I started making a bit of a hockey manager resources list of things to help me, as I try and manage my son’s U13 team. Though this list of hockey manager resources isn’t meant to replace any of the required reading like your association’s policies and procedures, it’s meant to be a bit of a reminder and job aid for the rest of the work that falls within a manager and their delegates’ duties. I want this to be a constantly updated resource, so if you have any suggestions, or would like your business’ information listed below, feel free to reach out to me, or leave a comment below! Ideally, I’d like to post resources that I’ve been able to either vet myself or corroborate via multiple contributors.
Parent meeting advice
One of the biggest challenges I have is gauging the parents disposition on the team. Where are they on the spectrum of “barely hanging on” to “fully engaged”. Typically, before the parent meeting, I’d go out with the coaching staff – it’s usually very successful. Small group, small venue, over drinks discussing (and documenting) their aspirations for the season. That part is good. Notes, notes and more notes.
Then I take those notes and build the parent meeting agenda. It’s easy, usually. Flows like a weird sort of Mad Libs.
For the parent meeting, everything feels like it runs well. I talk, people listen. Hopefully there aren’t smaller kids running around distracting everyone. Hopefully everyone is in attendance. Hopefully I come across as confident but not scary. Hopefully people fill out the paperwork on time. But man, those are small ball compared to the elephant in the corner: as a professional leader (in progress, always), I care about the outcomes. I care about connecting and I care about leading effectively. But this is so dang hard in a setting like this. Especially if you don’t know many/any of the parents. The next 2-3 weeks are going to be intense, and you will not be universally liked. Or appreciated. Or respected. Or trusted.
So what can you do?
- Rely on your biggest support system – your partner/spouse.
- Ask anyone if they’d like to assist manage, and delegate like your sanity depends on it.
- If your association suggests/mandates other volunteer roles, get them filled quickly and let them roll. If no specific roles are suggested, I would highly recommend:
- Assistant Manager
- Fundraising
- Tournaments
- Keep communication open, establish a routine for relaying information to the team staff.
- Get in a Time Machine (oh, did I forget to mention you’ll probably need one?), go back to the coaches’ meeting and for the love of all that is good and holy, discuss the head coach’s expectations between “go do this” and “run this by me first”. Your ultimate job is to make the head coach’s life easier. Striking the balance (really – the understanding) of what that means will help smooth out this rocket ship ride.
- Relax. Next year you’ll have learned enough to either put up your hand earlier so you can get a head start on everything (being the first for ordering practice jerseys, booking fundraiser times and snapping up ice times actually does help minimize the intensity, and feels darn good), or avoid managing like the plague.
- Send out a survey to better understand your team’s personality!
Let’s ease into things and talk about what your “go bag” might have in it.
Some helpful stationary supplies to have on hand
I have a go bag that I’ve put together that I use when I’m managing the team from home, or with me at practices/events/games. This is held in a very large zipper pouch. I don’t get it mixed up with my day job and it’s been a great help over the years.
- 3 hole punch (families will print out forms themselves and hand them in. Keep them organized in a binder, but you gotta get them in there first!)
- Post-it’s (when info is coming at you faster than you can manage, sometimes these can be a lifesaver for jotting information down quick)
- Dry erase markers (coaches usually bring their on for use on the ice whiteboards, but sometimes they dry out! Help keep them on top of their game. Also, scorekeepers and timekeepers can use them to write complex in-game scenarios like multiple penalties etc on the plexiglass – communication with refs and coaches is key!)
- Pens/pencils
- Pad of lined paper (most leagues have transitioned to electronic score sheets – this is awesome! But using a scratch pad to record game data as you go is not only solid redundancy, but in case of the electronic service or wifi being down, might be the only record of the game.)
- Sound system to phone adapters (Music! Of course some rinks have Bluetooth but not all. It helps to be able to seamlessly deliver music for the game without scrambling for whatever parents have on hand for cables.)
- Mini to Lightning (up to iPhone 14)
- Mini to USB-C (iPhone 15, some Pixels)
The following resources are what my experiences have been, specifically in the Edmonton and surrounding area.
Fundraising resources
Ah – the contentious topic of fundraising. Remember, this is my hockey manager resources list, so it’s what works for me. Most money-gathering activities do not put the fun in fundraising. But in today’s world, it’s a necessity. I have two fundraisers that are my go-to’s year after year. I’ll explain why, for each:
- True North Fundraising
This maximizes revenue potential, minimizes time commitment and can be done in 59 minutes. I’m dead serious. So – now that the important bit of information for parents is out of the way, here’s the rest of my opinion: the concept is simple – you gather a list of people your athlete will call. Make it a big list. Include family, friends, neighbours, co-workers, the whole shebang. Then, on the day of the event, you walk in to a slickly run, engaging, motivating and well-produced fundraising event. Complete with great instructions and script, electronic score board, prizes and no guesswork at the end, you’ve made up to 50% profit on everything the team has sold. It’s. That. Easy. The team learns manners and phone etiquette and sees firsthand the fruits of their efforts. Tell Robyn Chris sent you. - Canadian Brew House – Teams and Leagues Program
Want to be able to maximize profits, minimize your work and combine team building and memory-making all in one? Not only will they work with you to plan your fundraising event (we did a silent auction – every family donated a prize worth ~$150-200 or more), they will also register your team for a complimentary pizza party and free kids meal cards for the families to use.* The team had a blast with this, and CBH is top-tier with their professionalism and over-the-top effort for your event.
This hockey manager resources list isn’t meant to be inclusive. I’m not going to list any more fundraisers… honestly the rest sort of pale in comparison. But, if you insist or need to do a bottle drive, I highly recommend organizing it on a weekend or day off immediately after a holiday or big national event (e.g. Grey Cup) to cash in on all those empties. Also, earlier in the day is better. Otherwise, you might be the 3rd team through by lunch. At the end of the day, you do you, but I’ve never ever ever been disappointed with the above, and I’ve been heavily disappointed, repeatedly, year after year with so many other ones. Nothing like 3 hours later coming home smelling like moldy Keystone and barely collecting enough to cover practice jerseys. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Dryland training services
- RVX
This outfit is amazing. I’ve now seen what they can do for a wide range of athletes – from U13 to U18, they will show your team proper techniques, motivation, drive and perseverance and build core memories they will take with them wherever they go. I believe that dryland training isn’t just about performance training, it’s about shifting perspectives. It can get difficult staring at an ice surface 2, 3 even 4 times a week, doing the same handful of drills in the same gear with the same activity leaders.
Power skating services
- Pivot Power Skating – Shannon Jordan
She comes highly recommended from multiple sources. I’ll add more here once we’ve used them.
Bright Spots: TBD
Needs Work: TBD
Best For: TBD
Skills training services
- 200HKY
Bright Spots: Edge work
Needs Work: N/A
Best For: All ages/skills - PEP – Power Edge Pro
Bright Spots: Constantly moving, aggressive edge work, advanced stick skills and attacking the corners techniques
Needs work: N/A
Best For: TBD - Serdachny
Bright Spots: TBD
Needs Work: TBD
Best For: TBD
Goalie training services
- Level Up Goaltending
Bright Spots: TBD
Needs Work: TBD
Best For: TBD - Goalie Academy
Bright Spots: TBD
Needs Work: TBD
Best For: TBD
Print and design services
- Leading Edge Grafx.
Relevant Speciality: Print and design services for team labels (e.g. helmet, special event), coach gifts and more!
I understand that hockey manager resources are a tough topic. They’re regional, vary depending on level of play and very personal. But I hope these resources are either directly helpful, or have inspired you to build your own! Am I missing a topic, provider, tip or section or out to lunch on anything? Let me know! In the mean time, I hope you can get some use out of this!
* The CBH for Teams and Leagues Program info is how I understand it, at the time of this posting. For current offering, please visit their site or contact them, don’t just take my word for it.
