Instructor Information

Interested in being an on-ice instructor in the TimBits program?  Please come to the first sessions with your skates, helmet and hockey stick.  Advise the Initiation Director of your wish to be an instructor at this time.  Please review the information below to see the requirements to be an instructor.

Note:  YOU CANNOT BE ON THE ICE WITHOUT SKATES AND A CSA APPROVED HELMET. 

The TimBits Hockey Program relies exclusively on volunteer instructors to successfully run the program. Every season parents are given the opportunity to instruct the players on the ice and teach them the fundamentals of hockey. At this age, children learn and develop the four core hockey skills (skating, shooting, passing and checking) that will be fundamental to their hockey development further down the road. Your participation as an instructor is essential to this program. You will be provided with the knowledge and tools you require to be a successful hockey instructor.

Instructor Responsibilities

  1. Player and Instructor Safety
  2. Player Enjoyment
  3. Player Development

Instructors are responsible for the safety, enjoyment and development of the players on the ice. A player’s safety is our priority. Please double check that a player is properly attired and that the ice surface is safe for players. Players that are not properly attired are not permitted on the ice surface. Children participate in sports for FUN – children will develop hockey skills only if they are enjoying the program. Boring drills can be turned into fun games, races and challenges. Make sure you stay organized and follow a routine each practice. Practices will be organized by station. Always make sure the children have the opportunity to play a game (tag, shinny, cops & robbers) in between drills that require focus and hard work. The development of your players’s four core skills will arise as you follow the ProSmart Sports Learning System and the tips they provide.

Mandatory Equipment

  1. CSA Approved Hockey Helmet
  2. Ice Skates

All instructors are required to wear a CSA approved hockey helmet (visor or cage not required) and ice skates when on the ice surface. The NEZ recommends the use of hockey gloves when on the ice surface but hockey gloves are not required. Please wear something on your hands to protect yourself when on the ice surface. Instructors will benefit from hockey sticks when on the ice surface as the enable them to demonstrate skills to players.

Education, Certification and Courses

Hockey Canada mandates that coaches at the Initiation age category (age 4, 5 and 6 years old) take certain instructor courses. The requirements are as follows:

  1. All instructors must be certified with Respect In Sport – Activity Leader/Coach
  2. One instructor for every ten players must be certified with Hockey Safety
  3. One instructor for every ten players must be certified with Coach Level – Level 1 & 2

Your director will advise you as to what courses you will be required to take. All certifications that are necessary to fulfill the requirements will be eligible for reimbursement by the NEZ. The deadline for the certifications to be completed is November 15th.

ProSmart Sports Learning System

This season all coaches will be expected to access their ProSmart Sports Learning System each week and watch the weekly videos that outline the practice modules. At the beginning of the season you will be sent an email invite that allows you to set up an account. Please watch the videos carefully as the videos and practice plans provided will be used during your child’s weekly on-ice practice session.

Practice and Game Session Structure

Discovery, Junior TimBits and Senior TimBits Hockey Programs will run the same practice sessions weekly as outlined by the ProSmart Sports Learning System. Practice Ice sessions are run in a station-based format. Approximately 40 children are on the ice at one time and instructors will make groups of players that show similar skill levels. Players in each group will spend 5 to 7 minutes at each station. Assistant instructors will run each station and a Lead Instructor will organize the practice. It is necessary for all instructors to be familiar with the weekly practice plan provided by ProSmart Sports Learning System to make each practice session successful.

2016-08-02 08_21_20-Instructor Information - Microsoft Word

We understand that children in the Discovery Hockey Program will move slower and may not accomplish the entire practice session. Drills can be made simpler by removing the number of pylons or requiring children to skate shorter distances. Change drills often to keep children interested.

Children enrolled in Junior TimBits will be slightly older than children in the Discovery Hockey Program. They will be slightly more successful and expand on hockey skills they learned previously. Make drills more difficult for your advanced players by requiring them to lay on their stomach to start a drill or using a puck while they work through pylons.

Children enrolled in Senior TimBits will attend a practice session on Saturday and a game session on Sunday. During a game session the ice surface is split into three different sections. The two ends are used as small arenas. Children will play a shift for 2-3 minutes; face-offs only occur at the beginning of the shift. At the end of the shift a whistle or horn will blow and children will exit onto the middle section of the ice and participate in “active rest”. Players will have access to pucks and pylons to practice their skills or work with an instructor. Players will have access to water during their 2-3 minutes in the active rest station.

Development Expectations

Children are building muscle mass and developing motor skills and we strive to help children grow through organized sport. Common skating drills such as C-Cuts or T-Pushes are used to build muscle strength and balance. Stopping is particularly hard to learn as it requires children to use a lot of strength. Always remember that children play sport for their enjoyment – please make sure you challenge your players to grow but keep your expectations within the limitations of the age groups.

Miscellaneous:

* A parent or guardian of each player is required to stay at the rink during ice sessions and spectate

* For your safety and the safety of the players please have no less than two instructors in a dressing room at any one time. You are not permitted to take a player to the use the bathroom – this is the parent’s/guardian’s responsibility

* You are not required to be First Aid certified. A parent or guardian must attend their own child in the event of minor injury. Contact emergency services (Call 911) if a serious injury occurs, a child requires medical attention or in other emergency situations.

* Report any issues with parents, guardians, spectators or instructors to your Director.

Leave a Reply