North York Storm Novice A 2016-2017 The Coaching Staff Head coach: Mary-Jo O’Brien has worked with the NYS Novice Program over the last two years, working within both the house league program and as an assistant coach (2014-2015) and then a co-coach (2015-2016) on the Novice B team. A former goalie, she was named an OUA all-star on multiple occasions and awarded Athlete of the Year while attending Carleton University as a student-athlete. Mary-Jo currently works as a high school teacher in York Region and is a certified level 1 hockey coach and trainer who brings a wealth of experience as a coach in various sports at the university, high school, and development levels. Player Development Coach: Colin Chaulk is a USA hockey level 4 certified coach who played four years in the OHL and 15 years in professional hockey. He is the current coach of the Brampton Beast (ECHL). Through his company Hockey House, he has spent a number of years developing the skills of young North American hockey players. Some of these players have gone on to play at the NHL level and many others are currently representing the USA as members of the men’s and women’s U-22 and U-18 teams or playing on scholarship at major American colleges or private hockey schools. Colin will take on the role of player development, focusing on practices and skills sessions to work with the players to develop both their individual hockey skills as well as their team tactics. Although his role will be ongoing throughout the season, its consistency might fluctuate depending on his travel schedule within the ECHL.

The Focus The focus this year will be on developing not only the players’ individual skills but their team skills as well. It is our belief as coaches that a positive attitude will fuel a player’s desire and helps them want to work with their teammates in order to achieve success. The playing experience at the novice age should offer the girls a chance to build self-confidence, overcome challenges, learn new hockey skills, and forge friendships. We see these as very important goals to help them develop a life-long love of not only hockey, but team sports and physical activity as well.

The Season Outlook It is our intention to compete in the Novice A loop of the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League (LLFHL). In order to ensure that we are efficiently prepared for competition within that loop, we will be looking to hold some training dates throughout the summer and will be starting to prepare for the season as we move towards September with both weekly practices and scheduled exhibition games. For planning purposes, our regular season schedule within the LLFHL will start at the beginning of October and will consist of approximately 20 games to be completed by the end of January. Play-offs and play-downs take place during the months of February and March and are scheduled as required. We will also be

North York Storm Novice A 2016-2017 looking to register in a few tournaments located in various parts of Ontario—our participation in these tournaments allows us to challenge other teams and can be used as a way of gauging our competition level with teams across the province and not solely within our division. In terms of practices, our hope is that they are scheduled well in advance and for the most part, on consistent days. As we move throughout the season, it may become apparent that we need to book some additional ice time and therefore every effort will be made to provide the parents with as much warning as possible so that the number of conflicts with those dates is minimal. To that extent, please understand that the coaching staff feels that it is extremely important for players to be in attendance at all team events, whether it is practices, games, or activities. Membership on a rep hockey team is something that is tremendously valuable and by teaching the importance of commitment and ownership at such an early age, girls come to understand what hard work and determination can bring them, not only in sport but in life as well. Please feel free to contact Mary-Jo if you require any additional information or have any further questions. We truly look forward to a fun and rewarding season.

Mary-Jo O’Brien [email protected] 416-986-9392