On January 10, 2009 we conducted CT Hockey Day at ten rinks across the state. The day was fabulous as we had 333 boys and girls participate in the event. Thanks to the help of all of our volunteers, and everyone who helped spread the message, we were able to significantly exceed the target attendance for the day of 200 participants set by USA Hockey. Please take a few minutes to view the video and photo gallery. Those smiling faces should remind us all why we participate in the great sport of ice hockey!

Sincerely,

Mike Meakem, President CT Hockey Conference

Archived Message - December 2008

On behalf of all the volunteer staff members at CT Hockey Conference I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a truly wonderful holiday season. I also ask you to spread good cheer and camaraderie as we enter into a time of holiday tournaments both in the state and for some teams beyond Connecticut.

These tournaments allow us all to share quality time with our families and hockey friends. Sometimes it may only be with a portion of the family if we are headed in different directions with multiple players, but one-on-one time is valuable too. Please take advantage of this time to develop stronger relationships with family and friends alike. Maybe make a new hockey friend who has some of the same interests you have outside of hockey. Let's make sure that the time we invest and the hard earned dollars we spend with hockey go into developing strong, life-long relationships and values.

The hockey community is a great one, at least I think so or I wouldn't be in my role at CHC. It is at this time of year that I count my blessings and think of all the wonderful people I have come to know, have had the opportunity to work with, and everyone I interact with due to hockey.

I want to thank-you for making our sport so enjoyable. See you at the rink!

Sincerely,

Mike Meakem, President CT Hockey Conference

Archived Message - November 2008

Please except my best wishes for a safe, fun and happy Thanksgiving holiday and weekend.

At this point in the season, I hope everyone is having fun learning new skills, playing games and developing lifelong hockey friendships. As all of this is taking place I want everyone to spend just a few minutes thinking about hockey safety. While injuries are hopefully rare, there are some precautions that we all can take to help minimize the potential injuries that can happen. In our video section this month we are highlighting the "Heads Up" video which we recommend you take a few minutes to watch with your players to understand what they should do if they find themselves going head-first into the boards. If knowing, and being reminded every now and then, about the dangers of checking, or being checked head-first into the boards, can save just one catastrophic injury it will be well worth the time spent watching this video.

And in our Coaches Corner there is a great article about head injuries. Once again this is something we hope happens rarely, but when it does, it is important to proceed on the side of caution and make sure a player is fully cleared before returning to the ice. While the first blow to the head may have caused a few bells to ring, if a second one occurs before insuring a player is alright to return to contact, it is more likely that the player receiving the second blow to the head can sustain long-term disability. I can't think of any situation where it is more important to put a player back on the ice versus insuring that they are fully alright to be there. Our players are too important to let that happen.

So let's play it safe and I will see you at the rink!

Sincerely,

Mike Meakem, President CT Hockey Conference

Archived Message - November 2008

As the season is now at full speed, I want to relate a situation that recently took place at one of our games and remind everyone of USA Hockey's Zero Tolerance policy. The attached story of this situation was a referee's firsthand account. While we all would probably agree that no one sees a situation exactly the same way, especially when a penalty is called against our team, hopefully we can agree that we need to set a good example for the players, all children, no matter our roles as referees, coaches, administrators or parents.

This week, all CHC Member Presidents and Reps received a special notice to remind coaches that any verbal (including profanity) or physical abuse will result in an immediate suspension and hearing before CHC. Let's do all that we can to keep the game fun and a positive learning experience for our players and children. Let's all "Relax, It is Just A Game". Please help me in this pursuit.

See you at the rink!

Mike Meakem, President CT Hockey Conference

(Game situation, modified so as not to identify specific people, as provided to CHC for disciplinary review.)

"I was on the other side of the ice opposite the bench area after I assessed the penalty. My partner was quietly trying to calm the coach down concerning his objection to a two minute minor penalty and a ten minute misconduct for a check from behind that for me was clearly the correct call. Initially the coach was somewhat calmed down, but then he erupted into full volume profanity.

This was an exciting game opportunity for the players as the game was being played at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport. With the game being at this facility, there was a nice size crowd which consisted of many younger siblings. When the coach was using profanity it all could be clearly heard.

My partner was polite to the coach and there was no reason for an objection to a check from behind no matter how a coach perceived the check. We don't make up penalties. We call what we see and often the action may last only a fraction of a second. All of us who are certified to officiate have the knowledge and desire to keep safety as our # 1 priority. I am astutely aware of the injury threatening hazards of our game, and I skate aggressively to ensure I am in position to make the game safe.

The opposing coach said afterward that he was appalled by the behavior, as well as language, of this coach. Previously in this game the offending coach was given a bench minor for his behavior. At that time, the game was tied and a goal was scored during that bench minor assessed on the coach.

An important role in coaching, as in refereeing, is the responsibility to set an example. In this case, that was not done well. Zero tolerance of objectionable behavior is something that coaches are aware when they sign-on at the start of the season. Unfortunately at times, as occurred in this situation, proper behavior is not adhered to."

Archived Message - October 2008

I truly hope everyone has gotten their season off and running smoothly with a focus and strong emphasis on player fun and skill development. As I talk to players and parents it has become obvious to me that there is still some confusion regarding CHC tier structure and season ending tournaments. This month I want to provide some insight into the CHC structure that had been created for last season and has been slight modified for this year.

Last year, CHC membership unanimously voted to replace an admittedly broken system that had existed for many years. I consider what we are doing with our structure to be a work in progress, as was seen by the modifications to the structure for the 2008 - 2009 season. However, I am happy to report that the vast majority of feedback indicates we are at a much better place than we were a few seasons ago.

While I don't expect that the structure will ever be perfect for everyone, it is my hope that it offers most CHC's players a season that is fun, challenging and positive with a tournament finale that creates a good and memorable experience. Please read the points below to learn more about the goals and challenges of CHC tier structure and tournaments. See you at the rink!

Sincerely,
Mike Meakem, President CT Hockey Conference

Primary Goals of New Tier Structure

1. Allow teams to declare their level of play from Tier 2 - 4, as opposed to being placed via software that was extremely difficult to understand.
2. Create a balanced schedule for highest competitive level teams (Tiers 2 & 3). This would also create seedings for end of season tournament for these levels based upon standings from balanced schedule. Results in a truer seeding and ranking for end of season tournaments as compared to old system.
3. Reduce emphasis on number and level of games played at all Tier levels. Most Tier 2 & 3 teams have approximately 20 required games within their tier. This leaves local programs the option to reduce their games played to increase their practice to game ratio. Tier 4 teams have a minimal number of required games to properly place teams in an end of season tournament at the proper level of play, and within a reasonable geographic location to their home rink. This further encourages programs to increase practice to games for a level that requires more of an emphasis on development.
4. Tier 4 teams would have no standings so that these teams could focus more on player development and less on standings.
5. All Tier teams could now focus on player development, and less on win all games at all cost in hopes of being placed at the highest division in the old system.
6. By requiring teams to declare tournament eligibility, CHC tournament volunteers could now plan for end of season tournaments to accommodate all teams that want to participate in end of season CHC State tournament play.
7. Implemented CHC League Athletics Web Site to improve efficiencies in scheduling games, tracking results, and showing standings to all throughout the season. The old system left many surprises once the rankings were released only once at the end of the season.
8. Give all CHC member programs an opportunity to host Tier 4 tournaments. This is a great way to share the tournament hosting burden, while sharing in the revenue to serve as a fundraiser for local host programs.

1. Programs over declaring their teams resulting in games that are not competitive.
2. Too many teams declaring within a division that results in a significant gap from top to bottom for league play and end of season tournament play. This has resulted in Tier 2 and 3A tournaments being limited and not all teams making an end of season CHC State tournament.
3. Coaches, parents, and league administrators looking to change their commitment mid-stream.
4. Declaring teams in June when some programs have not held try-outs.

Archived Message - September 2008

Over the past several evenings we have experienced a chill in the air that makes us all aware that hockey season is here! While I will miss the beach, I must admit that it is great to be back in the rinks around the state welcoming in another hockey season. For most CHC member programs, teams have been selected, practices are at full speed, some scrimmages have taken place and games are right around the corner. With the exciting start of a new season, I want to put a challenge to everyone to do your best to "relax, it is just a game".

This month in CT Hockey News we have highlighted in our video section the public service announcements initially created in Canada to help bring focus on keeping the game fun for children. While these are meant to be funny, and they are, they highlight how pushing our children to win at all cost can take the fun out of playing a children's game. We all need to remember that CHC is an organization provided for the benefit of children. Let's do all that we can to make sure that the fun stays in the game for the children. If they feel pressured to achieve a parent's goals, most likely playing hockey will not be fun for them. Sure they need to learn how to play in challenging situations, but with the right competition those challenges should come from the opposing team, not from the stands or in the car ride home.

So for the 2008 - 2009 season let's all remember to "relax, it is just a game". And in the end I honestly believe that perspective will help parent's create the bonds for a lifetime that the great game of hockey can provide for a family. Have a great, fun and relaxing season. I look forward to seeing you at the rink!

Sincerely,

Mike Meakem, President CT Hockey Conference

Archived Message - August 2008

On behalf of everyone at CT Hockey Conference I want to be first in welcoming you to another season of ice hockey. I am looking forward to a fun hockey season that all young hockey players will remember positively for a lifetime. As a continuation of my goal to provide better communications to all members of our hockey family in the state of Connecticut we are now introducing CT Hockey News which will be published on a monthly basis and CTHockeyNews.com. Our hope is to provide you news, information and happenings relating to hockey around the state.

We are also interested in getting your feedback and input into the topics you are interested in knowing more about. We hope to provide focus on player development, coaching development and highlighting them truly enjoying the game. We hope to use these publications in support of our Grow-The-Game (GTG) initiative. Please see the article on GTG. While it will take time to evolve these publications to include all the diverse topics you, our members, are interested in, we expect to have photo galleries, video galleries, discussion forums and other networking tools that will make the experience of everyone involved in CT Hockey a positive one. If we work together to discuss and address issues important to us, we will have proper behavior, for both adults and children, at rinks that will translate into positive news stories, not negative ones. As we all know, we have many wonderful stories and those need to be told.

Please take a look at our MVP section and learn a little about our highlighted program, the Southern CT Storm. Now that is a great story. I am also excited about the new Tier structure that rewards more than 300 CHC teams with a competitive positive end of season CHC State Tournament. There has been an early chill in the air which I am sure is signaling the start to a to wonderful 2008-2009 season. I am excited and look forward to working with you. See you at the rink!

Sincerely,

Mike Meakem, President CT Hockey Conference