The
RMMHA House League Program has been active in Richmond/Munster since 1986 and
offers kids ages 4 to 21 an opportunity to play hockey in a safe, fun organized
fashion. There are 7 age groups of
hockey in Richmond:
Hockey
Development Ages 4-6
Novice Ages
7-8
Atom Ages 9-10
PeeWee Ages
11-12
Bantam Ages
13-14
Midget Ages
15-17
Juvenile Ages
18-21
While
kids in Hockey Development are organized into teams, their program focuses
mostly on skill development, with fun day games to provide the players with
some opportunity to play games in a non-competitive environment.
From
Novice up, each team is assigned a bench staff that is made up of a Head Coach,
typically one or two assistant coaches, a trainer and a manager. All bench staff are volunteers and all are
required to take a Speak Out Course, a half-day course intended to inform and
prevent harassment and abuse. A parents
guide is also available for download at
http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/18221/la_id/1/document/1/re_id/0
All
bench staff are subject to a mandatory background police check.
Coaches
in Richmond are required to be certified Hockey Development coaches must
obtain a minimum of the IP coaching course and coaches from Novice to Juvenile
must have as a minimum the Coach Stream level, these courses are paid for by
the association. Trainers must also be
certified to at least Level 1 and their training is also paid for. Coaches are
selected by the Hockey Program Directors.
Teams from Novice to Midget
play in the Lanark Carleton Minor hockey League (LCMHL). The LCMHL is the league recognized by District 4 of the Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association for
house league players within the District 4 boundaries.
Teams
from Novice to Bantam and Midget body contact (non-checking) play approx 24 one
hour league games each season and typically practice once every week or 10
days. Midget (checking) & Juvenile
games are 1.5 hours in length. Ice times
are scheduled according to age levels for example younger ages play earlier
than older ages. Most teams have between
12 and 17 players per team.
Starting
at Novice, teams in Richmond are tiered which means that kids of like ability
are grouped together and play against teams from other associations of similar
abilities. Stronger players are placed
on A teams, followed by B level teams, and at some levels C teams. Whether there are teams at all levels,
depends on a number of things including overall skill level of the players and
a team placement formula established by the Lanark Carleton Minor Hockey League
which is mostly based on the numbers of kids playing in each age group with all
LCMHL associations participating in determining the levels of play within the
guidelines.
Prior
to the start of the player placement process the RMMHA runs conditioning camps
at all levels (Novice to Midget) on the weekend before evaluations. The RMMHA
also offers body checking and goalie clinics prior to the start of the player
placement process.
The
RMMHA player placement process is completed every season over approximately a
one-week period by a panel of evaluators including the Head Coach - Director of
House League Programs and the Assistant Head Coach Director of Development
Programs along with selected knowledgeable experienced evaluators. Where
equalization of 2 or more teams at the same level is required a tentative team
list is drawn up by the Hockey Programs Directors, followed by an equalization
game(s) minimum 2 hours .The respective team Head Coaches provide input on
player changes to balance both teams with the final team roster approval by the
Head Coach Director of House League Programs.
RMMHA House League Hockey Program
Hockey
Canada rules state that checking hockey cant be offered at House League until
Peewee age. For many years Richmond has
offered body checking hockey at Peewee, Bantam and Midget ages for A and B
teams. When C teams were created at
these levels, they were body contact (non-checking) mainly for skill
development purposes. Juvenile is also
body contact (non-checking) hockey.
Richmond supports the Hockey Canada Checking Model (Four Step Checking Program)
and every season runs a series of clinics on safe checking for all registered
hockey players and coaches regardless of whether they play body checking or
body contact (non-checking) hockey.
These clinics are offered at Novice, Atom, Peewee and Bantam levels.
In
2005-06, for the first time Richmond offered a choice of body contact
(non-checking) or body checking for Pee Wee & Bantam age players at the B
level, and in 2006-07 will continue to offer the choice of body contact
(non-checking) at Pee Wee B, Bantam B and Midget B if there are enough players
who wish to participate.
For
Hockey Canada definitions of body checking and body contact (non-checking), see
last page. Choosing one or the other is
the decision of the player and parents.
To assist in making that choice, we offer the following additional information
for the 2006-07 season based on questions that are most often asked by members.
|
|
Body
Checking |
Body
Contact (Non-Checking) |
|
At
what tiers/age groups is this form of hockey available? |
PeeWee,
Bantam and Midget House A & B. All
Competitive Hockey: Titans AA and RAMS
A & B |
PeeWee,
Bantam & Midget House B (if
numbers permit) |
|
Who
would we play against? |
Based
on the 2005-06 year, body checking teams league play associations include
Perth/Lanark, Kanata, Stittsville, West Carleton, Carleton Place,
Almonte/Pakenham, & Osgoode-Rideau |
Based
on the 2005-06 year, body contact (non-checking) teams league play
associations include Kanata & Stittsville. |
|
Are
there enough players registered in each stream? |
In
2005-06 in LCMHL there were the following numbers of body checking teams at
each age level: PeeWee:
A & B 25 Bantam:
A & B 26 Midget:
A, B & Minor B: 23 |
In
2005-06 in LCMHL there were the following numbers of body contact
(non-checking) teams at each age level: PeeWee:
B 12 Bantam:
B8 Midget:
B13 |
|
Are
there tournaments for us to enter? |
Yes,
there are local and out of town tournaments available by checking the ODMHA
web site. |
Yes,
there are local and out of town tournaments available by checking the ODMHA
web site. |
|
Definite
restrictions for the 2006-07? |
Body
Checking hockey is not available at C levels at Peewee & Bantam in Lanark
Carleton |
Body
Contact (Non-checking) hockey is not available at A levels for PeeWee, Bantam
or Midget in Lanark Carleton |
|
|
|
|
RMMHA House League Hockey Program
Hockey
Canada Definitions:
Body Checking:
Body Checking is defined as an individual defensive tactic
designed to legally separate the puck carrier from the puck. This tactic is the
result of a defensive player applying physical extension of the body toward the
puck carrier moving in an opposite or parallel direction. The action of the
defensive player is deliberate and forceful in an opposite direction to which
the offensive player is moving and is not solely determined by the movement of
the puck carrier.
Body Contact/Non-Checking:
Body Contact is defined as an individual defensive tactic
designed to legally block or impede the progress of an offensive puck carrier.
This tactic is a result of movement of the defensive player to restrict
movement of the puck carrier anywhere on the ice through skating, angling and
positioning. The defensive player may not hit the offensive player by going in
opposite direction to that player or by extending toward the offensive player
in an effort to initiate contact. There must be no action where the puck
carrier is pushed, hit or shoved into the boards.
Any
further questions about the RMMHA hockey programs can be directed to Don Gray
Head Coach Director of House League Programs at ddcjdd.gray@sympatico.ca