Dear Parents and Players,
Welcome to the 2012–2013 hockey season! My name is Chris Burns and I am looking forward to coaching the OVSS Major Atom A team this year. I want to take this opportunity to outline my coaching philosophy and provide some information about the tryout process for this year’s team, as well as some expectations for the upcoming season.
Background
This will be my second year as a head coach for OVSS.I have been coaching the sports of hockey ,soccer ,and lacrosse for the past 7 years and been playing for the past 30
Assistant Coaches
This up- coming season I have acquired 2 non-parent assistant coaches to help us out with the development of our Silver Seven players .
Ryley Saumure (Defense/Goalie) Ryley has played AA/AAA his entire minor hockey career in the Rideau St.lawrence Association.He has played jr hockey with Metcalfe,Gananoque,and Almonte. He is a certified goalie instructor working at Gold in the net and Ottawa Senators Hockey programs. Last season Ryley was the Asst goalie Coach with the Carelton place Jr A Canadians.
Ben Minkus (Forwards) Ben has played AA/AAA his entire minor hockey career in the Kanata Blazers Association. He was drafted and played for Kanata stallions Jr aswell as perth blue wings and Ottawa West golden Knights
Philosophy
My primary goal is to develop players to their maximum potential both on AND off ice. In addition to developing a player’s technical skills to compete at the highest level, life skills of teamwork, responsibility, accountability, communication and leadership will be stressed. The combination of those attributes will lead to building self-confidence and having fun.
Practices will be well organized, focused and high tempo. Each practice will work on fundamentals, position specifics and then team play. The fundamentals of skating, passing and shooting will be the foundation for our success. I consider my approach firm but fair. Hard work will be expected. Mistakes will be made. That’s how we learn. The rewards of hard work and pushing beyond comfort zones will be evident as the season progresses.
Try Outs& Evaluations
Major Atom "A" tryouts are scheduled August 26th-August 31st 2012. Pre-registration and updated tryout info will be available from the OVSS website @ http://silversevenhockey.com/ . Evaluations will be conducted by independent evaluators, the coaches, and the Silver Seven executive.
Players need to show up at tryouts properly prepared mentally and physically. This is NOT a conditioning camp so players need to perform at their best from the first session. In addition to the fundamentals of fitness, skill, speed and hockey sense, I will be looking for players who demonstrate the characteristics of dedication, hard work, focus, coachable, teamwork, sportsmanship, and a positive attitude.
In the past, tryouts have followed a format similar to this. The first day of tryouts consists of skating and puck handling, building into advanced skills on the second day. Exhibition games may be scheduled mid-week, with inter-squad games on the second weekend. First releases via private letter will happen after the second day of tryouts. Subsequent releases via private letter will occur after the exhibition and/or inter-squad games. An additional ice session will occur after which final releases/acceptances will be via interview with the player and one parent/guardian. As with everything, some details may change slightly but the overall approach will remain the same.
Players are asked to bring their own water bottles.
Acceptance of a position on the team also constitutes acceptance of Silver Seven Parent and Player Codes of Conduct as well as the Team’s specific codes of conduct, copies of which will be provided in advance of final interviews.
Commitment
As with all competitive hockey programs, a high level of commitment is expected from everyone involved with the team. There will be on average 4 team sessions per week that will include practices, games and possibly off ice training. OVSS A fees are expected to be approximately $1700 + $475 team fees (to be confirmed).
Tournaments
The following tournaments have been confirmed:
Location / Team,level,dates
Kitchener Octoberfest Oct 19th-21st 2012
Silver Seven Nov 2nd-4th 2012
Bell Capital cup Dec 28th –Jan 2nd 2012
Peterborough Lift Lock Jan 9th-13th 2012
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me at majatomblack@silversevenhockey.com or call me at 613.836.9329(h) or 613.277.7197(c).
I wish all players the best in the tryouts. Enjoy the rest of your summer and I look forward to seeing everyone at the rink.
Chris Burns
OVSS Major Atom A Black