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Atom Convenor -Jim Vautour- has been a Board Member on and off since 2003-2004 Season.
Jim Vautour is also awarded the recognition of being a Life Member.
This Board is here for the right reason THE KIDS, and are UNPAID Volunteers. We only have 2 directors
who have children currently in the system. Except for one I believe the remainder have gone through
our system.
On Nov 10, the OHF will be meeting hosting a Townhall Meeting, which Kevin Gardner and I will be
attending to review the Pathways and provide direction on U12 and above age groups Spring vs Fall Try outs
The Ontario Hockey Federation based on feedback from Members and stakeholders within our jurisdiction
made a request to Hockey Canada to not collect the Hockey Canada Assessment Fee for the 2022-2023
season. Hockey Canada considered and adopted this request. Hockey Canada has stated that they will
not be collecting the $3.00 Hockey Canada Assessment fee for the 2022-23 hockey season.
Alliance has set up a committee to evaluate what their membership wants from the Association
The RESET committee wants to let you know it is moving ahead with the next phases of the information
gathering from individual members of the Alliance.
"Today, November 9th, we are distributing surveys to a randomly selected group of coaches,
team officials and game officials from across the association.
Next week, November 16th, our plan is to distribute surveys to a randomly selected group of
parents and players from across the associations.
In each category (coaches, players, parents, game officials, team officials) we have randomly
selected a percentage of the membership to be asked to complete the survey. To keep the
process manageable, we are not able to include everyone.
We have given each group a target date to fill out the survey.
Once these surveys are combined with the ones we completed with the MHA and Alliance
executives and leadership, we will have invited 2000+ people to give us their feedback.
We will present the results of the survey and a preliminary plan for the RESET for Alliance Hockey
at the Semi-Annual meeting in January. The final plan will be based on what the membership wants.
There will opportunities for more input as we move forward with developing this plan which will be
finalized for presentation at the Annual Meeting in June."
We will no longer be working the London Knights 50/50 Draws. As we have told coaches over the last
few years, True Sport will only transfer the money given to us by the London Knights to be used to
supports kids/families who can not afford to play hockey. It seems that unless the teams get a direct
funding for the evening worked, they do not want to participate as a community event.
I want to share a clip that was shared with me, something to think about.
Former NHL star Ray Ferraro was asked to talk to parents of a hockey club that was going through
a tough time, with parent expectations at an all-time high.
This is what Ferraro told the parents.
– Minor hockey is out of control in terms of Parents chasing the dream for their kids instead of kids
deciding on their own how passionate they are for it and how bad they want it.
– In the last 10 years only 21 kids who either played at NSWC or BWC have appeared in at least
ONE NHL regular season game. Point is if your banking on your son collecting an NHL pay cheque
to solidify his and yours financial future you seriously need to stop and come up with a new plan and now.
– The odds of going pro are extremely low but the odds of having to find a career and a job to pay
bills and be a husband and father are extremely high and it’s not dictated by if you played AAA hockey
– Parents need to enjoy the ride while you have it … your son’s minor hockey days end too quickly
and often times people end up regretting what they did not know then and what they ending up
missing because they were focused on everything but their kid having fun
– As a parent who devotes time and money to your son, the only right you have to ask is they
give it their best … not how much ice time they get, if they play on the PP, who is their winger
or D partner
– Don’t pay for power skating, dryland training, skill development and expect your son to score
50 goals, if you decide to invest in extras do it because your son asked for it and wants to improve
and has a smile on his face each and every time … too many parents decide what they want their
kids to do instead of their kids asking to do it.
– 12 month hockey is wrong … organized skills sessions, tryouts, spring hockey is too much and
too taxing … kids can shoot pucks, stick handle, play street hockey but they need out of the mental
insanity of a hockey rink and need to be engaged in something other than hockey …
the time away reinforces the passion to want it
– Coaches are coaches we all know the game and think this should be done a certain way
… how come we never tell our kids math teacher how to teach calculus but we think as parents
we have the right to tell a hockey coach how much ice time and with whom and when our kids should play.
– When you evaluate your kids season, never base it on how many banners they won,
what provincial they won, what tourneys they went to and won … ask yourself what improved
from September to April, what did he learn or improve upon including non-hockey stuff
… evaluate the season besides wins and losses but gains and improvements. Just let them play,
learn and develop. Pressure is high enough, no need to make it worse.
Last but not least. This will be my last year on the board other than a Past President there to
give direction and transparency to how and why things were done in the past.
Two reasons. My time for volunteering is over, and secondly people on this board
are picking up extra tasks for me while I am the Primary Care Giver to my Husband
who has been diagnosed with Parkinsons 6 years ago.
I want to say thank you to all those who are putting in the extra effort on my behalf.
Respectfully submitted
I
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