TRY-OUTS: PARENT EDITION

Try-out season is upon us and for a lot of people in the hockey world, it can make for a stressful and chaotic time. Unless you already have a guaranteed spot, navigating try-outs can be tough so you’ll want to make sure you have a plan of attack in place. Naturally, we want to make things as stress-free as possible for the kids, so allowing them to simply go out and play their game is very important.

The first thing you should do is give an honest assessment of where your player is in terms of their overall game and the improvement they made over the course of last season. This can be tough to do with parental glasses on, so make sure you are as subjective as possible because it is a very important piece of the try-out puzzle. Over or underestimating your player’s skill level can lead you to some frustrating try-out results. No matter what level (Yzerman/Howe, etc.) your player finished the year, you should try to take them to some higher-level try-outs as well as some at the level you finished. For example, if your player finished the year as a Howe 1 player, then you should look to get out to some Yzerman-level options as well as some Howe 1 options. The key word from that example is OPTIONS. You want to set yourself up with as many of those as possible. The higher level would probably be your preference but it’s good to have quality back-up plans as well. Things can change in an instant, so be ready to roll with the punches.

Finding good coaching should be high on your priority list and that doesn’t always mean finding the team that had the most wins in previous seasons. A lot of people will spend try-outs chasing jerseys only to find out later that they missed out on a good opportunity with a lesser-known team/coach. I am not saying that finding a good coach is an easy task, but it is one worth putting a little time and research into. As you probably know, the hockey community is small, so asking around to get information on certain teams and coaches is probably a lot easier than it may seem. Obviously, everyone would rather win than lose but at this stage in most kids’ careers, development is far more important than simply winning games. When you get to the actual try-outs, pay attention to everything, from the organization of the money collection/jersey distribution, how the on-ice portion is run, all the way through how call backs/cuts are handled. It may seem a bit ridiculous, but all those little details will give you more insight into how well the team is organized. While try-outs won’t be as efficiently run as regular team practices should be, getting a chance to observe how the coaches coach can provide you with some intel that may ultimately help you make a decision.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to Head Coaches prior to heading to try-outs. Finding out details about the team/practice schedule/rink, etc. are all good things to know ahead of making decisions. You should also understand that there is a difference between gathering information and becoming a headache. The idea of constant communication leading into the skate can be a turn-off for some coaches, so if you get to the point where you are asking yourself, “should I send the coach another text?”, the answer is probably no. While this is not true for every coach, it is probably good to error on the side of caution. If/when you get an offer, make sure you know if it is a Spring or Fall offer. In the event you get spring-only offers, try to find two teams that you can double roster with for the season. Doing this isn’t ideal if you have an already tight schedule but it will provide you with more opportunities to land a fall spot. Don’t feel bad about stringing things along, remember that most coaches would be doing the same thing if they had the opportunity.

Above all else, make sure you provide a positive atmosphere for your player during this 2–3 week stretch. Don’t measure their success during try-outs based solely on the team that you end up joining; keep in mind the effort that they put in and make sure they know you’re proud of that.

Good Luck!