Competitive Hockey demands:
- A high level of commitment to team success and individual development is required from all participants;
- Excellent communication between coaches and players; and
- A balance between fair playing time and competitiveness.
To meet these demands, the following fair ice policy is mandated for this organization:
The basic assumption for all players and teams is that there will be an equal sharing of ice time, based on position. There are a number of circumstances during which this equal ice time requirement may be superseded, including, but not limited to, team disciplinary measures, suspensions, or injuries. It is also recognized that, to a reasonable extent, coaches may use ice time as a motivational tool.
A key concept is that coaches are expected to teach every tactical and situational aspect of the game to every player. Throughout the course of the season, the coach is expected to allow all players a reasonable opportunity to use these skills in a game situation. In the older divisions U15 - U18 this will allow a coach, over the course of a season, to establish specialty teams, both for competitive reasons as well as to allow players to play to their strengths.
Coaches may also choose to use certain players in key situations or during the last few minutes of a close game to give the team its best chance to win. This could result in some players finishing games with more ice time than others but only on a limited basis. Players' ice time may not be equal in each and every game but should be roughly equal over the course of the season.
Concerns about the implementation of this policy should be expressed first to the head coach, in keeping with the team’s stated communication policy, and then to the NMHA Division Director and the VP of Programs and Development.
Note: In cases where a coach is obviously and blatantly abusing ice time, complaints will certainly be investigated and appropriate corrective actions taken.