Manchester Metros
Manchester Universities Ice Hockey Club

PLAYER’S GUIDE

Essential Information, Guidelines and Tips

2012-2013 Season

Welcome to the Manchester Metros Ice Hockey Club!

The following document contains information, guidelines and tips for all of those playing within the club. This will give you a summary of what we expect of our players, how to conduct yourselves on and off the ice, and how to get the most of your experiences and time with the Metros.

This guide is divided into the following sections:

● Your Club ● Your Conduct ● Your Fitness ● Your Coaches ● Your Captains

Your Club

Website: www.metroshockey.com
Check here for player profiles, club calendar and an overview of the upcoming season.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ManchesterMetros
This is the place to learn about club activities, socials and news updates. It is all announced here, so make sure you like this page and add updates to your news feed!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/2742970576/
Information on games, trials and training will be announced in this group, so it is important to keep an eye here. Once the teams are set in October, you will all be individually invited to the relevant team group.

Twitter (@MancMetros): www.twitter.com/mancmetros
If you’re a twitter user then don’t forget to sign off your Metros-related posts with the hashtag: #mancmetros

Twitter (@MancMetrosLive): www.twitter.com/mancmetroslive
Whether you’re a twitter user or not you can follow our live match updates here.

Merchandise: www.onlinekit.co.uk
Ever wanted a hoodie with your name and number on it? Well now you can! Check out our online shop for official Metros apparel.

Make sure that your friends are aware of the above links as well, so that they can stay up-to-date with the club!

Committee 2012-13

The committee is comprised of two parts: the core committee and the extended committee. The core committee contains the decision-making nucleus of the club, whereas the extended committee provides essential, specialist roles outside this capacity.

So here is the list of people that are in charge of the running of the Metros this season. If you have a problem, question or an idea, please feel free to contact any one of these members.

Core Committee:

President - Ben Brown

Vice-President - Shayne Langlois

Treasurers - Liam Jacques and Patrick Thomson

Secretary - Matthew Rohani

Assistant Secretary - Katy Holliday

Kit Secretaries - Benjamin Robinson and Dec Ryan

Extended Committee:

Social Secretary - Andrew MacKinnon

Tour Secretary - Scott Stevens

Coaching Staff 2012-13

Although these members may not be part of the Committee, they function as a vital part of the club’s leadership and are essential to each team’s and individual’s development.

The Head Coach and Assistant Coaches will be running the training sessions each week, however in their absence one of the other members of the coaching staff will step in to help.

Bench Coaches are in charge of roster selection and the general management of the team they are assigned to. These individuals will run the bench on match days and be assigned before the season begins.

Head Coach - Shayne Langlois

Assistant Coaches - Tom Wilson and Gino Poulin

Coaches - Patrick Thomson, Liam Jacques, Scott Dutton

Bench Coaches

A Team - TBC B Team - TBC C Team - TBC

Your Conduct

A few rules and guidelines on being a respectful member of the Club.

Behaviour

● No member of the Club may threaten, abuse or harass any other member of the Club, his or her friends or family at any point, for any reason, or in any forum -- on ice, off-ice, on Facebook, etc.. Any behaviour of this nature will be dealt with very seriously by the Coaching Staff, who will immediately move to drop offending players from their team, or by the Committee, who may remove players from the Club entirely.

Of course, hockey is a game of passions and there will be times when minor incidents flare-up even amongst the best of friends and teammates. However, such incidents need to be dealt with immediately in a responsible manner in the best interests of the team and of the Club. If you are ever the victim of such behaviour, please inform a member of the Committee or Coaching Staff immediately. It is our duty to make sure the Club remains a safe and enjoyable environment for all its members.

● All members must be respectful of/adhere to the decisions of the Committee. The Committee and Coaching Staff work tirelessly and voluntarily on behalf of the Club to provide all members with an enjoyable atmosphere to play ice hockey. With this comes a lot of responsibility and pressure to maintain a successful Club consisting of close friends and, as such, difficult scenarios can occur. Please bare in mind that the Committee and Coaching Staff have a duty to the Club as a whole before anything else and each decision they make is for a reason.

● Respect your coach. Whether this is a decision that your Bench Coach has made during a game or whether the Head Coach has called the team over for the next drill during training, please be respectful of their wishes, listen to them and act accordingly. ● We expect all players to behave at both home and away games in a disciplined, courteous manner befitting of the Club. Treat our facilities and those of others on away games with the utmost respect; any damage to property at Altrincham, Deeside or elsewhere will cost the Club dearly; not only could these actions have implications financially, but also for our reputation, our relationship with the rink and our standing in the league.

● Only players and specific members should be in the changing rooms on match days. Please do not be offended if you are asked to leave the room before a game -- the players need time to kit up and prepare mentally for the match and at times the changing rooms can get quite busy.

Fees

● Anyone wanting to play for the Club must pay all their fees before stepping on the ice. The Club is not funded by the university or any other affiliates and, as such, financial stability is a difficult task to achieve. For this reason, when situations of delayed or missing payments occur the Committee may need to take action. Players will be prohibited from playing or training by the Committee for non-payment of fees or other breach of Club rules. Furthermore, any players missing a payment deadline for a tournament or club jersey order can expect to miss out.

● It is your responsibility to make sure your fees are paid correctly. You must pay either directly to the Treasurer -- or another member of the Committee in their absence -- or by bank transfer to the Club’s bank account.

Attire

● The Club does not have a dress code, but we do ask that for all home and away games you do wear something with the Club logo on it if you own one. A range of merchandise is available via the OnlineKit website if you fancy owning any non-essential Metros attire. ● Club members are prohibited from wearing Metros jerseys during training sessions. They'll wear a lot quicker, it’s disrespectful to the team and looks unprofessional. There are plenty of cheaper options such as single-colour training jerseys, or if you prefer, feel free to wear the shirt of your favourite team outside the Metros (Phoenix, Flyers, etc.). Furthermore, any player caught wearing a Sheffield Bears jersey at any point during their time at the Metros can expect to familiarize themselves with pain.

● It is the player’s responsibility to make sure their kit is in respectable condition at all times on the ice. This means bringing the correct jerseys and socks on match days, adhering to safety regulations for kit -- visors and chin straps worn correctly, no holes in hockey socks, etc..

Teamwork

● The Club is built on a strong foundation of teamwork and dedication -- two traits that impact heavily on roster selection. This not only counts for what happens on the ice, but also off the ice. All players are expected to do their part to help out (eg. on match days) once in a while to keep from an excessive load resting on a few players’ shoulders. Players believed to be avoiding this duty towards the Club or not pulling their weight may damage their chances of making the roster for future games.

● Teams are selected after trials at the beginning of the season. All players will be assigned to one squad and will be asked to train with that squad during our squad-specific sessions. Some players will be invited by coaches to train with another squad and should only do so once asked to -- players should not assume that they will be allowed to train with a second team and should not turn up unless asked.

● Play as part of a team! Only in rare scenarios are hockey games won by players skating coast-to-coast and deking the goaltender. Effective systems -- offensive and defensive, powerplay and penalty kill -- are always behind a well-organised, successful team. Listen to your coaches. Learn the systems. Play for the team, not your own glory. ● Likewise, being part of a team involves what happens off the ice too. You will be expected to attend home games from time-to-time to lend a hand and perform game-day jobs, such as timekeeping, running the gamesheet, or working a penalty box.

Dedication

● To learn to play hockey, you need to watch hockey. Check out NHL highlights online, take in a Manchester Phoenix game, go and watch the Trafford Metros train, do anything -- expose yourself to hockey as much as you can. Watch the skills of the individual players. How do they move? Look at the way the teams play. What systems are the teams playing? How are the goals scored? Moments of genius? Glaring errors? Learn from what you see!

● You are expected to familiarise yourself with the systems employed by the Club's development and coaching structure. There will be a Playbook, to be used at all levels, and your coaches will be making you familiar with its contents.

Your Fitness

Ice hockey is one of the most physically demanding sports going as well as one of the hardest to master, so we expect everyone at the Club to try their best to be at their best. This not only means applying yourself during training, but also keeping fit -- during the season and in the off-season.

● Warm-ups and cool-downs are proven to reduce the likelihood of injuries. Every practice (and game) therefore should always start with an on-ice warm-up and conclude with a personal off-ice cool-down. This prepares you mentally and physically for training/games. It also rids the body of lactic acid and should aim to prepare/relax key muscle groups.

● Never try to train or play through injuries. All injuries must be carefully managed and you have to be careful that you do not do further damage to existing injuries. If a coach sees you attempting to train or play through injury, he may ask you to sit out for your own safety.

● Set realistic goals for yourself, both long term and short term. If you’ve just started to skate, don’t expect to be on top line of the A team after half a season, unless your surname Banks. Discuss your strengths and weaknesses with your coaches, and what role you would like to fulfil within the team.

● Keep your shifts short. One minute may not sound like much, but a lot can happen on the ice in that amount of time. You should aim to be fast and efficient -- play hard and strong for short periods of time. If you’re not tired by the time you come off then you weren’t trying hard enough. Although you may be tempted to, do not stay on longer than your line mates because it causes other players to act in the same way and it is disrespectful to your team.

● Give 100% effort every time you’re on the ice -- this goes for training as much as competitive fixtures. The best way to improve both your fitness and ability is to push the boundaries. By the same token if you are tired during a shift then get off at the next available opportunity -- you are doing your team no favours by barely skating or having too little energy to keep up with the run of play.
Your Coaches

Your coaches are in charge of your team and, like the Committee, are both volunteers and fellow players alike. Unfortunately, hockey teams are not democracies and your coaches will not tolerate open dissent or disrespectful comments/behaviour. Having said that, your coaches are not unapproachable or closed to new ideas either. Their doors are always open for discussion and to explain their decisions.

If you have a question or problem regarding your coach and his/her practice, you should, in the first instance, approach the coach him/herself, or the team Captain. The Captain is the liaison between the players and the coaching team, and is the best person to raise issues on your, or the team's, behalf.

If you feel you can't approach the coach him/herself, or that you can't for whatever reason go through the Captain, then please contact the Committee directly.

However, we should point out again that, except in the most extreme circumstances, coaches are ultimately responsible for their team selection and management, and only in certain circumstances can the Committee intervene. Instead, try to work constructively with your coach and with your Captain to resolve any problems.

Your Captains

Coaches are responsible at the beginning of each season for appointing a captain and two regular assistants for each team within the club. These are the only players that may communicate with the referees and linesmen during games and as such have a lot of responsibility within the team.

Although being captain is an accolade and mostly viewed as the position it represents on the ice, in addition captains now have a formal set of duties to take care of off the ice.

Prior to each home game, the captain of the team playing will be responsible for appointing the following roles:

● Off Ice Official* -- this person takes complete charge on game day, freeing up the Captain to focus on preparing for the game. Works in the timekeepers box during the match by filling out the gamesheet and helps to organise the players before and after the game. ● Second Timekeeper* (operates the clock during the game) ● Music/DJ ● Announcer ● Two penalty box operators (i.e. guys who open doors) ● Two goal judges (one to stand behind each net) ● Tweeter (to update @MancMetrosLIVE)

*These jobs are essential and must have individual members assigned to them.

Players on the team taking part in the home game are, by logic, unavailable to help out with the match day jobs. This means the responsibilities are expected to be taken up by players on all other teams not involved in the fixture.

The captain must also do the following for all their team’s fixtures:

● Contact the opposition team several days prior to the fixture to check the match is going ahead and arrange what colour each team will wear ● Buy, or arrange for a player to buy, the Man of the Match beers (home games only) ● Collect in the borrowed jerseys and the club’s spare jerseys -- the ones that came from the club kit bag -- at the end of the game

If the captain for whatever reason cannot make these arrangements he/she must delegate them to both assistants.

These jobs are of the utmost importance to the club and both teams involved. If any captain fails to make the necessary arrangements outlined above then it can compromise the running of the game and ultimately makes our club look bad, and the committee and coaching staff may delegate a new captain for the remainder of the season.

The following checklist can be used to ensure that all roles are fulfilled:

Game Day Jobs

… and Finally...

Your time with the Metros may well be some of the happiest you spend at university, so make the most of everything we have to offer and get involved!

I have read and understood all the rules, guidelines and information contained within the Manchester Metros Player’s Guide for the 2012-13 season and I agree to conduct myself in a way befitting of the Manchester Metros University Ice Hockey Club.

Player’s name (printed): Nathan Ross Connor

Signed: _________________________________________ Date: 05/08/12