First off, thanks for helping with the management of the team. Much work goes into helping the kids have a successful season and we couldn’t do it without you!
TEAM MANAGERS AND TOURNAMENT COORDINATORS
The Team Managers and Tournament Coordinators will be selected from a list of volunteers that selected those options as part of their child's season registration
PRE-SEASON
Schedule verification - The NYC Cyclones Master Scheduler will provide your teams schedules in mid August. Please compare and check the schedule against the NYC Cyclones website, EJEPL.net and LIAHL.com websites. Please note LIAHL website are not up to date until the end of August so it is best to check Mid August and then the beginning of September.
Team Binder - The team binder should be taken to all games with completed forms. Prior to your first game the NYC Cyclones Administrator will provide:
- 3 Ring Binder.
- USAH Certified Roster - only players on the roster can play, no exceptions. As team manager you will have a link which will always provide you the most up to date USAH Certified Roster.
- USAH Credential Verification Sheet - used to track game attendance.
- Consent to treat forms for each player - to be completed for each player.
- USAH Participant Code of Conduct - to be completed by each player.
- Roster labels pdf file to be emailed by Administrator.
- Blank labels (Avery 5163) for you to print out rosters for the score sheets will be provided in your team’s mailbox (in office).
- Score sheets – these can be found in your team’s mailbox at Chelsea Piers (in office).
TEAM COMMUNICATIONS
The NYC Cyclones use SportsEngine to communicate with their teams.
On Monday of each week, Team managers should send out reminders to their team for the weekend games after they have confirmed the games.
TEAM ROSTERS
Team coaches and the Cyclones coaching staff select teams and only qualified players are considered at each level based on their level of play. Not all teams have the same combinations of rostered players, rostered goalies and practice players/goalies.
Below are roster numbers by age group:
- USAH Rosters can be up to a maximum of 20 rostered players and goalies.
- 8U: 9 players for cross ice.
- 9U-12U: 15 fully rostered players and 2 goalies. These teams can go up to a maximum of 18 fully rostered players and 2 goalies.
- 13U-18U: 18 rostered players and 2 goalies.
- Practice Players: Up to 3 practice players can be added to each team, except 8U, to allow players to develop over the summer and fall with the opportunity to become fully rostered players, if there are open roster spots.
BEFORE THE GAME
Game Confirmation: The weekend before each weekend’s games, the team manager should contact the opposing team’s manager(s) (from opposing team’s website) to confirm the day, time, location and league/exhihibition/NYSAHA qualifying for upcoming games. In some cases, the opposing team’s manager(s) may initiate contact with you to confirm game details. In either case, every home and away game should be confirmed with the opposing team within a week prior to the game. Email confirmations are best.
If you can not find the team manager please contact the organization’s scheduler.
If you have a problem finding the team manager or scheduler by Tuesday please contact the Cyclones scheduler at cyclones.scheduler@gmail.com
-
For all home games, the team manager should first compare the game time and location as it appears on the Cyclone’s website (www.nycycloneshockey.org) with the LIAHL website and/or the EJEPL website.
-
If there is any problem or discrepancy with a scheduled game, contact Cyclones scheduler immediately at cyclones.scheduler@gmail.com.
-
Retain a copy of the game confirmation for your own records at least until the game has been played.
When confirming your games each week please provide our Rink Protocols and parking information for home games and ask about Opponents rink protocols for away games so you can pass on to your families.
CUT AND PASTE THE FOLLOWING FOR ALL HOME GAME CONFIRMATIONS
Opposing team manager information for NYC:
If another team’s manager contacts you about scheduling additional games or if your team wants to add additional games to the schedule, check first with your team’s coaches. If the coaches agree, check with the Scheduler to see if the game(s) can be added. There are a variety of reasons that Cyclones teams may not be able to add games to the schedule, so the Scheduler’s confirmation is mandatory.
AT THE GAME Team management
- Bring Team Binder with completed forms to all games and tournaments.
- Bring pucks to all away games. Check with your team’s coaches to confirm the quantity they want for warm-ups and to inquire if they need anything else brought to games.
- Help coaches make sure that all players have proper equipment, including neck and mouth guards, at all games and practices. It is helpful if you have a few extra mouth guards, rolls of tape, and socks with you at games in case a player comes unprepared.
- Supervise the team’s locker room before and after every game and practice. There must be a coach, manager, or parent in the locker room whenever Cyclones players are in the locker room. Those in the locker room should be Safe Sport certified. Please refer to our Locker Room Policy
- Help coaches in any other way needed.
- At home games, we are responsible for scoring. See above Game Report & Scoresheet above.
- Absent Players: Please write a circled “M” next to any player that is absent at the start of a game on all 4 pages of the score sheet. If a player shows up midway through a game, the M next to their name is crossed off; if a player never shows up, at the end of the game when everyone signs, the M’s are confirmed with lines through players’ names. If a referee asks for something different please comply with their request.
- At home games, assign a scorekeeper and a timekeeper. Every Cyclones team has at least three parents who have been identified as scorekeepers – it is your job to determine which two of the three will fill the roles of scorekeeper and timekeeper at every home game. The scorekeeper and timekeeper should both be adults. Make sure the scorekeeper is familiar with the LIAHL score sheet and also make sure the timekeeper knows how to operate the clock. If needed, solicit help with this from Sky Rink personnel or other parents until you learn the ropes. These off-ice officials should arrive at Sky Rink at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled game time.
- Player/scorekeeper/penalty box areas should only be occupied by the proper authorized personnel, including coaches, players, referees, and time keepers. To ensure the safety of parents during games shooting video/taking photos from these areas, at both our home rink and away rinks, is not allowed
- After the game, have the completed score sheet returned to you, and sign the score sheet as the Game Supervisor after the on-ice officials and coaches have signed in their respective spaces. Make sure your scorekeeper gives you the original and your copy of the score sheet. Once the score sheet is signed by the referee, no changes can be made.
- At away games, locate the home team’s manager before the game and attach roster stickers to your team’s roster section on their score sheet, if required. The names of any players not playing in the game must be crossed off every roster label given to the home team. If a player or a coach is serving a suspension, make sure that individual’s name is entered on the score sheet in the appropriate area.
- After the away game, obtain your copy of the completed and signed score sheet, which may have been given to one of your coaches.
- Games have been scheduled to take advantage of all available ice time and ensure that there is enough time to complete every game scheduled.
- Teams scheduled for the first home game slot on any day should take the ice promptly. Teams must be ready to take the ice as soon as the Zamboni doors are closed indicating that the ice is available for play. For all of our games, immediately after the end-of-the-game handshake, the ice must be cleared of players so the ice can be prepared for the next game. Delays in leaving the ice or starting the next game may result in subsequent Cyclones’ games being ended prematurely.
- We book games to be 70 to 80 minutes. If time becomes an issue and the game is going to encroach the next game, the Game Supervisor should contact Sky Rink employees prior to the end of the game to see if two Zambonis can be used to cut the ice to save ice preparation time in advance of the next Cyclones game.
- EJEPL GAMES Refer to EJEPL.net (Resources Section) and EJEPL Operating Guidelines
- At home games, you are the Game Supervisor. The Game Supervisor is ultimately responsible for safety, game conditions, and spectator control. The Game Supervisor should be accessible to on-ice officials in case of a problem or a question. If you have any questions or concerns during a game at Sky Rink, contact the Governor and Director of Hockey (refer to Cyclones website for current season) immediately.
- If spectators become unruly or otherwise disrupt the progress of a game, the Game Supervisor should alert Sky Rink management of the problem. If disruptive behavior continues, the Game Referee may consult with the Game Supervisor or League Governor in attendance prior to clearing the rink of any spectators if it is necessary. In the unlikely event that this action is required, this should be coordinated with Sky Rink management who has access to security personnel.
Game clock
• The referee must never run the clock in the event that time is not available for the completion of a game. The LIAHL does not allow for this practice. In the event that the allotted ice time has run out and the game cannot be continued, the correct procedure is for the referee to indicate the time remaining on the clock when the game was called on the score sheet. As the Game Supervisor, it is your responsibility to ensure that the referee does not “run the clock.”
Scoring
- You or your scorekeepers must cross off the name of any Cyclones player who is absent from a game, on all labels and on all copies of the score sheet. The LIAHL reviews score sheets to confirm that players and teams have played the required number of games to qualify to play in the New York State Championship. If LIAHL officials see that there are no score sheets that indicate absent players, they will assume that we did not comply with the requirement to identify players who did not play and teams will face potential disqualification.
- Notify your scorekeepers that they are required to notify the Game Referee when a fifth infraction is assessed to the same player within a game. A player reaching this level will be assessed a Game Misconduct and will be ejected from the game. The failure of a Scorekeeper to report this may result in the forfeit of a game.
- The team manager should also advise the scorekeepers that if any player takes three penalties in a game, the scorekeepers should notify the appropriate coach. This step ensures that coaches are aware of the possibility of ejection if that player incurs a double minor penalty. Coaches may want to plan accordingly and advising them at the three penalty stage allows them to determine how they manage that player’s ice time.
- Managers should advise scorekeepers that the scoreboard should never show more than a seven goal differential. The score sheet should, however, reflect the actual score.
Game Report & Scoresheet - IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE GAME
Copies of all score sheets must be retained for the end of the season, when we may be required to show each player’s minimum participation in league games to qualify for the NY state tournament.
Reporting major penalties
• Major penalties or incidents that will result in the suspension of a player and/or a coach must be immediately reported to Governor and President. It is very important to advise us of (a) any penalties that involve our players that are not two minute minor penalties; (b) any situations where one player accumulates five or more penalties in a given game; (c) any games where there were more than 15 penalties called on our team; and (d) all penalties involving our coaches. This is important because if an ineligible player participates in a game, the coach in question will be banned for 5 years from the league. Additionally, if any of our coaches are ejected from any game (league, exhibition or tournament) they have to sit out the next three games.
PLAYER ATTENDANCE
This Season in our efforts to improve our program we will be focussing on attendance. On the scoresheet please cross out players not in attendance. In the past some players have missed practices and games with no consequences. Hockey is a team sport and as in all team sports, players rely on each other to improve and succeed. That being said, practices and games are MANDATORY and players are expected to attend all practices and games as per Player Contract, page 3, 6 to 8, which was signed as part of the online season registration. Going forward team managers will be taking attendance at all games to help address attendance issues and support the team in achieving its goals.
Excerpt from Players Contract page 3:
6. All practices and games are MANDATORY and you shall attend all of them, including any extra clinics or off-ice practices your coaches may call. If you cannot make a practice, you must speak IN ADVANCE with your coach, but you acknowledge that all coaches have the right to discipline players for missing practices and games. It is up to you to schedule time for school homework (including studying for tests) and any other obligations around your hockey schedule. If you have a specific issue, discuss it as soon as possible with your coach before it becomes a problem.
7. You shall be on time, as designated by your coach, for all practices, games and other team events. During practices you are required to give 100% effort. Lateness, lack of discipline on or off the ice, not listening to coaches or following their instructions, fooling around, shooting pucks when not told to do so, lack of cooperation, and any other disruptive activity will result in disciplinary action by your coach. When your coaches are speaking, there is no talking, only listening, by you and your teammates.
8. If you have 3 unexcused absences from practices, games or other team events, or if you are causing problems for your team or coaches, you will be called to meet with the Ethics Committee and may be suspended or dropped from the team.
GAME CANCELLATIONS
- It is important to understand that cancellations have serious ramifications to teams schedules, opponents schedules and subsequent opponent and league schedules. It is for this reason that cancellations are not generally approved.
- Games can not be canceled by Team Managers or Coaches.
- Team managers or Coaches are not to contact opponent team managers to cancel games.
- All requests for cancellations must be submitted to and approved by the NYC Cyclones Scheduler & Governor.
- Inclimate Weather: If the rink is open and the roads are not closed the game is more than likely still on.
- If the the league(s) cancel games teams will be notified by the NYC Cyclones Scheduler or Governor.
GENERAL DUTIES
- The team manager role is an important one. The team manager bears all the responsibilities for a fun, successful season other than coaching the team. Ideally, the coaches are allowed to concentrate their time and effort on improving the players’ individual and team play. It is up to the team manager and tournament coordinator to handle all the logistics associated with the season and it is up to the team manager to coordinate those efforts. If you have questions about your responsibilities or need help or advice on how to address them, contact the NYC Cyclones Administrator.
- In addition, you should inform the NYC Cyclones Administrator of any issues that arise with respect to the team. If you are unsure if an issue is significant enough to advise us, err on the side of caution. We prefer to be made aware of a small problem rather than learn later of a bigger one.
- League Rules
PARENTS and SPECTATORS
Parents should review the USAH CODE OF CONDUCTS & OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION. The organization takes parent behavior very seriously.
VOLUNTEER USAH REQUIREMENTS - ASSOCIATION SCREENING CHECKLIST
USA Hockey / NYSAHA SafeSport Policy mandates that all association volunteers /
coaches (over the age of 18) who have regular, routine or frequent access to youth participants within your association, must be screened prior to these volunteers having such access.
All Volunteers, Team Managers and Locker Room Monitors must complete the following and email to cyclonesregistrar@gmail.com:
- Register with USA Hockey as a Volunteer for the new season.
- Submit a Background Check: National Level Background Screening Policy Our Organization is listed as The New York City Cyclones. NYSAHA Screening & SafeSport Policy
- SafeSport Training
SUSPENSION PROTOCOL
Please see the below regarding LIAHL / EJEPL / Exhibition suspension information and organizational policy.
EJEPL Procedure
- If a player is given a game misconduct/match penalty in the EJEPL they are to sit the next USA Hockey game(s).
- 1st – The Governor will receive a penalty report from USA Hockey documenting the penalty.
- 2nd – The Governor will then receive a suspension report from the league with number of games that player must serve.
- If that game is an EJEPL game(s) then their suspension is considered served.
- If that game is not and EJEPL game(s) they must sit the next USA Hockey game(s), then also sit the next EJEPL game(s) (double jeopardy).
- Player must attend the suspended game(s).
- Team Manager must fill out suspension portion of scoresheet and have suspended player sign their name.
LIAHL/Exhibition Procedure
- If a player is given a game misconduct/match in the LIAHL/Exhibition they are to sit the next USA Hockey game(s).
- 1st – The Governor will receive a penalty report from USA Hockey documenting the penalty.
- 2nd – The Governor will then receive a suspension report from the league with number of game(s) that player must serve.
- If that game(s) is an EJEPL/LIAHL/Exhibition USA Hockey game(s) then their suspension is considered served.
- Player must attend the suspended game(s).
- Team Manager must fill out suspension portion of scoresheet and have suspended player sign their name.
Organizational Policy
- Team Manager should immediately report any game suspension directly to Governor/President/Registrar at:
- Player given a game misconduct must leave the game immediately, report to locker room, get undressed, and stay in rink until completion of the game.
- Suspended players/families will hear from governor of organization regarding the suspension by the Wednesday following the weekend.
- Organization may impose additional supplemental discipline to any and all league suspensions at their discretion.
- Organization may schedule disciplinary hearing in additional to any and all league disciplinary hearings at their discretion.
- Suspended player must attend all game(s) he/she is suspended from, be dressed in Cyclones game day apparel.
- Suspended player must check-in with Team Manager and sign scoresheet in appropriate section.
- Suspended player can be in locker room during pre-game, they are not to participate in any team warm-ups.
- Suspended player must then report to the stands for the duration of the game and conduct themselves in a professional manner.