JMB Newsletter to schools – August 2006

The season is drawing to a close and semis and finals are approaching.

Please take the time to read the important information in this newsletter and to pass it on to other hockey coaches/managers at your school.

Finals information

The structure for each grade, including whether the Championship round would involve semi-finals or straight finals, was published on the Waikato Hockey website (available here) in early May 2006.

SECONDARY FINALS – As we are unable to fit all finals at Gallagher Hockey Centre on the same night C Grade Boys and Girls will play on Thursday 14^th Sept and all others will be played on Wednesday 13^tth. Game times will be allocated after the semi-finals the previous week. We are unable to allocate prior to this time as we will attempt to cater for travelling teams should they reach the finals.

Player eligibility for semi-finals and finals

JMB 2006 Rule 7 states that “Player registrations and transfers may be submitted at any stage throughout the season, with the exception of the last 3 weeks of the championship round.”

Rule 18 outlines player eligibility for semi-finals and straight finals in the Championship Round.

Coaches of all teams playing in semi-finals and straight finals must complete the attached declaration of player eligibility and forward to the WHA office (waikatohockey@xtra.co.nz) 3 days prior to the semi-final or final.

JMB will investigate any irregularities brought to our attention. Teams fielding ineligible players will forfeit their semi-finals/finals position.

[JMB Rules 2006 available here.]

Player etiquette

JMB has received a number of complaints about the behaviour of players and coaches. A general reminder:

• Swearing at and threatening other players is not acceptable
• Spitting on the turf is not acceptable and is a yellow card offence
• Coaches who umpire their own teams should NOT coach their players during the game (other than at half-time).
• Dugout etiquette: Departing teams should not stay in the dugout after their game any longer than necessary; nor should arriving teams push their way in as soon as the final whistle has blown. Courtesy on both sides is called for!

Strip clashes

In the case of a clash, the first-named team is obliged to wear an alternative strip. By this stage of the season, coaches should be aware of likely clashes and be prepared.

FROM THE UMPIRES

Dear Coach/Manager,

The Umpires Committee are wanting to provide you with an avenue to make comments about umpires, receive comments from umpires, help with umpire recruitment and achieve greater rule understanding.

There is a mistaken adage that complaining about umpires or umpiring is bagging umpires or it may come back to haunt you.

What we are seeking to do is provide a means of communication so that you can say what you like without fear of retribution.

The Umpires Chairperson first of all filters any comments you make and they decide what action needs to be taken.

Normally

· Your comments will be passed on to the umpires technical coach or mentor for follow up. Some matters will be discussed at Umpires Meetings. A monthly letter goes out to all umpires re matters that need to be addressed.

· The Chairperson will acknowledge your comment, seek clarification, and hopefully clear up any misunderstandings especially with respect to rules.

· We cannot make any comments about the umpire or whether we agree or disagree with your views because that would be betraying their trust. We have to take into consideration umpire sensitivity and handle them in a professional way.

You have to believe that we are listening to you and take action if we think it is appropriate. When we assess umpires we are concerned with

· Signalling (clarity, simplicity, advantage)

· Positioning

· Whistling (clarity, variation, control)

· Co-operation (On pitch, off pitch, with colleague)

· Control (Timing, use of control ladder)

· Consistency, Advantage, Interpretation, Presentation of decisions, Feeling and Vision, Body Language, Fitness/Mobility, Concentration, Relationship with players, Relaxation, Commitment

· General Management of the Game

These are the things we want your comments about and we welcome positive comments especially when you give them directly to the umpire. Making abusive remarks will not help us take your comments seriously although we do appreciate how frustrated you can get at times.

Feel free to send your comments to Seddon Polglase Email seddonp@ihug.co.nz

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this! Best wishes for the end of the season.