Columbus Capitals Travel Program

Mission: To provide an opportunity for Central Ohio’s best young hockey players to play on a premier team that will improve their skills and improve their knowledge and understanding of the game through a successful and proven travel program that offers knowledgeable and experienced coaches and equitable program administration for all teams at a reasonable cost.
 

Welcome to the Columbus Capitals Travel Hockey program. Over the next several sessions, we will be evaluating your child’ s ability to play and learn the sport of ice hockey to determine their placement on a Columbus Capitals travel team. Above all, we hope that the tryouts are enjoyable for all of the participants. This document will help explain our procedures and hopefully answer some of your questions regarding the Columbus Capitals travel hockey program. During the first on-ice tryout sessions, a meeting will be held to explain our program.

What is the Columbus Capitals travel hockey program?

What is the cost to play Columbus Capitals travel hockey?

How are coaches selected?

How many teams will the Columbus Capitals field this season?

Will Columbus Capitals travel hockey field any “ Before and After Teams” in the Midget age category?

How are players evaluated during tryouts?

Do all players have to attend tryouts?

When will we be notified if a player has or has not made a team?

How many games and tournaments will a travel team play?

How many practices will there be for the travel teams and where do they practice?

How long does the season last?

What kind of commitment are the coaches looking for?

What is Columbus Capitals Travel Hockey’s position regarding “ playing up” to the next age category as defined by USA Hockey?

What is the Columbus Capitals travel hockey program? The Columbus Capitals travel hockey program is designed to complement the house league program by allowing players to further develop their skills, improve their knowledge and understanding of the game, and nurture their desire, dedication and discipline to play the game of ice hockey against the best competition available. A Travel Advisory Committee administers the program.  Some of the players that have completed our travel program have gone on to compete at the next level of competition including Junior A and Junior B hockey in the U.S. and Canada (Columbus Stars, Toledo Cherokees,
Cleveland Junior Barons, Columbus Crush, Philadelphia Junior Flyers, Wexford, Ontario Raiders, etc.), collegiate club hockey at Ohio University, Kent State, University of Dayton, and varsity level hockey at universities such as Eastern Michigan, Rochester Institute of Technology, Notre Dame, Miami of Ohio and OSU. Some of our players have returned to youth hockey to coach, serve as volunteers, become members of the Committee, or even have their children join and play in our programs.
 

Columbus Capitals travel hockey strongly supports the principles and guidelines of USA Hockey, Inc. regarding house and travel programs and we firmly believe in a balance between winning, learning the game, and having fun.  No player, team, coach, parent or supporter is more important than the program and the enjoyment of the game by the players.
 

What is the cost to play Columbus Capitals travel hockey? The cost will depend upon the schedule that the team plays. Each team will be responsible for their expenses monthly. Typical expenses are registration fees, ice time, referees, uniforms, tournaments, coaching fees (if applicable) and administration fees. A typical season ranges from ~$1,000 to  $1,500.

How are coaches selected? Coaching applications are solicited throughout the year from interested people including present and former coaches, coaches moving into Central Ohio, etc. Advertisements may be placed in local newspapers and applications are available from the web sites. A selection committee is appointed by the Travel Advisory Committee. Members of the committee are individuals who understand and agree with the Columbus Capitals overall philosophy concerning youth hockey. The applications are examined based upon the “Four C’ s”
required to be a coach:
Communications including the ability of a coach to communicate with both parents and players,
Character including willingness to abide by USA Hockey’s Coaching Code of Ethics,
Commitment to the USA Hockey and Columbus Capitals travel program philosophy and to the time requirements to coach,
Competency including knowledge of the game and ability to teach the game.
 

USA Hockey, CAHA requires all coaches to be certified by attending appropriate coaching clinics; coaches may be certified at the Associate, Intermediate, Advanced or Masters level by USA Hockey. Selection Committee recommendations for all coaching positions for the Columbus Capitals travel program are approved by the entire Travel Advisory Committee.

How many teams will the Columbus Capitals field this season? Depending on interest at the tryouts, we intend on fielding one to two travel teams at each age level. It must be remembered that the Columbus Capitals travel program is designed for players who have learned the basics and wish to progress to the next level by playing on a team with other similarly skilled players against highly skilled competition. Under the tutelage of more experienced coaches, players will have the opportunity to improve those skills and improve their knowledge of the game by playing with and
competing against better opponents.

The classification of teams (AA Major, AA Minor, A etc) will depend on the talent and skill level available at a particular age division. In general, “AA” teams will include more experienced travel players or players with exceptional skills while “A” teams may have more players just making the transition from a house league program to the travel program. For some players, the movement from one age category to the next higher age category may mean being on a “Peewee AA” team one year and a “Bantam A” team the next year depending on their skills and the talent already at the Bantam level.

Will Columbus Capitals travel hockey field any “ Before and After Teams” in the Midget age category? We do anticipate having a midget age group “ Before and After Team” this season. For travel caliber players, especially those with a number of years of travel experience who aspire to go on to the next level of competition, it is important for those players to practice and compete throughout the season with other players of similar skills and/or aspirations. We believe that a “ before and after” Midget Travel Team allows selected players to play for their varsity high school programs while still providing them with the challenge and opportunity to progress to the next level including “ AAA” hockey, juniors or collegiate level hockey. In addition to the refinement of hockey skills, Midget level travel hockey emphasizes teamwork and team play.
 

How are players evaluated during tryouts? The head coaches for a particular age category (mite, squirt, peewee, bantam, and midget) along with a two or three other evaluators will try to objectively assess the skills of each player at the tryouts. Using a set series of drills designed to help demonstrate the skills needed to play the game, the evaluators will be looking for skating ability, stick handling and shooting ability, and knowledge of the game. Forward and backward skating, turning, “crossovers”, stopping, transitions, lateral movement, and endurance are some of the
skating skills that are evaluated. The coaches also evaluate stick handling, puck control with the stick and the skates, forehand and backhand passing and pass reception.

Coaches will be looking at proper puck shooting techniques, weight transfer, wrist shots, snap shots, and slap shots along with accuracy. Evaluators will determine if players have learned how to “ read and react” and “have their head on a swivel” . At higher levels, players will be expected to forecheck and backcheck, aggressively pursue the puck, “ play their man”, and “complete their checks” . In addition to the foregoing, goalies are expected to demonstrate their ability to “cover the crease”, “ telescope in and out from the net”, “drop and recover” , “ stack the pads”, “ focus on the
puck”, etc.  Every effort will be made to provide a fair, impartial evaluation of the players.

Parents are respectfully requested to refrain from asking for individual evaluations or judgements from the evaluators and the evaluation area is “offlimits” to parents and spectators.

Do all players have to attend tryouts? All players are required to attend tryouts or arrange for a separate evaluation by the coach. If there is a conflict or special situation, the issue should be presented to the coach prior to the tryouts.  Attempts have been made to schedule tryouts for maximum attendance.

NO PRESENT OR FORMER PLAYER IS GUARANTEED A POSITION ON A TEAM.
Tryouts are open to all players in the Central Ohio area.  Tryouts are not by “ invitation only”.
Coaches are not allowed to form teams prior to the tryouts.  Coaches are not allowed to select “parent assistant coaches” prior to the selection of the team.

When will we be notified if a player has or has not made a team? Coaches are urged to make their selections and notify all players as soon as possible after completion of the tryouts. For the first travel team, the head coaches will notify players within five days and players will be required to make a commitment to the team immediately or risk their place on the team. After the team has been selected and players have committed to the team, calls will be made to players for the second team in the age division. Again, players selected will be asked to make a commitment to the team immediately or risk their place on the team.

How many games and tournaments will a travel team play? The number of games and tournaments played by a Columbus Capitals travel team will vary depending upon the age category, level of play (“AA” or “A ” ; “Major” or “Minor”, etc.), and willingness of the coach and parents. At the start of the season, parents or guardians will be polled regarding interest and commitment. In general, the number of games will range from twentyfive to sixtyfive games including a number of tournaments. Most games are “league games” . Teams will compete in the Cleveland Suburban Hockey League or the Buckeye Travel Hockey League. Both leagues typically have between 15 and 25 league games.  Some teams may choose to play an independent schedule.  We usually try to enter all of our travel teams in the Regional Silversticks Tournament conducted annually in Dayton, Ohio in December. Regional winners will go on to play in Canada or Michigan. Additionally, the Columbus Capitals may host the Shamrock Tournament in March for all age groups. Peewee, Bantam and Midget teams have the opportunity to enter the State Tournaments that are conducted in March. Depending on interest and financial commitment, teams may also enter early season tournaments, Thanksgiving, Christmas, President’ s Weekend tournaments, etc. to round out the schedule.

How many practices will there be for the travel teams and where do they practice? The actual number of practices will vary; in general our goal is to have the travel players on the ice at least twice a week during the season plus games on the weekend. AA Major teams will receive at least 3 hours of practices per week. While we would like all practices to be “ful l ice” , reality forces us to have “half ice practices” especially after the start of the house league season. We use the Fairgrounds Coliseum, the North Chiller and Worthington Ice Works as our ice venues. Some coaches may try to have off ice practices using parking
lots, gymnasiums, or roller hockey rinks to supplement the costly “ onice” practices. While every effort will be made to distribute practice and game schedules early in the season, ice schedule changes at some rinks force us to be as flexible as possible with the schedules for games and practices.
Will there be traveling every weekend? Most travel teams will not be traveling every weekend. As a member of the Cleveland Suburban Hockey League and Buckeye Travel Hockey League, each team should be playing approximately half of their league games at home and half on the road. If possible, teams will try to schedule two or possibly three games during a road trip to help minimize the amount of travel. Some teams may have several “overnight” weekend trips while others may not have any. A team could go a full month without any “ away” games and then travel during the next three weekends. Parents will be polled in a team meeting at the start of the season to determine their interest and availability.

How long does the season last? For players selected to Columbus Capitals travel teams, coaches may begin off-ice conditioning over the summer depending on the schedule and interest of the players. On-ice activities may begin in July. Generally, all of the travel teams will end their season in March although there may be exceptions depending on the desires of the coach, players and parents.

What kind of commitment are the coaches looking for? All the coaches are looking for players who have the desire, dedication and discipline to play travel hockey. This includes a willingness to attend all practices, off-ice conditioning (if any), games, and tournaments. Coaches expect players to have the self-discipline to notify the coach or team manager of any conflicts, perform well in school and budget their time to avoid excuses for homework or tests, and, above all, be respectful of others. While we understand that every player must balance their home, school, and hockey life, a commitment to a travel team implies a commitment and a responsibility to teammates and the coach.  Discipline is also expected on and off the ice regarding proper behavior. Fighting, profanity, and disrespect for other people (including teammates, opponents and game officials) and disrespect for property will not be tolerated and may result in disciplinary action including suspension from games or practices or suspension from the team. Columbus has a long history of fielding teams that will play the game with dignity and respect whether they are winning or losing
and we will not allow this tradition to be compromised. In this regard, and in the best interests of the program, players and coaches, Columbus Capitals Travel Hockey may exercise its right to deny participation to a player or parent based on prior incidents involving the player and/or a parent.
Players and parents will be provided a “Code of Conduct” that they will be required to sign. This “ Code of Conduct” will detail what is expected from them regarding their responsibility to the team.
 

What is Columbus Capitals Travel Hockey’s position regarding “ playing up” to the next age category as defined by USA Hockey? USA Hockey discourages youngsters from “ playing up” in the next age category. The Travel Advisory Committee will evaluate and approve petitions to play up on a case by case basis. If a “ secondyear” player and their parent or guardian and/or a former coach show reasonable cause for a player to be considered for playing up, that “ secondyear” player will be permitted to tryout for the team at the next age category. The player will still be expected to tryout for the travel team in their proper age category. The player being considered at the higher age category must demonstrate exceptional skills during the tryouts to be named to the team.