Minor hockey in B.C. is being divided into two large tiers, says Dave Lige.
In the top tier are the academy programs and Major Midget teams, the coming Minor Midget teams for kids in Grade 10, and future regional selects programs he can see coming for kids in pee wee.
The second tier is all the province’s minor hockey associations. The goal of the new executive director of Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Association is to be at the top of that second tier.
“It really is a changing landscape,” said Lige.
He noted that eight kids from Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey have been carded my minor midget teams for next season.
The problem with these top tier program is, of course, the cost. The academies cost tens of thousands of dollars per school year, and he said parents need to budget about $15,000 to play Major Midget by the time the final Visa bills come in from all of the tournaments and trips.
He said families with players at the bantam level are being inundated with materials from academies and other programs.
“They are great options for families, if they can afford it,” he said.
For families in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows who can’t justify those expenses, they should be assured that their child will get every opportunity to develop their skills while playing for their hometown association.
“That’s the big thing that we’re working hard on,” said Lige.
A new Little Rustlers program will begin by placing kids in hockey 1 and hockey 2 in groupings according to their skill level, which is a change. He said there will be more emphasis on developing skills in order to advance, in a “skill-based progression plan.”
“You need to play where you belong,” he said, adding kids need to be with kids of comparable skill level to get the right challenge.
Grouping kids according to skill level will also make it easier for their coaches to run drills that are effective for all their kids on the ice. He said it is an approach used in other sports, such as swimming and figure skating.
Director of hockey development James Eccles and his development team will be key in making sure kids get “high-end instruction right from five and six years old.”
He said there will also be changes in the atom division, changing the atom A tryouts. Players formerly tried out for a team by position, but now they will try out based on their overall skill, as either a skater or a goaltender. So, skaters will not be evaluated in how well they play a position.
Once the most skilled players are chosen, the coaches will decide what position they should play for their teams. There will be four atom A teams in the coming season
“Those changes are based on putting greater emphasis on development and growth,” said Lige.
He said players in both rep programs and C programs will see more development and instruction opportunities. There will be week-long, affordable development clinics this summer, featuring guest instructors with specialty areas.
He said the association will not necessarily be judged based on games won and banners hoisted to the rafters.
“We’re highly outcome driven. We need to be more process driven,” he said.
Lige said he is confronted by the immediate challenge of creating more development opportunities with limited ice time. A new sheet of ice is going to be built at Planet Ice, but in the meantime he will look at ways of making sure the ice time available now is used effectively.
“We need to get more kids out there, and use the ice time better,” he said.
Lige has coached for seven seasons in the association, as well as with the Barracudas female hockey association where his daughter played.
He has a degree in human kinetics from UBC, and a masters in counselling psychology, and works with athletes on off-ice psychology and conditioning. His company, Inner Sports Leadership, has worked with junior teams, and has testimonials from NHL players from Maple Ridge, including Andrew Ladd, Vic Bartley and Brandon Yip.
With the association, he said his job will also be administrative, and he plans to attend every meeting related to the association’s business.
“Dave brings extensive experience working with kids both in an administrative role, as well as on the ice,” said new RMMHA president Adam Schwartz. “His vision for the direction of the association is exciting and all of us at RMMHA will strive to work with him as we continue to build on the excellent foundation built by those that have moved on from administrative roles in the recent months.”
