NCAA Division 1 College Hockey on a fully paid hockey scholarship. We have ... professionally in CANADA, the USA and EUR
PROGRAM OUTLINE @JrCougarsHockey
JR COUGARS Hockey Mission Statement The Junior Cougars program is a Tier 1 hockey development program and the first true “pathway” program showing a direct pathway from 4 yrs old to the Burlington Cougars Junior A Hockey Club and then hopefully the ultimate goal of playing NCAA Division 1 College Hockey on a fully paid hockey scholarship. We have many players who have gone on to play in the NHL. Most recently Cory Conacher and Josh Jooris followed this pathway into the NHL. Our Mission: To do all things possible to help develop the skills and abilities of each and every player To instill sportsmanship and encourage fair play, while developing a healthy competitive attitude in a fun and supportive environment To advocate, on behalf of players and families, the ability to play hockey where they choose, without boundary restrictions To support, advocate and represent our players as developing elite athletes, aspiring to play hockey at the highest levels To use hockey as a training tool to help players become better people, instilling upon them hard work, respect, cooperation and dedication To encourage academic excellence, stressing to our players the importance of education and helping them potentially reach their hockey goals
Hockey without boundaries The CIHF deeply believes players should play where they choose to. They welcome players from across Canada and Internationally who feel the same way. You do not need a release form from anyone to attend tryouts. Teams are not forced to carry 17 players which allows more opportunity for players to play and develop their game skills.
Our Advantage The Jr Cougars Hockey Club integrates professionally instructed high-performance skating, shooting, stickhandling and dryland training, as well as our skating treadmill into the team fees. This provides one stop shopping, as our facility allows for all of these activities to happen under one roof. Wave Twin Rinks, located in Burlington, Ontario, acts as our world class training facility and a Clubhouse for all our Jr Cougars players, providing an environment of fun, respect, commitment and team unity. We offer teams the opportunity to do an unlimited amount of fundraising, which has resulted in some teams reducing their team fees to zero in the past. In addition our overall cost per hour is much lower than other Rep hockey programs due to our relationship with the Wave Hockey facility allowing for savings to be passed on to our players. Jr Cougars will also receive jerseys, gloves, pants, socks and an apparel package included in team fees. Another unique advantage of our program is our focus on Education. We are members of the Canadian Independent Hockey Federation, the CIHF. They understand the importance of Education to their players and mandate that there are no league games during the week on Monday to Thursday. All other Rep hockey organizations schedule league games during the week forcing players to travel sometimes hours to play one game on a weeknight. The CIHF also has a “Late Quarter Babies” rule allowing players born in October, November or December to choose to play up with their birth year or play down with the younger birth year. Some players born late in the year are much smaller and less developed than those born early in the year.
Professional Coaching and Training Our staff includes personnel who have played and/or coached professionally in CANADA, the USA and EUROPE at the highest levels. We use Professional paid coaches and development partners who are carefully selected to ensure unmatched skill development and game instruction. In addition to our instructors’ professional qualifications, we select great people who put the kids first. The Jr Cougars organization works very hard to combine fun, professionalism and development as the key principles to our success. Our focus on a higher practice to game ratio will result in all our athletes being better hockey players at the end of the season.
GAME PLAY AND LEAGUES The Jr. Cougars play in the Ontario Rep Hockey League (ORHL). Most of our league games are all within a 90 min drive from the Greater Burlington Area. This format reduces travel time for parents. The ORHL format consists of weekend showcase events where teams play 4 games within 48 hours, seven times each season culminating in an 8th event, the National Independent Hockey Federation Championship. The CIHF is also a member of the NIHF (National Independent Hockey Federation). With the remaining 18 weekends, teams can choose to play exhibition games or hold practices with the ice time available. Referee and Timekeeper funds for extra exhibition games are built into team fees. Teams can choose to play more games and tournaments using their “team” funds from fundraising. This format allows players to focus on academic education, with weekdays reserved for training locally and weekends for games. Additionally each team will have an option for 2 ‘family’ or ‘bye’ weekends with no hockey, to allow for family trips or breaks. We also have a longer season than traditional rep programs that end in mid February. Jr Cougars play until the end of March. In addition to this we offer an extended Spring program from April 1st - June 30th which includes many hours of additional training plus tournaments.
Our Development Model Kids just don’t become outstanding players without a plan. Our program embraces the train to play model that has been so successful in Europe. It is based upon a scientific approach to hockey rather than a cultural/political approach. To support this model we have partnered with Bukac Hockey, a world renowned hockey development organization based in the Czech Republic. With their assistance we have developed a detailed and science based syllabus to assist our coaches in training our players at each age level to maximize their hockey skills development.
Here is an example breakdown of the practice, skill and game sessions for the different age groups which is subject to change: U14
U14
Ages 9-12 Ages 8 & 7U
Major
Minor
Skill Sessions
26
26
52
52
Team Practices
26*
26*
24*
24*
Twist Sessions
52
26
18
12
Skating Treadmill
26
26
22
10
Shooting Sessions
26
21
17
10
Semi-Private Goalie Sessions
26
26
26
26
8-12
8
8
8
Home Exhibition Games
13
10*
10*
10*
Tournaments
0*
0*
0*
3
Showcase Weekends (4 League Games each weekend Fri/Sat or Sat/Sun)
*Can vary if team chooses
Below is a recommended outline for kids 12 and under from Tier 1 Jr Cougars Hockey. In a typical week a Jr Cougar can expect: *Subject to change Team Combination Skating Dryland Shooting Games on Practice Skills Unit Treadmill Training Instruction Weekends
Weekly 60 min.
Weekly 120 min.
2x - 4x 2x - 4x a month a month
2x - 3x a month
Amount T.B.D.
Game Professionally skills and coached positional play
The reality for most players in other hockey organizations is very different, as the players are expected to improve their skills based on a low practice to game ratio. Their methods emphasize game play over practice and teaches players to compete earlier but often times at what costs? The most respected people in hockey tell us kids are better off learning how to compete at older ages while skills are best taught before the age of 14. It is only rational to believe that kids who don’t have the required skills and are asked to compete early in their development often leave the game disappointed by the age of 13. The Jr Cougars model embraces development over the game play model and we have built a program around science and international standards that supports this vision.
Safety and Ethics The health and well-being of every player is our first concern. We have listed below some of the common practice standards that each parent can expect from Jr Cougars Hockey. Concussion and injury protocols Certified first aid personnel Jr Cougars coaches who have a police check Supervised Dressing Room
Professional Partnerships Prep School hockey has become increasingly more popular due to its high practice to game emphasis. We have established a strong relationship with the Blyth Prep Hockey program. We encourage our Jr Cougars to play Prep hockey starting at U14 and continuing through to U16 and U18 prep hockey. Our objective is to put our players in front of as many college hockey scouts as possible beginning at U14. Our prep program includes visits to US Colleges and US based events to accomplish our goals. The most highly skilled players from the prep school program may be asked to play OJHL with the Burlington Cougars and possibly go direct to US College Hockey programs on a scholarship. Many former Burlington Cougars have attended US College on fully paid scholarships. Cory Conacher and Josh Jooris are the most recent examples of players who made the NHL following this pathway. Jr Cougars hockey has established partnerships with similar minded organizations to promote players to the next level.
OJHL Ages 16 - 20
PREP HOCKEY Ages 14 - 18
TIER 1 HOCKEY Ages 5 - 14
For more information, please contact 289-208-0297
JR COUGARS Hockey Executive Director of Hockey Director of Coach Development Director of Skill Development Executive Assistant
@JrCougarsHockey
Jay Bondy Rob Johnston Jarret Reid Jaclyn Conacher
