The purpose of the NCYHA travel team tryout process is to evaluate a player's skating ability, hockey skills and commitment to teamwork, in order to place him or her on a team that will provide the best environment for improving their self-confidence and enjoyment of the sport of ice hockey.
Tryout dates and times (late March/early April) will be posted on the NCYHA website (www.ncyha.org). In order to tryout, a player must be paid in full for the prior season and an initial $200.00 non-refundable deposit made for the upcoming season. This is not a tryout fee, it is a deposit towards the next season’s tuition. The number of tryout sessions may vary with each level depending on the number of players registered. We want to provide players every opportunity to show their skills, while at the same time obtain thorough and consistent evaluations.
All skaters and goaltenders that wish to be considered for a NCYHA travel team must attend tryouts. Exceptions made are generally for families moving to the area in the summer for the following season ie: War College, Navy Families / Military Families or Families moving to the area, injuries or other unavoidable situations.
Depending on the number of players trying out, it is possible that some players who attend tryout will not make a travel team. Refunds will be issued to any player not placed on a team.
Players who choose not to play for their assigned team will forfeit the $200.00 deposit.
The following guidelines have been established and there are no exceptions to these guidelines without approval of the NCYHA Board of Directors and/or the NCYHA Level Directors.
Evaluations
Each Level Director will create a committee of evaluators. Evaluators will use a standardized scoring system that will assess skating ability and hockey skills at each level during scheduled tryout sessions. The Level Director will attempt to select evaluators for a given level who do not have children trying out at that level. If an evaluator happens to have a child skating at that level, the evaluator is not allowed to score his own child. All skaters are given colored pinnies with numbers. Evaluation sheets are issued to the evaluators with pinnie colors and numbers only.
Evaluation Guidelines
Tryout sessions will consist of drills that allow players to display their individual skating abilities as well as their shooting and passing abilities with an emphasis on situational play in scrimmages.
Evaluators will be in the stands and are instructed not to share comments with each other on any players being evaluated.
Evaluators are instructed to rate players using a standardized evaluation system, with an overall score taking into consideration the following:
Generally, the weighting of each of these categories will change at each level (Mites, Squirts, Peewees, Bantams) with the change in the style of play. At the Mite level, skating and basic hockey skills will be weighted more than at the upper levels where teamwork and situational play become more important as a skill.
Coach Evaluations from Prior Season
At the end of every season, coaches submit evaluations of their players. Coaches will evaluate each player on skating and puck skills, game sense and character. The Coach’s evaluation form provides a similar scoring system, (1 to 5) in the range of skills and characteristics. Coach evaluations also provide space for comments on individual players, as additional information available for the selection process. These evaluations are a critical component to assist in making team selections.
Team Selection
There are three important factors that go into how and where players are placed: tryout scores, coach’s evaluations from the previous year, new head coach’s vision/preferences. It’s the combination of these three components that we feel provide the most fair and accurate evaluation for each player.
Head coaches ultimately select their teams by utilizing the tryout results as well as the coach’s evaluation from the previous year. It is the responsibility of the Level Director to ensure that the process is followed correctly and then approve the roster.
Second year players will be given priority over first year players in the event that scores and evaluations are similar.
Coach Selection
Prior to and during the evaluation process the applicants for coaching positions are reviewed and Head Coaches are then identified by the Level Director and recommended to the Board. All Head Coaches for all NCYHA travel teams then must be approved by the Board of Directors.
Notification
Once the spring evaluation process is completed, and the initial rosters are created and approved by the Level Director the results will be posted on the website. This normally takes 3-4 weeks.
Discipline
It should be noted that inappropriate behavior by a skater or parent on or off ice during the tryouts will not be tolerated and could eliminate a player for consideration on a NCYHA Travel team. Inappropriate behavior includes, but is not limited to penalty situations such as illegal checking, elbowing, tripping, and harassment of other skaters on or off the ice and use of foul language. All players must read and sign Players Code of Conduct found on the NCYHA web site. This will be submitted as part of the registration process at tryouts for the upcoming season.
Exceptions
The Level Director can place players who miss tryouts, due to a SERIOUS illness or injury, at an appropriate level. The NCYHA Board of Directors will reserve the right to use its discretion to place players at the C level if there is an unexcused absence at the tryouts. The NCYHA Board of Directors will give ample advance notice to parents regarding the timing of tryouts.
Grievances
Any parent who has a concern with the selection process and/or a player’s placement should contact the Level Director first. The Grievance Committee (See ncyha.org) may then be contacted.
We hope that this summary of the tryout and team selection process has been informative. We understand the frustrations that come up every year, as this process unfolds - it is not an exact science, and different people have different opinions about the relative talent of a group of players. Please keep in mind that we are doing our best to evaluate your player and place them on the correct team that will allow them to improve as hockey players but more importantly to have fun. Experience has shown that an individual player will achieve the most success and make the most developmental progress over the course of the season if that player is competing at the proper level for his or her ability.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact a NCYHA Board Member. Do not contact the Head Coach.
It is the policy of the Newport County Youth Hockey Association that each registered player will play in his/her age level as set forth by USA Hockey Rules. However, individual requests to play-up may be considered by the board and are reviewed on a case by case basis. The Newport County Youth Hockey Association recognizes that in certain situations it may be appropriate and/or beneficial to a player’s development to play-up to the next age level. The board will consider and evaluate a player’s development potential in his/her actual age level versus potential for success in an older age level. The board will also consider the fine balance between the best interest of a player requesting to play-up and the Newport County Youth Hockey Association teams and players in both their actual age level, as well as older level. A player requesting to play-up must be selected to play for the A/Highest Tier older level team only. Players requesting to play-up are not eligible to be selected for lower Tier teams at the older level.
USA Hockey and Newport County Youth Hockey Association allows the movement in certain situations if specific guidelines are followed:
A player will not be permitted to move up more than one year in age, except in extremely rare and specific cases. For example, a first year Squirt cannot be moved to the Pee Wee level. A second year Squirt may advance to the Pee Wee level. This will apply at Mite, Squirt, Pee Wee and Bantam levels.
Only requests submitted in writing by the participant’s parents or legal guardians will be considered. This request must be submitted and received by the President of Newport County Youth Hockey Association at least 7 days prior to the first day of Try-Outs which take place in most cases in the Spring.
The play-up player must be projected to be a leading player on the older team. If the player is not projected to be a leading player on the older team, then it is highly questionable whether playing up is truly in the best interest of that player or the team.
Allowing players to play-up from a non-checking division to a checking division represents the greatest risk and will therefore receive additional scrutiny.
The Board will evaluate each request individually. Criteria for allowing a player to play-up will be based on the evaluation of the player’s skill and ability to contribute to the older team, the player’s emotional and physical maturity level compared to the older team’s players, physical size and number of players at each level. Each request will be treated individually and the allowing of one player to play up will have no bearing on any other player’s application to play up.
Once a player has participated on a team at a higher USA Hockey age level, the player is not permitted to play for a team at his actual USA Hockey age level for the remainder of the season.
Upon request, the participant’s parent(s)/guardian must sign the Newport County Youth Hockey Association Risk Acknowledgement and Liability Waiver, acknowledging the risks associated with playing outside of a player’s actual age classification.
The Board’s decision is final with no appeal process. See attached Newport County Youth Hockey Association Risk Acknowledgement and Liability Waiver.
