All new officials will be exposed to our Mentorship Program.
Objective
This program is designed to promote the development and personal growth of young officials. To achieve this, a trusted, respected and experienced individual (not necessarily a senior official) within the community will be paired with a developing official. The program will provide mentors for these young officials who are just getting started in the officiating of hockey. The mentor will provide positive feedback to the young official in an attempt to build confidence and to create a feeling of support all the while encouraging the necessary adjustments in performance to enhance the development of the official.
Mission Statement
- “To improve the game of hockey through innovative mentoring of officials resulting in improved quality and retention”.
Mentoring
- Mentoring is a COLLABORATIVE process that counsels, guides and assists a Mentoree in the acquisition and development of knowledge, skill and wisdom from a trusted, respected and experienced Mentor.
Mentor
- A TRUSTED, respected, experienced and learned counsellor/advisor who engages and inspires the acquisition of knowledge skill and wisdom of the developing Mentoree.
Mentoree
- An individual who is RECEPTIVE to guidance in pursuit if their aspirations in acquiring knowledge, skill and wisdom.
Mentorship vs. Supervision
- Mentorship is an informal approach to promote an ongoing relationship for the purpose of personal growth within the roles and responsibilities of an official.
- Supervision is a formal evaluation and development tool to assess an officials’ skills and abilities.
Responsibilities
Mentoree
- Must be accessible
- Must be willing to interact with the Mentor
- Receptive to positive feedback, guidance and encouragement
Mentor
- Properly introduce him or herself (face to face or phone call) to the Mentoree and explains the Mentorship program. (exchange contact information)
- Contact the parents of the Mentoree – ensure they understand your role and responsibilities.
- Hold an informal meeting at the start of the season with the Mentoree – fill out the pre-season brief form.
- Interact with your Mentoree on a regular monthly basis in the following ways:
- On-ice observation (as a spectator)
- On-ice interaction (game assignments)
- Sharing ideas, general conversation – Phone calls, emails
- Once a month submit a Mentorship follow-up report – keep a record of all reports submitted to the Referee-in- Chief
- Immediately notify the Referee-in-Chief if any unforeseen problems arise.
Process
The Mentoring process consists of placing an experienced Mentor Official on the ice, with two young officials, and having the Mentor skate the game with the younger officials while helping them with positioning, ice vision, and the many other aspects of Officiating.
The program is designed to help younger Officials learn and enjoy the responsibilities that come with being an Ice Hockey Official.
On-ice Training
New officials will be subject to ground level training on the ice prior to starting their season. These sessions will include some skating drills to assess their ability to get up and down the ice. These sessions will also include positioning drills while incorporating the ability to make decisions regarding penalty calls.
Off-ice Training
New officials are subject to rule quizzes, attending seminars put on by the Executive and attending meetings help for mentorship purposes. The new officials will be subject to self-evaluations, where they will critique themselves and will go over these with as the year goes by to see how they have progressed.