Minor Pee Wee Welcome Letter & Tryout Information, News, Minor Peewee, 2016-2017 (Lambton Jr. Sting AAA Hockey )

Introduction – Cory Pageau

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself.  I am entering my 13^th year of Coaching and 9^th year of coaching with the Lambton Jr. Sting AAA program.  My playing career progressed through Sarnia Minor Hockey, Mooretown Flags, three years Ontario Hockey League (OHL), ending with five years at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport level.

Coaching philosophy

My philosophy is focused on challenging the kids to continuously improve while providing a positive, fun, structured and development environment for all the players. From a hockey perspective, we will spend the majority of our time focused on skill development and individual tactics over the course of the year. At the pee wee level, core skating and puck handling skills are still the primary focus of our development plan, and practice plans reflect this. In addition an integration of individual and team tactics will be applied. Repetition, for goalies, is very important for perfecting a skill, but first the goaltender must have the basics of the skill.  Positioning and rebound control are the most important aspects of a goaltender’s game and this will be driven home at every practice and game. Apart from
hockey development, we also emphasize fair play, respect, hard work and a “team first” environment.

Core messages for the kids, which will be reinforced over the course of the year at every practice, game and team event, will be:

1. Team Work   learn as a team, play as a team, win as a team, lose as a team
2. Compete       give 100% effort and hustle every time out, every practice, every drill and every game
3. Respect        teammates + coaches + opponents + referees
4. Have Fun      this should always be the reason we go to the rink

These simple themes will be reinforced throughout the year. Coaches will emphasize hard work and a “team first” attitude, and we will make every attempt to keep it fun for all the players.

Commitment

Playing AAA hockey will come with a significant commitment from  the players and their families. Please ensure you understand these commitments prior to arriving for tryouts.

• Ice time and team functions – players can expect to be on the ice 3 to 5 times a week, beginning mid to late August.  This will generally consist of 2x 1.5 hour practices and 2 games per week, with some additional development and off-ice functions where our schedule permits.
• Volunteers – in order to ensure we have a successful year and the best experience possible for the kids, we will need a number of parent volunteers, for roles including assistant coaches, on-ice helpers, team manager, trainer, fundraising coordinator and parent rep. The majority of these positions will be filled after the tryout process is completed and the team has been selected.
• Financial – parents will be asked to raise/pay additional team fees of $600 to $1100, over and above the Lambton Jr. Sting AAA registration/commitment fees.  These funds are required to cover the cost of additional ice time, ice levy, referees, exhibition games, team merchandise, tournament entry fees and team functions. We will seek to reduce this cost somewhat through sponsorship and fundraising programs.  Over and above the team fees will be the cost associated with traveling to tournaments.
• Tournaments – we will be participating in 4 or 5 tournaments.  Each tournament typically requires a Friday to Sunday commitment.

Tryouts Dates and Process

• Tryouts begin on Monday April 11th, 5:30 – 7:00 PM at the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre in Sarnia, ON. Please see the tryout tab under www.lambtonjrsting.ca for all dates, registration and tryout information.
• My hope is everyone that wants to play at this level or strive to play at the AAA level comes out and gives it their best shot! Your child may or may not make the final “AAA” selections; however they will be able to see how they stack up against what is the top level of hockey for their age group.
• Tryouts will run over five to seven ice times between April 11th  and 24th, and all the players will receive a minimum of two skates and three (3) hours of ice as part of this process
• The tryouts will be a mix of skating and skill evaluations, scrimmages and exhibition games.

Tryout Preparation and Expectation

• The players should come to the tryout sessions focused on working hard and having fun.  It can be a stressful couple of weeks for the boys and all the families, but I would ask everyone to keep things in perspective as the process unfolds.
• We will be evaluating for a combination of:
• Core skating and puck skills
• Work ethic and compete levels
• Impact in game situations (scrimmages + exhibition games) – this may come through skill plays, but it may also come through hustle and work ethic.  Both are key attributes for a successful player, and we will be looking for players that not only have strong skills but also show a willingness to work hard, engage, compete and battle.
• Players should arrive at tryouts in good physical condition and ready for game situations.

I am excited about the upcoming season and looking forward to coaching the Minor Peewee Lambton Jr. Sting AAA team.  If you have any questions please feel free to send me a note.

Cory Pageau

Head Coach – Lambton Jr. Sting Minor Pee Wee AAA