Dear Parents and Players, 

Welcome to the 2019-2020 hockey season. My name is Shawn Robinson and I am very excited to be coaching the Cumberland Jr Grads Minor Peewee B team this season.

Like most Canadian boys, hockey has been a big part of my life since I was a child. I have been playing hockey for over 35 years, with defence being my position of choice.  As a child I played minor hockey in Cumberland, I watched my brother get drafted to the OHL, and I continue to play hockey as an adult. 

My Hockey Philosophy
As much as I love playing hockey, what I enjoy most is coaching. I have seen firsthand with my children and the players I have coached the impact a good coach can make. Anyone can teach players the skills they need to be successful at the game. But a good coach will inspire players to grow, rise to the challenge and want to push themselves both on the ice and in their lives. I want our players to be excited to come to team events and always leave with a sense of accomplishment. I want our players to learn on-ice hockey skills but also thinking, strategy and processing skills that will help them make better hockey and life decisions.

On-ice I will be working with a team of coaches to help our players refine and master the fundamental skills of hockey. We will create a positive, structured and upbeat environment where the players will look forward to coming to the rink and being with their teammates.

Teamwork, respect and discipline are key fundamentals that are important in any team sport. My practices will follow the guidelines of Hockey Canada, incorporating many small group stations as well as larger group activities and team games.

Winning is nice but skill development, fair play and fun will not be sacrificed to this end.

After all, I strongly believe our hockey team needs to work collaboratively to be successful – this includes players, coaches and parents. We all need to work together on and off the ice and in the stands to create a strong, united atmosphere to grow our team.  Nothing is more intimidating to another team than a unified team that sits together, cheers together and works together on and off the ice.

With that said, I do believe that everyone has a voice and I am always happy to hear your constructive feedback and work with you to advance and accelerate our program.  This is a team sport – and we need to collaborate.

Tryouts & Evaluations
Information for tryout times will be available on the Cumberland Jr Grads website at www.cumberlandminorhockey.ca

Players need to come to tryouts properly prepared, both mentally and physically. In addition to the fundamentals of skating, puck control, passing, shooting, team play and hockey sense, I will be looking for players who demonstrate the characteristics of hard work, focus, coachability, teamwork, sportsmanship, respect, dedication, and a positive attitude.

Each player will have a minimum of two ice sessions during the tryouts process - 1 skills evaluation and 1 intra-squad game. Players will be released following the intra-squad game and posted on www.cumberlandminorhockey.ca. Subsequent releases will occur after each exhibition game as needed and posted on the website accordingly.

Commitment and Fees
Playing hockey at the competitive level requires a certain amount of commitment from everyone.  As your head coach I take my position very seriously and am committed to our players. I will come to all games and practices properly prepared. I will do my homework on our competition to ensure we have the right strategies in place.

From you, I need to know that you are equally as dedicated. I expect players to show up on-time, engaged and focused. I also expect that players to conduct themselves appropriately off and on ice, in a manner that properly reflects our organization.

You can expect an average 4-5 team activities per week – this will be a combination of games, practices, off-ice conditioning and team activities.

From a cost perspective, families can expect team fees of approximately $1,000-$1,500 depending on the level of fundraising or sponsorships that are secured.

Tournaments
The team will participate in five tournaments this season. The proposed schedule includes:

1. North Bay Trappers Early Bird Tournament, North Bay, ON September 27^th – September 29^th
2. 6^th Annual Capital Volunteer Cup presented by Cumberland Jr. Grads, Sensplex East, Gloucester, ON October 25^th – October 27^th
3. Bradford Blue and Gold November Rep Tournament, Bradford, ON November 15^th – November 17^th
4. Capital mid-Season Showdown presented by the Stittsville Rams, Sensplex West, Kanata, ON November 29^th – December 1^st
5. Green Mountain Avalanche, Jay Peak Resort, Vermont, USA January 3rd – January 5^th, 2020

 
I look forward to seeing everyone at the rink and wish all players the best in tryouts. 

It’s going to be a great season!
 
Shawn Robinson