How to form a team:

Expected cost:

Fees paid to the league cover the pre-season tournament, regularly scheduled games, referees, a game scorekeeper, Pointstreak on-line scoring, coach screening, game pucks, an all-star event, pre-season and end-of-season tournament games and awards.

Teams are responsible for their own practice time, jerseys, equipment, and all other costs.

The league fee is $2250 per team. What follows is an estimate of the costs to a team, with a range of expenses presented. For example, rink rental runs from approximately $50/hour to over $175/hour, and some teams will practice once a week during the season, while others will begin practice several months prior to the season and average more than an hour a week.

In addition, players not already registered will be required to register with AAU, for an additional fee.

With a roster of ten players, the cost will average $250 to $400 per player, with roster of 14 players; costs average approximately $185 to $300 per player.

Many teams perform fundraising or solicit sponsorships (more below) to help defray costs.

Since roster size differs, the cost per player varies. The following table has been prepared assuming a roster size of ten players.

Approximate Timetable
(note: exact dates and deadlines will be published in early fall)

Your team's relationship with the school:

Although inline hockey is not an official school sport in Georgia, AARHO leagues are distinct from recreational or "select" hockey programs in that they allow players to participate with classmates on a team formed from within their school community. It is preferable, but not a requirement, that teams maintain a good relationship with school administrators.

AARHO recommends that team organizers contact the school principal and athletic director and request a meeting.

Recommendations for a meeting:

When meeting with your child's school principal, try to include two to three adult team volunteers, including at least one coach. Bring support materials such as brochures (or printouts) from AAU, AARHO, perhaps some from local recreational leagues (some administrators may not even be aware of the sport of inline hockey). Stress that the league, in addition to promoting the values of fair play, sportsmanship, teamwork and athletic excellence, hopes to help foster school spirit. Mention that the league performs a professional screening of all participating coaches. Be extremely polite and be clear about what you do and do not expect.

Make clear that you do not expect:

Support in the form of funding, equipment, staff assistance or use of school facilities (except where the school system allows use of meeting rooms by the general community). You do not expect to use the school name (more below).

Ask for:

Help in publicizing your efforts. Ask if you can communicate team information, including try-out and game schedules, to students using school communication resources. Many schools scroll announcements on classroom television screens, mail and/or e-mail a school newsletter, and make verbal announcements to students. You may also be allowed to display posters or distribute flyers. Some schools offer information events for school clubs and athletic organizations, and you may be allowed to set up a table and recruit players at these events.

Possible responses:

Responses from school administrators vary widely. Some school administrators avoid involvement with the teams, while others are extremely supportive. Your involvement in AARHO is not dependent on the school's support, but we encourage you to continue to be polite and patient. Understand that in many cases the principal doesn't know the adults involved, is unfamiliar with the sport and the league, and is understandably reluctant to associate the school with an unfamiliar, relatively unproven organization. Be patient, maintain communication, and perhaps after a season or two the administration will recognize the value of your efforts and your relationship with the school will improve.

Naming the team:

Because your team is not an official school team, avoid the use of the word "school" in your team name. To be on the safe side, also avoid the words, "high" or "middle." However, you can use place names, school names and mascots. For example, the teams drawing from Pope High School and its feeder middle schools are named the "Pope Greyhounds" and the "Pope Junior" teams.

Norcross schools use "Norcross Blue Devils" and the school mascot logo. Programs with more than one team sometimes use the school colors as part of the team names, for example Webb Bridge Blue, and Webb Bridge White.

Advertise your intentions:

First, let AARHO know that you are thinking of forming a team. Chances are good that we've been contacted by someone else from your school and can put you in touch with them. We can help by posting information on www.AARHO.com.

If school resources are made available, promote your efforts with announcements, posters, flyers and such at the school. Post notices at local rinks, and ask for assistance from local recreational leagues that might have e-mail distribution lists or a website to help publicize your team.

Review the AARHO roster requirements on www.AARHO.com. The intent of the league is to allow students to represent their school on an inline hockey team, however, exceptions are made in order to place students whose school is unable to field a team and teams that otherwise would fall short of the requisite number of players.

Meet with interested parents. Review with them the sample team budget, the league format, and discuss the coaching options. AARHO requires that teams name a head coach and a team manager. Generally the coach (sometimes with an assistant coach) runs the try-out session(s), chooses the roster, runs practices and manages the bench during games. The team manager, with the help of other parents, collects roster information, handles registration details, makes arrangements for jerseys and other team apparel, and handles team finances.

Many programs find it more effective to form a team association, complete with a board and by-laws. This allows a more even distribution of the workload. (See "Sample bylaws).

Choosing a coach:

Coaches can be recruited from a number of sources and can fit a variety of profiles. Some teams are coached by player's parents, some by mature individuals whose children no longer participate in the league, and some by younger people with an interest in youth hockey. Every profile has advantages and disadvantages. Parents coaching their own children are sometimes put in a difficult position. Young coaches may not have the maturity to deal with difficult team situations or challenging adolescents. Mature coaches willing to continue their involvement are rare. Each team must decide for themselves what coach will work best for their team.

Understand that AARHO contracts with teams, not with individual parents or with individual coaches. Generally when there are two or more teams from the same school, the teams are organized as part of a cohesive program. However, there are cases where two groups will form independent teams from the same school.

Try-outs:

Announce try-outs using any school resources at your disposal, by posting flyers at local rinks, and by posting the date, time, and location on www.AARHO.com. Record the try-out participants using the AARHO Try-Out form.

Register your team:

Submit the team registration, league fees and other required information to the league.

Monday, 8/6/07 10:27 PM

Copyright AARHO and Kevin McDonald, CYSA