Did I hear that right?

I had the privilege to take in a Junior B Exhibition game this past weekend.

I must admit that I have been reluctant over the past little while to go to the rink as a spectator given my inability to turn off my ‘LTAD focussed brain’ - The things one hears in the ‘fan’ environment of any youth sport is more often than none contrary to the LTAD way of thinking…

But last Sunday afternoon, I found myself at the rink.

I was glad to be there. It was great to see the players coming in, their bag in one hand, stick in the other and a smile on their face. You could see they were excited to play the game, eager to learn. I was reminded of the reasons why this game is so great. Ringette truly is a sport you play, love and live.

I quietly made my way to a seat in the stands. The action began. There were a few really good plays throughout the game… the kind that make you go ‘wow!’. Before I knew it, the final buzzer went and the game was over.

As the teams were shaking hands I thought to myself “This has been really great. I didn’t hear one comment that was of the ‘anti-LTAD’ variety. Maybe I don’t give enough credit to our ringette parents .”

I stood up and made my way to the lobby area. As I was walking down the stairs I could overhear two parents chatting away behind me. Still happy about my experience and rather ashamed by the fact that my generalization about parents in our sport had kept me away from the ‘fan view’ this season I simply continued to make my way towards the lobby.

But I couldn’t help but hear the loud father’s comment.

“Wow, our team was horrible. Our players aren’t very good at all.”

EXCUSE ME? Did I really just hear that?

I’m pretty sure I paused for a second in the stairwell and thought to myself “Is this father not aware of the level of play he was just watching? This is not the Pros… there is no bonus at the end of the season… Oh yeah and this was an EXHIBITION GAME!!!”Upset by what I had just heard, I was tempted to say something to this man. But then I opted against it. I’m pretty sure my comment back to him would have been just as irrational as his comment given my current frustration.

As I waited in the lobby for the players and coaching staff to walk out, I couldn’t help but watch this man.

By then he was surrounded by half a dozen other parents. Clearly all waiting for their daughters to come out of the dressing room…. And clearly all equipped to analyse the game they had just watched (I’m pretty sure they could all be analysts on TSN!)

I could have written off the comment I heard in the stairwell, but as I sat there and listened to this group discuss, my level of frustration escalated.

“Our girls can’t do anything right”, “There were maybe only 2 good plays in the whole game”, “The only nice plays we saw, were clearly done by accident.”… these are some of the many comments I could hear.

Again I thought to myself… am I really hearing this?

I’m not sure what was the worst part about this whole thing, the fact that the man continued with his demoralizing comments about the players and the game OR the fact that the group around him encouraged him (their laughter filled the lobby).

Just something to think about…

What was the purpose of this game?

I’m pretty sure this was organised as a means to get a little bit extra practice time before the Holiday season… and probably also to have FUN before the break.

“In a Jr B Exhibition game in December does it matter who wins?”

-FL

It’s been a while....

Hey Hey!

So it’s been quite a while since I’ve last been online ... I took a break post-Roadshow and then got caught up in the start of the season. My appologies!

However, a recent experience at the rink has prompted me to get back and to share my thoughts with you all…

Stay tuned for details on that experience and many other thoughts!

Play it. Love it. Live it.
-FL

What have you committed to for the 2008 -2009 season?

At the 2008 AGM, Provincial Ringette Associations were asked to make 5 LTAD Commitments.

Click here for the full list of commitments.

Many provinces went above and beyond and committed to more than 5 items. WELL DONE!

Click on your province below to see what’s in store for you this coming season:

BC
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Québec
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
PEI

Quels seront vos engagements pour la saison de 2008-2009?

À l’AGA de Ringuette Canada qui a eu lieu au début juin, chaque province a répondue au défi d’entreprendre 5 engagements face au DLTA.

Pour la liste complète des engagements veuillez appuyer ici.

Plusieurs provinces ont entrepris plus que 5 engagements. BRAVO à vous!

Veuillez consulter la liste pour les engagements de ta province.

Colombie Britannique
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Québec
Nouveau Brunswick
Nouvelle Écosse
Île du Prince Édouard

RC AGM presentations

All powerpoint presentations from this years AGM are availble on the RC website.

Click HERE to view them.

Let it be resolved…

Hey all you LTAD enthusiasts…

First of all my apologies… a post AGM vacation followed by a computer crash has resulted in my tardiness of posting on this site.

I must say that the Ringette Canada AGM went very well. From the initial presentation to the group sessions on the Saturday and the business meeting on the Sunday the LTAD theme was well received.

The general assembly on at the Sunday business meeting approved the following motion:

"That it be resolved that the general assembly is dedicated the principles of LTAD and therefore adopts the LTAD model developed by the LTAD steering committee, and hereby commits to work within all Canadian jurisdictions towards the implementation of the model."

More specifics to follow shortly…

-FL

S & H in the ONT…

Seen
- Set up the camera. Made sure we could see the presentation clearly. Made sure I was always in the picture. Started my presentation. Never pressed record!!.
- Niagara-on-the-Lake region is really nice! I could have stayed there much longer. J
- A lot of familiar faces from my ‘ORA’ days. Great to see everybody again!


Heard
“How will we measure the success of LTAD in years to come?”
“Women’s hockey doesn’t have to deal with the Draft age. Is the female model on hold as well?”
“Is LTAD going to address boys and girls divisions as two separate streams of the sport?”

Back to where I started… ORA AGM.

Some of you may not know that I held the seat of athlete rep on the Board of director for a few years before taking on the role of TD here at Ringette Canada.

So, going back to the ORA AGM, but this time representing RC was quite strange. As Terry Watters put it during my introduction “she’s come a long way since her ORA days. The little girl from Kapuskaing, ON how use to get volunTOLD to do many things… “.

Needless to say, I was rather nervous for this presentation. I couldn’t understand why that was. I had done this 7 other times already… why was I nervous now? And then it occurred to me (Ok, Jane pointed it out to me) that this time I knew everybody! Presenting in front of people you know is always more nerve wracking.

Having said that it went very well. The presentation was smooth and the questions and feedback at the end were great.

Many of the local and regional representatives have inquired about having me attend their coaches meeting to present the LTAD model. This could be a very beneficial endeavor as these individuals will be key in the delivery of the ‘new way of doing things’.

Check back soon as I will be posting specifics on the questions that came up throughout the presentation.

mon sport. ma passion.
-FL

That's what it's all about...

That’s what its all about…

This morning I received the following link. Seeing as it was early in the day, not yet into the full swing of the day, I took the time to watch the video:

Touching Them All

At first I simply got caught up in the emotion of it and thought “wow that really brings tears to your eyes”.

But after having thought about it now for a few hours, the LTAD connection has become evident. I’m actually surprised that it took me this long to make the connection. (I’m usually on LTAD mode 24/7).

The story in the video truly reflects what sport is all about. Although the athletes are a bit older in this situation I think this can easily be applied across the board… actually it can serve as a great example. If the older kids are doing it, then surly the younger kids would think the same way.

I talked about athlete centered yesterday. I’ve made references to “what would the kids do”. This is a clear example of this.

in this case, the initial reaction of the coaching staff and officials in the game was “what’s the ruling on this?” (I am not implying that they were not concerned for the athlete’s well being here). The concern being the outcome of the game, the implication this will have, how they are to go about this situation to ensure that the score at the end of the game is in their favor.

However, the initial reaction of the athletes (in this case from the other team) was how can we get the injured athlete to home plate? How can we ensure that she is awarded that home run? How can we ensure that (despite the pain of the injury) she can feel the joy of what it is like to get her first and only Home Run?

They didn’t care about the outcome of the game. They didn’t care what the score was. All they cared about was the best interest of the athlete.

“You hit the ball over the fence you deserve it” was the response from the opposing team when thanked for the gesture.

That’s what sport should always be about.

This is proof that sport only develops great athletic abilities… but it makes better people.

play it. love it. live it.
-FL

Athlete Centered?... are we really?

What does it mean? How do you define Athlete Centered? How would things be different if this was the primary influence on all of the decisions we make.

How would associations be different? Would their structure change? Would they have the same amount of teams? How would they proceed with team selections? When would team selections take place?
How would leagues be different? Would the season start at a different time? How many games per season would each team play? How many age divisions would be part of the league? Are adult leagues and youth leagues run the same way?

What about tournaments? Should tournaments taking place in November have the same structure/the same focus as those taking place in March? What would an athlete development centered tournament look like?

What about the decisions we make during all those ‘meetings’. Board meetings, association meeting, league meetings, tribunals, player releases, appeals… and the list goes on. I am positive that most of these meetings could be shortened by at least half the time (and discussion and disagreements lessened) if we ALWAYS asked the question what is in the best interest of the athlete. The decision would be clear cut 100% of the time.

Practice plans, game strategies and game line ups would be significantly different if they were truly athlete centered. If the coaches’ desire to win (especially during those petite games taking place on a Tuesday night in November) is put aside, and the athlete development is put on the forefront we could see significant changes not only in the structure of the way we do things but also in the improvement of our athletes’ skills.

When the focus is on the “W”, most of the time adults get caught up in the hype, the glamour and the pressure to win. That being said, athletes are the ones who lose out on the benefits of sport when this occurs. For example, ice allocation within a team becomes unequal, the plays revolve around the ‘Stronger’ players and those not having yet developed /caught up to the rest of the team are set aside. How can we expect these players to improve their skill and enjoy the sport if they don’t get to participate as much? Knowing that we currently play more games than we spend time practicing, when are these athletes suppose to learn?

Lets truly ask ourselves “What is in the best interest of the athlete?”

If you are unsure of the answer, rather than assume that they would want the same things we want, take a moment and ask them. You might be surprised by what you get in response.

Kids play the sport because they love it. They love it some much that it becomes a part of their lives. Let’s make sure they enjoy it to the fullest.

Our sport. Our Passion.

-FL

What about the officials?

LTAD will have a significant impact on “the way we do things” in our sport. This is a great endeavor for Ringette as it will raise issues that have needed attention for quite some time. This will give our sport a platform on which we can all work together (locally, provincially and nationally) to achieve our vision that “Ringette is played by people of all ages and all abilities on all rinks in Canada”

One question that has come a lot throughout the Road Show has been “what about the officials?”

Well my friends… we didn’t already have enough acronyms already going around… but LTOD is on the rise. The first steps towards Long Term Official Development (LTOD) have started.

Ringette Canada’s Board of Director has directed its Officiating Committee to review and ensure that their programs are in line with LTAD. As this is quite a large undertaking, and in light of the development structure used for Athletes Development, the Officiating leaders of Ringette Canada are looking to put a separate Steering Committee together. (similar to the LTAD process)

Ringette will be leaders on this topic within amateur sport in our country. We will be the first National Sport Organization to fully take on the task of the LTOD process.

We seem to be fully embracing change…

First the athletes… now the officials…

What next… coaches, volunteers… the list goes on.

It’s our sport. It’s our passion… let’s make sure it’s a great product!

play... love… live…

-FL

Presentation now available

Hi all!

Note the the Road Show PowerPoint is now availble online.

Cilck here to link to the Ringette Canada site. The presentation can be downloaded - on the right hand side of the page!

Define tiering. Do it. I dare you!

Consider this conversation… it may sound familiar.

“Do you tier in Novice?”
“No we don’t”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes I am. We don’t have Novice A, B and C”
“So all of the Novice teams in your provinces can attend the same tournaments?”
“Well, all but one tournament.”
“Really, which one is that?”
“We have an Super Elite Novice tournament at the end of the season where the best from each association come together to compete in this tournament.”
“Super Elite hey? Sounds like something you’d hear during the pre-boarding announcement of an Air Canada flight.”

The question that comes out of all of this is… What defines a tier?

MON SPORT. MA PASSION.
-FL

S & H in Nova Scotia

SEEN
- The airport and the meeting room. Doing the day trip thing doesn’t allow for much of anything else.
- Crosby. He’s everywhere! I think he’s from around there...
- Some of the AGM participants had seen the blog already! Exciting to see that you all are reading this blog!! :)

HEARD
- “Where is hockey in this process?”
- “Has soccer done this yet?”

LTAD Takes on Nova Scotia!!

On May 24th, I did the day trip thing to Halifax. As this is the 7th installment of the Traveling Road Show I felt pretty comfortable in doing the quick turnaround. Let me tell you, quick doesn’t even cut it.

I landed in Halifax, got into the car, drove to the Hotel where the AGM was, said hi, had lunch, set up for the presentation, delivered the presentation and headed back to the airport…

Aside from the craziness of the travelling, the presentation went very well.

The group in attendance was not only treated to the LTAD presentation, but also got some additional information with regards to Ringette Canada’s strategic plan. Leading off the presentation portion of the day was Beth Vallis’s presentation of our sports direction.

The LTAD portion of the presentation went well. Again, no major push back. I got many of the same questions I’ve seen in every province…

Something to note before I go… when the “please stand up” portion of the presentation takes place, I always enjoy seeing the look on people’s faces. They all have the “what is she going to make us do now” look… I get a laugh at that eveytime…
I guess this gives Ontario and Quebec some time to prepare… be ready to stand up and do something crazy when the Travelling Road Show comes to your province. :)

Thank you Nova Scotia for the warm welcome!
Although my stay was brief, it is always a pleasure to get the Maritime Welcome!


Play… Love… Live…
-FL

S&H... MRA AGM

HEARD
- “They only play Tournaments at Bunnies”
- “It’s boring to watch kids play the game and it NOT be the way it was intended to be played.”

SEEN
- MB regulates the number of goals per player at the Bunny and Novice…

What if…

What if we left it to the kids? What if we let them run things they way they wanted? What if we left them to solve their own problem?

The question is “what if?”… the quick response one would tend to give is… OMG this would never work!!

Well, here’s a fun example for you all…

Bunnies Are Resourceful

An interesting development that took place during the Whitby Ringette Tournament in 2008.

“There were three Bunny (7 years old and younger) teams participating in the tournament. I realize with LTAD that they are not supposed to be playing competitively, but they have been included in the past and people love to see the little players. During one of the games, a Whitby team ended up having four players in the zone where only three players are allowed. The coach and the officials tried to get one of the players to leave the zone. The players could not remember who was supposed to be in or out. The four players dropped their gloves and did Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who would be the player to leave the zone – the “loser” had to go out.

Something we can think about in the implementation stage – Bunnies do not need coaches or referees – they can make decisions on their own. It was a funny and remarkable story that spread around the arena during the weekend.”
- submitted by Carolyn Moutjoy, LTAD Committee Member.

Just something to think about…

PLAY IT. LOVE IT. LIVE IT.

-FL

4 for 4!... MB AGM

I have finally arrived to the fourth and final stop of this leg of the Travelling Road Show. Manitoba Ringette’s AGM took place Saturday May 10th.

I arrived at the Sport Manitoba Building about an hour before the start of my presentation… I was then treated to the wrap up of the voting of the Motions. Very interesting discussion and I got to see first hand the passion that lies within the leaders in our sport.

I feel this is a great introduction to the following point…

Adult programs superimposed on children; one of the challenges we face in amateur sport in Canada today.

Understanding that we need adults to lead the logistics of Ringette associations… not to mention the athletes need to get to the rink somehow (visual of Novice players driving themselves to the rink…lol) however we sometimes forget the reasons why kids play.

We run leagues, associations, tournaments the way we (as adults) would for ourselves.

In our sport we spend hours talking about monitoring the number of goals per game per player at the Novice level, moving players from one team to another because teams are not equal, athlete carding when the bottom line is… KIDS JUST WANT TO PLAY.

Maybe we should let them play, love and live the sport.

End of discussion.


PLAY IT. LOVE IT. LIVE IT.
-FL

S&H… PEI Style

Seen
- Did you know that pop cans were illegal in PEI Prior to Saturday May 3rd, 2008? Cause I’m pretty sure I didn’t know that!! I must admit that I didn’t believe it at first… considering the source I’m sure many of you would have done the same. It wasn’t until I saw the front page of the newspaper that I actually believed it.

- Stop signs are optional apparently. ;)

- PEI hospitality… got the full welcome to the Island. Everyone I have met during my stay here have been nothing but friendly and helpful. I look forward to my next trip out this way!

- I can now say I have been to PEI. One more checkmark on my list of things to do…


Heard
- “Thank you for this new approach. Opening up to boys will be great. My son loves the sport and I hope this new vision will open up the doors for many more to join”

- “Will the name of the sport change?”

- “Having now set the direction for the development of our Athletes, do we anticipate looking at Long Term Officiating Development?”

Random thoughts from PEI…

After having adjusted to the time change and recovered from the early morning rise for the trip to NB, I was ready to roll with LTAD in PEI.

Monday night, I switched from the LTAD hat to the CRC hat and met with the host committee for the 2009 Canadian Ringette Championships which will take place in Charlottetown in early April. The group is on track and I look forward to a great event!

Tuesday evening I attended the Ringette PEI Awards Reception. I fun little evening which honored the Top players, coaches, officials and volunteers. Following the awards I got right into my LTAD Travelling Road Show presentation.

While going through the presentation I realized that a lot of the major push back I got from a lot of the bigger provinces I would not be getting from the PEI Ringette Community.

Due to numbers, geography and the way they currently run their associations tiering is not part of their Ringette programs. This will make the implementation of some of the proposed changes much easier down the road.

Many questions came up at the conclusion of the presentation. Most were centered on the implementation side of this movement.

- “Will the age divisions at Atlantics Change?”
- “When is When? When can we anticipate seeing changes?”
- “What is the difference between a game and a competition?”
- “Will this be mandatory?”
- “How do we know this will work?”

Looking for answer to these questions? Stay Tuned… or better yet catch the LTAD Travelling Road Show; coming to an AGM near you. J

PLAY IT. LOVE IT. LIVE IT.
-FL

500 km de route vers le DLTA…

Et bien oui, dimanche matin John Francis (membre du comité du DLTA) et moi avons prit la route vers Rogersville, NB pour assister à la réunion annuel de l’association de Ringuette du Nouveau Brunswick.

Nous avons été très bien accueillit par le groupe et la présentation c’est très bien déroulée. Le groupe fut très réceptif; les questions et commentaires furent excellents.

« Est- ce que la mis en œuvre des concept du DLTA vont débuter en une province 9genre test) pour ensuite être réparti dans les autres provinces? »

R- Non, essentiellement les changements seront exigés parmi toutes les provinces en même temps. Cependant, il est important de prendre en note que les changements seront fais de façons graduelles; pas toutes les changements en même temps.

« Est- qu’il va ya avoir des ressources permettant d’identifier le stade de développement physiologique des athlètes? »

R- Le document « Notre Sport. Notre Passion. – Le développement à long terme de l’athlète » parlera de façon générale de ce sujet. Cependant, dans les années à suivre les ressources seront mise en place afin de facilité cette identification pour les parents et les entraineurs.

« Est-ce que les exigences pour chacun des stades du DLTA seront disponibles? »

R- À long terme, le développement des ressources indiquant les habitudes et compétences que les athlètes doivent acquérir à chacun de stade seront disponible. De plus nous allons développer des ressources pour aider aux entraineurs, par exemple un plan de sessions d’entrainements pour une saison complète.

« Comment allons-nous transmettre cette information au parents? »

R- Un Guide pour les parents sera produit. De plus la présentation du ‘Travelling Road Show’ sera disponible sur DVD et sur le Site Web de RC.

« Exemples de modifications des règlements au niveau débutant? »

R – Quelques exemples :

- L’entraineur sur la surface de jeux lors du match.
- Les arbitres jouent un rôle d’enseignement.
- Jouer sur une demi-glace.
- Nombre minimum de passes avant de lancer.
- Façon juste et équitable pour le temps de glace par joueur par partie.


mon sport. ma passion.

-FL

Coast to Coast… via MTL.

Saturday morning came way too soon… who ever came up with the concept of time change, let’s just say that him and I are fighting! LOL

Just as I was adjusting to the BC time zone, I hopped on an early flight from Kelowna to Vancouver… to then head to Montreal and connect to Charlottetown.

Apologies again for not posting as regularly as hoped… thanks for understanding!

-FL

S&H at the BCRA AGM…

Seen:

• The water trick!... you MUST show me how that works. I was paying attention and still don’t get it!
• Saturday night at the BCRA AGM is the place to be… too bad I missed it. Will plan better next time around!
• Change is never easy. In general people get into a comfort zone a way of doing things. Changing these habits will be a challenge.

Heard:

• “The players on Team Canada are currently great! Imagine how great our athletes will be 10 years from now when they have all gone through this system! I can’t wait for this to take shape”
• “It’s always great to see ‘Ringette Canada’ at our events. In the past we thought that all they did was put out a rule book every 3 years. But over the past few years there has been great progress (ie Team Canada Camp in September, presentations at AGM)… Thanks RC! “
• Someone’s new goal in life has changed… they now wish to be more like…(you know who you are)
• A lot of times in Ringette, individuals are asked to do some many things that they must ‘wear so many hats’ at times that they the lines sometimes get crossed… we need to figure out a way to get them to ‘take off’ some of those hats.
  

Third time’s a charm…BCRA AGM.

Hey!

So it’s been a while since my last post… :s Not to make excuses but the U19 prep has been my main focus for the past week seeing as the Travelling Road Show will have me out of the office until the 12th (BC, NB, PEI and MB are all on the agenda this coming week). I am now back in LTAD mode and ready to blog away for the next week and a bit.

Alright… so lets talk BC now.

On Thursday I ventured my way from the National Capital over the mountains to the BCRA AGM. I took most of the day Friday to adjust to the time change (up at 4am local time!) to then be ready to go for my evening presentation.

Over all the presentation went well and the feedback was great! As expected the push back came from the “old guard” unfamiliar and uneasy with the concept of change.

“Why make changes? Is the current system flawed?”

Ummm… well actually it is. When we take a look at the current sport system in Canada we will quickly realize that the majority of the sports are faced with the following:

• Over-competition and under-training
• Adult training and competition programs superimposed on children
• Peaking by Friday
• Chronological age versus developmental age is used
• Missing the ‘windows’ of accelerated adaptation
• Only single sporting activities are taught - Physical literacy not taught
• Knowledgeable coaches work with elite athletes
• Parents are not educated about LTAD
• Needs of athletes with a disability not well understood
• No talent identification system (selection by competition – is not Talent ID)
• No system integration (schools, community and competitive)

At a quick glance, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that in Ringette most of these statements are true.

When I elaborated into the finer details of what is currently going on in our sport, where we are heading with the new framework, the new initiatives and the new resources the BCRA contingent was very receptive and eager to move forward with these concepts…. for the most part.

Worries about implementing certain aspect of this raised many questions. The resistance to change will be inevitable. The education of parents, coaches and administrators will be the key.

What we must not forget in this whole process is the reason why kids play sport. Adults must put their own wants (for their child to be the next great one) and needs (to win at all cost) aside and remember… it’s for the kids.

Ask a six year old how many games they won at the end of the season. Chances are, they won’t remember.

Ask a six year old how many friends they made, how many times they got to play in the pool at the hotel, how many times they had fun.

“12. 2. all season!”


play it. love it. live it.
-FL

This is why I PLAY

Ask a child why they play sports. You might be surprised by the following responses:

• To have fun
• To experience thrills
• To be with friends
• To make new friends
• To do something I am good at
• To feel good about myself
• To feel accepted
• To learn new skills
  

Huh?... that’s funny I don’t see TO WIN anywhere in that list… who would have thought?

S&H… in the SK

SEEN

• Oh the prairies!
• I just want to say that I LOVE Saskatchewan. I lived there for six months in 2005, and have loved it ever since!... oh the SK!
• Over the lunch break we watched parts of the World Championship final… great Ringette… was secretly hoping the result would be different…

HEARD

• “Why not use this as part of a TV show? Something along the lines of Test the Nation.”
• “I recently had a conversation with my mother, and she told me that one of the first years I played Ringette, my team lost all of our games. I was surprised to hear this because I remember having so much fun and enjoying myself, but I don’t recall any of the losses on the scoreboard.”
• “I agree that Petite AA is…"

Back to the SK…

First… apologies for the delayed update on the SK AGM presentation… no excuses, it’s been two days already …

But I’m here now and ready to update you all!


Let me start by saying, that I appreciated the fact that they held off on the snow at least until I left on Sunday morning.

The presentation went very well and the group was keen on a lot of the concepts. As expected there are a few concerns when it comes to the implementation process.

Thank you to Saskatchewan Ringette for welcoming me. It was great to see you all again or meet you for the first time. I hope to see you all again soon in our Ringette Travels!

And, thanks for the jacket!

play it. love it. live it.

-FL

S&H... Ringette Alberta

SEEN:

• Wow, they really pulled out all the stops in Calgary. In order to remind us that we are a winter sport, and to ensure that we are still in ‘ringette mode’ they called in a snow storm! Thanks Calgary!
• Please note that I left Sunny Ottawa - were it was +20 shorts weather – yesterday morning to step off the plane… in the snow. Good thing I brought a jacket! J

HEARD:

• "If all your kids want to do is play games, your practices must really be boring”
• “Kids play ringette because its fun and they can be with their friends”
• “Most of the time, the younger kids don’t even know if they’ve won or lost… their team wins one game at a tournament and they think they’ve won the whole thing!”

S&H…

Over the course of the Roadshow, I will be providing a Seen and Heard (S&H) section. Essentially this will include memorable moments that take place in each of the provinces as well as notable comments from the membership.

(No worries, I will keep it anonymous! So please don’t hesitate to ask questions and make comments throughout )

play it. love it. live it.

-FL

The Travelling Roadshow takes on Alberta…. (Ringette Alberta AGM)

So last night, I presented the Ringette Specific LTAD presentation for the first time. A very primitive version of this was presented to our Board of Directors earlier this month, but since then I have brought many changes to the content and the delivery.

All in all I have to say that round 1 went…GREAT!

The messages were clear, the group interacted very well and the wrap up included great discussion and feedback.

I must also make a note of the fact that stating the words “NO MORE TIERING IN PETITE” proved to be less painful than anticipated. (I guess I won’t be needing the bodyguards after all…lol).

Don’t get me wrong, this did generate a great deal of discussion. But the main focus and concerns were surrounding the implementation of this new way of doing… rather than being dead set against the idea. More on that later….

Another implementation road block that was addressed was the need for more facilities – we don’t have enough ice time as it is. This is a growing problem that we must be aware of as we move forward. Early steps have been taken with initiatives such as Pond to Podium 1. But that’s implementation… we’ll get to that shortly.

Before I sign off I just want to thank Ringette Alberta and its staff for the warm welcome and the opportunity to present at their AGM. I wish I could have stuck around for more of the sessions on Saturday. With the line up of guest speakers and events, they truly had a top notch event organized. I hope to have the opportunity to work with this group again in the near future.

Up next… Regina for the Saskatchewan Ringette AGM this afternoon.

** 1. A partnership between Ringette Canada, Hockey Canada, Skate Canada, Speed Skating Canada and Canadian Parks and Rec. The main goal is to work towards obtaining new facilities as well as getting people to skate.

Le “Travelling Road Show”

Vous voulez en savoir plus? Je fais la tourné des AGA provinciaux afin de parler du Model de DLTA spécifique à Ringuette Canada. Voici les endroits et les dates :

18 avril AGA - Alberta– Calgary
19 avril AGA - Saskatchewan– Regina
2 mai AGA - Colombie - Britannique - Kamloops
4 mai AGA - Nouveau Brunswick - Rogersville
6 mai Ile du Prince Édouard - Charlottetown
10 mai AGA – Manitoba - Winnipeg
24 mai AGA Nouvelle-Écosse - Halifax
7 juin AGA Ontario – Niagara on the Lake
--- AGA Québec

Au plaisir de vous voir!
-FL

What is LTAD?

Many of you may be confused by this term…
What does it mean? Do we have to do this? Where will it come from?

LTAD = Long Term Athlete Development.

What is it?
A Sport Canada initiative which:

• Integrates training, competition and recovery programming with relation to biological development and maturation
• Offers equal opportunity for recreation and competition
• Is participant/athlete centred coach driven and parents, officials, administration, sport medicine & sport science and sponsor supported
  

Want to learn more? Visit www.LTAD.ca

OUR SPORT. OUR PASSION.

Over the next few months Ringette Canada will takes its first step towards its new Long Term Athlete Development model.

As part of this I will be travelling to every Provincial AGM (as part of what I like to call the LTAD Travelling Road Show) to give some insight on what lies ahead with our sport as well as to gather some feedback from the Ringette Community.

As a means of keeping you all informed throughout the process I will be blogging about the process, the questions, the concerns and the ideas that come about throughout my travels.

Hope you enjoy!

-FL

Huh?

Ring what?... yes you heard right: RingNation.

All you Ringette players, officials, coaches, parents, sponsors, administrators and fans can all be part of the RingNation!

You play it, love it or live it?… join RingNation!

The view from here…

Hi, I’m Frances, nice to meet you and thanks for checking in to our brand new Blog.

I have been Technical Director here at Ringette Canada since September of 2006. Over the past year and a half this position has allowed me to be involved in many aspects of our great sport: from Canada Games to National Championships to World Championships… Programs such as Coaching and Officiating … Developing our Team Canada Programs (Senior and U19)... and last but not least Long Term Athlete Development.

As you will notice, I’ve seen quite a bit already. I must say that the best part by far has been working with amazing people throughout. Board Members, Committees, Coaches, Officials, Volunteers and Athletes… I have learned so much and look forward to learning so much more.

Okay! Well now you know a little about what I’ve gotten up to in the past year and a half since I started, but now I get the ultimate perk of reaching out and bringing you a different look into the world of ringette!

This blog will allow for me to share with you what is going on within our sport, where were are going and hints as to what to expect in the future. Think of it as an inside look of what goes on behind the scenes… my view from here.

If you’ve got something to share, I want to hear it, so don’t be shy! Send in your questions and comments and I’ll do my absolute best to address them because this blog is for YOU!

Be a part of RingNation!

play it. love it. live it.

-FL