Novice & Below Information (Oro Thunder Minor Hockey)

PrintNovice & Below Information

Initiation Program  (Consists of Junior IP, IP, and Senior IP)

 

Included in your child’s registration to our Initiation and Minor Novice Programs, Oro Minor Hockey will be bringing in Provincially Trained Hockey Development Coaches to run a 12 week Skills Development Program to parallel our organizations commitment to long term player development. To aid in this vision, numerous coaches (parent volunteers) are on the ice to help with player programming at each of the Initiation and Minor Novice Program levels.

 

Jr. IP – Junior Initiation Program   (BIRTH YEARS - 2015 And Under)

 

Jr.IP - this program is designed for first timers.  Focus is on the basic fundamentals of hockey such as skating, passing and shooting in a fun environment with some small 1/2 ice games. Players in IP are typically 4-5 year olds, by December 31st; who are learning to play hockey. Jr. IP players are on the ice twice a week for 50 minutes each practice.  These times are frequently on a Saturday and Sunday and can be between 7am to 11am start times.  Early start times are rotated through the younger hockey divisions. The Jr. IP season starts early October thru to the end of March.

 

IP - Initiation Program  (BIRTH YEARS - 2013-2014)  

IP - this program is designed typically for second year players or those who have the ability to skate forward on their own.  Players will continue to build on the fundamentals of Jr. IP with a more structure, skill development & introduction to cross ice games as the season progresses.  Players in IP are typically 5-6 year olds, by December 31st; who may be second year players. IP players are normally on the ice twice a week for 50 minutes each practice.  These times are usually on a Saturday and Sunday and can be between 7am to 11am start times.  Early start times are rotated through the younger hockey divisions. The IP season starts early October thru to the end of March.

 

Senior IP – Senior Initiation Program  (BIRTH YEARS - 2013)

 

SR. IP - this program is designed for third year players or those players that have the ability to skate forwards and backwards and have the ability to stop and maneuver (turn).  This will be the players first introduction to team hockey with a focus on half ice game situations. Players in Sr. IP are typically 6 years old, by December 31st; who may be third year players. Sr. IP players are on the ice twice a week for 50 minutes each practice.  These times are frequently on a Saturday and Sunday and can be between 7am to 11am start times.  Early start times are rotated through the younger hockey divisions. The Sr. IP season starts early October thru to the end of March.

Players will compete in half ice fun games against other centres running similar Sr. IP programs.

 


Minor Novice (Formerly Tyke) Program (BIRTH YEARS - 2012)

Minor Novice - this program is designed for the more experienced players that have the ability to skate forwards and backwards with speed and have the ability to stop and maneuver in tight spaces.  This will be the players first introduction to team hockey played on a half ice surface. Players in Minor Novice are typically 7 years old, by December 31st; Minor Novice players will be on the ice twice a week, once on Saturday and once on Sunday for the months of October and November.  Minor Novice practice times usually range from 7 am to 11 am. Early practice times are rotated through the younger hockey divisions.  A 14 game season against other centres starts in early December. Days and times will be varying depending on game schedule and ice availability.  Season start date for 2018 season is mid-September and the season will end mid-March.


The Minor Novice teams will be formed through an evaluation process similar to a REP team selection.  

 





"HOW A PLAYER GETS THAT FIRST TASTE OF HOCKEY IS CRUCIAL."

The FUNdamental stages of Hockey Canada’s Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) Model serves as the foundation upon which the entire minor hockey association is built.  Youngsters at every level of play benefit from getting the “right start” in the game and it is crucial in building the skills of house league and competitive players alike.  Children learn through participating in practice drills and informal modified games which forms the basis of Long-Term Player Development (LTPD)

Transition to Cross-Ice Hockey

The goals and objectives of Initiation & Novice hockey programming are to:

  • Teach all of the basic skills of hockey so players can enjoy the game
  • Assist in the development and enhancement of physical literacy and basic motor patterns
  • Develop and encourage the concepts of being a team member through player participation in both on-ice and off-ice activities,
  • Encourage the aspects of fitness, fair play and co-operation while having fun playing the game. 
  • Age-Appropriate - Designed practice and game play that is appropriate to the age, size and skill level of the participant

HOCKEY CANADA POLICY

Hockey Canada has established national guidelines to ensure optimal development of hockey players at this crucial introductory stage:

Game play at the Novice age-group and below will be Cross/Half-ice effective 2019-20

Programming in the Ontario Hockey Federation, which Ontario Minor Hockey is a member, will be implemented as follows: 

  1. Effective 2017-18 - Game play for the Initiation age-group (5 & 6 year-olds) will be Cross-Ice
  2. Effective 2018-19 - Game play for the Tyke age-group (7 year-olds) will be Half-Ice. 
  3. Effective 2019-20 - Game play for the Novice age-group (8 year-olds) will be Half-Ice during the first half of the season and transition to Full-Ice during the second half of the season.

PROGRAMMING IMPLEMENTATION

The OMHA has created the following resource document to support our member Centres with the implementation and delivery of the Programming Novice & Below including Cross-Ice & Half-Ice game play.

 

Novice & Below - Association Implementation Guide - Revised February 2019
Description.PNGDescription_2.PNGDescription_3.PNG