MHSHL Team Representative Handbook

Preface

Why author a handbook on being an Midwest High School Hockey League (MHSHL) Team Representative? To simplify transitions when they occur and to clarify expectations of the role. An orientation explaining the relationships between Team Reps, their associations, and the League benefits all parties involved. This handbook is meant to be taken as a "guide" and not as "policy." It includes my experience as a Team Representative and as President of the MHSHL, as well as the seasoned advice of other Team Reps and members of the Executive Board.

1. What is a Team Rep?

A Team Rep is part Athletic Director, part ombudsman, and part ambassador. As the Athletic Director is responsible for the well being of the team, so you serve a "team" that includes the players, coaches, volunteers and, yes, parents. The role comprises much more than scheduling hotels and collecting money. Duties run the gamut from communicating with other Team Reps to resolving issues between individual team members and the League. If the Executive Board has an issue with a specific coach whom do they call? The Team Representative. An EMT was not present at a game and the League is notified whom do they call? The Team Representative. Score sheets not provided to the Commissioner by the end of the weekend, who is contacted? The Team Representative. There is a parent problem in the stands, who gets called? You guessed it; the Team Representative. You are the two-way conduit for all aspects of your MHSHL Team and the rest of the Association.

Understanding this, your association should empower you to speak authoritatively on all aspects of YOUR high school team. It behooves you to communicate continually with your association. You need to understand and support its position as well as interpret the MHSHL ideals and rationale. I cannot stress enough the importance of continued communication between you and the MHSHL Executive Board, between you and fellow Team Representatives and between you and your association.

2. A Year in the Life

THE SPRING MEETING (MAY)

Big sigh: "It’s over—another successful season."

Well there is some truth to this, but you will soon discover that it is a short-lived reprieve. To prepare for the Spring Meeting, first review the past season, specifically, lessons learned. This meeting provides the perfect forum for voicing suggestions intended to improve the League for the upcoming season. Prior to the meeting, the President will have a data call asking for issues or topics of discussion. This is the time to let the President know what items you believe should be addressed by the Executive Board or Team Representatives.

Spring Meeting Agenda

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A comment about the word "minimum" above. The more dates you provide, the easier it is for the scheduler to meet your team’s expectations. Also, "on-ice" means the first time a team literally steps onto the ice, usually for warm-ups. Bottom line, "on-ice" is rarely synonymous with "game time."

THE "OFF" SEASON

Use the time between the Spring meeting and the Fall meeting to plan.

Tryouts

Work with your coaches and association during tryouts. The size of your squad will influence each player’s financial assessment as you develop the team budget. If your association handles this for you then all you need to do is tell them what the League costs will be.

Advise players crossing over from one association to another that unless a waiver is granted they will sit 50 percent of the season’s MHSHL games. (In the history of this rule only one player has been granted a waiver.) It is your responsibility to be honest and forthright with the player in question. If necessary, remind your association, coaches and parents of this rule. The President and/or Commissioner are available (to you) for rule interpretation at any time.

Registration

As the Team Rep you are responsible to ensure that your players are properly Individual Membership Registered (IMR); work with your association’s Registrar to accomplish this. Be aware of the League rule that teams are not allowed to cut players until they reach a roster of 35. Exceptions could be made if a convincing argument is made on the safety of the player based on skill and/or ability. Make sure your coaches and association are aware of this rule.

THE FALL MEETING (September)

Big sigh: "It has begun—the beginning of another successful season."

Actually I think it would be more applicable to say, "Life, as you know it, is about to change." This meeting is for Team Representatives and Executive Board Members. Others are invited, but have no vote. Communications will only be recognized from the Team Representative. If you cannot attend please make arrangements for a replacement who can speak for you and advise the President or Commissioner of the substitution.

Prior to the Fall Meeting you should have the first draft of the schedule. The President will again give a data call for topics. The Fall Meeting is a great time to talk with other associations about specifics that could impact individual games.

Fall Meeting Agenda

The Executive Board will try to put the finishing touches on the upcoming season. Note that rules regarding the use of tobacco, drug and alcohol are in effect beginning September 1.

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The Season Schedule. The League Scheduler works around the clock in order to schedule 300+ games, meet League requirements, and accommodate as many team requests as possible.

Game changes that can be agreed upon between affected teams are encouraged if the change is advantageous to both teams; however, the League Scheduler must approve it. As a courtesy please notify the Commissioner, President and Web Master. More than once an Executive Board member has traveled some distance to a game that had been rescheduled.

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MHSHL priorities. The Commissioner and President will talk about what the League plans to emphasize during the season.

This could range anywhere from high hits to foul language. It is important that you inform your coaches and players since this information is sent to the referees who work the regular season games.

The more you know about the All-Star process the better will be your explanation to your coach. The biggest mistake we see is that Associations think the All-Star process begins in January, the truth is the groundwork is established in November when you submit your protected list.

Both Junior Varsity and Varsity State Tournament Hosts should be prepared to discuss how things are progressing. If anything else needs to be placed on the agenda please forward it to the President prior to the meeting. You, or your representative, will leave the Fall Meeting well informed and knowing whose faces go with which teams!

STARTING THE SEASON

The big question on everyone’s mind is "when is our first game?"

First Game

Most likely your first game will not be an MHSHL game, but a game put together between two Reps or even with a manager from a team not in the MHSHL. Remember that preseason games are not MHSHL-sanctioned. Carry-over game suspensions cannot be set during this time. Game Misconducts are under the watchful eye of the TRI-State Affiliation. All players rostered for MHSHL play fall under Academic and Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug rules. Your job is to ensure that the rules are adhered to; and, if broken, reported to the Commissioner in a timely manner.

Parent Meeting

Some time after your team is established and the first game is held, schedule a parent meeting. This is a good time for you to explain your role and what the League expects from you. You can discuss League rule changes, priorities, significant dates, coach’s rules, etc. It’s also a good time to remind your "team" that all formal communications from the team to League officials must come through you, the Team Representative.

Player Paperwork

Be mindful that a USA Hockey-sanctioned practice requires all players to be Individual Membership Registered. This includes coaches and the team itself. Your job is to ensure this gets done. Get a copy of the team registration and the official team roster. You’ll need one copy for yourself plus a copy to send to the Commissioner prior to Game One. This can be sent anytime, but must be received by the Commissioner before a player steps on the ice to play his/her first MHSHL game. It is also your responsibility to send any changes to your USA Hockey official roster to the League Commissioner.

Before your first game you must forward your Protected Player list. This list consists of who your head coach thinks his/her top ten players are at the beginning of the season. Construct this list in skill-level order with the best player as number one followed by the second best player. Freshman and sophomores are not exempt and neither are goalies. Plainly put, this list should consist of your top ten players-- in skill order-- regardless of age, grade level or position. Protected players are not eligible for Junior Varsity play unless certain guidelines are met which are outlined in great detail in the MHSHL Policies and Procedures Manual. Don’t worry; your coach will be able to adjust this list prior to the team playing forty percent of its games. It’s your job to make sure this list is created, submitted and reevaluated prior to the cutoff date.

Home Game Responsibilities

There are many other tasks to complete prior to your first game. I will try and cover as many as possible. Once you have identified your players it is time to meet the parents. You will need their help to have a successful season. I used to tell people that the Coach coached players and the Team Rep coached parents. I don’t know whose job is harder.

Traveling Team Reps

FIRST MHSHL GAME

This is your first test as a Team Representative in front of your parents and visiting team. Each visiting team will set up differently, making every game a little different. The key is to ensure that the essentials are there-- contacting all volunteers, score sheets, game misconduct sheets, pucks, locker room assignments, etc. Develop a checklist to minimize oversights. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

MID-SEASON

Protected Players

It is important for you, the Team Representative, to keep track of the number of games each player has played and at what level. Prior to the team playing forty percent of their games the coach can adjust his/her Protected list. This will allow the coach to drop a player who is not performing as planned and allow that player to play enough games to qualify for the Junior Varsity Tournament. The coach can also adjust the rack and stack to ensure the best players are identified in the top rankings.

Injured Players

The day before the State Tournament is the wrong time to realize a player is not qualified because of lack of games due to injuries. I highly recommend that you document a player who misses several games because of a serious injury. The process is easy; send a detailed email to the Commissioner specifying the injury, how it occurred and how many games the player missed due to the injury.

All-Star Voting

Sometime in January the VP of the All-Star Team will start the process to select players for this prestigious honor. This can be an emotional time for Varsity parents who feel that their player is the obvious choice. Explain to parents that the decisions are ultimately in the hands of the coaches. Your coach’s input is only a percentage of the actual vote, and in the first round the home team coach cannot vote for players on his/her team. Remind your coach that other coaches often use the protected list ranking when deciding whom to vote for in the first round. The coach should never delegate the vote to a Team Representative.

THE FINAL WEEKS

For many teams, the final weeks will be similar to the rest of the season because they have already clinched a spot in the State Tournament or have been mathematically eliminated. It’s much tougher if your team is battling for the final tournament spot. You should make tentative plans to attend; until you know otherwise.

Several weeks before the tournament you will be asked to verify eligibility again and identify your academic award winners. This is important to the League as an organization. Take time to ensure that we honor all those players who have mastered the difficult endeavor of balancing academics and athletics. Verify all claims to maintain the integrity of this award.

Take a look at your players. You might ask them to stitch up their socks, jerseys or breezers prior to the tournament. This is definitely the time to "strut our stuff" and present a good image.

Tournament hosts will be asking for information about your team. Help make this job easier by providing requested data in a timely manner.

Most teams will have games scheduled the last weekends before the State Tournament; this is no time to take a break from your role. Remind the coach and players that it is the coach who will be sitting games the following year if game suspensions are carried over to the next season and the penalized player is no longer with the team (i.e. graduated). Remind the coach and players often of this rule during the last weeks.

This is the time to make sure the paperwork is done—injury waivers are submitted, corrections to statistics have been discussed and resolved. The Tournament is not the place to conduct business that should have been resolved before the first puck drops.

Now, if your team did not make the cut your job may still not be over. Every team will have a player on the All-Star Team. These skaters must be notified; remind them that they’ll wear their jerseys for the game. There has, on occasion, been a top scorer, defenseman or goalie that earned an award but was not informed about this prior to the awards banquet. We need to ensure that all players being honored have the opportunity to participate if this is their choice.

STATE TOURNAMENT

Big cheer: "We’re going to State!"

The State Tournament is the reward of a long season. It is the opportunity to clean the slate and go for the gold in two exciting weekends. One weekend is set-aside for Junior Varsity and another for Varsity. The players, coaches, parents, and MHSHL leadership come together as a family and celebrate in the best hockey offered at the high school level. Saturday night of the Junior Varsity Tournament we will see the top forty players in the League during the All-Star Game. As the Team Representative you should make plans to attend both Varsity and Junior Varsity tournaments—even if your team is not competing.

Since the host team is responsible for most of the activities during the weekend, the State Tournament is a great opportunity for you to spend time with other Team Reps and the Executive Council. Prior to arrival you will have provided the Tournament Director with rosters, pictures and ticket information. Upon arrival locate the passes for your team and distribute them. You are still responsible for penalty box time. Remember that this is everyone’s showcase and your job is to ensure that your team looks and behaves as proper representatives of the League. Speak with your team and let your players know that during the weekend many eyes will be upon them.

Teams need to bring both sets of jerseys, home and away. The highest seated team will always be the home team. Ensure the players are aware of game times and that they arrive early. You may want to remind the coach again that game suspensions carried over into the next year will be sat by the coach if the player is unavailable.

Remember to thank the host team and ask parents and players to do the same. A gracious "good job" can make a big difference.

THE SPRING MEETING (MAY)

Big sigh: "It’s over—another successful season."

Your year has come full circle. Time, again, for reflection, evaluation, and suggestions for improvement. Bring your well-earned experience to the meeting and share your insight with your peers and the League. Then, fire up to do it all over again!

3. Wrapping it up

Well I hope you find this primer useful. It is a work in progress and with input from all of you it can evolve into something better—something to pass along to the next group of volunteers. You are the backbone of the League. Without you and the Executive Board there would be no Midwest High School Hockey League. I thank every one of you for what you do. A special thanks to the League that has given me the opportunity to serve and learn, as well as develop the knowledge to write this handbook. Thanks to the Executive Board who helped with ideas; and, a huge THANK-YOU to Kathy Kelly who had to read my gibberish and translate it into understandable prose.

SHAWN SPENCER
President, MHSHL