Recruiting and Retaining Players for Your Youth Hockey League
Every hockey organization strives to have a competitive team, which requires recruiting players from around the area. Fortunately, there are multiple methods you can use to accomplish this objective.
When recruiting or hiring a coach, this is an essential component for your league’s success. A great coach can motivate young athletes and foster an encouraging atmosphere for players to develop.
Finding a Great Coach
The ideal coaches are passionate about their sport and have an excellent rapport with their players. Additionally, they possess a diverse background in education, business management and community development that sets them apart.
When looking for a new coach, look for one who is either USA Hockey certified or has completed the coaching-education program. This will guarantee they possess the necessary expertise to instruct players and mold them into future NHLers.
You may want to search for a coach who has previously coached in your region or area, as they will have more insight into the local hockey scene. Some coaches may even possess coaching experience at the college level.
Keep communication open and honest with players and parents.
Communication is the cornerstone for the success of your organization. To ensure everyone is communicating effectively, be open about expectations for the season. Doing this will foster trust between you, players, coaches and parents alike.
Communicate Frequently
It is essential to send weekly updates to your players and their families. This can be done either via email or the League website. Furthermore, using text messaging tools like GroupMe for communication between all team members is highly recommended.
In addition to email, you can also utilize social media for communication with your players and their parents. Create an official team page on Facebook or another popular platform and allow players to “friend” it, giving them access to your messages.
Explain Why
When imparting a coaching point, be certain to communicate why and how it will benefit your players. Doing this helps create an integrated mental model of what you’re teaching them and how they will apply it in practice.
Utilize Station-Based Practices
When teams are younger, it is more crucial for them to share the ice and learn how to work together. However, as your athletes grow older, you can still use single-team practices as a way of helping them focus and gain experience playing on an entire ice surface.
By adopting a shared-ice approach for younger age groups, you can save money while providing players with the necessary training and experience. Once a team reaches 14U age classification, full ice practices can begin to prepare them for game situations and higher performance levels.
Be Inspiring
You can be an inspiration to young athletes by creating programs that engage them, offer a learning environment and instill values such as hard work, perseverance and discipline. Whether it’s scholarships in memory of former hockey players or awards programs for local children, your organization should have a way of helping local youngsters gain confidence and develop strong character traits as they grow through the sport of hockey.