Squirt/PeeWee/Bantam Manager Checklist

If you are a Team Manager, the below checklist will help you prepare for and execute the season. f you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the club’s Manager Liaison, Brad Rozmarynowski at: (312) 208-5492 (M) managerliaison@jrtrevianshockey.com

• USA Hockey registration: Team Managers are required to register with USA Hockey as a Manager/Volunteer, and provide their number to the club registrar. There is no registration fee for team managers.

• SafeSport program training: The U.S. Center for SafeSport is an independent, non-profit organization focused on ending all forms of abuse in sport. SafeSport Training is required for all team managers and needs to be completed yearly. Completion certificates must be emailed to registrar@jrtrevianshockey.com.    

• AHAI website: Team Managers are required to input their team's roster into the AHAI website after teams are established. You can do this at the website below.

• Game Scheduling: Seeding round games will be scheduled by the hockey director and input to Crossbar on behalf of all of the teams. At the end of the seeding round, you will need to participate in the scheduling of the regular season games. See below in the October/November/December section for more information about scheduling.

• Set up team operations: Solicit volunteers from the team to fill the roles of Treasurer, Social Chair, Tournament/Trip Coordinator, Communications Liaison, and Locker Room Monitor.
• Treasurer: Manages team finances from slush fund: paying the team bills (tournaments, dinners, gifts) and any other accounting that needs attention.
• Social Chair: Arranges social events for the team: planning team parties and bonding activities throughout the season, as well as an end of season party.
• Tournament/Trip Coordinator: Arranges events/activities for down time at tournaments and plans goody bags, door signs, etc.
• Communications Liaison: Responsible for providing updates, photos, videos, etc. to the Club communications team for sharing on website and social media channels. This person sends information to communications@jrtrevianshockey.com.
• Locker Room Monitors: You need to recruit 4-5 parents from the team to be locker room monitors throughout the season. Locker room monitors must register with USA Hockey, be Safe Sport trained, background checked, and scheduled to monitor the locker room before and after ALL practices and games. Locker room monitors USA Hockey numbers must be provided to the club registrar. Locker room monitors are an absolute requirement from USA Hockey and their planned presence should be scheduled in advance to ensure that the requirement is always fulfilled. It is advised that the volunteer monitors are responsible for certain nights (e.g., Tuesday practices) or are scheduled using a Google sheet (or other easy online) sign-up method once the practice and game schedules are posted.

• Establish slush fund: Ask each family to donate for the slush fund. Approximately $350-$550 is a good starting point. These funds pay for the tournament registrations, coaches' hotel rooms and gas fees during tournaments, social events at tournaments, coaches' gifts, etc. Parent coaches are not reimbursed for travel costs unless they are the head coach of the team.

• CrossBar app: All Jr Trevians teams utilize the Crossbar app in order to view team rosters, schedules, rink locations, coach information and parent group chat capability. Make it a point to encourage all of the parents on the team to download the app to their phones where they can confirm practices, games, and locations at their convenience. Also, the group chat feature (only available via mobile app) on Crossbar is very handy for parents throughout the season.

• AHAI player declaration: A player may play for a maximum of two (2) AHAI organizations during his or her AHAI career (this applies only to the winter season; spring and summer seasons don’t count toward this). This form is used to document a player’s understanding of this rule and record their choice of organization. Once they leave the first organization, that organization is not obligated to accept that player back if they subsequently wish to return. Make sure all your players NEW TO THE CLUB (or any first year Squirt) has made their declaration.

• Weekly emails: We highly recommend sending a “Week Ahead” email on Sunday nights to communicate any upcoming events or changes. This is a good time to coordinate who will be running the clock and scoresheet for any upcoming home games. It can be easiest to link to a Google doc or Signup Genius for sign-ups. This is also a good time to reiterate arrival time for players on game days. Players must arrive 45-60* minutes before the puck drop to allow ample time for dryland warm-ups, changing, and a coach chat with the team. *Note, check with your coach on the exact time they want players to arrive.

• Season kick-off party:  Arrange for a start of the season team bonding event or team dinner. Thursday through Sunday the first two weekends of the season work well for this.

• GameSheet and roster stickers: Scoring of the games (except for tournaments; see below) will be done on an iPad using an app called GameSheet. Parents volunteering to help with scoring should watch this brief GameSheet tutorial in order to get familiar with the app prior to their game scoring duties. Managers for all teams will need to import their rosters into GameSheet. You will do so by entering your USA Hockey official roster team ID (found on the roster link the club registrar sends to you) into GameSheet. It is important that the scoring volunteer(s) be prepared with an iPad that has the GameSheet app loaded in advance and logged in so that they are ready on game day. The iPads are not supplied by the club and the GameSheet app has no cost associated with it. As the manager, you are also responsible for providing roster stickers that are affixed to the paper scoresheets that are used (tournaments only). The team manager from each team will affix a sticker on each of the three pages of the three-part (paper) score sheet prior to the game. After the game is over, one copy of the completed scoresheet is given to each team and the master copy goes to the tournament coordinator(s). Please be sure to bring at least 15 stickers per tournament. You should plan to create and print these on Avery label template #5163, which is the ideal size and fit for the score sheets.

• Scoreboard & time keeper: You must provide a parent volunteer to operate the scoreboard for all home games. There are written and laminated instructions in each scoring booth to help the volunteer understand how to operate the scoreboard. At Centennial Ice Rink there is a control panel in the scoring booth used to operate the clock, scoring, penalties and game buzzer. At North Shore Ice Arena, a new jumbotron has been installed for scoring, clock, penalties and game buzzer using the ScoreVision platform on a permanently-docked iPad in the scoring booth. All games are pre-loaded in ScoreVision and instructions for navigation of the ScoreVision app are printed and laminated in the scoring booth. At either location, rink managers or Zamboni drivers are the point of contact for major scoreboard issues. Scoring notes: 1) Please ask the scoring volunteers to be aware of the "Mercy Rule." All goals are recorded on the official scoresheet or GameSheet app. However, when a team is up by more than five (5) goals, it is typically not reflected on the scoreboard. Instead, you display only a 5-goal gap in the total scoring on the scoreboard itself. 2) Expect to incorporate “running clock” during the 3rd period (and ONLY the 3rd period) IF the goal differential reaches five or more. If that happens, the scorer will run the clock continuously (only stopping for penalties) and revert back to normal game stoppage only if the goal differential reduces back down to four (4) or less goals. 3) In Central States Developmental Hockey League (CSDHL) games, the standard period length is 13 minutes for Squirts (with 1:30 minor penalties), 14 minutes for PeeWees (with 2:00 minor penalties), and 15 minutes for Bantams (with 2:00 minor penalties).

• Score keeper: You must provide a parent volunteer to perform score keeping duties for all home games. This parent records the score live during the game using the GameSheet app on an iPad. Again, parents volunteering to help with scoring should watch this brief GameSheet tutorial to become familiar with the app in advance of their scoring duties. Posting Final Score: Gamesheet will upload/sync the results automatically when it is online. If the app was used offline during the game, you must connect to Wi-Fi within 24 hours to ensure the score is uploaded from gameSheet to the Central States Developmental Hockey League (CSDHL) website.

• Penalties: You may be asked to provide a parent volunteer to operate the penalty box door at games. This can apply to both home and away games and is usually needed if the penalty box is not connected directly to the bench where the coaches could operate the door themselves. Coaches will signal to the box attendant as to whether the player should skate directly to the bench or go from the penalty box directly back onto the ice at the end of thor penalty timer. Check out the CUHL Scorer's Box Quick Reference Guide.

• Referees: The Hockey Director will work with CUHL to schedule referees. If a game is rescheduled, make sure the Hockey Director is aware, as referees will need to be requested. Parents are NOT to abuse referees, as outlined in Zero Tolerance Policy. When you are the home team, team managers must confirm referees are present (i.e., check the referee's locker room 20 mins before game time). If they are not present, call the Hockey Director.

• Locker room assignments: Home games are self-explanatory, as they are posted upon entry. Away games are similar but they sometimes require a driver’s license or set of car keys in exchange for the locker room key at a front desk. The players are expected to treat the locker room with respect and clean up after themselves. It is the manger’s responsibility to ensure that it is clean and locked up.

• Manager folders: These binders/folders must be brought to all games...home and away. Find another team parent to bring it if you can’t be there. They should include:
• Team Roster
• CSDHL Playing Rules
• Consent to Treat Forms
• Liability Waiver

• Prepare for fall tournament weekend: Confirm your tournament details, which have been booked by the hockey director. Parents on the team will use a booking link provided by the club for their tournament in order to reserve their hotel rooms. Obtain print tournament permits from the Jr Trevians club Registrar. If possible, reserve a conference or party room at the hotel for the team to gather between games and during the evenings over the tournament weekend. Work with your team’s tournament coordinator to provide a detailed outline of the weekend's activities and schedules so families know where they need to be and when. This early season tournament is a tremendous opportunity for the players and families on the teams to get to know each other and build team chemistry that will carry through the season.

• Book tournament for MLK, Jr. weekend: Select your tournament for MLK, Jr. weekend and book your team to participate. This is usually done by filling out their online form and paying the tournament fee (reimbursable to you via the team slush fund). In addition to submitting the tournament registration form and paying the fee, you must select a hotel for the team. Once that is secured, you must make sure that the group rate reservation link is dispersed to the parents on the team so that they can individually book their own hotel rooms. If possible, reserve a conference or party room for the team to gather between games and during the evenings over the tournament weekend.

• Game Scheduling: At the end of the seeding round, you will need to participate in the scheduling of the regular season games. This is organized and performed fully online through CSDHL. An initial grid of games to be played will be released by CSDHL to all of the clubs on October 22 , 2025 to schedule all regular season games based on final placement after the seeding round is complete. Schedules are due back to CSDHL by October 28 2025. The hockey director will provide each team with a series of home ice slots that will be loaded into Crossbar and intended for use in scheduling your team’s games. Those additional ice slots are not to be confused with the regular practice slots that are loaded into Crossbar in the beginning of the season. Managers will use the available home ice slots provided by the director and input them into the grid provided by CSDHL until all of the games have been scheduled. The other clubs will do the same for their home games, which will result in a preliminary schedule. Any conflicts or issues with game times that have been input by the other clubs will require your help to resolve in collaboration with the coach and the hockey director (see below for more on this). Contact information for all of the clubs will be provided along with the grid so that you can communicate with the other clubs as needed.

• Prior to scheduling:Know your coaches and goalie(s) black out dates. Double-check the most distant locations FIRST as a priority. Consider travel route, time of year and time of event when scheduling (e.g., you don’t want to battle traffic to make a 6PM game in Joliet on a snowy Tuesday in January). Familiarize yourself with the location of potential opponents rinks (i.e., rinks that are close should be scheduled last and may be scheduled on a weeknight if necessary). The Thanksgiving tournament is typically booked directly through the WHA club. Verify that is the case with the Youth Travel Director. Schedule regular season games in late October (typically done remotely). Plan a holiday party prior to the winter break.

• Confirm tournament for MLK, Jr. weekend: Print tournament permits from the club Registrar,. Contact the Hockey Director to ensure that fees have been paid (if you did not book it) and make sure hotel rooms have been booked, including coaches rooms. Work with the team’s tournament coordinator to provide a detailed outline of the weekend's activities and schedules so families know where they need to be and when.

• State tournament: Around the end of the season, various teams (one for AA, one for A) are invited to play in a tournament sponsored by AHAI. The WHA will pay the initial entry fee for each travel team. If the team reaches the final group of eight teams, the Team must pay that tournament fee.
• Seeding Process: To apply, in late December or early January, your coach will fill out a form rating other teams you’ve played. This determines ranking for the State (AHAI) Tournament.
• Invitation: Sometime during January, you should receive an invitation to play in the State Tournament (all teams registered are invited). If you do not receive the invitation by the middle of January, contact the AHAI Representative.
• Elimination & Play-Down: In late January or early February, you will be given your seeding position for the State Tournament. Typically, the first phase is played in a single game elimination. Depending on how many teams enter, the top teams may get a “bye” for the first round. Eight (8) survivors go on to play in the “round robin” phase. The elimination phase will take approximately 1-2 weeks and games are played on the home rink of the higher seeded team. The cost of ice time and referees is split between the two teams. The “round robin” is played over a single weekend at a neutral location. There is an initial fee for the elimination phase, and a second (higher) fee if your team makes it to the final 8 team round robin phase. The top TWO teams (determined by points earned in the round robin) play for the state championship.

• Check the slush fund: Confirm with your Treasurer that the slush fund balance is up to date and ask them to “true up” the fund with parents.

• Plan a final party: Most teams plan an end of season party (e.g., outdoor skate, pizza party) to use the remainder of the slush fund.

• Coaches gifts: Lavish team gifts are unnecessary and discouraged. Approximately $100 per coach at the winter break plus an end of the season gift should be sufficient to convey a proper sense of appreciation. Recently, the club has opted for a uniformly purchased gift idea for each coach to be followed by all teams to keep it simple and practical.

• CSDHL tournament: For CSDHL teams, there is typically a round robin tournament for the top eight (8) teams. In the division. See this link for CSDHL TOURNAMENT RULES AND INFORMATION