificate and Address Validations
2. U13 Competitive Tryouts

Birth Certificate and Address Validations

SMHA uses the Hockey Canada Registration (HCR) system for our Registrations, and we have now had our Pre-Season Camps and Clinics open for two weeks.

We received lots of feedback about issues families had when using a smartphone to register their player(s) on the HCR platform. Some users were being prompted to upload Birth Certificate and Address Validations even when the player already had that information on file. We opened HCR Helpdesk tickets and sought support from Hockey Canada, but they are unable to disable it... They say folks can simply skip the validation and proceed with registration.

If this happens to you when you're registering your players - TRY THIS:

• Tap to open the little red "Chat" bubble in the corner of your smartphone screen to open a Chat Window...
• Then, Close the Chat Window.
• Finally, after closing the Chat Window, you may be able to successfully skip that Birth Certificate & Address Validation step.

Some users found it easiest to use a desktop/laptop browser instead. If this Birth Certificate and Address Validation is an issue for you today, rest assured that as long as you register by the August 31st Registration Deadline, there will be room for your player this season; There is no rush to complete it today.   

U13 Competitive Tryouts

Similar to last year, there is an earlier Tryout Phase for the U13 AAA Team. As explained on the Registration Page on our website, families U13-aged players will see THREE Registration options. If your U13 Player wants to participate in U13 AAA Tryouts, please make sure you select the AAA Tryouts option.  

• Recreation: $750 (+$50 Late Fee as of Sept 1)
• Registration + Competitive Tryouts for AA, A, B: $875
• Registration + Comp Tryouts + U13 AAA Tryouts (Starting Sept 15): $1000 (Firm Deadline: Aug 31)
  • NOTE: U13 AAA Tryout Fee covers an additional 5 hours of ice time for a specific U13 AAA Tryout.
  • Players placed on the U13 AAA team do not need to complete the U13 AA/A/B Competitive Tryouts, and therefore the standard Competitive Tryout Fee of $125 will be credited toward their Team Fees.
    
  • Players released from U13 AAA Try Outs in September do continue to participate in the U13 AA/A/B Competitive Tryouts. As such, no fees are credited to these players. The exact timing on tryouts for U13 AA, U13 A and U13 B is TBA.

1. SMHA Checking Clinic will be held Tuesday, September 5th. Defence Clinics for U11 and U13 and Preseason Camps for U9 and up will all be conducted in between September 11-22.
   
   
2. U13AAA Tryouts will start for Goaltenders on Friday, September 15th, and Players on Saturday, September 16th.
   
   
3. Competitive Tryouts for U11 and the remaining U13 competitive teams will start Friday, September 22nd for Goaltenders and Saturday, September 23rd for Players.
   
   
4. Competitive U15 and U18 Tryouts will tentatively start Tuesday September 26th for Goaltenders and Saturday, September 30th for Players
   Please note that tryouts will continue through Thanksgiving, as CMHL League Play begins October 14th, 2023. 
   
   
5. Recreation Evaluations will begin over Thanksgiving weekend, Saturday October 7th - Monday October 9th.
6. SMHA 20-Week Season Schedule is below:
   
   *** Provincial Playdowns will be between February 1st and March 8th, 2024 ***
   
   
   
   
7. SMHA Tournaments (SMHA Teams are Expected to Participate)
   1. Fall Face-Off (October 13-15)
   2. Holiday U9 Jamboree (Dec 26-29)
   3. SMHA Memorial Tournament (Jan 2-5)
   4. March Meltdown Tournament (March 9-12)
      
      
8. Jordan Boyd Tournament - This year, the Jordan Boyd Tournament is for U13 AAA / AA and U11 AA / A. It is scheduled for October 13th-15th
   
   
9. U18B - Halifax and SMHA are trying to get this going again, I cant make any promises but we will try to make this a reality.