AVHA TRYOUT PHILOSOPHY

It is AVHA’s goal to provide all players with an equal opportunity to make the team that best fits his or her ability and commitment level. It is also our goal to empower our coaches to choose players they believe best fit their team. We believe we have established a collaborative, unbiased tryout process which will accomplish both these goals. Here is the format we will use to run our tryouts.

We will have a designated Tryout Committee that will oversee all aspects of our tryouts, with help from the Hockey Development Committee (HDC) and the Player Development Coordinators (PDCs). All members of the committee and helpers will have extensive backgrounds in hockey. We will not have parents involved with the tryout at their son or daughter’s age except under conditions listed later.

We will run tryouts with the idea of placing all the players on the proper team from an ability perspective. Our evaluations will be based largely on skill drills with some flow drills, small area games and scrimmaging. All skills and drills used in a tryout setting will be reviewed first in the AVHA clinics so players will be familiar with them. General information for each tryout session will also be listed on our website (i.e. heavy concentration on skating the first day).

Our goal is for every tryout to have 5 evaluators - consisting of tryout committee members, HDC members, and level PDCs. We will also use our professional goalie instructors as needed in the tryout process. Board-approved, non-parent coaches will automatically be a part of group of evaluators if they have been selected.

The evaluators will rate players’ skills on a scale of 1-4, with definition of the score as follows:

  1. needs improvement in the area (would be on the low end of players at this age)
  2. satisfactory (middle of players this age)
  3. proficient (upper part of players this age)
  4. excellent (very top of players this age)

For tryout purposes, skill refers to any area of grading and will include things like hockey sense, competitiveness, etc, as defined below. All ratings are relative to other players on the ice. A standardized player-rating sheet will be distributed and used by evaluators.

For skaters, areas of grading will include the following:

  • Skating ability (speed, agility, control of edges, stability)
  • Puck handling (stick handling, passing)
  • Shooting (all varieties)
  • Hockey sense/awareness (positioning, team-play, overall intelligence on the ice)
  • Intangibles (competitiveness, listening, behavior).

For goalies, areas of grading will include the following:

  • Skating ability
  • Strength/movement on skates
  • Positioning
  • Save execution
  • Game awareness
  • Intangibles.

Tryouts will be made up of a minimum of 4 on-ice sessions. The Pee Wee and Bantam levels will also include a scrimmage when feasible. All members of the evaluation group will judge all players in each area and provide a number grade. Grades will be added up over the first two tryouts and players will be divided into tryout groups (top and bottom) for the 3rd and 4th tryout based upon the grading system. During the final 2 tryout sessions, the same grading system will be used, total scores will be added after the final tryout and the score will be used to create preliminary teams (some movement may occur between groups during the 3rd and 4th tryout session). The tryout committee will determine the locked players on the top team using this scoring format and discussions within evaluating group. The committee will then create a “bubble group” for the remaining spots on the top team. The level PDC will have final say as to how large this bubble group is.

If theappointed head coach of the top team is not a parent, he/she will have the choice of which bubble players to keep. If the coach of the top team is a parent, he/she will be able to view the final two tryout sessions and the scrimmage and name the final skaters on his or her roster off of the tryout committee’s bubble list. A coach may not choose a player that the tryout committee has not deemed a “bubble player”.

If the coach has a son or daughter who is a bubble player, that coach will not participate in the final selection process until his/her son is placed. If the player is not placed until the final choice, the tryout evaluators will have the final say on all roster spots with the PDC having final authority. Once the top team at each level is established, each of the next levels of team will be established with the same methodology.

Goalies will be selected for the top team based upon the grading from the committee and input from the qualified goalie evaluator. The coach will have the opportunity to change the selection only with approval from either the goalie evaluator or HDC. This rule holds true whether or not

it is a parent coach. Again, a standardized rating sheet will be used by all evaluators.

The HDC will have final authority if any issues arise.