Team Selection Policy
(Adopted by PGRA Board September 30, 2008)

Tiering:

Divisions (Petite and higher) that exceed 18 players require that the Division be split into two or more teams, then subsequently tiered in accordance with British Columbia Ringette Association (BCRA) Policy. Refer to BCRA Policy Manual for the most current tiering requirements. In order for Divisions to be tiered in a fair manner, the following local PGRA policy has been developed.


Team Selection Committee

The Team Selection Committee (“Committee”) should consist of a minimum of three evaluators consisting of the Coaching Director, non-divisional coaches, non-divisional assistant coaches, experienced players (Belle or higher), or an Executive member.

The Coaching Director will arrange for Committee members, will set the dates of the ice times when evaluations will be performed, will inform parents of the requirements for tiering (parent meeting prior to first practice), and will discuss objectives/practice plans with on-ice Divisional coaching staff.

The Committee shall be formed prior to the first regular practice time in order to ensure teams are selected as early in the season as possible.


Team Selection Practices/Parent Meeting

Head coaches and assistant coaches that have put their names forth to coach within the division being evaluated will conduct the evaluating practices. If there are insufficient Divisional coaches to conduct the practices, then the Coaching Director will obtain assistance from other Divisional coaches.

There should be a minimum of two practices for the Committee to assess the skills of each player. It should also be noted that the coaching director will have been evaluating players during the skating enhancement.

Each practice should include an appropriate amount of game time in order for the Committee to be able to observe all players in a game situation.

Practices should be designed to provide the Committee an opportunity to assess the physical skills of a player and how the player responds in game situations.

The Coaching Director will provide PGRA Evaluation Sheets to each Committee member.

On-ice coaches will provide players with red and white jerseys (no name bars) and will keep a list of what jersey each player is wearing in order to allow player lists to be created following the final evaluation practice.

Before the first evaluation practice, the Coaching Director will meet with the parents to explain the following:
• BCRA Tiering Policy
• PGRA Team Selection Policy
• The selection process – listing the skill sets and stressing that all the skill sets will be taken into consideration.
• That parents should not disturb Committee members while evaluating practices are being conducted.
• That the parents and or players will be notified by the assigned Head Coach of each team once the teams are selected.


Skill Evaluation

The physical skill sets to measure are:
•Skating
•Passing
•Shooting

Player game skills are:
•Checking
•Positional play with and without the ring
•Player decisions with the ring
•Player intangibles – determination, involvement, instincts


Evaluating Guidelines

The Committee members should assess the players individually and should not confer with each other or anyone else during the practices.

Comments on the assessment sheet should be constructive and not be derogatory in any way.

The Committee should meet directly after each evaluation session to determine which players, if any, are well above or well below average in skill level. If there are such players, it will allow the evaluators to focus on the remaining players during the final evaluations.

After the final evaluation is complete, the Committee will meet to review the evaluations. The Committee will draft the team selections based on evaluations. “Bubble” players (players who could go either way) will be identified.

The Committee should not allow anyone else to see the assessment sheets until after the teams have been split and the parents and players notified.

The Coaching Director will then meet with the Divisional Coaches to review the Team Selections (final evaluation meeting). Bubble players will be discussed further and placed on the appropriate team.

In case of discrepancies on the assessments, the total point value of each assessment will be used to determine player placement.

Teams do not necessarily need to be split equally in term of player numbers, however this must be taken into consideration so as not to leave one team with too few or too many players.

Evaluation sheets will be retained by the Coaching Director and will be destroyed at the end of the season. These assessment sheets are confidential and are not to be distributed to anyone.

Parents who would like to discuss the Evaluation Process must do so with the Coaching Director.


Annual Player Evaluations

All head coaches will complete annual player skill evaluations at the end of each season. These sheets will be provided by the Coaching Director and must be returned to the Coaching Director no later than March 1st of each season.

If required at the final evaluation meeting, player evaluations will be used as a guide to help place players on the appropriate team.

Head Coaches will be provided with the previous seasons player evaluations following the Team Selection Process.


Absent Players

Players who miss the evaluation practices will be assessed by the Divisional Coaches during regular practices and will be placed on the appropriate team. If Divisional Coaches cannot agree on the player placement, then the Coaching Director reserves the right to make the final placement decision. The previous season’s player evaluation (when available) should be reviewed to help place the player appropriately.