Dear Parents,
 
     We wanted to touch base with all the families of 8U skaters who will be making the jump to 10U hockey next year with a quick look ahead at what to expect:
 
Multiple Leveled Teams
     At the 10U Level there will be multiple teams of approximately 10-12 players. Those teams will range from AA or Tier 2, to A or Tier 3, to B or Tier 4 in terms of level of play. The teams are divided by skill level and will play potentially different mixes of other towns. For example, not all organizations have Tier 2 teams. After Registration closes, team declarations are completed in early August in preparation for the schedulers meeting in mid- to late August. The 10U Level Coordinator will work with the board at that time to determine what level the teams are based on numbers. This year, we had one Tier 2, one Tier 3 and two Tier 4 teams. Next year's configuration could be the same or could be different.
 
Tryouts/Assessments
     In late September, CSB will offer "Dust the Rust" sessions for kids to sharpen their skating and skills. The following week, there will be typically three Evaluation sessions for 10U Skaters. 
  • Evaluations are run by third-party folks on ice with other independent evaluators assessing the kids from the box above. 
  • The CSB Board and coaches are not part of the evaluation process. We are given lists of kids broken into various skill levels. 
  • Once those team lists are posted, coaches for each team are determined and practices will start about a week later. 
  • There is a formal policy about missing evaluations here: https://www.csbhockey.com/docs
 
Goalies
     At the 10U level, kids can start to play goalie full-time, although many still play part-time. The CSB Goalie evaluation policy asks kids to declare if they are full-time or part-time goalies. If the former they will be assessed only as a goalie and placed on a team accordingly. If they want to combine goalie and player, they will be assessed in BOTH roles and placed according to their lowest evaluated skill level. 
  • Example 1: a Tier 2 Goalie / Tier 3 Skater will be placed on a Tier 3 Team. 
  • Example 2: a Tier 3 Goalie / Tier 2 Skater will be placed on a Tier 3 Team. 
     CSB will attempt to place the kid who wants to be both Goalie & Skater on a team with another Goalie, but there are no guarantees depending on the number and skill levels of remaining goalies in the Goalie/Skater's age group.
 
Practices & Games
     Practices will be much like the 8U level with two sessions a week. The ice sheet is typically shared with another team. 
  • This year Tier 2 & Tier 3 practiced together and the two Tier 4 teams shared a sheet of ice. 
  • Games will often happen on both Saturday and Sunday at the 10U level
  • CSB does try to adhere to USA Hockey's ADM model of a Two-to-one practice to game ratio. 
  • Practices closely adhere to the ADM model of station-based practices, small areas games and constant activity.
 
Full Ice Hockey
     The game format for 10U is full-ice hockey, with actual referees.
  • Five skaters on the ice: two defensemen and three forwards.
  • Icing, offsides, and all rule violations will be enforced
  • Time-serving penalties
  • Changes will be on the fly and at stoppages, with no more buzzers every 90-120 seconds.
 
More volunteer needs from parents
     While the step up to 10U for the kids is probably the biggest jump they make in their careers, it is also a step up typically for parents. 
  • Each team will need a dedicated parent manager or managers to help with scheduling and organization. 
  • All home games will require parent volunteers to run the clock, scoresheet and penalty boxes. 
  • Typically the team manager uses something like SignUp Genius to get volunteers. 
  • All parents are expected to help out.
 
CSB Squirt/10U Winter Classic Tournament
     CSB also hosts The Squirt Jamboree for the 10U teams in mid- to late January. This is a tournament drawing teams from NY, MA, CT, etc. And it is put on 100% with volunteer effort. So parents will be expected to help with that tournament in many different capacities. In addition to the in-rink duties for all games, there may also be fundraising duties, collecting entry fees, etc. The 10U Parent group will need to have a team assembled to plan for the tournament by end of October, other wise that weekend could be allocated to other teams and the Tournament canceled.
 
State and Regional Tournaments
     At 10U, all levels of teams can go to their level's State Tournament. So families will be expected to make their children available for this process. 
  • Typically, in mid-February, there is a weekend of State Playdowns, where the teams are narrowed to two finalists. 
  • Those finalists then play in a State Championship game a few weeks later. For the past few years, this game has fallen on the second week of February break for Chittenden County schools. 
  • If the 10U Tier 2 or Tier 3 teams win, they can also then advance to New England Regionals.  
Best Regards,
The CSB Board Directors