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In the last blog I wanted to alert new parents of some the reality they may face at try-out time in efforts for their child to make a team. There was an important topic that dealt with a troubling aspect of minor hockey today. A lot of teams are already set by try-outs and the available of openings on a team may be limited or even nonexistent. Now no one from the organization will ever alert you to this and in fact, it will be hushed up in part because the reasons that lead to this are against GTHL rules.
Try-outs are theoretically held for one basic reason which is to fill open spots with the most talented players a team can get. (One should keep in mind though that organizations can make money from try-outs. The more players that come to the try-outs; the more money an organization can make from the fees that are charged. It should be obvious then that if in fact the team is already set; this will never be made known.)
This was more than likely started by coaches.
Even the dumbest coach on the face of the earth understands the importance of having a winning record. The coach that wins the championship is virtually immune from any kind of criticism. On the other hand, a coach with a bad losing record can be assured of all kinds of criticism. If a team is not performing well, it’s always the coach’s fault and it’s interesting how everyone who has ever watched a few games on Hockey Night In Canada seems to become an instant expert.
As a result, coaches understand the value of having the absolute best talent available and most will resort to all kinds of measures to stack their team. After all, if you have all of the best talent, all you have to do is turn them loose and they will win games with very little teaching and coaching effort.
Many coaches are in arenas all year scouting talent and then approaching the player and parent for next year ….. something which is against the rules in the GTHL however many coaches actively engage in recruiting. Coaches also frequently run illegal on-ice skates disguised as a “birthday” party. In fairness, enforcing rules against these sketchy practices is difficult for the league and as long as you can get away with it; there are a lot of coaches that will do everything they can to stack their team.
Years ago there were always jokes among parents that such and such a coach had reportedly committed to 50 players for next year. Under GTHL rules a team can have a maximum of 20 players registered, so obviously, the joke was that many coaches had over-committed.
Reality is that most of the information on this issue that parents hear, comes from other parents. Coaches almost never talk about it. As a result since all you hear comes from other parents, it’s the coaches that take the knock on these practices.
However, the truth is that parents are involved in these practices right up to their necks. A great number of parents will be calling “winning” coaches for a spot for next season, organizing the so-called “birthday skates”, alerting coaches to other potential good recruits and on an on.
I believe too many parents focus solely on getting their kids on a really strong team thinking it will help their kids to look as good as possible and will therefore enhance their future prospects. In fact, I’m certain that this type of maneuvering is detrimental to their future prospects. It has constantly amazed me that parents in their efforts to help their children’s fortunes in hockey, somehow instinctively do things that have the exact opposite effect.
I’m not certain how this all started but at this point it doesn’t matter who initiated this yearly “dance”. It has become the yearly ritual at try-out time and will likely never change. Both coaches and parents are maneuvering for their own benefit and both are almost certainly lying to each other. Many promises will be broken on both sides, but no worries; it will all be forgotten at try-out the next year.
For those who are new to the system, just be aware so that you can govern your action according and not get hurt.
In the next blogs I will relate some examples of the “Kabuki” dance.
I have some amazing examples of maneuvering involving both coaches and parents to build a so-called “dream team”. You may or you may not be amazed at these examples but one thing I will declare; I am certain of my facts regarding these instances. I am sure you will find them interesting. I think also, you will find them amusing. My hope is that you learn something that will help you.
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In part 1 I outlined the way try-outs are supposed to be …. or the way you are led to believe it will be … or maybe the way it once was. In this part I give you some reality on how it really is and a couple of situations you should be aware of.
First let me say that this is based on my experience with the GTHL of the greater Toronto area which happens to be the biggest minor hockey system in the world. I’m not sure exactly how things are done elsewhere, however I’m reasonably certain there are similar experiences in all centres where minor hockey is played.
Now I’m sure that there are legitimate try-outs that are honestly and well run, but you have to be aware of a couple of situations that are pretending to be honest try-outs. Unfortunately these instances are becoming more prevalent and you need to be aware of them. Eventually, if you’re around hockey long enough you’ll find out about this, however if you’re new to the game this can leave you with a big surprise.
The reason for this blog is that I ran into a father that had just moved to Toronto and was led to believe that there were more spots than actually existed for the local team. He had all of of his eggs in one basket and by the time he figured it out, it was too late and most teams were full. They eventually found a team, but now they have to travel quite a distance for home games and practices.
I’m going to describe two broad categories of less than honest try-outs; why they happen and what they’re all about.
There are 2 less than fully honest try-out situations that you will encounter. You’ll find out about them eventually, however if you’re new to the game it’s good to be aware of this.
The first happens more often at the entry levels of the minor hockey world; house league, house league select and single A hockey. The team draws from the very local community and the coaches and assistant coaches invariably all have children playing on the team. Making the team is more about who your friends are and being one of the inner circle in that local community. The result is that there are not many spots available and if you are from outside the community, it can be tough to find a spot on the team.
The second happens are the higher levels of hockey and is more prevalent at the triple A and double A levels (although more recently, single A hockey has become more serious).
At the higher level of minor, you can expect the following to be taking place:
The end result is the same in that there are not many spots available as you made think or be led to believe.
The fact is that in many instances there will not be as many spots available on a team that you may have be led to believe. Coaches will never admit it and remember that try-outs are a money-maker for organizations and the more players that come to try-outs the better for them.
My suggestion is to talk to as many parents as possible and get as much information about the coach and reality about available spots.
The other suggestion is to not put all of your eggs in one basket. Be prepared to try out with a number of teams and keep your options open.
There is one reoccurring thing that I will always get back to. Spend your time and energy doing what you can to see that your son or daughter is the best hockey player they can be.
I’ll tell you right now that it’s my opinion there 2 main factors that contribute to over-all success . Be as skilled as possible and have the “right” attitude every time you are on the ice and in the play of the game. I’ve covered some of these elements in previous blogs, however I will surely devote a blog solely to these in the near future.
In part 3 I’ll discuss what came first; the chicken or the egg?
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I recently had occasion to talk to a typical hockey parent who was new to the minor hockey experience. He relayed a bad experience relating to hockey try-outs with his son for this upcoming season. He was completely new to the hockey experience in the GTHL (Greater Toronto Hockey League) which happens to be the biggest minor hockey system in the world. Now the scenarios that I will be describing are based on my experience with the GTHL of the greater Toronto area. I’m not sure exactly how things are done elsewhere, however I’m reasonably certain there are similar experiences in all centres where minor hockey is played
I know try-outs for this season have now passed but this is a topic on which the uninitiated need some advise. Stay tuned for the real goods on minor league hockey try-outs.
At one time in the GTHL the try-outs could begin only after the GTHL held its annual meeting which was traditionally held the first Sunday in May.
Every parent would look for a publication titled “Sporting Scene” that would publish an edition known as the May try-out edition. This publication was given away in every hockey arena located within the GTHL. It was always the biggest publication of that paper in numbers of the year.
In the old days all try-outs were held at once with single A, double A and triple A all going on at the same time. Today it’s different as the GTHL finally got smart and got it right so that try-outs are tiered, with Triple A first followed by Double A and then Single A. This time of year was always “panic time” for everyone but especially for players wanting to make a team at a higher level that last year. Since all of the try-outs start on the same day, the panic was to find the teams you want you might want to make and check the schedule to prioritize your choices. There’s only so much time in the day and there’s only so many try-outs a player could realistically do in a day and maintain a reasonable level of performance. The other difficulty is that one is never quite sure how many spots are available on any given team and should you choose to miss a team’s first try-out; will there be any spots left by the second try-out?
The panic and angst at this time of year is through the roof, especially for the parents.
Teams would have a few open spots available and advertise for open try-outs for players to fill those spots (a team should almost always have open spots especially if thew coach has done his job well; he should have been able to advance a few players to a higher level).
An experienced coach will know how to hold an organized and well run try-out (in fact a good hockey organization should probably have a coaches meeting as an information session to educate coaches on how to run a proper try-out session).
Note: I was initially going to go into considerable detail about running a proper try-out, however there’s actually quite a bit of detail involved that would fill up this blog so I’m going to do a specific blog at the end going over my thoughts about running a good try-out.
Suffice it for now to say that a good try-out would have a proper registration process, start with warm-up type drills that would involve the display of as many hockey skills as possible, end with a scrimmage that mimics as much as possible the play of an actual game and have good qualified spotters in the stands evaluating the players.
In the end some players will be selected and offered a spot on the team and some will not; leaving some people happy and others disappointed.
Welcome to reality. This is just the way life is and this is part of the real life learning experience through involvement in the hockey scene. If you want to protect yourself and your child from every disappointment in life; then don’t get involved in hockey or for that matter any other organized sport.
In Part 2 of this topic I’ll outline some reality about how it really is.
If you’re new to this blog and reading it from Facebook or Twitter, make sure to click on the BLOG/NEWS link in the menu at the top of the page and scroll down to read previous blogs on this and other subjects. Otherwise you won’t be able to get to previous blogs.
Jim Serba and imissmike.com, 2020.
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Mike Serba Memorial Golf Tournament 