Guys this might be a duplicate, but I am sending this out via the yahoo group
First off you are receiving this email because in the past you have contacted me
about hockey in south bend. I don't want to burden anyone and if you want me
to remove you from my address book please let me know.
I know this might seem lengthy, I like to call it resourceful. I hope to
answer all your questions, so please hide this somewhere when you're finished.
I want to go in chronological order and hope I don't lose you. Please forward
this to anyone you know that is interested in playing the fall session who
didn't get this. Those who didn't, please let me know to add you to my address
book.
IYHL
The IYHL (youth hockey) is having their registration this week on august 1st
from 6-8pm at the ice box and then again at the annual back to hockey day august
11th at Notre dame. The back to hockey will run from 1-4pm at the Compton
family ice arena. All the information For the IYHL and to download the
registration forms, go to www.irishyouthhockey.com Anyone with questions
should contact Chris kleva........email is chriskleva@...
The IYHL, which I am now a board member of, is looking for volunteers to help
coach, or assist coaches with on ice practices and to help coach games. I know
we have a lot of guys who aren't really affiliated with the youth league either
because they don't have kids or, their kids are older. I think the adult
league players have a chance to get some extra ice time and to fill a void on
the coaching segment. Many parents don't play hockey themselves and the IYHL
relies on many volunteers. If you are interested in helping out, please
contact drew herendeen drew@...
CAPTAINS MEETING
The captains meeting for the league will take place Wednesday night august 8th @
6:30pm at the Ice box in the team room . Team captains must attend this
meeting, if you can't make it please send an alternate captain or a team
representative to the meeting. There will be a wide range of topics to discuss
and I don't want anyone to use the excuse of ignorance when new policy is
enacted. Email has been sent out and the captains have been made aware.
Consensus was to have the meeting earlier rather than later, and guys are
starting to get collections in to have ready when the season starts. Those who
want their captains to bring up an issue should tell them, or let me know what
you want us to address. There is talk about having an over 35 league to keep
the parity there, but I am still not sure how we can enact it. I look forward
to every ones input. I will bring pizza, bring your own beer.
There are going to be many new teams this year with new captains. Periodically,
I share rink information with league captains to distribute to their teams via
email. So first off if you're a captain, please email me and tell me what team
you will be captaining so you will be on the email list. I really need the
captains to step up this year. Some of the guys don't communicate, and some of
them are captains that never make games. I would prefer guys who are in the
loop and can be counted to quell a situation if their guys get out of hand. Be
a captain, or dont sign up.
ADULT BOOT CAMP
Once again Chris Sandnas, will putting on a beginners boot camp for new adults
men/women (please no children) on various nights during the week. The clinics
will be 60-90 minutes each, on ice, running sometime between august 16th through
Sept 10th. Each session will be 10 bucks. Full equipment is needed to attend.
Each night Chris will work on skating, passing shooting, stick handling,
positioning, etc........ There is no need to register, just show up. These
clinics aren't mandatory for new players, but it will surely give them
confidence and help them get acclimated to the game before the season starts up
on the 16th. Those new to the game are recommended to attend. It's a good
place to get recruited for a fall team and get your legs back.
The dates are
FRI 17-Aug 7:30 PM 9:00 PM
TUE 21-Aug 7:30 PM 9:00 PM
FRI 24-Aug 7:30 PM 9:00 PM
SUN 26-Aug 6:00 PM 7:30
WED 29-Aug 7:30 PM 9:00 PM
FRI 31-Aug 7:30 PM 9:00 PM
TUE 04-Sep 9:15 PM 10:45 PM
FRI 07-Sep 7:30 PM 9:00 PM
SUN 09-Sep 6:00 PM 7:30 PM
TUE 11-Sep 7:30 PM 9:00 PM
Goalies wishing to attend should contact Chris Sandnas sandmanhockey617@...
or 574-250-1296 Goalies will usually be there.
REFEREE CLINIC
There will be a USA hockey ref clinic tentatively scheduled for August 25th and
26th. I don't know all the details as of yet, but if you're interested in
becoming a USAH ref please contact Barry mead icerefs@...
PROSHOP People always ask me about the pro shop and when they are open.
They have a webpage with their hours posted on it. Please bookmark this, the
website is www.hockeystopsouthbend.com
FALL/WINTER SESSION
Ok here we go..........Fall winter season will start Sept 16th and run through
the end of March. The league consists of currently 5 divisions. A, B gold, B
silver, C and Rec. We might be splitting the C league into a C gold and C
silver as well like we did last year, but some teams were on the cusp, so we
might just have the 5 divisions and one C league. We didn't have an ice fee
increase this year, but it was basically on condition that keep our ice usage
up. Last year we really pulled our weight. For the 2010-11 we used 419 hours
and for 2011-12 we used 570 hours. We need to keep the rink open and they need
to sell ice. So all teams need to commit to at least 30 games and if teams
want more, we can make that work. Usually the B league plays more than C and
rec, But that will be up to you. Some teams said 30 was a good number, some
liked 35 and one team said they wanted 40 games. Teams like ND faculty, Goshen
and Andrews will probably run their condensed schedule, but everyone should
count on a minimum 30 game season. Teams will make it work.
Games are typically Sunday through Thursday, with the high school using the ice
Friday and Saturday nights. High school numbers this year are down and some
teams might be consolidating. So things might change in the fall, and as I
write this now, we plan to keep it that way, but if anything changes I will let
the captains know. Game times on Sunday can start as early as 3pm, although
rare, and go as late as 9:30. Weeknight games are as early as 7pm and no later
than 10:15. We are pretty spoiled, as games in Chicago can be as late as 1am.
For those getting the 10:15 game, suck it up, you really don't know how worse it
could be. I will make scheduling request and do my best to accommodate. All
scheduling requests must come from the captain. I had a team with a player who
only wanted to play after 10 one year and the others on his team wasn't aware
why they got stuck with all 10 or 10:15 games. Doing this for several years,
it's still a work in progress, but I am still learning from my mistakes.
A league is run by Brandon Rigby, his contact info is
brandonr@... and cell number is 574-286-7342. The games are
typically on Thursday nights and an occasional Sunday game this year in order to
get in the 30-35 game schedule. Brandon will be the contact for A league for
all your questions. They are mainly looking for ex-high school players, former
junior players and college kids to fill out the teams. The level of play is up
there. They usually have a 4 team draft. Again, contact Brandon with any
questions.
B League is still competitive, but not as fast as the A league. B league is
split between B gold and B silver.
C league is the former beginners league and last year had grown to 14 teams last
winter. The level of parity, has seemed to disappear now that it has grown and
we have seen some of the hot shots from the B league starting to drop down to
the C league and start dominating some of the games. We will discuss this at
the captains meeting. C league is still competitive, but I guess I would
classify it as semi beginner/old timers league. Guys who want to bring B
players down to their team will find themselves playing B teams.
Rec league is for beginners and has been a great entry level league for those
who haven't played before. It's not as competitive, and should be more for the
fun of the game. Although, I have had rec players contact me about scores in
rec posted incorrectly........rec league........I mean really??? Many of the
guys/gals going through the adult boot camp are fed into the rec league and
captains, in the past like myself, will be looking for players to fill out
their rosters and setup teams.
Also, like the C league, some of the current rec players really don't know how
to take it easy on the newbies and its really come to a head where these guys
must move up. It's nice to be able to skate end to end in the rec league, but
try that in a division higher and see how it feels. Point blank, a lot of guys
in rec league really need to move up. When you're getting called for penalties
in the rec league, then you don't know how to play down and you have no idea
what rec league is all about.
I would suggest that rec captains before the season scrutinize each others
rosters and make suggestions of players who don't belong. I think the best way
to combat this league wide is to have players play in only 2 divisions next to
each other. Example play C/REC, C/B SILVER, B SILVER/GOLD, A/B GOLD. Playing
B and rec shouldn't be allowed. Playing A and C shouldn't be allowed. This is
going to be a discussion at the captains meeting. I understand guys want to
play as much hockey as they want, but some guys are rostered on 3 teams. Join
the sub list if you want more hockey. You're playing for it anyway.
I will be posting a link to the rosters on the eteamz website. Those looking
for a team in the fall, please email me with your contact information and skill
level, and I will do my best (no promises) to get you on a team. The sooner
the better, and it will increase your chances of getting on a team. I will also
forward your email out to all the captains to see who wants to pick you up.
SUBS
I will be creating a new, fresh sub list for those who can't play the whole
season but can sub in once in awhile. Subs will be contacted (by you) and will
agree to pay a $10 fee to come in for a game. I will not be moving games like I
have done in the past. I have been too nice and if guys can't make a game,
find some subs or create your own sub list from the roster submitted. Moving
games has been a tremendous pain in the ass and people don't realize that when a
game moves how many people it affects besides YOU. When teams ask me to move
games this fall, be prepared for me to tell them no. I will still do my best,
as always, to accommodate team date requests, but this fall/winter, with the
absence of Friday and Saturday night games like summer, it just gives me less
options when scheduling games. We have a goalie list on the website as well.
If you want to get on the sub list, or goalie list, please email me to be added.
DISCIPLINARY BOARD
We currently have a disciplinary board made up of mike compton, Dave mensik,
nick linarello, Todd Montgomery, ed moore, dennis jordan, and mike klute.
Incidents are typically reported to them by the refs and they make our
recommendations and relay them to the captains. Currently it's basically a 3
strikes and you're out type of deal. We will tweaking this at the board
meeting.
LEAGUE FEES
The league fees consist of 5 things: Ice rental fees, refs, security fee,
insurance and a management fee I call the "sax tax". I use these factors to
come up with the costs for the season and stand behind my figures so people
don't think I pulled a number out of a hat. I sometimes get criticized for being
too open, but the last thing I want is to have anyone think I am getting rich
off this. If anyone is curious as to what our leagues finances are, bills, bank
statements etc... I don't mind sharing. Transparency is the best
disinfectant.
Ice fees have stayed the same from last year. We are still at $265 an hour,
which in our case is sometimes more than an hour, but our games are 3- 18 minute
periods, running clock. We get a 5 minute warm up and we get to stop the clock
when a game is within 2. So as you see its sometimes more than 60 minutes, but
you get the picture. Nobody is kicked off the ice when the 60 minutes is up and
we are allowed to finish our games. I am trying to make a point about how good
we have it and other rinks don't give that flexibility. Just as a comparison, I
have a feeling merrifield ice fees will be going up in the fall and ND already
raised their fall fees $10 for a 50 minute slot.
Refs currently are paid $22 a game, it's really a thankless job. We're going to
keep it at $22. I think the refs like the $2 bills. With 2 rinks running
simultaneously this fall it will be harder to pull from the same pool. Just a
note USAH refs in the IYHL make as much as 50-70 bucks a game, so we get what we
pay for. Shannon hyduk runs and schedules all our refs and if you're
interested in reffing, email him shyduk@... or call 574-360-2276 Anyone,
who has never reffed before should try it. I have in the past reffed and it's a
real eye opener. Players always think they know more than the refs until they
have to put on the stripes. There are always complaints about the refs and some
warranted, some not. We do our best with what we have and please consider that
before you complain.
Security fees are used to pay the security detail in the parking lot and was
implemented 2 years ago. Its $10 bucks a head and I figure it based on a team
fee. I am not in the mood to do a head count and if you're playing on two
teams, the team contribution will be the same. I base it on a 15 man roster,
whether you have more or less. Last year I did 14 players but it seems like
rosters are getting bigger and bigger, So $150 per team.
Insurance came in cheaper than I thought last year. We bid it out to two
separate companies and the current company cut the price from 25 to 15 a head.
At this time, I still don't have the quote yet, but I want to get this email out
to everyone. Based on the conversation with our insurer, he doesn't expect
anything drastic and if there is an increase he thinks it will be only 5%.
Based on this info. I am going to stick with $15 a head and hope for no
surprises. If it's something drastic, then expect a slight bump in league fees.
We have two policies. One is an umbrella general liability policy that insures
the ice box and any other facility we play at for $1 million and then we have a
medical injury policy. The medical injury policy is a secondary to ones primary
insurance with a $1000 deductible and a max payout of $25k. This only kicks in
if your primary doesn't cover everything. In the case where one doesn't have
primary insurance this would be your primary. In the past we were
contemplating going with USAH but it only raises our costs for everyone, with
the same or inferior coverage. Our policy is based on whoever plays in the
league and whoever is on the ice, including the refs. With USAH you must
register and everyone else must register in order for there to be coverage. If
a players buddy is in town and skates on without USAH insurance, and an accident
occurs, since not ALL players were with USAH at the time of injury, nobody is
covered. This was confirmed to me during a conference call with USAH last fall.
They only cover catastrophic anyways, I have stories about that too. So, I
really don't want to take that risk of not having all USAH players on the ice at
one time. I am in Chicago during the week and don't have the time to babysit
everyone and check who is and isn't registered. Hell, we have problems with
captains sticking to rosters all the time. Guys walking off the ice after their
game get approached all the time asking if they want to stick around and play
another. We run a beer league and like the flexibility. This policy covers
anyone on the ice...........period! I think it's excellent coverage, NDU
doesn't, so we don't play there. I base the fee on a roster of 15 guys. Again
no head count. If you have less or more, it's still the same. So $225 per team
for insurance assuming no surprises on this years premium. Yes I get the
question, some guys are rostered on more than one team why pay
twice???.........just pay it, unless you want to do a head count for the entire
league for me and some teams would be paying more than the $225. Let's just do
it this way. It's easier for everyone and makes the costs uniform across the
board.
The Sax tax is my management fee. I put countless hours into the league and I
use it to cover my league fees. Any extra in the past we have used it for
shooter tutors, a TV and 2 sets of backup goalie gear for the league. I will be
using the extra to replace some of the goalie gear that's been abused. It all
goes back to the rink, and we have a surplus so I can sleep well at night. I am
tacking on $15 a team, or basically a buck a guy to cover this. I don't feel
guilty asking for it.
So let's add it up......right now we are looking at a 30+ game schedule
costs based on 30 games $265 ice $44 for refs ($309/2) or $154.50 per game, per
team.
ice/refs (265+44)/2 *30= $4635
security $150 ($10 each based on a 15 man roster)
insurance =$225 (assuming $15 each based on a 15 man roster)
"sax tax" =$15 ( to cover my league fees....and because I am a greedy bastard)
total =$5025
It's basically gone up $25 from last year or roughly $1.50 a guy.
All teams have a fixed cost of insurance/security/sax tax.
For the A/B and anyone who wants to play extra game figure $155 a game.
31 games = $5180
32 games = $5335
33 games = $5490
34 games = $5645
35 games = $5800
etc.....
Based on a 15 man roster
30 games = $335 each
32 games = $356 each
35 games = $387 each
(can you tell I like numbers?)
I hope I haven't bored you to death, but I just wanted to show where I came up
with that figure, and I am sure many of you are curious what things costs. It
might seem a lot, but it's still a lot cheaper than many of us are paying for
our kids to play youth or high school hockey. It's also cheaper than some of
the leagues at the rinks I play on in Chicago.
So there's your number $5025 minimum........more if you want games.
COLLECTIONS
Guys collecting fees has always been the worst part of the job. Yes, I get
comped for this but this summer has pushed me to the brink. I am not at the
rink as much as I used to be and some of the captains haven't been on top of
this like they should be. Captains are in charge of collecting fees. I know
I am my worst enemy and I let things go and it's my fault. I say this every
year......but all teams have a few deadbeats that don't carry the teams
financially and they will be outed at the captains meeting. All league fees
must be in by Sept 7th and teams who in the past have these people on their
teams should drop them. We will let the captains know who they are and that if
you want one of these guys on the team that they will have to pay up front. I
will post a link on the eteamz website of the rosters and payments as they are
booked. This year teams won't be scheduled until their team is paid in full. I
am going to recommend that captains collect what they can, turn it over and
whatever the balance is write me a post dated check(s) to cover it. I will hold
your check to give you time to collect from your players. If you don't want to
cover for a guy who you think won't pay, then drop him. You won't be playing if
one guy is holding you up and I will sit back and watch with a bowl of popcorn
as the other teammates find the guy and hang him!! I want the $5025 in by the
7th and post dated checks count towards that amount. If you want more than 30
games, we will get there. I need MONEY AND ROSTERS before you get scheduled.
Rosters especially before Rec League gets scheduled, because some of those guys
shouldn't be there.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
Here are your options to pay- cash, check or pay pal. There's a PayPal link on
the website where you can pay by credit card. PayPal charges me 3%, so please
include that if you want to go that route. If you pay $100 by paypal, I will
only credit you $97. If you pay by check(s) you can post date them, and I
encourage you to do so to get your money in. If your team fee is say, $400,
you can write me 2 checks for $200, 3 checks for $133 or 4 checks for $100 each
dated Sept 1st, Oct 1st, Nov 1st, Dec 1st as an example. You get the idea. I
will hold your check and deposit it on the date its written on. Checks should
be made out to me or SBSHL . They can be dropped off at the rink and given to
any rink worker to "drop in the safe" or mailed to my house
Jeff Sax
2804 s twyckenham dr
south bend, IN 46614
I am extremely flexible and willing to work with anyone who asks for it. Once
I get your payment, in hand, I book it and post it next to your name on the
roster website, so guys can check and see how your teams money has come in.
Everything is public. This also shows the others who on their team HASN'T
paid. Again, I can't stress enough, games for the season won't be posted until
the team is paid in full, so teams pick your players wisely. Drop the dead
weight!! Please remember post dated checks, in hand are considered payment up
front. The hassle I have had in the past is emailing the captains on a weekly
basis to get the fees in. I can't continue to do this. Maybe we need to tack
on a late fee or reward those who pay early??
Alternative locations
Without USAH insurance we won't be going to NDU for games. I spoke to people
over there and even though I feel we have good insurance, I was told unless we
get USAH insurance, it was a "one way conversation." At this time the men's
league doesn't plan on playing there. No beer, 50 minute games, and USAH
insurance are the other big hurdles. I still remember sitting at the IYHL
annual meeting this spring with a group of close to 60 parents and then two guys
walking in for a men's league game, each with a case of beer under their arms.
The IYHL parents jaw dropped and I smiled. Where else do we get the
flexibility to do that, and I can tell you in Chicago where I play hockey
Wednesday nights, beer isn't even allowed in the rink. We really have it good.
If guys want to play over there, please feel free to do so.
Merrifield park is supposed to be putting in benches for the fall. As of now,
we aren't sure they will be constructed in time. I would love to run some
games out there since it seems to be a wonderful experience to skate outside,
it's cheaper and we could get in another game. If we have enough overflow, and
the benches are put in I will run some games there. If there are any credits
at the end of the season, I will credit people for summer, or issue team
refunds. I would rather give guys the game though.
Just a note, there is 2 extra sets of goalie gear across from locker room 7 in
the breaker room. Things have disappeared and people aren't putting stuff
back. The equipment has come in very handy to those who have needed a goalie
last minute, guys wanting to try playing net and for goalies who have forgotten
something right before a game. All I ask is that people put stuff back on the
top shelf after they use it. The room has become a pigsty since people don't
put thing back and throw things on the floor. We will do you a favor and let
people continue to use it, but please return the favor and return it to the top
shelf. If we continue to have problems, we are either going to have to lock it
up, or take it away and I really don't want that.
So that is what I have for the time being. I hope this answers all of your
questions if you took the time to read this, but if you still have them, please
let me know.
Thanks
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