The following will provide an overview of all the main tasks that team managers will face throughout the season.
In the beginning....
As TeamSnap will be the primary method of communication and source of information for your team, you will want to setup the following as soon as possible:
- Team Roster: Once teams are determined, the players will need to be assigned to their appropriate team in TeamSnap. This may be done by a division ambassador or team managers may be required to assist with this step. Once your team has been set up, you can send invitations to all the parents and they will have the ability to add/modify contact information. It is key that all parents accept the invitation so you can fully utilize TeamSnap.
2. Practice & Game Schedules: Once you have this information loaded into TeamSnap, it will also populate the mobile app your parents will be using as their main source of information. It is strongly recommended you ask your parents to utilize the "Availability" function so you and the coaches will be able to plan accordingly. One of our team managers has created a template that can take an excel document and upload the information to teamsnap - click here.
3. Tracking function: This element of the app is highly useful to track the submission of any documents (eg code of conducts, image use waivers, etc) or collection of any fees.
While our Registrar is responsible for team registration, the Team Manager plays a critical role in the process. Registration is done in conjunction with Hockey Canada and its deadlines are absolute and out of our hands, so it is imperative that the Registrar and Manager work together to ensure the teams are rostered in a timely manner. Once teams are formed, Division Ambassadors will provide a Sample roster form to be completed and returned. The Registrar will then provide an updated roster for your team as it appears in the Hockey Canada Registry.
It is the Manager’s responsibility to review the roster and advise the office immediately of ANY changes that need to be made.
Distribution
At the beginning of the season, division managers (recreational) or team managers (rep) will need to email our equipment manager, Chris, to arrange a time to pick up their jerseys. They will receive a full set of blue jerseys (TBirds Home color) and a full set of white jerseys.
If you have any questions regarding jerseys or equipment, please email Chris.
Goalie Equipment
For teams in initiation and Atom, Vancouver Thunderbirds Hockey also loans out goalie equipment if your goalie does not own it. Contact Chris to set up an appointment. Also, it is recommended you bring an “average sized” player from your team to help with sizing.
Collecting Jersey Deposits from Players
The Team Manager collects individual “Jersey Deposit” cheques from each player payable to Vancouver Thunderbird Minor Hockey Association in the amount of $100 for recreational and $150 for rep, post-dated March 31 of the following year. These cheques are to be kept by the Manager in a secure place.
Note: this deposit is per player: if you have 2 kids from the same family on the team, you would collect 2 separate cheques.
Do not give out a jersey set without receiving a cheque in return!
Most parents know the rules and are quite diligent about providing cheques up front. If you have any issue, let the parent know their child will not be able to have a jersey – and therefore, not be able to play - until you have a deposit cheque.
If a player is moved to another after the teams have been set, ensure the jersey is returned to the original team as player should receive a jersey from the new team. This keeps the jerseys as a ‘team set’.
Care of Jerseys
Please inform your parents of the expectation for Thunderbirds jersey care:
- Jerseys should be washed throughout the season and be hung to dry after washing – do not put them in the
dryer - ‘C’s and ‘A’s are to be gently “hand-stitched stitched” on. DO NOT iron, blue staple or machine sew anything onto the jerseys.
- Name bars are not permitted on Thunderbird jerseys.
- Any player’s jersey that is returned damaged or torn will have their individual cheque cashed. This includes permanently affixed ‘C’s and/or ‘A’s.
Don’t forget to delegate duties amongst other families on the team! Each family is required to help and should take on one task. A rotation of tasks can be set up by the Manager. This rotation should not include parents who have already taken on predominant roles such as the Manager, Coach and so forth. There are number of volunteer positions, with some key duties outlined on this page.
To ensure our members were being provided products with the best value, the association works with authorized suppliers for
Thunderbird-Branded Apparel and Equipment. One of the considerations in establishing authorized suppliers is to help
control costs for our members – consistency in our look will allow players to wear items more than one season or allow
families to pass down clothing to younger siblings.
The association has approved Cyclone Taylors and BeastVan as authorized suppliers who are able to provide apparel, team wear and accessories using the Thunderbird logo and the Skate.Shoot.Soar. branding.
Team Managers will assist the delivery of the program by collecting the orders from their team in order to maximize the cost savings through the purchase of bulk orders. More information will be distributed when the selling period is on, however fitting days are typically scheduled during rep tryouts, the Initiation Jamboree and a day or two that make the most sense schedule wise for the recreational teams.
You will find over the years that some teams you are a part of want to do it all: fundraising, tournaments, parties; while others are more low-key. It is important to take the pulse of the group at the start of the season to see what the consensus is.
These additional duties can be delegated, but you will probably find you are closely involved with all, and as they all represent team expenditures, you must ensure you or your team treasurer execute them with due diligence.
As the Team Manager, there are many activities you may want your team to participate in. Depending on the age of your team there are many activities you can arrange to help with team building, relationships and fun outside of hockey. Activities could include bowling, going to a sporting event, etc. The Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Giants and UBC Hockey also allow minor hockey teams (Hockey 1-4, Intro) to play a mini game between periods in some games. They also have group rates in the event your team would like to make this a team activity. Teams sometimes have parties at the beginning of the year, Halloween, Christmas and the end of the year. What you decide to do is entirely up to you and your team.
Insurance Considerations for Team Activities
The Hockey Canada Insurance Program is extended to all registered players and officials. Please note, however, events that fall outside of “regular hockey programming” are, for insurance purposes, considered “Special Events”.
For each of these events, teams must ensure that a Special Event Sanction Request Form is submitted to the BC Hockey office at least 7 to 10 business days prior to the start of the event in order to request to have Hockey Canada Insurance Program coverage extended to the event. This includes additional dryland training, whether that be weekly, or a twice-yearly visit to The Grind. Be sure you and your HCSP person are aware of all the insurance issues for your team. Most parents are unaware of what the Hockey Canada Insurance Program does or does not cover and will expect their coaches and managers to have that information.
Team Finances
At the beginning of the season, once a team manager has been named and this information has been provided to the office for the official team roster, the Association will provide the team with an allocation for paying officials. You (or your volunteer treasurer) will be required to maintain a record of game officials payments to submit at the end of the season and settle for shortage/overage with the Association. Click here for the form you will need to submit.
Note that the Association only covers the cost for game officials for league games, and not exhibition games.
Rep teams will have additional expenses over and above what the association pays for. Please note the following:
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- collection of association rep fees are to take place once a team has been formulated. You will be contacted by the office with the final amount and due date by October 15.
- Non-payment of fees by any member must be reported to Tanya so we can work together to help resolve the situation in a manner that can work for the family and ensure the team is not negatively impacted.
- Individual team fees are the responsibility of the team.
- Due to the need for the association to withdraw funds directly to cover the additional ice for rep teams, all rep teams have an association bank account set up for them. You will receive information on these via email at the beginning of the season and you will be required to go into the bank to sign the paperwork. Please note that these accounts are not set up to allow electronic transfers.
- collection of association rep fees are to take place once a team has been formulated. You will be contacted by the office with the final amount and due date by October 15.
If you have paid out of pocket for an item that is covered by the Association (eg team staff certifications for Respect in Sport, CATT, etc), you must complete an expense form and submit to the office for processing. Ensure you are including copies of all receipts and providing your full address including postal code on the form.
Thunderbirds runs cheques once per month which are signed at the Board meeting. Cheques will be mailed the following day.
During the Season
During the year, there are a number of tournaments your team may decide to participate in. All costs related to tournaments are solely the responsibility of the team. As a general guideline, most C/ House teams will participate in up to two tournaments a year. Most Rep teams will participate in approximately three tournaments a year, primarily locally and perhaps one outside of the Lower Mainland. Participation in these tournaments can be decided by the coach; however, discussion should be had Team Meeting held at the beginning of the season to ensure the number of tournaments suggested are supported by the parent group. Participation in Thunderbird Hosted tournaments for the team’s respective Division is mandatory.
Any additional tournaments over and above the general guidelines, such as a third or “non-local” tournament for a C/House team or an “out of province” tournament requiring air travel for a Rep team should be considered an extraordinary expense and a formal vote (potentially by secret ballot) should be conducted.
It is recommended that you register for your tournaments early as they fill up quickly. All BC tournaments can be found on the BC Hockey website on their Tournament page.
All tournaments require permission to attend - the requirements are a bit different depending on if the tournament is being held in the Lower Mainland, BC or outside of BC. It is critical that you complete the Tournament Permission Request as soon as possible as permissions can take 3-4 weeks to receive.
The Association organizes the association’s annual picture day for all the teams. All players receive a Memory Mate (1 individual and 1 team 5x7) at no cost. Various additional packages are made available for purchase. Have parents fill out the picture request forms in advance as there will be no time to organize this at the event.
The date of picture day will be communicated to all team managers after Thanksgiving and is typically held the third Sunday of November.
Picture day is often chaotic given the number of players and teams within the Association. It is suggested that players arrive at least 15-20 minutes prior to their scheduled time. The team must be organized and lined up in the same order as on their master team order sheet.
It is up to the team which colour jersey they would like to wear. As the team is to be photographed in full gear, remind players they should also have their gloves and stick (they do not need helmet and neck guard).
Once the pictures are ready for pick up, you will be contacted to arrange for someone from your team to pick them up and distribute them.
For information on games, go to the Let them Play! page.
Your coaches may wish to bring in additional skills providers over and above what the association provides. Please note that all third party skills providers must be cleared by BC Hockey in order to ensure they have the proper certifications, a criminal record check and insurance coverage.
All third party skills providers must renew their status with BC Hockey each season, so do not assume they have done so. Please send the instructors name and the name of their company (if they have one) to the office who can verify if they have been approved for the season. If they have not, they will need to complete the BC Hockey application for Entrepreneurial or Private Instructors and Groups.
The approval can happen fairly quickly however it is dependent upon if the skill provider is current on their Respect in Sport, Concussion Awareness Training Tool and criminal record check as each of these steps will take some of their time to complete before approval can occur.
Important: Skills providers who have not been verified by the association are not eligible to participate in any activity with a Thunderbird team or subset of a team as they do not have the required insurance and will put in jeopardy the insurance of our players and coaches.