Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Hockey Quebec Unveils Development Plan for 2011-2013


On Saturday June 4th, Hockey Quebec unveiled its 2011-2013 development plan for girls hockey. The plan features a thorough review of the strengths and weaknesses of girls hockey in Quebec.

And, it examines each of Hockey Quebec's four categories Initiation, Recreation, Competition and Excellence. A departure for Hockey Quebec is that they define competition as narrow as just two categories, Peewee AA and Bantam AA.

Also, new, is the inclusion of Midget AA as a part of the excellence program.

The plan is looking to create a girls only intiation program (Pre-Novice-Novice/MAGH) across the province and build a base of girls who are start in girls hockey and continue all the way through in girls hockey.

In so doing, there is a belief that the delivery of service can be standardized across the province.

Also, Hockey Quebec is looking to build a relationship with former elite level players and have them return to work as coaches to help develop the girls program. An excellent step towards fortifying the development across the province!

For a copy of the development plan for 2011-2013, please email girlshockeylsl@gmail.com

From Ryan Walter- LOGOS not Numbers!




LOGOS not NUMBERS

Is your team firing on all cylinders? Is your team having a blast doing it?

Over the last 45 seasons that I have been on teams of all levels, I have discovered that team dynamic always moves in one of two directions, either north-better, or south-worse. Teams never stay stagnant. A vibrant, exciting TEAM dynamic takes work, attention, and energy. Leaders who have great teams focus on creating and sustaining this dynamic because once the culture gets good, there is no guarantee that it will stay that way.

When I was coaching the Canadian National Women's Hockey Team at the World Championships in April, I introduced the phrase: LOGOS not NUMBERS. LOGOS not NUMBERS is my little metaphor to explain the importance of creating face-to-face conversations (logos) instead of behind the back negative talk (numbers). Leaders must be the first practitioners on their teams to adopt this policy. Increasing face-to-face conversations, starting from the top down, opens the TEAM dynamic to other potential positive change. If this foundational team piece is not in place first, however, not much else seems to work.

Practising LOGOS not NUMBERS is all about energy-focus and how it is specifically allocated. If I am upset or ambivalent about my team culture, then my energy will focus on my job and my opportunity (numbers) instead of pushing through to focus energy on what is good for the team (logos). Great team's talk to LOGOS, not NUMBERS and great leaders inspire their people to play for LOGOS, not NUMBERS.

I am reading a great book this week, Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, which explains the 5 stages of culture and how leaders can migrate through each. His Stage 3 corresponds perfectly with my NUMBERS analogy because it is all about ME. I hold on to energy and information because these help my career. I'm great and you're not. My enemies are people inside our organization who could take away my opportunity to be better.

Logan's description of Stage 4 culture which forms around the foundation of shared values, is a perfect description of what I call a LOGOS culture. In Stage 4 "WE'" are great. Our enemy is another company or organization. We share time and information because we feel good about our team!

Moving from NUMBERS to LOGOS is the method of transition from Stage 3 to Stage 4.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Value of Mentorship in the "AA" Girls Program


For a number of years we have been promoting the concept of bringing in Team Canada players, CIS Champions, NCAA players/Champions to work with our teams and allow the girls in our "AA" program to understand the level of commitment that is required to develop into one of those players, to understand that they had many obstacles to overcome to get to the level where they were able to achieve, that it isn't easy ( and if it was, anybody could do it) and despite all the challenges that the players face (even today) hockey is the greatest game and the girls should stay in the game as long as they can.

Well, when the Kodiaks were preparing for the Esso Cup, one of their technical directors sent them a congratulatory message from the National selection camp she was attending. Even though Caroline Ouellette had her hands full with making the national team for the world championships and preparing for that challenge, she had time to write this message:


Hi Girls!

Just wanted to say congratulations for winning the provincial championship! I was so happy to see the results of your great performance during the 6 games you played.You girls deserve it! You are extremely talented, yet worked very hard to be the best.

It is a great honour to be able to represent Quebec at the Nationals and you can be proud. I believe that you can go on and win it as well! Keep working together, doing whatever it takes for each other and the team. When the tournament is over, you want to be able to say to yourself that you gave it all and have no regrets. At times, the game might not start the way you want it and this is when you have to stick together, stay positive and find a way to give one another confidence. Always try to stay in the present moment focusing on the next shift and not thinking about what happened before. I personally believe that I play better when my mind is free and I am not thinking. I just read and react to what happens. I act when my team has the puck. I want the puck, I ask for it and when I have it, I want to be a difference maker!

Here's a quote I like:
"I will never quit, I will persevere and thrive on adversity. If knocked down, I will get back up every time.
I am never out of the fight.''

I wish I could be there as you prepare for the championship but I am at the National team selection camp.
Don't hesitate to write if I can help in any way!
Best of luck girls!

Well, let me tell you that when i read this email, all I could say is "This is exactly why I have been pushing for the mentorship program. what an inspiration, what guidance, what leadership and what tremendous support!"

How could anyone ever deny that value of the mentorship program when 3 time gold medalist in women's hockey invests herself in these girls success to this point! Now, i want this kind of support for every girl who plays hockey in Lac St Louis!

Lac St Louis "AA" Girls Program Looking for Coaches



The off season sees a great deal of preparation for the coming season. One of the areas that we try and attend to in the off season is the interview process that leads to the coaching selections.

For returning coaches, we start the process by asking for an expression of interest. Then, as part of the development program for our coaches, we send out coaches evaluation forms to all teams.

For those coaches expressing an interest in returning, we review the content of the coach's evaluation forms that are returned to us. We address the negative remarks in a way that will allow the coach to develop without being overwhelmed and build on the positive remarks.

For coaches that have not coached with us in the past, we ask them to prepare a hockey resume that allows us to understand their involvement in hockey prior to this coming season, understand their approach to coaching, their philosophy. Then, we also ask that an annual plan be prepared and brought to the interview.

Now, these steps do not guarantee success on the coaching front but it does allow us to minimize mistakes.

One thing that does guarantee success is the comportment of parents and their approach to the coach, his teachings and his approach. If the parents support the coach, the coach will have an easier time reaching the girls, teaching the girl all aspects of the game and allow them to enjoy the process of developing as player, person and competitor.

If parents elect not to provide the support necessary for the coach to succeed, the coach will NOT SUCCEED! The interview process, the annual plan, the philosophy, the approach will all go for not. And, the likelihood of a returning coach is very low.

This is a situation that we are faced with after this past season. Better parent comportment is a necessity to better coaching!

Lac St Louis Hockey Feminin Annual Report


On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 4:59 PM, Hockey Feminin Lac St Louis wrote:

The 2010-2011 season started with new challenges , different from the year before. A new league at AA with new management and a new operating focus was taking shape, three arenas in the Lac St Louis region were undergoing renovations to meet the new standards set out by the Quebec government , that meant that three partners would not be able to support hockey feminin's ice needs and alternatives would need to be found. Fortunately, the Centre Multisport de Châteauguay opened for business in time for us to have our season's games hosted at that facility, but with that facility came the challenges of the Mercier Bridge and all it had to offer for the folks commuting to the the Centre Multisport de Châteauguay from the other side of the river.


One of the areas that we wanted to attend to this season, as it became apparent that we were not doing a great job in this area, was communication. For some reason, miscommunication is the operating method in hockey arenas as far as hockey feminin was concerned and this year we wanted to attack that challenge head on. And, our approach of developing a regular newsletter dissemination to the members seemed to create a clear line of communication, informing the members of the tryout times, the developments in girl's hockey, the successes , the approaches to securing greater membership at the lower levels and garnering feedback on sensitive issues.


The tryout process started with the prospect of making two Peewee AA teams, two Bantam AA teams and three Midget AA teams. However, as the peewee AA team formation process took shape, we lost players back to boys hockey and we needed to re-constitute the process to yield just one peewee team. This, of course, resulted in disappointed girls and families and is a point that we need to address before the next tryout process so that it is not repeated. One of the other "AA" organizations, Richelieu, has passed a regulation (commencing this season) that will see girls that cannot make the boys "AA level" teams, the girls must report to girls hockey if they wish to play hockey. They believe that girls should play with girls.

We are going to have to examine alternatives that eliminate the disruption of the team formation process while girls are able to elect to choose which alternative they wish to pursue, boys or girls. It is distinctly possible that Richelieu is pursuing the right solution to that problem, however, we will review it from a Lac St Louis' perspective and find a solution to this challenge.


When the tryout process was completed, we had a Peewee AA team, two Bantam AA teams and three Midget AA teams. Our peewee AA team won two tournaments, finished fourth in league play and was eliminated in the third game of the Dodge Cup. When the peewees won their first tournament they defeated the powerful Estrie team, which was 26-0-1 and we were the team that tied Estrie (early in the season) to provide the sole blemish in their season. We were fortunate to have four dedicated coaches and a manager that allowed the girls to understand the love of the game, developed the girls' skill sets and teach them aspects of the game that a "AA" program should be teaching. we congratulate Claude, Yvon, Danny , Bryan and manager Kim for the excellent work they did with our girls this season and we are happy to have them back for the 2011-2012 season.

Our two Bantam AA teams experienced different fates. The Bantam AA Elites were coached by Sue St Louis, a veteran assistant coach who had just returned to minor hockey from coaching at the CEGEP level. Sue assembled a staff of former university and cegep level players and embarked upon teaching the girls a program that was similar in nature to that she had used at the CEGEP level. The coaches elected to provide team leaders with the responsibility of being leaders, preparing them for lays ahead, being the conduit by which the coaches communicated messages to the team. And, the coaches elected to hold players accountable to team rules, as they would face at the next level. Not all these approaches worked but still, the staff was able to finish 3rd in their division and had a nice run in the playoffs where they tested the Selects before being eliminated.

Sue also lead the Sudouest entry in the Jeux du Quebec at the end of February. Sue's leadership and coaching was able to led the team to a bronze medal, a significant accomplishment considering the meager ice resources that the Sud Ouest team had to prepare for the tournament.

The Selects were coached by Bruno Dumais, a veteran double letter coach. Along with Bruno was John Calderone and Patrick Handfield. The team started slowly but as the program kicked in, the team started to accumulate wins and finished first in their conference. Building on that success, the Selects went on to win the league playoffs. At the dodge cup, the team was on the short end of too many one goal games and were eliminated in the third game of the dodge cup. All in all a successful run in the win, loss column and from the look of things, the girls were well prepared for their next level.

Bruno's assistant, John Calderone, was appointed head coach for the Lac St Louis entry into the Jeux Du Quebec and with the seeding of the tournament based on the previous tournament's results, the Lac st Louis team faced a stronger opponent thatn maybe they would have had the previous team's performance had been stronger, and as a result, the Lac St Louis team finished fifth.

Both Jeux Du Quebec teams reported what a tremendous experience the Jeux Du Quebec was and, of course, the girls were exposed to a tournament style that they may be faced with if they go on to play at the Team Quebec or Team Canada level.

We thank the two coaching staff's (Selects and Elites) for their time and commitment to our girls and are pleased with the work that they have done. We understand that Sue is looking to coach in an older age category, and may return to CEGEP, while Bruno has expressed an interest in returning to the Selects.

Our Midget AA program had three teams this year. The Midget AA Selects were our after school program. The Elites were our evening program and the Kodiaks, the first year of the program, also followed the guidelines of an after school program but was firmly based with a student body at Kuper Academy.

Robert Lanno led the Selects to a third place finish in their conference and were eliminated in the conference semi final by the Kodiaks. Overall, the Selects were able to compete and develop nicely through the year and often flirted with being an upper echelon team. we will see a number of the Selects suit up at the CEGEP level next season, as the Selects had a larger contingent of second year players. This is an indication of the level of preparedness that the Selects coaching staff provided this group of girls.

The Elites were coached by Don Planche, a veteran double letter coach, assisted by Alex Robertson and Dean Allison. Don's side had many first year players but also a blend of veterans. The team faced a series of challenges as the season progressed and one of the major challenges was that the injury bug hit them hard and while the team had some strong components, they were never together for very long and not long enough to gel. That led to more losses than the team had expected and another challenge was managing the moral and spirit of the girls as they faced the challenges.

As much adversity that the Elites faced, the Kodiaks met with success. The Kodiaks, coached by Bruce Hannough and assistants Britney Privee, Carmine Starnino and Rodney Taylor, finished first in their conference, tied for first overall with the Estrie Rapides, they won the playoffs, winning the final in shoot out and then, won gold in the dodge cup, which earned them the right to go to St Albert, Alberta to represent Quebec at the Esso Cup. The Kodiaks finished fourth in the nation!

To follow the Kodiaks experience at the Esso Cup, please click on this link:
http://lacstlouisgirlshockey.blogspot.com/2011/05/this-is-story-of-19-kuper-sisters-that.html


And, now what can we expect for the 2011-2012 season. First off, there are a selection of changes in the schools assigned to the Selects program. Please review the list below:


John Rennie
College Ste. Anne
Queen of Angels
Westwood High school
Royal West Academy
Westmount H.S.
Khanawake Survival School
Ecole des Sources (S.E.)
PCHS
Kuper Academy (until Midget)*
Lauren Hill Academy
Lakeside Academy (Lachine)
St. Thomas
BHS
Howard S. Bllings

If your daughter does not attend any of the schools listed above, and is a second year peewee, bantam or midget player in her first two years, then your daughter is eligible for the Elites program.

Note. The exception to this is the Midget aged players who attend Kuper, they are eligible for the Kodiaks program.


At the time of preparing this report, we are in discussions that could led to a second school based after noon program, but exclusively at the Midget AA level . Ecole Louis - Phillippe Pare, across the street from the the Centre Multisport de Châteauguay, has been in discussions with John Rennie High School and Howard S. Billings High School to help provide anglophone students to a sport etude program based out of the the Centre Multisport de Châteauguay. This would require a revision, at the Midget AA level, of the schools that are designated for the Selects program as it would be the Selects program that would be assigned , should these negotiations come to fruition.


As you know, we support the movement of programs towards schools and in the afternoons as it permits the students to complete their hockey requirements early in the day and frees their evenings for homework. And, it also lessens the burden of finding ice in the evening that is fair and equitable for girls to reasonably attend from all corners of the region. On balance, we also recognize that the sport etudes or after school program is not for everyone. As such, we continue to support an evening program that allows families who, elect not to support the afternoon model, the opportunity to pursue "AA" hockey.


In conclusion, I take this opportunity to recognize the work, support and dedication of the all the members of the hockey feminin commission , VP Hockey Feminin Ed Dodds, Treasurer Claude Chouchani and the permanent staff at the region, Simon Joly and Sylvian McSween. The success of the program requires strong leadership and that is provided by J.P. Fortier, and the Lac St Louis Board of Directors who continue to have the vision of growing the girls game and Lac St Louis' place in the girls game. To all, thank you for giving our girls access to the greatest game on earth!

Lac St Louis Hockey feminin to Study Hockey Richelieu Resolution and Examine Possible impact on Lac St Louis


On April 12th Hockey Richelieu adopted a resolution to manage the girls hockey program in their region by following a plan that would have girls play with girls except under the following circumstance; (http://www.rapides.ca/index_files/resolution.pdf )

That if a girl is able to attain the level of "AA" in mixed hockey at the peewee, bantam or midget level, she would be permitted to play on that team.
Should a girl not be able to attain that level, she would be required to play in the girls program

t atom, if a girl is able to attain the "BB" level in the mixed program, then she would be permitted to play on the team.
Should the girl be unable to attain the "BB" level in Atom, she will be required to participate in the girls program.

The exceptions to this rule apply, as always, to goaltenders. Should a girl goaltender not attain the "AA" level at peewee, bantam and midget, she would be permitted to tryout for the "BB" and"CC" teams. should she attain that level, she would be permitted to play on that team.

At Atom, if a girl goaltender was unable to attain the "BB" team, she would be permitted to try for the "CC" level only. Should she attain that level, she would play for that team. If not, she would report to the girls program.

Following the Hockey Richelieu resolution, girls hockey programs from across the province are examining the impact this resolution would have if implemented in their region. Hockey Lac St Louis is scheduled to examine this resolution and the impact on Hockey Lac St Louis in the coming days.

In Lac St Louis, there are 199 girls who play mixed hockey from Atom to Midget. Of those 199 girls, 4 played at the Atom "BB" level (of which 2 were goaltenders), 1 peewee "AA", 1 Bantam "AA". There was 1 Peewee "BB" goaltender, 1 Bantam "BB" goaltender and 2 Bantam "CC" goaltenders in the region.

Please visit this blog for updates on the Hockey Richelieu resolution and the decisions of Hockey Lac St Louis as it impacts the girls hockey program.

Sport Etude Program at Louis-Philippe Pare delayed One year


The Midget AA program that has been discussed with the sport etudes at Ecole Louis Philippe Pare has been delayed for 1 year.

The girls hockey is divided into four sectors: Initiation, Recreation, Competition and Excellence. Many of the recommendations that have been made to help improve the development and experience of girls hockey in Quebec have included a greater exposure to sport etudes programs across the province.

The thinking behind these recommendations are circulating around the strengthening of coaching, access to day time ice to improve the hours available to girls hockey and a fortifying of the strength and conditioning components of the excellence program.

So, the Ecole Louis Philippe Pare initative has been delayed to introduce the program to all Midget aged and eligible players, allow coaches and player (alike) to understand the development plan that Hockey Quebec has established for the 2011-2013 corridor and how the sport etudes program at Ecole Louis Philippe Pare plays a role in that plan.

Please continue to visit this blog for updates on the Ecole Louis Philippe Pare sport etudes, the Hockey Quebec development plan for girls hockey 2011-2013 and the evaluation of the excellence program.