"AA" Tryout schedule Unvieled

Lac St Louis “AA” Tryout schedule

August 17 17h00-18h30 Peewee Elites/Selects at Pointe Claire 2
August 17 18h30-20h00 Bantam Elites and Selects at Pointe Claire 2
August 20 11h30-13h30 Midget Elites, Selects and Kodiaks DDO Rink 3
August 20 13h30-15h00 Bantam Elites and Selects DDO Rink 3
August 20 15h00-16h30 Peewee Elites and Selects DDO Rink 3
August 24 17h45-19h15 Peewee Elites and Selects Pointe Claire 2
August 24 19h15-20h45 Bantam Elites and Selects Pointe Claire 2
August 24 20h45 -22h15 Midget Elites, Selects and Kodiaks Pointe Claire 2
August 27 11h30-13h30 Midget Elites, Selects and Kodiaks DDO Rink 3
August 27 13h30-15h00 Bantam Elites and Selects DDO Rink 3
August 27 15h00-16h30 Peewee Elites and Selects DDO Rink 3
August 31 17h45-19h15 Peewee Elites and Selects Pointe Claire 2
August 31 19h15-20h45 Bantam Elites and Selects Pointe Claire 2
August 31 20h45-22h15 Midget Elites, Selects and Kodiaks Pointe Claire 2
Sept 3 10h15-11h45 Peewee Elites and Selects DDO Rink 2
Sept 3 11h45-13h15 Bantam elites and Selects DDO Rink 2
Sept 3 13h15-14h45 Midget Elites, Selects and Kodiaks DDO Rink 2

A straight fee of $65 for each player is required which covers all the tryouts.

3 Lac St Louis Girls Invited to U22 Team Canada Camp

Three Lac St Louis girls have been invited to the Team Canada U22 camp in Rockland, Ontario August 6 to August 16th. The three ladies are: Melodie Daoust, Jamie Leonoff and Laurieane Rougeau.

Meldoie, a forward, just completed two seasons with Edouard Montpetit CEGEP in Longueuil and has committed to the McGill Martlets for the coming season, joining the reigning CIS champions. Melodie had previously played on Canada's U18 squad in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Laurieane, a defenseman, is returning to Cornell University where Laurieane has been a second team all american in her her freshman and sopohomore years. Laurieane captained Canada's first U18 squad, has been a member of Canada's U22 team for three years.

Jamie Leonoff, a goalie, just graduated from Pomfrets School and , while away at school, suited up for the Connecticut Polar Bears U19, Tier 1 team and attended the US Nationals. Jamie is committed to Yale University for the upcoming school year.

SIX JOUEUSES DU QUÉBEC AU CAMP DES -22 ANS

Hockey Canada a annoncé vendredi les noms des 40 joueuses qui ont été invitées au camp de l'équipe nationale féminine de développement/des moins de 22 ans du Canada, qui se tiendra du 7 au 16 août, à l’Académie canadienne et internationale de hockey, à Rockland, Ontario.

De cette liste, les québécoises Mélodie Daoust, Roxanne Douville, Jaimie Leonoff, Cassandra Poudrier Lauriane Rougeau et Marie-Philip Poulin auront la chance de percer l'alignement final.

La liste d’invitation comprend quatre gardiennes de but, 12 défenseures et 24 joueuses d’avant. Les choix ont été faits en fonction des résultats des tests au camp de préparation physique du printemps dernier et des évaluations au cours de la saison 2010-2011 par les dépisteurs de Hockey Canada, y compris la performance au sein du programme de l’équipe nationale féminine du Canada, avec leur équipe de club et aux championnats provinciaux et nationaux des ligues du Sport interuniversitaire canadien (SIC) et de la National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Hockey Canada a également annoncé jeudi que l’ancienne membre de l’équipe nationale féminine Laura Schuler (Scarborough, Ont./Université de Minnesota Duluth, WCHA) sera l’entraîneure-chef de l’équipe, alors que Rachel Flanagan (Guelph, Ont./Hockey Canada) et Rebecca Russell (Lethbridge, T.-N.-L./Okanagan Hockey Academy) occuperont un poste d’entraîneure adjointe.

Après le camp, les dépisteurs de Hockey Canada et le personnel d’entraîneures de la formation continueront d’évaluer les joueuses dans leur équipe de club durant la saison 2011-12. Ceci servira à sélectionner l’équipe canadienne qui participera à la Coupe MLP 2012, en janvier prochain, à Füssen, Allemagne. Le Canada a gagné ce tournoi international huit fois en neuf ans, ne perdant que deux rencontres.

CLIQUEZ ICI POUR VOIR L’HORAIRE DU CAMP DE L'ÉQUIPE NATIONALE FÉMININE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT/DES MOINS DE 22 ANS DU CANADA

Les 40 joueuses présentes au camp de l'équipe nationale féminine de développement/des moins de 22 ans du Canada seront divisées en deux formations　: les Bleus et les Jaunes. Elles prendront part à des entraînements et des matchs intraéquipes au cours de la semaine. Ce camp sera organisé en collaboration avec le camp de sélection de l’équipe nationale des moins de 18 ans, qui divisera 40 autres joueuses en deux groupes, les Rouges et les Blancs, pour des entraînements et des matchs intraéquipes.

CLIQUEZ ICI POUR VOIR LA LISTE DES JOUEUSES INVITÉES AU CAMP DE L'ÉQUIPE NATIONALE FÉMININE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT/DES MOINS DE 22 ANS DU CANADA

La liste d’invitation au camp de l'équipe nationale féminine de développement/des moins de 22 ans du Canada comprend　:

Une joueuse qui a remporté la médaille d’or avec l’équipe nationale féminine du Canada aux Jeux olympiques d’hiver de 2010 à Vancouver, C.-B. (Poulin)

Deux joueuses centralisées avec l’équipe nationale féminine du Canada à Calgary, Alberta, durant la saison 2009-10 (Jenner, Poulin)

Trois joueuses qui ont mérité la médaille d’argent avec l’équipe nationale féminine du Canada au Championnat mondial féminin 2011 de l’IIHF, à Winterthur et Zurich, en Suisse (Poulin, Spooner, Watchorn)

Trois joueuses qui ont gagné la médaille d’argent avec l’équipe nationale féminine des moins de 18 ans du Canada au Championnat mondial féminin des moins de 18 ans 2011 de l’IIHF, à Stockholm, Suède (S. Bram, Edney, Kosta)

Douze joueuses qui ont aidé l’équipe nationale féminine des moins de 18 ans du Canada à mériter sa première médaille d’or au Championnat mondial féminin des moins de 18 ans 2010 de l’IIHF, à Chicago, Illinois (Armstrong, Bestland, Campbell, Cudmore, Daoust, Davis, Howe, Mercer, Poudrier, Rattray, Saulnier, Terry)

Seize joueuses qui ont mérité l’or avec l’équipe nationale féminine des moins de 22 ans du Canada à la Coupe MLP 2011, à Kruezlingen, Suisse (B. Bram, Douville, Fortino, Haverstock, Kohanchuk, McIntosh, McKeough, Ménard, Prevost, Rougeau, Saulnier, Spooner, Terry, White, Watchorn, Wong)

Il s’agira d’un premier camp du programme national féminin pour quatre joueuses : Laura Brooker (Fergus, Ont./Université Wilfrid Laurier, OUA), Mel Desrochers (Welland, Ont./Université St. Lawrence, ECAC), Reagan Fischer (Irma, Alb./Collège Dartmouth, ECAC) et Sasha Nanji (Markham, Ont./ Collège Dartmouth, ECAC).

Les joueuses invitées au camp de l'équipe nationale féminine de développement/des moins de 22 ans du Canada, réparties par province　:

Ontario – 22 (Armstrong, Babstock, Brooker, Cudmore, Desrochers, Edney, Fortino, Howe, Jenner, Kosta, Mazzotta, McKeough, McIntosh, Ménard, Mercer, Nanji, Prevost, Rattray, Spooner, Terry, Watchorn, White)

Québec – six (Daoust, Douville, Leonoff, Poudrier, Poulin, Rougeau)

Manitoba – cinq (Bestland, B. Bram, S. Bram, Grenier, Kohanchuk)

Nouvelle-Écosse – trois (Haverstock, Saulnier, Wong)

Alberta – deux (Fischer, Pacholok)

Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador – une (Davis)

Saskatchewan – une (Campbell)

Hockey Canada organisera aussi diverses activités de développement de hockey féminin, y compris des séminaires pour les entraîneures et les officielles, des camps d’habiletés pour les joueuses, des mini matchs aux entractes et des activités Vivez un rêve, ce qui donnera la chance à de jeunes joueuses de se joindre à des joueuses de moins de 18 ans pour des séances d’échauffement sur et hors glace durant la série de trois matchs entre le Canada et les États-Unis.

Hockey Québec souhaite bonne chance à Mélodie Daoust, Roxanne Douville, Jaimie Leonoff, Cassandra Poudrier Lauriane Rougeau et Marie-Philip Poulin!

Interview with Dawson College women's Coach Scott Lambton

Interview with Dawson College women’s coach, Scott Lambton, on the trends he has seen in the development of girls hockey and regarding specifics to Lac St Louis girls hockey

Scott, you have been coaching Dawson women’s team since ?
Eight years! Head coach for the past five seasons.
And how has the game evolved since you started coaching?
I think that in the last 3 or 4 years , the lower end of girls hockey has improved so that gap between the strong and weaker girls has narrowed. The high side has stayed the same or lowered just a bit.
What do you attribute that to?
Not as many girls, high end girls are coming to the CEGEP level with the same level of game sense that we had experienced earlier. Catherine Ward, Lauriane Rougeau and Marie Phillippe Poulin, these girls had a great understanding of the game.
With the exception of Catherine Ward, these girls came out of boys hockey. Laurianne and Marie Phil played Midget Espoir, they may have been better prepared having played boys hockey at that level.
However, we see the girls playing boys hockey learning too many bad habits in an attempt to survive the game, whereas the girls playing girls hockey continue to grow their skills and competition levels . the game knowledge, we hope, will be addressed as they lose the fear of being injured by an over sized boy.
In our program we play a possession style game and there are certain nuiances to that game which are fundamentally different than dumping the puck in the corner and trying to over power the defender for the puck. We like to create offensive opportunities, we like to delay as we enter the zone look for the trailer, these aspects are not developed at some of the boys levels and we see girls getting the puck, chipping it deep thereby removing the threat of being hammer by the defenseman.

Hockey Lac St Louis joined Richelieu Hockey in passing a resolution to move all girls to girls hockey with the exception of girls who can play and compete at the highest level. What are your thoughts on that?

My first reaction is I like it because , as I mentioned before, we play a possession game and I believe that the Lac St Louis “AA’ program (and Richelieu as well) will teach more of that game inside girls hockey than the girls would learn playing BB or Cc or A or B.

Exposure for the girls, with the new resolution, is going to be better. We, as recruiters, no longer have to worry about missing a girl who plays CC or BB on some team. The girls we are looking for will either be playing “AA” boys or “AA” girls and we can spend more time focused on those two areas rather than covering all sorts of different level tournaments and games to follow the girls at the various levels.


Who is the best player that you have coached?
Marie Phillippe Poulin

What, in your opinion, needs to taught more of at the lower levels, before they come to the CEGEP level?

Mental Aspect? They need work more on the mental preparation of the game…they need more mentoring, they need to have better time management skills as the first half season is very overwhelming for incoming CEGEP students.
Physcial Aspect? Not enough exposure to high intensity training. Hockey Quebec has taken some steps with their U14 and U16 programs to introduce the girls to high performance training but it needs to be instilled earlier
Skills Aspect? Skating? Basic skating, yes…Agility and explosiveness and footwork, the standard is too low in this aspect.
Puck Possession? This is the weakest area. Because too many have developed bad habits to survive. Playing Bantam BB or Cc, Midget BB, Midget CC or A or B does more harm than good. From what I know from lac st Louis, a girls hockey’s team is going to get more practice hours…just being on ice, you are bound to get better!
When you put a girl with contact hockey with guys, they tend to throw pucks away to protect themselves from being hurt.. both forwards and defensemen do this….
Should there be more contact in girls hockey here in Quebec considering what Quebec teams face in national tournaments?
Two girls battling are usually in the same strength neighbourhood, while with guys versus a girl, the strength equation is too lob sided. If Quebec is moving towards developing a league where it is a AAA regional level, like the teams at the Esso Cup, then yes…that battling would be a great addition and if they could take out the stick work then, that would be great as well!
How do you find the level of coaching in Lac St Louis?
The past four or five years there has been a significant improvement in the preparation of the girls, the coaching has improved as coaches seem to be putting more energy in the girls preparation. Still, there are many areas of improvement as we discussed in what the girls need to be taught before arriving at CEGEP level… but there is certainly a better preparation, as I mentioned earlier that the mid and lower level CEGEP players skills are much further ahead than they were four or five years ago.

Thanks for your time, Scott!

PREMIER CAMP DE SÉLECTION D’ÉQUIPE QUÉBEC FÉMININE

Hockey Québec tient à souligner la tenue du camp de perfectionnement d’Équipe Québec féminine moins de 16 ans.
Le camp se tiendra au complexe GM Thibault de Sherbrooke les 9 et 10 juillet 2011 sous la responsabilité de monsieur Pierre Alain, entraîneur-chef des Cheminots de St-Jérôme, de la ligue de hockey collégial féminin.

Pour l’occasion, les 66 joueuses invitées seront divisées en deux groupes. Les joueuses proviennent de la journée portes-ouvertes tenue plus tôt cette année.

Il faut mentionner que le programme de développement des joueuses de moins de 16 ans a été mis sur pied afin de s’assurer du développement des meilleures joueuses identifiées du Québec. Avec ce programme, la fédération s’assure de :

- Identifier les talents de joueuses de hockey québécoises;
- Introduire nos meilleures joueuses de 16 ans et moins au Programme
d’excellence de Hockey Québec et au programme d’entraînement d’un athlète
de haute performance;
- Développer les meilleures espoirs féminins du Québec et par le fait même
d’améliorer le niveau de jeu du hockey féminin en sol québécois;
- Enseigner les valeurs et l’éthique de travail du programme Équipe Québec;
- Suivre et préparer la relève pour le Programme d’Équipe Québec des moins de
18 ans.


Voici la liste finale des joueuses en présence :



ALIGNEMENT ÉQUIPE BLEU - PROGRAMME DE MOINS DE 16 ANS
# NOM PRÉNOM POSITION TIR DDN GRANDEUR POIDS ÉQUIPE 2010-2011 DIVISION CLASSE
1 Ayotte Marie-Pier G G 22-04-1997 5'3'' 110 lbs Rafales Mauricie Bantam AAF
29 Connolly Vicky G G 15-07-1997 5'6'' 125 lbs Hurricanes Masteuiash Bantam CC
30 Lebrun Sabrina G G 20-08-1996 5'4'' 95 lbs Turbo Suroît Est Bantam BB
31 Rehel Frédéric G G 27-05-1996 5'5'' 115 lbs Mariniers Rimouski Bantam BB
33 Soucy Noémie G G 02-02-1996 5'5'' 128 lbs Bulldogs du Rocher Bantam CC
35 Trévisan Maude G G 04-05-1997 5'8'' 155 lbs Pionnières Laurentides Bantam AAF

2 Fredette-Ménard Audrey D D 14-05-1997 5'2'' 120 lbs Rapides de l'Estrie Bantam AAF
3 Laganière Brigitte D G 01-08-1996 5'3" 115 lbs Canadiennes Montréal Bantam AAF
4 Therrien Maude-Sophie D G 01-04-1996 5'2'' 115 lbs Rapides de l'Estrie Bantam AAF
5 Vigneault Kimberley D G 24-01-1998 5'3'' 145 lbs Basques Sept-Iles Pee-wee BB
12 Bezeau-Tremblay Marilou D G 03-04-1997 5'6'' 116 lbs Pionnières Laurentides Bantam AAF
13 Domsodi Alyssa D D 30-10-1996 5'8'' 126 lbs Sélects LSL Bantam AAF
14 Scott Audrey D G 03-01-1997 5'9'' 120 lbs Rafales Mauricie Bantam AAF
15 Scully Karleigh Marlanya D D 24-04-1996 5'6'' 137 lbs Sélects LSL Bantam AAF

6 Audet Valérie A G 16-06-1997 5'3'' 120 lbs Express Richelieu Bantam AAF
7 Boudreau Mélina A G 30-01-1996 5'2'' 110 lbs Spartans Stanstead College Midget AAF
8 Boulianne Katia A D 15-01-1996 5'3" 92 lbs Pionnières Laurentides Bantam AA
9 Côté Delphine A G 06-02-1997 4'11'' 94 lbs Élites Estrie Bantam AAF
10 Dumais Léa A G 06-08-1997 5'1'' 105 lbs Sélects LSL Bantam AAF
11 Millette Vicky A G 09-04-1996 5'3'' 105 lbs Express du Richelieu Bantam AAF
16 Coutu-Godbout Sarah-Eve A G 16-06-1997 5'7" 127 lbs Capitale Rouyn-Noranda Bantam CC
17 Conner-Savage Morgan A D 18-07-1996 5'9'' 140 lbs Express Outaouais Bantam AAF
18 De Serres Mathilde A D 03-01-1996 5'5'' 135 lbs Ouragan Versant-Ouest Bantam CC
19 Ducharme-Roy Daphney A D 07-09-1996 5'6'' 120 lbs Rapides de l'Estrie Bantam AAF
20 Dussault Audrey A G 30-04-1996 5'8'' 135 lbs Rapides de l'Estrie Bantam AAF
21 Germain Annie A G 19-05-1996 5'6'' 160 lbs Kiwanis Lemieux Val d'Or Midget B
22 Houde-Gagnon Florence A D 22-05-1998 122 lbs Panthères Port-Cartier Pee wee A
23 Lalancette Stéphanie A D 28-09-1996 5'5'' 115 lbs Hurricanes Masteuiash Bantam CC
24 Picard Ève-Audrey A G 16-02-1996 5'4'' 120 lbs Remparts Richelieu Bantam AAF
25 Rhainds Samantha A G 05-11-1996 5'4.5'' 130 lbs Élites LSL Bantam AAF
26 Tremblay Noémie A D 18-10-1996 5'4'' 120 lbs Rebelles Gaguenay Bantam AF
27 Valentim Rachelle A G 22-11-1996 5'5'' 127 lbs Rebelles Laval Bantam AAF



ALIGNEMENT ÉQUIPE BLANC - PROGRAMME DES MOINS DE 16 ANS
# NOM PRÉNOM POSITION TIR DDN GRANDEUR POIDS ÉQUIPE 2010-11 DVISION CLASSE
1 Bélanger Sarah-Jane G G 02-06-1996 5'6'' 115 lbs Sélects du Nord Bantam AAM
29 Bouchard Mathilde G D 10-08-1996 5'8'' 130 lbs Blues Baie-Comeau Bantam AM
30 Boucher Vanessa G G 09-03-1997 5'2'' Aiglons Alma Bantam BB
31 Choquette-Corbeil Rosalie G D 27-05-1997 5'4'' 130 lbs Express du Richelieu Bantam AA
33 Philbert Alice G G 10-11-1996 5'3'' 101 lbs Phénix du Richelieu Bantam CC
35 Roy Elsa G G 18-03-1997 5'3'' 165 lbs Frontière Coaticook Bantam CC

2 Calderone Alexandra D G 04-02-1997 5'2'' 115 lbs Sélects Lac St-Louis Bantam AAF
3 Deaudelin Christine D G 13-06-1997 5'3'' 110 lbs Express du Richelieu Bantam AA
4 Léonard Delphine D G 02-01-1996 5'4'' 106 lbs Canadiennes Montréal Bantam AAF
5 Nikolidakis Alexandra D D 13-02-1997 5'3'' 135 lbs Rebelles Laval Bantam AAF
12 Daoust Caroline D D 28-02-1996 5'6'' 150 lbs Barracudas 2 Rives Bantam BB
13 Haddad Jessie D G 07-07-1996 5'7'' 120 lbs Rebelles Laval Bantam AAF
14 Hébert Mauranne D G 15-01-1997 5'6'' 130 lbs Cyclones Bas St-Laurent Midget AAF
15 Tousignant Sabrina D G 05-05-1997 5'6'' 115 lbs Rafales Mauricie Bantam AAF
16 Yetman Julia D G 15-12-1996 Barracudas Deux Rives Bantam BB

6 Bernier Judyanne A G 05-09-1996 4'11.5'' 96 lbs Cyclones Bas St-Laurent Bantam AAF
7 Diotte Geneviève A D 11-02-1997 5'4" 116 lbs Draveurs 2 Mont-Laurier Bantam AF
8 Duncan Sherry A G 02-08-1996 5'4'' 117 lbs Express Outaouais Bantam AAF
9 Lecours Kellyane A D 23-01-1997 5'4'' 120 lbs Tigres Victoriaville Bantam CC
10 Milot Marie-Anne A G 09-04-1997 5'3'' 115 lbs Rafales Mauricie Bantam AAF
11 Ouellet Andreyann A G 10-07-1996 5'1'' 115 lbs Rapides de l'Estrie Bantam AAF
17 Beaulieu Noémie A G 07-04-1996 5'3'' 130 lbs Élites Estrie Bantam AAF
18 Chapdelaine Jolanne A D 18-07-1996 5'6'' 125 lbs Élites Estrie Bantam AAF
19 Drouin Alexe A G 23-04-1996 5'5'' 125 lbs Express Richelieu Bantam AA
20 Giguère Élizabeth A D 08-05-1997 5'8'' 128 lbs Citadelles de Québec Bantam AAF
21 Labelle Alexandra A G 27-02-1996 5'7'' 155 lbs Étolies Beauval Bantam AAM
22 Laloche Moreen A D 10-02-1996 5'8'' 150 lbs Rafales Mauricie Bantam AAF
23 Phillion Claudia A G 22-05-1996 5'9'' 136 lbs Express Outaouais Bantam AF
24 Poirier Isabelle A G 27-01-1996 5'4'' 123 lbs Canadiennes Montréal Bantam AAF
25 Roy Sophie A G 02-01-1996 5'1'' 125 lbs Rafales Mauricie Bantam AAF
26 Tremblay Annie-Pier A D 29-09-1996 4'10'' 102 lbs Rapides de l'Estrie Bantam AAF
27 Stacey Brooke A G 28-06-1996 5'8" 136 lbs Ontario Hockey Academy Midget AAF
28 Tremblay Élisabeth A D 23-06-1996 5'3'' 126 lbs Express Richelieu Bantam AAF


Voici un horaire abrégé comprenant toute l’information nécessaire pour assister aux matchs du camp :
Camp Programme de développement des moins de 16 ans :

Samedi 9 juillet 2011

9h00-10h30 Pratique Équipe Blanc
10h30-12h00 Pratique Équipe Bleu
15h00-16h30 Pratique Équipe Blanc
16h30 à 18h00 Pratique Équipe Bleu

Dimanche 10 juillet

9h00-10h30 Pratique Équipe Blanc
10h30-12h00 Pratique Équipe Bleu
14h30-16h00 Match Bleu vs Blanc
Hockey Québec souhaite BONNE CHANCE à toutes les participantes!

À propos de Hockey Québec
Hockey Québec est un organisme de régie, fondé en 1976, qui coordonne les activités d’environ 7 000 équipes comprenant 100 000 joueurs disséminées au sein de quelque 250 organisations sportives et qui appuie le travail de près de 50 000 administrateurs bénévoles, entraîneurs et officiels à travers le Québec. Pour plus de détails, visitez-le site Internet de Hockey Québec.

Girls hockey in Lac St Louis: The Changes explained

Girls from Boys Hockey Moving to Girls Hockey

On June 5, 2010 Hockey Quebec assembled all the regional directors of girls hockey in the province and spent the day examining the pros and cons of girls hockey. Also invited were a selection of outside parties that had an interest in the development of girls hockey, CEGEP and university coaches.

The discussions that flowed from this get together covered all areas of the game, from providing access to the game to the development of girl referees and coaches, to single letter to double letter girls programs.

All the points were recorded and these points were used to establish a development plan for 2011-2013. That development plan was presented to the regional girls hockey directors on June 4th 2011.


With the development plan in place, a task list established with timelines and stated objectives, the leadership of the girls hockey program in Lac St Louis asked the Board of Directors to pass a resolution to move all girls from boys hockey to girls hockey with the exception of girls who could play at the highest level ( Atom “BB”, Peewee “AA”, Bantam “AA”, or Midget “AA”/ Midget Espoir).

Lac St Louis, in adopting this approach, were the second region in Quebec to pass a resolution of this nature. Richelieu passed a similar resolution in April of 2011.

The net result is that of the 393 girls who played boys hockey in 2010-2011, based on their level and category , there would only be 9 girls playing boys hockey.

The Development Plan 2011-2013

One of the features of the plan was the definition of hockey in terms of the services provided.

In boys hockey, you have Inititation, Recreation, Competition and Excellence.

Girls hockey has the same. Intitiation is covering the youngest age group, Pre Novice, Novice and Atom; Recreation covers the single letter programs offered from Atom to Junior, the competition level in girls hockey is limited in definition to Peewee AA and Bantam AA and Midget AA is part of the excellence program along with CEGEP hockey, U18, U22 and Canadian National programs.

A new addition to the development plan is that Hockey Quebec has started U14 and U16 development teams . These teams have been designed to identify the talent of the girl hockey players under 16 years of age; to introduce girls under 16 to the excellence program and high performance training; to develop these prospects and by so doing increasing the quality of the play in girls hockey in Quebec, instill good working habits for the U18 team by developing these habits earlier, follow and prepare these girls for the U18 program.

These two programs have been established in a direct response to the success Alberta had in the Canada Games. Alberta won gold in the Canada Games this past February by training and preparing their girls from the age of 12 to the time they reached Canada Games at 16 or 17 years old.

The first week of July, 66 girls from across the province were invited to participate in the first U16 camp. Of those 66 girls, 10 girls were from Lac St Louis. As a result of the camp, three girls were promoted to the U18 camp of which 2 of the three were from Lac St Louis, Samantha Rhainds and Julia Yetman.

So, to review Intitation program covers the first five years of development, establishing a base of skill.

Recreation is available the entire life of a minor hockey player from Atom through to the end of Junior hockey.

At the competition level, we have four years to teach girls how to compete in the girls game, and provide the tools to succeed in the excellence program. And, we have to have a delivery system that standardizes the teaching of the levels across the province.

To the average reader this may sound like we are developing a hockey program to yield high end players. Well, in some respects we are. Hockey Quebec is very proud of the fact that Quebec represents such a large portion of the Olympic gold medal winning rosters.

And, they know that this just doesn’t happen without a development plan to prepare and develop all the girls to yield the top end.

To that end, there are certain requirements that are necessary. Girls need to have proper level coaching, need sufficient practice ice to develop and they need to adhere to an off ice training regime that will help them develop the strength, agility, mobility and conditioning to compete at the highest level.

And, this is true from MAGH through to the Excellence levels…

LTAD

In 2007, all the Olympic participating sports and nations adopted the Long Term Athletic Development program in sports that were long term athletic development in nature. As you know, gymnasts can win Olympic gold medals at 14 years old, hockey players take a longer time to develop…

So dry land training has been adopted at the double letter level as a necessary requirement to all teams’ programs.

And, as this new season approaches, certain standards will be established for single letter teams as well.

A standardized single letter program that provides a combination of ice and dry land training is the key to continuing the development of girls in this fantastic sport.

Myth Busted

Many girls, until this year, have elected to play recreational hockey with the boys instead of “AA” hockey with the girls in the belief that their development will be better with the boys.

That is decidedly not true if you are preparing your daughter to play in the excellence program at the age of midget and beyond.

Recreational boys hockey is recreation hockey. The coaching at that level holds a recreation coaching certification and does not run the same kind of program that a competition program would provide. The commitment to practice ice is much lower, perhaps as much as a third of a competition program.

The “AA” coaching staffs are required to have completed a minimum of Competition 1 coaching certification and that coaching certification is designed to prepare coaches to run a competition level program…it teaches practice preparation, ice utilization, progressive skill development in a competition environment.

If you are looking to develop your daughter as a hockey player to enter the excellence level, you cannot expect to substitute a competition level of development with a recreation program and expect to yield the same results, because the results will not be the same…100%! The programs are designed for different purposes.

Balance between Boys and Girls

One of the points that was most loudly discussed at the June 2010 assembly and noted in the development plan was the access to ice for the girls program versus the access the boys program has.

We have organizations within Lac St Louis that provide less ice to their single letter girls programs because they have less members on their team. A team of girls that is made up of 11 members , in the minds of these organizational leaders, should not have the same access to ice as a boy team that has 15 members.

Well, I don’t know if I agree with that statement. But we know, across the province that this is in practice. There are organizations that do not practice ice scheduling like that and wouldn’t you know, those are the organizations that yield the more successful girls programs in terms of yielding girls to the three “AA’ programs, and in terms of wins and losses at the single letter programs and going further to regional championship appearances and championships.

In moving the girls who play recreational hockey, to have them join the girls program will do a number of positive things for the program. First, it will remove this obstacle in accessing ice in organizations that evaluate team membership as the criteria for distributing ice. Second, it will provide a deeper talent pool in which to develop girls …in effect narrowing the talent gap and making the coaching process a less challenging undertaking and further enhance the attractiveness of coaching girls hockey. Thirdly, it will give more girls the opportunity to enjoy the girl game, their tournaments, their events that are more slanted towards girls than boys…better instead of being the lone girl on a team.

Team Canada Players Played Boys Hockey

The agreement always surfaces that the ladies that win Olympic gold medals for Canada played boys hockey and that’s what developed them to be strong enough players to represent Canada and win those medals. That statement is true but its dated!

Catherine Ward, a Lac St Louis product who won gold with the 2010 women’s Olympic team in Vancouver, played girls hockey all the way through her development and it did not stall her development. Not only did she play in Lac St Louis, she went on to be a star at Dawson College, won National Championships with the McGill Martlets and this past season played at Boston University while completing her international Master’s degree which included a 12 week stay in China. Yes, Catherine is an exceptional person… but isn’t that the role model that we want our children to follow?

Rebecca Johnson, a team mate of Catherine’s on the 2010 gold medal winning Olympic team, played her hockey growing up for the Sudbury Lady wolves and when not playing for the Canadian National team, you can find Rebecca playing for the Cornell Big Red.

While the Caroline Ouellettes, Sarah Vaillancouts and Kim St Pierres did play boys hockey and it was instrumental in their development, girls hockey was not as developed as it is today. There was no “AA” league for the girls to play in at the time. There was no National team for them to aspire to either! Remember, Kim and Caroline, these are our pioneers! They were on the first Olympic team, 1998 in Nagano… they made the National program what it is today

Today, with the opportunities available for girls in hockey, the return of high level players to the coaching and instructional positions, the mentoring that is provided by these former stars of college and international levels, the development of girls in girls hockey cannot be beat!

There are very few things in hockey that were taught in the late 1970s and 1980s that we continue to follow today. The game has changed! And, the same is especially true in girls hockey.

Lac St Louis passes Girls Play with Girls

Hockey féminin Lac St-Louis
Recommandation au C.A. régional de Hockey Lac St-Louis le 6 juin 2011
Entériné par le conseil d’administration le 23 juin 2011
Considérant qu’il est important de promouvoir et d’assurer le développement en hockey
féminin de la région Lac St-Louis;
Considérant que la région Lac St-Louis offre aux joueuses depuis plusieurs années un
réseau régional et interrégional reconnue en hockey féminin;
Considérant que les joueuses des organisations locales féminines bénéficient des mêmes
ressources, activités et service équivalents que les équipes simple lettre masculines (1) ;
Considérant qu’il ne peut y avoir aucune allégation de discrimination fondée sur le sexe
puisque le droit à l’égalité en matière de sport n’implique pas nécessairement et
systématiquement l’intégration des filles dans des équipes sportives mixtes (2);
Considérant que Hockey Lac St-Louis est le maître d’oeuvre de son plan de développement
régional en hockey féminin, il est dûment proposé et appuyé que :
Pour la saison 2011-2012 et subséquentes, toute joueuse de la région Lac St-Louis éligible à
évoluer dans les divisions pee wee, bantam, midget et junior correspondant à son niveau
d’âge et qui ne peut se tailler une place avec une équipe masculine de compétition AA
seulement devra se rapporter à l’organisation locale de hockey féminine de son territoire
d’appartenance.
Pour la saison 2011-2012 et subséquentes, toute joueuse de la région Lac St-Louis éligible à
évoluer dans la division atome correspondant à son niveau d’âge et qui ne peut se tailler une
place avec une équipe masculine de compétition BB seulement devra se rapporter à
l’organisation locale de hockey féminine de son territoire d’appartenance.
Les gardiennes de but non-sélectionnées dans une équipe AA, pee wee, bantam et midget
féminine pourront évoluer dans une équipe masculine BB ou CC seulement.
Par contre, la région Lac St-Louis tiendra compte du facteur distance et pourra autoriser les
joueuses soumises à des déplacements supérieurs à 60 kilomètres de leur domicile pour se rendre
au lieu de pratique et/où match local de l’organisation de son territoire d’appartenance, à évoluer
avec des équipes masculines.
Toute demande de dérogation devra être approuvée au préalable par le responsable régional du
hockey féminin. Ce dernier devra par la suite faire entériner cette demande par le conseil
d’administration avant que la joueuse puisse joindre une équipe masculine.
(1) Commission des droits de la personne (Turbide)c.Fédération québécoise de Hockey sur Glace Inc
(1987) C.S. 1076
(2) Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Paquin) c. Hockey Mauricie Inc.
(2000) N/réf : QUÉ-4328