Evaluation Policy

Evaluation Objectives:

The objectives of the evaluation process are:

  • To provide each player equal opportunity to be evaluated.
  • To provide a fair, consistent and comprehensive evaluation of a player’s total hockey skills through skating, skills and scrimmage sessions.
  • To ensure that all players have a reasonable opportunity of being selected to a team appropriate to their age, level of skill, and opportunity for development.
  • To provide a fair and consistent evaluation process so that players and parents can clearly understand expectations from year to year and progress through the WWHA age categories.
  • To form teams to maximize skill and competitive play so athletes can develop, have fun and participate equitably throughout the hockey season.

Evaluation Committee And Evaluation Chairs Roles And Responsibilities

  • Once the evaluation approach is confirmed it is the responsibility of the Evaluation Chairs to ensure execution of the process. During the evaluation process, the evaluation committee will be in constant contact with the Evaluation Chairs to ensure the process is followed appropriately.
  • Occasionally it may be necessary for the Evaluation Chair to make a decision relating to a specific instance. Evaluation Chairs will support decisions with information from similar situations that have occurred in the past.
  • All such decisions are vetted through the evaluation committee. The evaluation committee will review decisions for consistency with the evaluation guidelines. Decisions seen to be inconsistent with the guidelines will be discussed with the category director and alternatives presented. If a resolution cannot be achieved, the final decision will be through the WWHA executive committee.
  • Evaluation chairs are not directly involved with evaluating players. Evaluation chairs are responsible for understanding the evaluation process, help coordinate the necessary volunteers and vet parent concerns during the process.
  • The evaluation committee is not responsible for evaluating players. Their duties are to ensure the process is clearly laid out for the evaluation chairs, to ensure the evaluation chairs have followed the process and to review the results to ensure they are consistent with WWHA evaluation guidelines. After the evaluation process, they are also responsible for reviewing specific cases upon written appeal and to collect suggestions from all stakeholders and recommend changes to the framework for next years evaluations.

Evaluators Roles And Responsibilities

Whitemud West Hockey Association relies on paid evaluators. These individuals are professionals with a great deal of professional experience and will evaluate the player based on criteria determined and laid out by the VP of Evaluations.

Evaluators will:

  • Review the evaluation criteria prior to the process to ensure that all evaluators are evaluating the same skill with the same intent
  • Make sure that all evaluators have access to the digital evaluation list with the same jersey numbers, colours, and preferred position (for U13 players)
  • Stay physically separate and independent from all other evaluators and parents during the evaluation process
  • Provide a fair, unbiased and thorough evaluation of all players
  • Maintain confidentiality of player scores and rankings at all times.
  • Meet as a group to review and submit evaluation scores at the end of each session to ensure that there are no errors and evaluation forms are 100% completed.

 

Evaluation Attendance

Missing Evaluation Ice Times – in the event that a player elects to simply not show up for a session, they will suffer in the overall final assessment from a lack of weighting during a particular day. This will have the effect of lowering their overall final ranking which may jeopardize the team they ultimately will be placed on.

Legitimate Personal, Family & Medical Emergencies – legitimate personal, family & medical emergencies will be reviewed separately and consultation with the VP of Evaluations will help to determine the best course of action.

Pre-Evaluation Injuries and Sickness – if a player becomes injured or sick during the off-season and is unable to attend any of the evaluation sessions for the upcoming year, the parents of the player must contact the category director and explain the situation. The player may be placed in a group based on the prior year’s coaching evaluation. Past history of the player will influence the placement. All decisions regarding placement of injured or sick players will be done in collaboration with the VP of Evaluations.

 

Family Responsibilities

  1. Be aware of the importance of evaluations and the corresponding schedules. Please respect that September is the primary month for evaluations, and that players are required to attend all scheduled sessions. Missed sessions may alter the process for all players. Consult the Whitemud West website frequently, and if you are ever unclear about anything regarding the process, refer to this document or contact the VP of Evaluations for clarification as soon as possible.
  2. HELP YOUR CHILD TO BE PREPARED. Be at the rink early enough for your child to be completely ready 15 minutes before the ice time starts. Players should be dressed and sitting on the benches in the dressing room with the sticks at the door. Make sure all of their equipment fits, skates are sharpened and everything is in the equipment bag when you leave your home. Full equipment including neck guards are mandatory and must be in place for your child to participate in the evaluation process.
  3. HELP YOUR CHILD STAY POSITIVE AND TO ALWAYS TRY THEIR BEST. Help them understand the process: movement is how it works. Both skaters and goalies may experience extreme anxiety during evaluations. Please keep the emphasis on having fun and try to provide a supportive environment for your player. We value your help in ensuring a transparent, thorough, and balanced process that will result in a successful and enjoyable season.
  4. UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS YOURSELF. Be as informed as possible about the evaluation process.
  5. CONTACT WHITEMUD WEST EARLY IF YOUR CHILD IS SICK OR INJURED. Contact the category director directly by email as soon as possible.
  6. RESPECT OUR EVALUATORS. Do not sit by an evaluator, ask evaluators for player information, or interfere with the evaluators efforts to watch all the players on the ice.
    1. NEW FOR 2023 - WWHA will be leveraging a digital player evaluation platform. Evaluators will be using electronic devices (mobile phone, tablet, etc) to record evaluation scores for players during the on-ice scrimmages. Please respect the evaluators as they perform their evaluations.
  7. MAKE SURE YOUR PLAYER HAS FUN.