Hello
West London Hockey Parents,
I would like to welcome you to the Major Atom MD Try-outs! Competitive hockey involves a significant amount
of time and financial commitment, and I want to thank you for allowing your player to compete for a spot on this team.
My name is Brent Kirchner and I’m very excited to be the Head Coach for the 2016-17 Major Atom MD Team. I’ve been involved with West London Minor Hockey for five years on the bench in different roles and I had the pleasure of coaching the Minor Atom MD team last year. I look forward to putting the knowledge and experience I’ve gained to work again this year and feel confident that this team will have great success.
Our try-outs are scheduled for the following dates:
Wednesday, Sept. 7th, 7:00pm @ Nichols A Pad.
Saturday, Sept. 10th, 1:00pm @ Nichols A Pad.
Sunday, Sept. 11th, 4:30pm @ Nichols B Pad.
Monday, Sept. 12th, 7:30pm @ Nichols B Pad.
Tuesday, Sept. 13th, 5:30pm @ Nichols B Pad (Exhibition game vs. Oakridge)
Thursday, Sept. 15th, 7:00pm @ Nichols A Pad (Exhibition game vs. Oakridge)
These dates shouldn’t change, but here is our team website so you can check out our calendar, etc.
http://westlondonhockey.ca/Teams/2400/
Try-out process:
We have 34 players trying out for the 17 spots on the team (2 Goalies, 6 Defense, 9 forwards).
I will run a fair and transparent try out process. The people running the drills or Coaching on the bench during exhibition games will have no affiliation with this team.
I hope to have 3 - 5 independent evaluators at each of the 4 try outs and 2 exhibition games. The evaluators will be provided with evaluation sheets that have jersey colours and numbers on them, as well as categories to evaluate players on. They will not be told what the player’s names are, or where they played last year.
I will be present at all sessions, but will be relying heavily on the on ice help to keep the sessions running smoothly and on the evaluators for their player recommendations.
There will be two dressing rooms with a list on each door with your player name and jersey number to wear. Please hang your jersey on the hanger after each skate so they don’t end up in the hockey bag.
Every player is guaranteed the first three tryouts before any player will be released.
What Am I looking for:
The most common question you may be asked by your player is - what type of player are they looking for or what do I need to do to make the team? I can tell you that the criteria I will be passing on to the evaluators (and what I will be watching for) are:
- Effort - Performs to the best of their ability and never gives up.
- Attitude -Wants to improve their skill and always shows up to work hard, positive attitude.
- Team Player -Hockey isn’t an individual game. The best teams skate both ways and move the puck. I want play makers that can create opportunities for both themselves and teammates.
- Coachable -Good listener, execute drills properly, able and willing to do what the team needs.
- Hockey skills -skating, puck handling, passing, shooting, puck support, creativity, positioning.
Player Positions:
During the try out process I will be moving players to all positions. A great hockey player can play any position. After the team is picked, no one is guaranteed to play in a certain position (other than net). My goal is to field the strongest team possible based on the criteria I listed above. There is a good chance that we will need to move players into different positions based on their comfort level, and to cover for injuries, and absences. As the season progresses, I would like to minimize these movements as much as possible, to give the players the best chance to become comfortable and successful.
Affiliated Players (APs):
I will be looking at players in the Tryout process to AP for our team if they are not successful on making our roster.
Attendance:
My expectation is that players make every effort to attend each practice and game, and that the following tournaments and playoffs from late February on are a Priority. We work hard as a team to be successful for the playoffs and I need the commitment of all our players to be there when it counts. We will have games during the March break and they will be crucial to making the Alliance Championships.
1. St. Mary’s AE Tournament (St. Mary’s) October 21st – 23rd.
2. MD Challenge Cup (Burlington) November 25th - 27th.
3. Wayne Gretzky International (Brantford) December 27th – 30th.
4. Atom Lift-lock Tournament (Peterborough) January 16th - 18th.
5. West London Optimist Tourney - Jan 27th – 29th.
Alliance Championships will be held in St. Catherines. April 6th-9th.
Team Support:
The expectation is that each family take part in one or more of the key committees or activities that help to support this team. These include:
- Coaching Staff, Head Trainer, Assistant Trainer
- Team Manager and possibly Assistant Team Manager
- Treasurer
- Various Committees (Social, Fund Raising, Sponsorship, Social Media (FB, Team Snap, etc)
Finally, I expect there will be different levels of skill in the try-outs and different amounts of summer rust! I don't expect every player to nail every drill the 1st time. What I am really focussing on is effort, attitude and work ethic.
Please check the list below to ensure that your player is registered for Try-outs. This list is from September 1st, after the deadline. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
See you at the rink!
Coach Brent.
GO HAWKS GO!
Players Registered for Major Atom MD Try-outs.
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BOGLEVSKY
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EVAN
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BROCK
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NATHAN
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BROCK
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THEODORE
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COOK
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DYLAN
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CROWLEY
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TRISTAN
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DINARDO
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NICHOLAS
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GREGORY
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COLIN
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GUYETT
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GAVIN
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HALL
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MACLEAN
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HUSSER
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CARTER
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KIRCHNER
|
EVAN
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LANDREY
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CHRISTOPHER
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LINE
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LUCAS
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MALONEY
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EVAN
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MANCARI
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LUCAS
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MARINHO
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FLETCHER
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MEIKLEJOHN
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CALLUM
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MOORE
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AVERY
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MORIN
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ZACHARY
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NEPEAN
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LOCHLAN
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NOWELL
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LIAM
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O'LEARY-PIPPO
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DESZI
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PACE
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WILLIAM
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PETROPOULOS
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PETER
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PICKETT
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ETHAN
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RIDPATH
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RYLEN
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ROBINSON
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NOLAN
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SANDERS
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TYSON
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SHERWOOD
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JACKSON
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STAPLETON
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MICHAEL
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USHER
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CAMERON
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WASHINGTON
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ANDREW
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WRIGHT
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ANDREW
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YOUNG
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AUSTIN
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