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2003-04 President’s Message As the newly elected president of this association I would like to welcome all new and returning players to the 2003/2004 hockey season. I am honored that my peers have the confidence in me to guide us through this hockey season and hopefully many more to come. This association has always taken the lead in making hockey a more enjoyable experience for the residents of Mississauga. Under the leadership of my predecessors, Tim Manning, Ken Szreier and Phil Cancilla, Erindale was the first to implement the very successful Initiation Program. We were the first to implement the National Coach Mentor Program [NCMP]. We have been proactive in changing body checking rules for house league hockey. We were the first association in the Mississauga Hockey League to pass a mandatory helmet rule for all on ice personnel. We pushed to open up Juvenile hockey so that all skill levels could play the game until the age of 20. Most recently we have proposed and implemented a Minor Novice Skills Development program as a pilot project within the MHL. I hope to continue this proactive leadership that puts safety and the athlete first. What can we, as parents and volunteers, do to ensure that our children will enjoy this game into adulthood? This is the challenge! I have fond memories of playing hockey as a child growing up in Etobicoke. Unfortunately I left the game at 14 years of age because it wasn’t fun anymore. My over zealous coach was more concerned about winning the game rather than letting the players enjoy the competition. We have come a long way from those days. We have come a long way in the last few years in regards to our behavior in a hockey arena! We are moving in the right direction. I am very proud to say that the Erindale Hockey Association has 16 teams of 15 year olds and older. My son started at Erindale two years before I.P. was implemented; therefore I was not exposed to the program. This past September I became a certified I.P. coach. During the certification my instructor distributed a list of quotations from history, business and sport. One that got my attention surmises my philosophy of minor hockey. "To win the game and lose the child is totally an unworthy sacrifice"[1]. Finally I would like to thank all of the volunteers that give up their time for the children and for the game. I would also like to commend the hockey parents. You are a special bunch. This is not four months a year and this is not three o’clock on a sunny August afternoon. You look forward to a cold damp arena in the middle of January on a Saturday afternoon. This anticipation is what we hope to pass on to our children, so that they can have those same fond memories of minor hockey and develop that passion for the game.
Yours in hockey
George Stockwell President Erindale Hockey Association
[1] Dr. Terry Orlick, and Dr. Cal Bottereill, Every Kid Can Win
By Paul Dennis Development Coach and Scout Co-ordinator for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Many parents and coaches associated with minor hockey have commented, "he/she is not developing .. he/she is not learning, etc. " But what exactly is meant by not developing?
Does that mean a novice hockey player doesn’t understand what to do on the power play? Or the minor atom player doesn’t angle properly on the forecheck? Or is it simply that a particular bantam player can suddenly skate a little faster than another?
Because we want the best for our children, and perhaps we are impatient, we fail to understand that development may take longer for some. One method of hampering the development process in hockey is by "taking the fun out of the game." As adults, our mandate should be to ensure that our children have a safe and successful hockey experience. The rate of development and personal growth is correlated with the level of enjoyment from their sports experience.
An important component of development is physical. It includes skating, puck control, shooting and checking. There are team play concepts that are cognitive, such as offensive and defensive strategies, as well as specialty team play. The key to enhance the rate of development is to offer activities that are relevant for the age group, that have a built-in sense of competition, and that require the players to think and to have fun at the same time.
We can enhance the development process by fostering greater emotional support. In an attempt to develop well-rounded hockey players, parents and coaches can stress the importance of positive reinforcement.
It is estimated that by the time a young person reaches 18, they will be told "no" 150,000 times. As a result, young children today form opinions about themselves that, not surprisingly, are filled with self- doubt.
From a development standpoint, parents and coaches should realize that if children enjoy their hockey experience, and they receive positive reinforcement, personal growth and development would evolve naturally.
Thank-you for visiting and please come back again.
"Skill, Determination and Never Quit Attitude"
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