Evaluation Policy

At the beginning of each season, SPYHA will conduct formal evaluations for the 14U/Bantam, 12U/PeeWee, and 10U/Squirt age classifications for the purposes of forming teams when there are enough players to form more than one team at any given age classification. These evaluation sessions will focus both on individual skills and competitive situations. The individual skills will focus on hockey fundamentals, i.e. skating, stickhandling, shooting, and passing. The competitive situations will focus on game type situations including team play.

Evaluation sessions are closed for spectators - only the Zamboni driver, skaters being evaluated, the Hockey Director, on-ice instructors, off-ice evaluators, needed support staff (registration, jersey assignment, etc.) and those coaches and perspective coaches explicitly invited by the Hockey Director will be permitted in the rink during the evaluation sessions. Other parents, guardians, and family members will be asked to wait outside of the rink during the evaluation session. For skaters requiring assistance, parents will be allowed to accompany their skater to the locker room to facilitate getting dressed but must vacate the rink once the skater is ready to take the ice. SPYHA believes this closed environment format minimizes distractions for the skaters by allowing them to focus on the instruction of those leading the on-ice activities. The off-ice evaluators are selected by the Hockey Director and typically consists of 2 to 4 experienced hockey individuals.

Any skater that misses an evaluation session will be evaluated on the session(s) they did attend. Additional input from previous coaches, and the coaches of the current age classification may be considered. Skaters who miss evaluation sessions will be at a disadvantage in demonstrating improved skills and hockey ability from the prior season. After the first evaluation session for each age classification, skaters that the evaluators have clearly identified as making the upper team may be excused from attending future evaluation sessions. Any such players will be notified by the Hockey Director that they are not to attend future evaluation sessions for that season. This is so that the evaluators and Head Coach of the upper team can focus on those remaining players who are vying for limited “bubble” spot(s).

Following all evaluation sessions, primary team placements will be posted on the SPYHA website once available. These listings may not include all double and/or cross roster decisions as those decisions are usually finalized later in the process. When two or more skaters are evaluated as being similarly skilled during the evaluation process and they are vying for limited “bubble” spot(s) on an upper team, the Hockey Director will meet with the Head Coach of the upper team for purposes of picking the "bubble."

If after evaluations and team formations a team permanently loses a player due to season-ending injury, family relocations, or other circumstance, adjustments to teams may be made on a case-by-case basis. Each situation will be evaluated on the specific circumstances of that case and team adjustments may or may not be made. Any requested adjustments will be initiated by a Head Coach and/or the Hockey DIrector. Any roster adjustments must be completed by the December 31st Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) deadline at which point rosters are locked and no further roster additions can be made.

SPYHA appreciates that some parents may want to know how the evaluation sessions went and areas their skater may need to improve on. We DO NOT provide that type of evaluation feedback following our evaluations. Evaluation placements represent where skaters are at in their development as a hockey player at that point in time. Development will continue to occur throughout the season, and at different rates for different skaters.

At the 14U/Bantam and 12U/PeeWee age classifications, skaters wishing to be evaluated as goalies should dress and attend their evaluation sessions as a goalie. An additional goalie evaluation session may be added should it be deemed necessary.

Unlike 14U/Bantam and 12U/PeeWee classifications, full-time goalies will not be designated at the 10U/Squirt age classifications. This allows other 10U/Squirt skaters to try the goaltender position during the season as well to encourage more interest in the goalie position in future years. At the 10U/Squirt age classifications, all participants should evaluate out as a skater for the first evaluation session and will be evaluated for their non-goalie skill sets for primary team placement. Any 10U/Squirt skaters wishing to be evaluated as goalies should dress and attend the second evaluation session as a goalie.

For the 14U/Bantam and 12U/PeeWee age classifications, SPYHA will place/roster no more than two designated goalies per team. At these age classifications, if one or more of the goalies evaluating is not designated as a full-time goalie for a team because the team has two designated goalies that evaluated higher, then the non-designated full-time goalie(s) would skate out for the season unless there is an injury or other extenuating circumstance that leads to a protracted absence of one of the designated full-time goalies. Non-designated full-time goalies at these age classifications would be allowed to attend SPYHA goalie practices and may be offered the opportunity to practice as a goalie with other team(s) at the same or adjacent age level if their goalie is missing for practice or they are seeking an additional goalie for a specific practice or practices in order to continue their development as a goalie.

Goalies will initially be placed based on their evaluation rank and not automatically placed due to low numbers. For example, if SPYHA is anticipating offering two teams at an age classification and there is only one goalie - that goalie will not automatically be placed on the upper team. The evaluators will provide a recommendation consistent with the skill demonstrated by the goalie during evaluations. In this example, if that recommendation was placement on the lower team, the Head Coach of the upper team would be offered the opportunity to determine if they would prefer to have a full-time goalie or if they would rather go through the season with either a “pass-the-bag” and/or six-skater approach. Likewise, if there are three goalies evaluating for placement on two teams, their evaluation rank would determine initial placement. In this example, the Head Coach of the upper team would then determine their optimal roster composition, including whether or not to take one or two full-time designated goalies.