Highland Bulldogs Hockey Club

Highland Bulldogs Ice Hockey Club: Parental Code of Conduct The Highland Bulldogs Hockey Club expects all it’s players to abide by a code of conduct. With that said, the parents should be held to the same high standard of respect towards the game of hockey and all of its participants. Parent’s Guidelines Encourage the athletes to play by the rules. Applaud the good play of both teams. Verbal attacks directed at players, coaches, or officials will not be tolerated. Show a positive attitiude towards the game and all of its participants. Know and study the rules of the game. If you do not understand something, ASK! Supports the officials on and off the ice. The spectator stands are not a place from which to try to personally coach the players. Athletes often mirror their parent’s actions therefore, if mom or dad is losing control in the stands, the players are likely to do the same on the ice. The best way to help athletes achieve their goals and reduce the fear of failure is through positive reinforcement. Applaud good efforts in both victory and defeat. Highlight the positive points of the game not the negative! Recognize that the coaches are all volunteers. Each coach has your child’s development and best interest at heart and therefore we ask for your respect and support throughout the season. The coaches have implemented a “24 hour” policy when it comes to discussing any team or personal issue with parents. If any parent has a concern that needs to be discussed with a coach we ask that the parent waits until the next day to discuss the matter. Lastly, keep things in perspective. Learn all you can about the game and you will enjoy it more..

Highland Bulldogs Ice Hockey Club: Playing Time Philosophy The head coach will make all final decisions regarding playing time in Varsity and Junior Varsity games. Such decisions should be consistent with the following philosophy: * The primary purpose of the Junior Varsity team is to develop the game playing skills of each participant. Therefore, all players dressed for any Junior Varsity game should expect comparable playing time in that game. * The Varsity team is expected to put forth the best effort to win every game (consistent with applicable rules and with good sportsmanship). It is unlikely that all Varsity players will be of equal ability. It is also certain that, regardless of ability, the best team effort in hockey cannot be achieved by playing the same players throughout the entire game. Therefore, the coaching staff must maintain a balance between having the most skilled players on the ice and having adequately rested players on the ice. It is unlikely that this balance will be attained by giving comparable playing time to all players who have dressed for a game. Therefore, it is likely that some players will have more playing time than others. Nonetheless, the coaching staff will make every effort to assure that each player who has dressed for a game gets to play at least one shift during the game. This philosophy is not intended to be specifically applied to goalies. However, the basic principles of this philosophy (i.e. the coach will make all final decisions regarding playing time, the primary purpose of the Junior Varsity team is to develop the game playing skills of each participant, and the Varsity team is expected to put forth the best effort and team to win every game) should be applied when determining playing time of the goalies. This philosophy does not take into account illness, injuries, or disciplinary issues which will be addressed separately. Jeff Weinacht, Head Coach bulldoghockey@live.com 618-792-8250