Team Selection Process

Westwood Youth Hockey 2022-23 Team Selection Process

Player Placement Goals

Westwood Youth Hockey is a recreational organization committed to each of its players' long-term skill development, personal development, and love of the game. We support a number of teams in each age division commensurate with the number of registered players. We strive to place each player at the competitive level that we deem to be most advantageous to that players' development, within the limits of available teams. We provide equal development opportunities (skills sessions with professional instructors, team practices, and games) to all players on all teams at each level.

Organizational Structure

The WYH organizational structure is as follows:

• WYH Executive Board
• President
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Vice President, Off-ice
• Vice President, On-ice

• Division Directors (Midget, Bantam, PeeWee, Squirt, Mite, Girls, House League, LTS)
• Head Coaches (all teams)

All questions about the team formation or player placement processes should be directed to the On-Ice VP.

Team Formation

Team sizes vary based on the number of registered players and the age division (e.g. older teams typically require larger rosters). The number of players on each 2022-23 team will be determined by the WYH Executive Board in conjunction with Division Directors.

Player Placement Process

All players must register, pay the registration deposit fee, and be in good standing with WYH in order to be considered for a 2023-24 team. Players who do not register on time will not be guaranteed a spot on a WYH team at a later date.

The coaches of each 2022-23 team, will complete an evaluation form for all players on his/her team. The VP of On Ice collects the evaluation forms and chairs a Division Meeting. Each head coach (or one assistant coach, if the head coach is unable to attend) attends the appropriate meeting(s).

All players are represented by their current head coach at the Division Meeting. For example, a second-year Squirt in the 2021-22 season who will play in the PeeWee division in 2022-23 (a "rising Squirt") will be represented at the PeeWee Division Meeting by his/her current Squirt head coach. Thus head coaches typically attend two Division Meetings.

In order to promote open and honest communication between the Division Director and the coaches, the player evaluation forms and the proceedings of the Division Meetings are confidential.

At the Division Meeting, the Division Director provides attendees with copies of the player evaluation forms. The group discusses each of the players in an open forum, with the goal of creating two lists:

• the players who are unanimously considered to be at one of the A, B1 or B2 levels (example: a 2021-22 first-year Bantam A player will very likely be a 2022-23 Bantam A player)
• the players who are not clearly at any of the A, B1 or B2 levels

Players in the second category are invited by the Division Director to an on-ice evaluation session to determine the level that is best suited to their ability and to support their continued development. Each player is represented by his/her head coach (or assistant coach) at the on-ice evaluation. If an invited player cannot attend the on-ice evaluation, the Division Director and coaches will determine his/her team placement based on their coach's evaluation and the judgment of the Division Director. Additional players may be invited to the on-ice evaluation to serve as "benchmarks"; however, those players will not be informed that they are serving as benchmarks.

Following the on-ice evaluations, the Division Directors provide recommendations to the On-Ice VP and the WYH Executive Board for the number of teams at their level and the player assignment to each team. The Executive Board reviews the team and player recommendations and posts the final rosters on the WYH website by TBA.

Head Coach Selection Process

Anyone interested in coaching a team in 2023-24, either as a head or assistant coach, must complete the online coaching application form. Upon acceptance of the team and player recommendations by the On-Ice VP and WYH Executive Board, the On-Ice VP recommends a head coach for each team. The WYH Executive Board makes the final head coach selections. A list of assistant coach volunteers is provided to each head coach, and head coaches select their assistant coaching staff at their discretion.