Scholarship Project

TOTAL FEMALE HOCKEY SCHOLARSHIP PROJECT

HOW TO GET NOTICED, GET RECRUITED & PLAY HOCKEY AT THE SCHOOL OF YOUR DREAMS

Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS

START HERE: Quick Start Guide!!!!!!!!!! 1 “WHY” Worksheet!!!!!!!!!! 2 College Hockey BASICS!!!!!!!!! 3

RESEARCH PHASE: Frequently Asked Questions!!!!!!!! 11 5 College Coach Interviews - click on the link below to access the MP3s: ! http://www.totalfemalehockey.com/scholarship_project_8411.shtml College Hockey DETAILS!!!!!!!!! 26 - College/University Quick Fact Sheet 26 - Critical Details - Rules, Regulations & Requirements 27 - NCAA/CIS Comparison Chart 33 - NCAA Division I Information 34 ! - NCAA Division III Information 39 ! - CIS Information 44 How To Navigating School Websites Video - click on the link below to access: ! http://totalfemalehockeyclub.com/video-sample/how_to_videos Creating Your Top 20 List !! ! ! ! ! ! 50

RECRUITING PHASE: Recruiting Step-By-Step Plan!!!!!!!! 51 Year-By-Year Guidelines!!!!!!!!! 53 How To Write Your Introductory Letter!!!!!!! 54 How To Create Your Introductory Video - click on the link below to access:!! 56 ! http://totalfemalehockeyclub.com/video-sample/how_to_videos Communicating With Coaches!!!!!!!! 58 - Tracking Your Communication Chart!!!!!!! 58 - Questions You Must Ask Coaches!!!!!!! 59 - How To Update Coaches Properly!!!!!!! 62

DECISION PHASE: Final Decision Score Sheet!!!!!!!!63

Congratulations of taking the ﬁrst step towards taking control of your dream to play hockey at the college/university level. This isn!t going to be easy - but following this step-by-step guide will deﬁnitely make it a lot easier.

FIRST STEP: Complete the “WHY” Worksheet and then read through the “College Hockey BASICS” section. Do NOT look at, watch or listen to ANY other part of The Scholarship Project without completing these steps ﬁrst.

RESEARCH PHASE: • Read the FAQ section. • Listen to the College Coach Secret Interview Sessions - http:// totalfemalehockey.com/scholarship_project_8411.shtml • Read the “College Hockey DETAILS” section. • CIS, NCAA Division 1 and Division 3 Critical Details • CIS, NCAA Division 1 and Division 3 Quick Fact Sheet • CIS, NCAA Division 1 and Division 3 Comparison Chart • Watch the “Navigating Websites” video - http://totalfemalehockeyclub.com/video- sample/how_to_videos/ • Make your “Top 20 List” (NOTE: this is just a starting point).

RECRUITING PHASE: • Read the “Recruiting: Step-By-Step Plan”. • Review the “Year-By-Year Guidelines” to make sure you are on the right track based on what year you are currently in at school. • Write your “Introductory Letter” (use sample provided as a guideline). • Create your “Introductory Video” - http://totalfemalehockeyclub.com/video-sample/ how_to_videos/. • Start communicating with coaches (use “Questions For Coaches” sheet). • Send updates to coaches (use “Update Sample” to guide you). • Use Your “Tracking Communications Chart” to keep track of all your communications with coaches. DECISION PHASE: • Go on unofficial and official visits to get a first-hand feel for the schools & teams. • Create & fill in your “Decision Score Sheet” to help you make your final decision. • Make your choice. • Follow-up with the coaches of the programs that you did not choose. • Tell anyone & everyone you can about where you are going - Congratulations! REMEMBER... Nothing worth having ever came easily. Do the work and stay in control of realizing your dream.

Why do you want to play college/university hockey? Write all your reasons down.

Why do you think coaches and scouts would want you to be a part of their program? What do you bring to the table that is unique and/or valuable?

Why do you think that you are better suited to have this opportunity than your competition? What separates you from them - in terms of athletics, academics and attitude? Why do you deserve this opportunity?

These are hard questions to answer. There should be a lot of emotion behind every answer you write. This is a huge decision and a hard journey - and it is going to be your passion that drives you forward when the going gets rough. You shouldn!t take answering these questions lightly - just like you shouldn!t take this process lightly. It won!t be easy - but it will be worth it.

START HERE The point of this overview is to give you a general idea of the academic and athletic opportunities that are out there for you across North America if you want to play hockey at the varsity level. Please keep in mind as you read this document, and as you work your way through the entire Scholarship Project, that there are hundreds (and maybe even thousands) of players who “say” that they want to play hockey at the next level. That may seem a little overwhelming - especially since there are only a few hundred spots each year available to incoming players. But remember that there is a very big difference between “saying” you want something and actually taking the action necessary to “do” it. You are already separating yourself from the competition by working your way through the “Scholarship Project” and taking speciﬁc and consistent actions towards your dreams. So if and when you get overwhelmed, keep in mind that all you need to do is do the work on and off the ice and follow the plan, and you!ll be much further along in this process than your competition.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY As of the fall of 2010, there are 113 universities offering varsity women!s hockey in North America. When I went through this process back in 1998, there were probably only half that many options available. This is a tremendous period of growth in women!s hockey - not only in the college/university ranks, but even more so at the minor hockey level. So even though there are more “spots” available to play college hockey, there are also a lot more players going after those spots. As I said above, most players who “say” they want to get there aren!t willing, or don!t have the information necessary, to “do” what it takes to achieve their goals. So you!ve got a leg-up on the competition already.

Before we get into more details about the opportunities that lay ahead for you, please do me a favor and keep this one thing in mind. Academics must always come ﬁrst - whether we are talking about high school or university. At this point, there are no million dollar contracts waiting for female hockey players to play the sport we all love. This may change in years to come, but at this point, you need to rely on your education to help you make a living down the line, not your ability to play hockey. My goal for every single young female hockey player I work with - and this now includes you - is for you to:

Leverage your athletic ability to get a better academic opportunity.

Think of your ability to play hockey as something that can help you to get the education and degree that you want (and need) to succeed when your playing days are through. If you keep this in mind the entire way through the process, you will keep yourself on the right track.

The 3As: What Coaches & Scouts Are Really Looking For

The truth is that even though there are over 100 colleges and universities in North America that offer varsity women!s hockey programs, the competition to get the chance to play at that level is ﬁerce. Coaches & scouts are looking for a “triple threat”:

Great Athletics * Great Academics * Great Attitude

If you have the complete package, it is much easier to stand out, get noticed and be recruited. You don!t need to be the best player in the country or be a straight A+ student, but being as strong as possible in all 3 of these areas will help you out dramatically as you go through this process.

Let!s look at each “A” in more detail:

ATHLETICS

Basic Skill First and foremost, you must have the basic level of skill needed to play at the next level. Notice that I didn!t say “elite” level skill. Being an elite player will never hurt you, but in the beginning of the process, coaches & scouts just want to see that you can execute all the basic skills on the ice at a level that would allow you to compete at the next level. This means that it is not necessary for you to have the greatest slapshot in the world to get noticed. But you have to be able to skate, pass, shoot and stickhandle at a pretty high level. Having any big holes in your game - for example, skating that is well-below average - will count against you at this point in the process.

Game Sense Once they have established that you have the basic skills, they are looking at your game sense. Do you know where to be when you don!t have the puck? How do you create time and space for yourself and your teammates? Do you make good decisions under pressure? Game sense is much harder to teach than the basic skill, but it is absolutely critical if you want to get to, and excel at, the next level. If your game sense is terriﬁc, you may even be able to make up for any basic skills that are lacking in the beginning of this process.

Competitiveness Every player wants to win. But how do you compete on a shift-to-shift and a game-to- game basis? You will do anything to win a race to the puck or a battle along the boards. You work as hard in the 3rd period as you do in the ﬁrst. You!ll block shots, make the effort to make the 2nd and 3rd save, and back-check at full speed even when it looks like there is no way you will catch up to the play.

Consistency Coaches want to see you work as hard in the 3rd period as you do in the ﬁrst. They need to know that you are as effective in the 3rd game of a tournament as you are in the ﬁrst game. If the coach gets the chance to watch you play more than once, do they see the same type of player every time or are you unpredictable? You aren!t going to play a perfect game every time you hit the ice, but coaches want to know that you can be relied on the deliver the same level of effort and focus game in and game out for an entire season. This is easier said than done, but it is very important.

Potential No one expects you to be a perfect player right now. You are a work in progress and coaches understand that. They know that after playing varsity hockey for a few years that you should be a dramatically better player. They want to be able to have a sense of just how much better you can be with more time on the ice, more high level coaching, and more training. Some players will thrive at the next level and some will level off. Coaches would always prefer to work with players who have the potential to improve dramatically. How can they gauge your potential? If they watch you a couple of times over the course of the season, they want to see that you!ve improved. If they see you over the course of a few seasons, they want to see that you are more of an impact player. They will talk to your coach and ask about your work ethic and coachability. If you work extremely hard and are very coachable, the sky should be the limit in terms of your potential.

Off The Ice Ten years ago, it might have been enough to be a great player on the ice to get recruited. Coaches and scouts may notice you from your on-ice play, but they will deﬁnitely want to know that you are as committed to becoming a great athlete off the ice as you are on the ice. After all, the best athletes are the best players. Making sure that you are doing your off-ice training to get stronger, faster and ﬁtter, as well as taking care of your nutrition and mental preparation, are absolutely critical. Your commitment to excellence of the ice translates directly to your performance on the ice. Coaches and scouts know this and they are looking for players who already have this foundation in place before they get to the next level.

ACADEMICS

The reality is that the better student you are, the more opportunities you will have to play at the next level. A student-athlete with better grades and better test scores is always more attractive to a coach than a player with a similar talent level who doesn!t do as well in the classroom. That being said, you don!t need to be the best student at your school in order to get the opportunity to study and play at the school of your dreams.

Grades Your grades from every year of high school are important. Just starting to work hard once you get to grade 11 and 12 won!t cut it. You may not have the best grades all the way through high school, but consistent improvement and performance counts for a lot in this area. Keep in mind that for the Canadian colleges and universities, there are no standardized tests (SATs, ACTs) for admission - so your grades carry a tremendous amount of weight in the admissions process. For the NCAA Division 1 colleges and universities, it is critical that you take the 16 core courses required for eligibility - listed below.

DIVISION I Core Courses (16): • 4 years of English • 3 years of mathematics (algebra 1 or higher) • 2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab if offered by high school) • 1 year of additional English, mathematics or natural/physical science • 2 years of social science • 4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or nondoctrinal religion/philosophy)

Your guidance counsellor at school can help you stay on track to make sure that you meet these requirements before graduation.

Standardized Tests - SATs and ACT If you want to attend college/university in the United States, you will be required to take the SATs and/or ACTs. Although these scores are not the only thing an admissions office is looking at when deciding whether or not to accept you, the higher the grade you can get the better. If you do not feel confident going into these tests, or have a history of not being the best test taker, you may want to look into taking a test prep course. If you are not from the United States, you probably haven!t been as exposed to this test so you may require more time and practice to gain confidence before taking the test. You will also want to plan when you take the tests carefully - make sure that you give yourself more than one chance to take the test just in case you don!t do as well as you need to the first time around. Every school will have a different standard that they!d like

© Total Female Hockey 2011! 6 COLLEGE HOCKEY BASICS you to meet in order to make the admissions process as successful as possible. Some schools may also require that you take the SAT IIs which are speciﬁc subject tests. This is something that coaches will let you know as you go through the recruiting process.

Consistency Much in the same way coaches want to see consistent performance in your on-ice game, schools like to see consistency in academic performance throughout high school. Even if you aren!t the strongest student, consistent improvement counts for a lot. Ask yourself whether you are someone who puts a consistent level of effort into your studies. When you are struggling in a particular subject, do you put more time and effort into improving? This is critical because your willingness to commit to putting forth a consistent high level effort to improve translates directly from the classroom to the ice.

ATTITUDE

This can make or break the entire recruiting process for a player. You can have all the skill in the world and have great grades, but if you have a bad attitude, the coaches will choose another player. The truth is that there are enough players with strong academics and athletics out there that they don!t need to put up with a player with a bad attitude.

It is relatively easy to tell which players have a bad attitude on the ice. They are the ones talking back to the referees, slamming their sticks on the ice when things don!t go their way, getting down on themselves or their teammates when they are having a tough game. Coaches want team players who are going to be leaders on and off the ice. Remember that your attitude off the ice counts for a lot too. How are you with your teachers and teammates? How are you in the dressing room? How do you speak to your own coaches and the coaches who are recruiting you? Are you a complainer or do you work as hard as you can no matter what? Are you a positive person? Make no mistake - this counts for A LOT.

The 3Ss: What You Need To Consider Along The Way

There are three critical areas that you need to consider as you work your way through this process. The chart below provides an overview of the critical points to consider when it comes to the school, sports and social aspects of your decision.

SCHOOL SPORTS SOCIAL Do they have the major you When you are doing your Size: Big (20,000+), Medium are looking for? If you!re not research: (8,000-20,000), Small (under sure, do they have a lot of How many players are they 8000), Tiny (under 4000) different options so that you looking for in your graduating can change your mind and year and for which positions Location: close to home, far find something else that you (critical for goalies)? away, within driving distance, are interested in? does your family want to see If you want to play more than you play more often? Will you be able to handle one varsity sport, is that the academic workload in feasible? Cost: how much will it cost you addition to playing hockey? to attend the school? Will you What is the coach!s have loans to pay off Do they have any other philosophy on player afterwards? Are you eligible players on the current team development and team for scholarships/financial aid? who are studying what you development? are studying? Can you see yourself spending When you are making your 4 years there? This is why Do they have team study decision: visiting the school is so critical hall? Tutors available? Do you get along well with - looking at it on the website the coach? and talking to coaches will only Does the team travel on days tell you so much. when team members have Do you get along well with class? How do the students the girls on the team? What other activities are you keep up? looking to get involved in when Where does the coach see there? Do they have those What kind of reputation does you fitting in on the depth options? the school have? What is a chart? Will you be fighting for degree from that school playing time or will you come When you aren!t in-season “worth” to you? in and play right away? (spring), will you be happy there? If you are looking to get Do you want to be one of the another degree after (ie. strongest players right away What would happen if you medical school, graduate or do you want to fight your broke your leg - would you still degree, teacher), will that way up the ladder? be happy there? school prepare you to pursue that degree? How much time per day does “hockey” take up? How is this different in-season compared to the off-season?

The 2Ps: Your Two Biggest Keys To Success

There are two keys to making sure you have a successful recruiting process and end up at the school of your dreams:

BEING PREPARED & BEING PROACTIVE

BEING PREPARED

The truth is that you might only get one chance to impress a scout or coach. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Preparation breeds self-confidence and success. Doing the “little” things like taking care of your nutrition, hydration, stretching, sleep, pre-game warm-up and post-game cool-down on a day-to-day basis adds up over time. It is this attention to detail that puts you in a position to stand out and get noticed - especially at tournaments, where most players don!t do a very good of managing their energy and effort very well. Doing the hard work off the ice during the summer may not be something the scouts see directly, but they will definitely see the results of all your dedication to excellence when you hit the ice. Setting goals for yourself and holding yourself accountable to reaching them isn!t something you do publicly - but getting your mental performance on track and consistently pushing yourself to reach your full potential is definitely something that will show up in your on- ice performance.

Preparation off the ice extends even further than nutrition, mental performance and off- ice training. The preparation that you do in order to succeed in the classroom and on standardized tests has a huge effect on your performance in those areas.

In order to have lasting change and make significant steps forward in your performance, you need to have a plan and put in consistent effort. It!s like cramming for a test in school - sure, you might do OK on the exam, but how much of that information do you actually retain? You can!t just prepare well in terms of your nutrition and mental game right before a tournament and expect to see dramatic results. You can!t just start training off the ice two weeks before the season starts and expect to get significantly stronger or faster. Significant change takes a significant amount of time and effort. There is simply no way around this. To set yourself up for success, you have to do the work. And just like with big tests at school, the earlier you start preparing, the greater your chances of succeeding.

Ask Yourself... • Are you taking care of all the “little” things - nutrition, hydration, goal setting? • Are you putting in the time and effort required to succeed in the classroom? • Are you committed to becoming the best athlete possible with off-ice training? • Will you be prepared to stand out and get noticed when the scouts show up?

BEING PROACTIVE

In order to succeed in ﬁnding the perfect school for you, you need to take consistent action throughout the entire process. There are a small number of players who will get scouted early on, have every school ringing the phone off the hook and have their choice at any top-end program in the country. This is the exception and not the rule. The majority of players who end up playing college & university hockey have initiated the recruiting process themselves.

Some schools have tremendous resources in place for recruiting players, while others simply cannot because of the costs and time commitment involved. You need to be proactive throughout this entire process - and that all starts with you reaching out to the coaches who are at the schools you are interested in. You need to create your own reality. It!s not going to be easy. Some schools may say “Thanks, but no thanks”. You may not get high enough test scores or marks to get into the program you want. But there are more than enough options out there, and you will need to do your homework to make sure that you are reaching out to the schools that will be the best ﬁt for you.

I will go into exactly all the steps you should cover in being proactive as you work your way through this guide, but here is a quick overview:

1. Introduce Yourself - send an email expressing your interest in the school 2. Ask For Information - ask if they can send you any other information about their program or the school 3. Schedule An Unofficial Visit (a visit that you take on your own and is fully funded by you) - you should go on as many of these as you can to see what the schools are really like. Everything looks great on a website - you need to visit! 4. Show Your Level of Interest - be honest with coaches. If their school is your first choice, let them know that. They will be honest with you too. If they don!t think you are a great fit for their program, they will let you know. It is always hard to hear “no” but you!ll never know unless you ask.

The last thing you want to happen is to look back in this process and wonder: “What might have happened if I had contacted them?”

As you work your way through the entire “Scholarship Project”, you will learn exactly which steps to take in your proactivity to make sure you make the best decision for you. It may sound daunting and may seem overwhelming at times - but when you take the time to prepare and take action, your chances of success are very very high.

This is strictly meant as a general information document. Keep in mind that these are answers taken from a small selection of coaches - they do not necessarily reﬂect the opinions of all coaches at that level. As you go through this process on your own, feel free to ask any of these questions of the coaches you are dealing with to ensure you are getting the most accurate answers for that particular school.

GETTING NOTICED

1. What are the top 3 things you are looking for on the ice when scouting players?

NCAA Division 1 (D1) Coach: Every program looks for different things. We look for good skating ability and stick skills (passing, shooting, handling), hockey sense, competitiveness, and good character.

NCAA Division 3 (D3) Coach: The first thing that I notice is skating. It depends on the venue where I am scouting but if I am at a tournament or showcase where there are lots of players and not looking at a specific player(s), the first thing that will get my attention is skating (speed, agility, edges). The second thing (and not necessarily less important either) is poise with the puck. Can the player skate with the puck with her head up and make a good decision? Those are the two most important things to me – we can teach many of the other things. Once I!ve identified someone I like I will try to get a sense of how they play their position, how they play without the puck but the other two things are more important and lead to the further scrutiny.

CIS Coach: "I think the top things that I look at when I'm skating a game or doing any type of recruiting is, is the player an impact player? By that, it means are they making a difference in the game? That doesn't mean are they scoring lots of goals, necessarily, or do they get a shutout if they're a goaltender. It's having a positive inﬂuence on the game every time they step on the ice, so the consistency of their performance from start to ﬁnish is important for me. The fact that you notice them by the end of the game, pretty much who's watching the game will have said, "That number, whatever, really had a good game." I think the other things from a coaching perspective that I look at, the quality of skater, because you need to be a certain level of skater to be able to play at the university level. Puck skills I look at, so in general, can they handle the puck, do they make good passes, and can they shoot the puck? What's the complexity of that skill, of those skills, and there is a comprehensive list of skills within that area. Then the last thing would be their hockey sense, or their hockey I.Q., so their positional play. Where I look at this is more away from the puck than with the puck.

2. What are the top 3 things that completely turn you off when scouting a player?

D1 Coach: Bad body language if they make a mistake on the ice. A bad recommendation from coach or school counselor. The inability to be a good teammate. Laziness or non-competitiveness. Always being the perimeter player

D3 Coach: I rarely like someone who isn!t a good skater or doesn!t have poise with the puck. That said, there are kids who are smart players who aren!t good skaters so that doesn!t automatically get someone crossed off the list. I think a quick ﬁrst read is how they look when they skate and how they carry themselves. Do they skate hard all the time - even on the backcheck? Players who take excessively long shifts are also a turn- off.

CIS Coach: Work ethic is a big thing, obviously if you see a player who's lazy or when I talked earlier about the impact player, you shouldn't have a player that is for five minutes, sets the world on fire and then disappears completely for the rest of the time. I think the other thing I really dislike is when players take selfish penalties. And the other thing is when players take penalties and they argue with the referee. That really turns me off because getting penalties sometimes is part of the game, and you should just go to the penalty box. That can be a window into attitude and other areas.

3. How much does what a player does (or doesn!t do) off the ice factor into your decision to recruit them? (Attitude, academics, community involvement etc?

D1 Coach: This is VERY important. Our program does a lot of background work with calls to coaches, counselors, teachers…etc. If there are red ﬂags it may prevent us from pursuing the athlete. We want good hockey players with great character. I!d rather have a good player with great character than a great player with bad character.

D3 Coach: It!s a complicated equation and all of those things are important. As our program has evolved and gotten better we really try to recruit both talent and character. If I have to choose one or the other, it would be character. We only want kids who are good people, who have a great attitude and will ﬁt into our #team-ﬁrst! culture. In the end we want both talent and character and rarely settle.

4. Do players need to be ﬂashy goal scorers or rushing defensemen in order to get noticed? How much does their team play and game sense factor in?

D1 Coach: It depends on what type of player we may be looking for in a given year. Ideally we want players that are good in every zone but that isn!t always possible. A lot of times an athlete will get noticed because of the little things they do, not the ﬂash.

Their team play has a lot to do with our recruitment. What!s ﬂashy at one level may be disastrous at the next. They are going to be playing with a lot of people of their caliber or better at our level and they need to be able to play with those people. That!s one of the reasons we look at the decisions they make on the ice and try to ﬁgure out how that will translate to our level.

D3 Coach: This is a great question and a tough one to answer. As a D3 coach, I might not get to see kids play a lot of games like D1 coaches do so it depends a lot on the venue that I get to see them play. This is one big reason why I probably recruit more kids from camps that I work than anywhere else. That way I am getting to see them play a lot, probably practice a few times and get a better sense of their strengths and weaknesses and things like their coachability. I think it!s dangerous to make a decision based on watching a single game or even two when a player might be having the best game of their life (or worst) and then you ﬁnd out that their normal range of play is much different. Especially as a D3 coach, we often can!t recruit the ﬂashiest players because they end up in D1, so we have to really look beyond the obvious for fundamental skill and poise and try to coach them to be better when they get to college. In the end, I would say that team play and game sense are very important but the hardest thing to assess.

CIS Coach: If there's a certain player that is gifted in that area, they're going to get noticed, but so much of the game is played without the puck. I think the stats are that an extremely skilled player will have the puck on their stick for up to a minute. When you think about that, that's pretty staggering, so it's a lot more important how you play without the puck, and so your ability to skate the game and forecheck and backcheck, to play in the defensive zone, and to be more of a complete player

5. When do coaches really start looking at players?

D1 Coach: We might identify a player as early as grade 9, but will not really focus on them until their junior or grade 11 year.

D3 Coach: As early as grade 9, but a lot can change in the next couple of years and as I said above, as a D3 coach the best young kids can end up too good for D3.

CIS Coach: In our program, we really start to focus in grade 11 and grade 12, and looking at the quality of player compared to their peer group. But, that's not to say that at certain showcase tournaments that our younger ages, that we don't notice of the best players. But, often times a player who really stands out when their 15, they may be as much of a standout when their 18, in their graduating year.

6. When do coaches start contacting players?

D1 Coach: If we feel they have potential in grade 9 or 10. we can send them an informational questionnaire. In grade 11, we can email and send a packet which may include a media guide and much more information about the University and the hockey program.

D3 Coach: Probably during grade 10 but more likely to be the summer before grade 11.

CIS: We don't have the same recruiting guidelines that the NCAA does, so we're not restricted as much - we can talk to players at anytime about our schools. And we can talk to them at anytime during a tournament, and we can contact them at anytime. I think that there are some rules in terms of recruiting, and we're not going to be on the phone everyday hounding players or harassing players. Physically, we don't tend to talk to players in the middle of a tournament. Either we'll wait until the end, especially provincial championships, where their focus should remain on the ice. So, we don't have the same limitations that our NCAA brethren do, but at the same time we're not going to harass student athletes. We want to attract them to our program, so we want to just highlight what's great about Canadian schools and Canadian University.

7. When do coaches make offers to players?

D1 Coach: Athletes are now getting offers in grade 11. If they are a “difference maker” for your program we might offer on an unofﬁcial visit instead of waiting for the ofﬁcial visit.

D3 Coach: We don!t really make #offers!, but players make decisions in grade 12.

CIS Coach: Grade 12.

8. When should players start contacting coaches?

D1 Coach: In grade 10, so we can put them on our radar

D3 Coach: I would say that grade 10 is probably the time that most people are now starting because a lot of actual recruiting happens during the grade 11 year now.

CIS Coach: Well, I think that for any student athlete, they should start to express interest as soon as they know that they are interested. The same would go for players who are interested in NCAA schools, sending off an email or a letter saying, "Listen, I'm interested in your program and I'm interested in your school and these are the reasons why." That's often a really good thing. In Canada, we don't have as many full time coaches. We don't have assistant coaches often or full time. So, a lot of the recruiting gets done by head coaches who are full time and they have good volunteer staff that helps them out so we're not missing games, our weekend games, to go and recruit. So, I think we do a pretty good job with those resources of ﬁnding the players that we need to but, it's always good to have someone contact you and say, "I'm really interested in your program and I'm really interested in you school and can you come watch me play." So, I think that that's a good thing and as soon as players know that they are interested, I think that they should start to make contact. 9. How should players start contacting coaches? D1 Coach: Via email or letter to the coach D3 Coach: I prefer email even more than regular mail

CIS Coach: Via email.

10. What exactly should they send the coaches?

D1 Coach: Hockey schedule, transcript, contact information. You!d be surprised at some of the letters we get requesting info but there is NO address to send it to. ALWAYS include your year of high school graduation if it is an initial letter to a school

D3 Coach: Just a note saying they are interested and saying what grade they are in and asking for information. This will trigger us to send a questionnaire.

CIS Coach: Just a basic expression of interest and general information about them as a student and as an athlete.

11. Are there really “special” teams that coaches look at more than others? If you don!t play for one of the top teams, are you decreasing your chances of getting recruited?

D1 Coach: We tend to watch Jr. teams more than Midget teams. I don!t think you necessarily need to play for a “top” team but a team that will get you exposure to college coaches.

D3 Coach: From my perspective as an eastern D3 coach, it!s more that you have to know where we go to recruit than what team you play on. I would say that we do like kids from successful programs but that isn!t an absolute. But if you are going to the Connecticut Polar Bear tournament and playing in the B division, I might not be able to see you. So if you want to be recruited by a certain school, you should ask what tournaments/showcases/camps they scout and make sure that if you are not on a team that goes to one of them that you get to a showcase or camp that you can sign up for as an individual.

CIS Coach: I don't think there are any special teams. Good players are going to get noticed. Outside the province it's a little bit more of a challenge for us and so we would focus in on some of the larger programs around the country but, we try to have a foot print and our ﬁngers into lots of different places.

12. If you don!t play for a high-level team, how do you get on the coaches! radar?

D1 Coach: Send your schedule to the schools you are interested in. Also, let a school know if you will be playing in their area.

D3 Coach: Probably more often than not, the kids contact us ﬁrst and get on our radar that way. We have a very limited recruiting budget so we don!t just go to a lot of places

13. Is “getting noticed” any different for goalies than for players?

D1 Coach: If we need a goalie we will watch them more closely. If not, we would not focus on that position. We are always looking for forwards and defense so we watch every skater.

D3 Coach: I find it difficult to evaluate goalies at big events when I am trying to watch a lot of players. So other than the great save or weak goal I end up trying to watch a lot of action unless I am there to specifically watch a goalie. With goalies, I actually request video and will want to do as much research about the player as possible (like to talk to goalie coach, etc.).

14. Are there particular tournaments or events that college coaches go to more than others? Should players/teams be trying to get into those tournaments/ events?

D1 Coach: There are so many tournaments out there we could be at one every weekend. Many of them are now becoming “watered down”. Attend the tournaments that will be most competitive for your team. When you contact us, you can also ask which tournaments we plan on attending throughout the year.

D3 Coach: For US tournaments, I would say the ones we focus on are the NAHA Showcase and NAHA Labor Day tournament, the Connecticut Polar Bear tournament, the New England Prep School Holiday tournaments, and in recent years, the Chowder Cup. I would say that we focus on those and go to various others as our schedules allow. We don!t get on a plane to recruit which is due to very limited recruiting budgets so for us it!s got to be within driving distance.

15. Do players need to attend spring tournaments and prospects tournaments in order to get noticed?

D1 Coach: NO.

D3 Coach: This is a good question because I do think spring/summer hockey is where a good deal of the evaluation is taking place now. I would say we rarely recruit a player who we have not seen play before the summer of her grade 12 year. A player doesn!t need to do all of the showcases or summer tournaments (sometimes that is not good as they get overexposed) but I would say it has become more important over the past few years to play in an event in the summer.

CIS Coach: "Scouts will go to those, and we go to those. We may notice a player, but I don't think we notice any player that we wouldn't notice in the regular season. Are they a necessity? I don't think so. I think that any time a player wants to go to a spring tournament or a showcase tournament like that, it should be because it's going to enhance their enjoyment of the sport, and not necessarily because it's going to enhance their ability to be recruited.

16. Do girls have to play girls hockey to get noticed? Does playing boys hockey help them or hurt them?

D1 Coach: Normally yes, it!s more practical for our programs to attend girls tournaments. Everyone feels differently about this one but personally I think girls should play with the boys as long as they can.

D3 Coach: Once again, my answer might be different than a D1 coach. We are likely not going to go to a boys hockey game to watch a girl player unless she is very local. This is a great question for the development of players but as a general rule I would like to see girls play with girls for at least a few years before college because their roles are often different on a girls team and they need to adjust to the girls game.

17. Does going through a college recruiting company help players get noticed?

D1 Coach: No. normally this is a sign that they are not a very good hockey player. To be honest, I delete most of those emails. That company has the costumers! interest as their priority – not mine.

D3 Coach: It makes no difference to us, but I can!t think of a single kid I have recruited over the past six years who was introduced to us by a recruiting service. With the internet, it!s easy for kids to do the work themselves to contact coaches (an email introduction is ﬁne). We like kids who show initiative so unless they are from an area where they know nothing about U.S. college hockey and have coaches who don!t know as well. I always prefer that the kids just do the work themselves.

GETTING RECRUITED

1. What is the ﬁrst step a player should take who wants to play at the college level?

D1: If you haven!t heard from schools by your grade 11 year, initiate on your own.

D3: Do some research on the kind of school you want to attend and contact the coaches of those schools. There are a number of steps that will follow, but being realistic about your level of play and that of the schools that interest you is important. Talk to people who know about college hockey and what level of a player you are

2. What are the 5 most important things players need to do to get a scholarship/ play college hockey?

D1: 1. Basic Skills, 2. Game Sense, 3. Attitude, 4. Competitiveness, 5. Coachability

D3: First I would say, do well in school in school because about a quarter of the colleges that have women!s hockey in the U.S. are top academic schools and if you don!t qualify for admission then those schools aren!t even options. Second, work on skills. Most college coaches I know don!t care much about what systems you play before you get here but want kids with skills who we can then teach. Third, work hard and be coachable. Fourth, play where you will be seen. And ﬁfth be honest with yourself and the coaches who recruit you.

3. What can parents do to make your job easier?

D1: Let the athlete take responsibility but if something needs to be sent (ie. a transcript), get it out in a timely manner. Help your child do the research early. Be a part in helping them make an informed decision. This is a decision that will directly impact the next four years of their lives and have a profound impact on the next forty years of their life. It has to be about more than just the hockey.

D3: For the most part, stay out of it. Be supportive of your daughter, help her with the college research, facilitate visits but let her do the work of being recruited. If you have legitimate questions about the process, ﬁnancial aid/scholarships etc, then feel free to ask coaches once the recruiting process has started (ie. You know the coach is legitimately interested). Otherwise, don!t be her agent.

4. What can players do to make your job easier?

D1: Respond to emails and if asked to ﬁll something out-ﬁll it out and return it

D3: Respond promptly to emails, phone calls etc. Realize that how you act in the recruiting process will be an important way for the coach to get to know you and assess how you will ﬁt into the program. Be honest.

CIS: I think the biggest thing, from my perspective, is that students are taking an active role in contacting schools that they're interested in going. I think the priority is academics. What's the academic program that you want to study when you get to school? That should inﬂuence and shape some of your decisions on the schools that you're considering.

5. What can club/rep coaches do to make your job easier?

D1: Be honest with college coaches about a player!s ability and intangibles

D3: Be honest and realistic in assessing your player!s talent and attitude. Don!t oversell your players because it will hurt your credibility.

6. How is the recruiting process different for Div 1, Div 3, or Canadian schools?

D1: D1 is more aggressive and the process will start earlier.

D3: In my conference (NESCAC), recruiting is a little different in that we can!t talk to players at tournaments. So while other colleges might approach you after a tournament to tell you they like you and want to recruit you, we can!t do that. We can only talk to kids on the phone or on our campus. In D3 we can talk to kids before their grade 12 year, but that mostly consists of returning phone calls (but that is NOT illegal). Also, in NESCAC, admission is one of the toughest pieces of recruiting so we have a very limited pool of kids we can recruit.

CIS: think that there are a lot of similarities between the recruiting process and Canada and the U.S. schools. Our time line would be a little bit different. In December and January, we may still contacting interested student athletes. I think there are a lot of programs in the NCAA now that are leaning toward having all their recruiting done by the fall, and maybe looking at a couple of players in the second half of the year. Obviously, there are some schools in the NCAA that would fall into that, looking at doing it later on, as well. But I think that's probably one of the biggest differences.

7. Do players have shot of making the team as a walk-on?

D1: Yes. Even more important that they have good character and know their potential role on the team.

D3: Yes, if they are good enough. It!s that simple.

CIS: "Yes - it depends on the quality of your program and where you're at in your stage of development. There are opportunities for walk-ons in every program. I think that the teams who are winning national championships probably have fewer opportunities for walk-on, because they typically have a lot of depth in their program.

8. When would a coach tell a player that they are NOT interested?

D1: Senior/grade 12 year. This depends on the coach and how honest he or she wants to be, as well as who else they are recruiting. It also depends on the player. Let!s say we have a scale of 1 to 4 for all players. 1!s are impact players, 2!s are players we know will play Div. 1 hockey somewhere, 3!s are the bubble players (they may play D1 or might not quite make the cut in the end) and 4!s are kids who we feel can not play at this level. We will tell the 4!s right away. The 2!s and 3!s we try to hang on to in order to see how the recruiting goes each year. Academics certainly play a role in this as well – similar to the above scale here also.

D3: I suppose this varies from coach to coach. I try to be as honest as possible throughout the process. If I know for sure that the academics aren!t going to make the player a viable candidate I will tell them right away. Otherwise the process can take a lot of twists and turns and a lot depends on how highly recruited the player is. If I know for sure that the player can!t play in our program from a hockey standpoint, I will tell them early in the process.

CIS: It's a delicate thing. The one thing that I try to emphasize a lot is that it's about finding the best fit, and the right fit, and that has to be in a number of different areas. I don't know if I ever really tell a player, "Listen, you can't play." What I think may be different from what another school thinks. What I try to do is say, "If you were to decide to come to our school, I see you fitting in as an everyday player; or, I see you fitting in, and you'd have to earn your ice time so you may have to spend some time or miss some games; or, you'd have to come in and earn a spot on our team, because right now you're not quite at the level; and, here are the areas that I see you'd have to work on to give yourself an opportunity at that.

9. What should players/parents do after they receive that 1st recruiting letter?

D1: Respond with whether or nor they are interested. Return anything the school is asking for. If the letter is unsolicited by the family, it probably contains a questionnaire – return it immediately. This means the coach is interested in you. However, a lot of players feel they are being recruited because they got a letter from a coach which is in response to a letter they sent. That is not necessarily correct. If I receive a letter from

© Total Female Hockey 2011 20 FAQs: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS someone we almost always return a form type letter to ﬁnd out more information. Most letters are asking for more info. – respond to their requests. If you are not interested in the school – let the coach know. If you are, let them know that as well.

D3: First of all, realize that the same letter probably gets sent to a lot of players. Be happy that the school is interested and then be realistic. Then respond to it and see my answer above about being a good correspondent.

10. Does playing more than one sport help or hurt a prospective player?

D1: It doesn!t hurt in the recruiting process but it is VERY difﬁcult to play more than one sport at the D1 level. Normally would have to make a decision on a sport.

D3: It doesn!t matter to us but it might to some other coaches. We do have players who play more than one sport for the school.

11. Should players/parents tell coaches that other teams are looking at them if they are asked?

D1: It can only raise their value. I don!t see any reason why you would want to keep this a secret. The recruiting process is a lot about trust. I need to trust that person just as they need to trust me – if you can!t do that, you should not be working with one another.

D3: Yes. Complete honesty is the best policy in my opinion.

12. What is the Clearinghouse and do players need to join it to be recruited?

D1: The Clearinghouse (now called the Eligibility Center) is a service devised by the NCAA to declare that a student-athlete is academically eligible to play college sports. There is also a new part that certifies if a player is truly an amateur. You need to do both of these things to be recruited down the road when you get into your senior year with official visits. You may not go on an official visit without being registered with the Clearinghouse.

D3: Clearinghouse/Eligibility Center doesn!t apply to D3.

13. If 2 players are equal in terms of on-ice skill, what is the next thing on the list that helps you to pick between the two as a coach? Grades? Attitude? Money?

D1: How they ﬁt with the team, coachability, how they might help us.

D3: Grades and attitude would be the things for us. We have fully funded ﬁnancial aid packages for those who qualify based on the family!s need. But whether they can get into our school and what their attitude is like are key components of our decisions.

PICKING A SCHOOL

1. When should players start looking at schools? Where should they look and what should they look for?

D1: I suggest starting to do the research in tenth grade. Look for a school that ﬁts athletically, academically and socially. Where will you feel like you are in the right place for the next four years? Where do you feel you can thrive? Where can you feel challenged? Look at retention rates, graduation rates, transfers, etc.

D3: The research process should probably start by grade 10 with more serious narrowing down during grade 11. They should look at curriculum, location, cost, and hockey.

2. Should players wait to have an ofﬁcial visit before they choose their school?

D1: A lot will still do this. The “elite” level players are deciding earlier based on unofﬁcial visits. (NOTE: Ofﬁcial visits are not allowed until your grade 12 year).

D3: We don!t have official visits in the same way as D1 (we don!t pay for kids to travel here) but I would say that a substantial visit during the school year when you get to meet the team, possibly attend classes and see what life is really like is very important. This can happen during the grade 11 year in an unofficial visit and I would say this is becoming much more prevalent for top recruits (unofficial visits during grade 11).

3. What if the visit conﬂicts with their own games/practices?

D1: Communicate with their coach and see if it is OK. Many athlete have to miss something because they practically have hockey 365 days a year.

D3: This is a personal decision for the player. There are only so many hours in a day and so many dates to visit so hopefully everyone understands and can work together.

4. Is there any beneﬁt to going early decision (committing to the school early)?

D1: Less stress during senior year. You can focus on just playing and not trying to “earn” that scholarship or even get noticed.

D3: Sure. As a coach, many of our top recruits apply early decision and that way we know who we are getting. For the players, they may feel like they have less stress for the second half of their senior year.

5. How will players know what school to pick? How do they narrow the choices down?

D1: It is most important to visit the campus. I feel a lot of kids just “know” and “feel” when they are at the right place.

D3: This is a complicated question that is different for everyone. Figure out what!s important to you (curriculum, location, cost, hockey, etc.) and what is realistic. This is likely the biggest decision that a player will make up to this point in her life and she will realize that she might not get the perfect situation. Be honest with yourself and listen to the coaches who are recruiting you. Then make the best decision you can. That!s what the rest of your life will be like. There are no guarantees.

CIS: I think you really need to know a program you want to study and then you need to look at the schools that offer that program and whether or not they have a woman's ice hockey program. That's, for me, the ﬁrst ﬁt is looking at the tie between academics and athletics. Once you have that, then that will help you narrow down the choices.

6. How can players/parents determine whether they should go Div 1, Div 3 or Canadian? What are the major differences between these options?

D1: What is their focus? How much do they want hockey to be their priority. To be quite honest, it is almost like a “job” at D1.

D3: The best thing I can say here is that if you are not of a D1 caliber, you don!t have that option. The D1 coaches make the decision if you are a D1 player. So that!s the ﬁrst part. For some D1 caliber players, they might choose D3 if they want to play two sports or want a shorter season or a little more ﬂexibility in the off-season. So it!s a combination of both parties making that decision (player and college coaches).I guess I touched a little bit on this with my last answer. My own feeling is that once the season starts, there are many more similarities in the way D1 and D3 programs are run, than differences. D3 programs are limited to 25 games in the regular season (our conference limits us to 24) but we practice and/or play six days a week, watch video, do off-ice strength training, etc. which is pretty much the same as D1 programs. D1 usually has an earlier start date but both divisions have their championships on the same weekend in March so the D1 season is longer but it!s at the beginning rather than the end. I think at this point, most D3 programs take their hockey very seriously and while the skill level isn!t at the D1 level, it!s still very, very good.

CIS: Well, as I mentioned before, it's really about finding the best fit. For me, finding the best fit looks at academics as the top priority, athletics as the second priority, and the social element of university or college as the third. You have to look at the blend of all three areas. I think for parents and student-athletes that are on the fence between the U.S. and Canada, for Canadian student-athletes, I think they need to look at the quality of education. If they plan to come back to Canada, is the degree and the school that they're looking at in the U.S.... Would that degree be recognized here? For example, for teachers, there are some teacher's college programs in the U.S. which are recognized by the Ontario College of Teachers, but there are a lot in the U.S. that are not recognized here in Canada, and in Ontario in particular.

ACADEMICS

1. How much weight is given to academics in the recruiting/admissions process?

D1: Depends on the institution. You must pass the eligibility center to play.

D3: At schools in the NESCAC conference, a great deal of weight is given. The ﬁrst thing we do when recruiting a player is ask for a copy of their high school transcript. As I mentioned before, about 25% of the colleges in the U.S. that have women!s hockey are among the most difﬁcult to get into and many others have high standards as well.

2. What tests do players need to take to apply? D1: SAT and/or ACT. TOEFL if English is not their ﬁrst language D3: For our school the SAT or ACT is required. CIS: No standardized testing needed. Admission based on marks.

3. When should they start taking those tests? D1: Grade 11 year D3: Because so much recruiting is going on before the grade 12 year, I now recommend that students take the test(s) at least twice during their grade 11 year so that coaches know if they are viable candidates for admission during the summer or early fall of the their grade 12 year.

4. How should players proceed if the hockey opportunity does not ﬁt well with the academic offerings even though the hockey is the best level?

D1: Prioritize what is truly important to you. D3: This is a personal decision but I think any college choice needs to pass the “Blown- out knee” test. That is, if you were injured and couldn!t play hockey any more, would you still want to attend the school?

MONEY MATTERS

1. What determines whether a player receives $ and how much they receive? D1: At a school that can award athletic scholarships, their hockey ability and what they are worth to that program. D3: There are no athletic scholarships at D3.

2. What do scholarships cover? D1: They can cover tuition, room, board and books. But not all players will get everything (or anything) covered. D3: Financial aid is based on the family!s income. Some schools will meet 100% of your need, while others may not. There are some academic and/or leadership scholarships available at some colleges, but not all.

3. What kinds of scholarships are available? D1: Depends on the school. Some offer full rides, some are partial, some are based on academic ability and/or ﬁnancial need. CIS: Players can receive up to $3500 for their athletic ability. They can also receive scholarships based on academic ability or on ﬁnancial need.

4. What are your top 3 pieces of advice for players and parents ﬁnancially? D1: Not every athlete can get a full ride. Allow your kid to go where they will be most happy if this is feasible. Don!t make your kid go somewhere just because that is where the offer is higher…unless this is necessary. D3: Do some research and understand the value of education. Most private colleges in the U.S. are expensive, but many times they have the best faculty and small classes.

What is your #1 piece of advice for players who want to play at the college/university level?

D1: Do the right things in every aspect of your life…not just at the ice rink.

D3: Really the only thing I can say is that players should decide what is important to them for their entire college experience. It is a great four years and you only get one shot at it. No situation is right for everyone and be honest with yourself about what you are looking for out of your experience because for virtually every female, your post- college experience is going to involve work in a ﬁeld other than playing hockey. So do the research, make yourself the best candidate you can be and roll with the changes.

CIS: I think the number one piece of advice would be that student-athletes should be making their choices on where they want to go to school, and not have schools making the choice of whether they want them or not. By that, I mean it's about really doing your best to enhance your opportunities. I think one of the areas that sometimes goes overlooked is academics. Getting good marks, the best marks that you can possibly get in high school, opens up a wide range of opportunities for where you can go to school for your post-secondary education.

NCAA DIVISION 1 NCAA DIVISION 3 WOMEN"S CIS WOMEN"S HOCKEY WOMEN"S HOCKEY HOCKEY

Main Website: http://www.uscho.com/ Main Website: http://www.uscho.com/ Main Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/ d1women/ d3women/ sports/wice/index

Location: United States Location: United States Location: Canada

Total number of schools: 34 Total number of schools: 52 Total number of schools: 29

Conferences: 5 different conferences Conferences: 5 different conferences Conferences: 4 different conferences - WCHA: 8 teams, located in Minnesota, - ECAC East: 12 teams, located in - OUA: 10 teams, located in Ontario Ohio, Wisconsin and North Dakota Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New - QSSF: 5 teams, located in Quebec and - Hockey East: 8 teams, located in Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York Eastern Ontario Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New - ECAC West: 10 teams, located in New - Canada West: 7 teams, located in Hampshire, Vermont, Maine York, Pennsylvania British Columbia, Alberta, - ECAC: 12 teams, located in Rhode - MIAC: 10 teams, located in Minnesota Saskatchewan, Manitoba Island, Massachusetts, New - NCHA: 11 teams, located in Michigan, - Atlantic: 7 teams, located in Nova Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Connecticut - NESCAC: 9 teams, located in Island - CHA: 5 teams, located in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Michigan New York, Maine Plus 2 college conferences: - Independent: 1 team, located in - ACAC: 5 teams, located in Alberta Connecticut - CEGEP: 8 teams, located in Quebec

FOR US COLLEGE HOCKEY

NCAA: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is an organization that administers 23 sports and championships for those sports and enforces NCAA rules. The main role of the NCAA is to make competition fair, safe and sportsmanlike. To learn more about the NCAA, visit their resources page at: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ ncaa/resources. They have manuals for each of the 3 Divisions (explained in detail below) as well as critical information on academic standards and recruiting procedures.

NCAA Divisions: There are 3 divisions in the NCAA - Division I, Division II and Division III. Each school decides what division they belong to and adhere to the rules of that particular division.

The differences between divisions depend on: the number of sports the school has overall, how many sports are available to both men and women, how many athletes or teams the school has in each sport, and the number of games it plays against schools in the same division.

Division I: - Must offer at least 7 sports for men and 7 sports for women - or 6 for men and 8 for women. - Offer 2 team sports for each gender. - Have both male and female teams or participants for each sport!s playing season. - Offer a certain number of ﬁnancial “awards” to student-athletes, without going over the maximum amount allowed.

All Division I women!s hockey teams are listed on the NCAA website: http://web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec/sponsorship?sortOrder=0&division=1&sport=WIH

Division II: - Must offer at least 5 sports for men and 5 for women - or 4 for men and 6 for women. - Offer 2 team sports for each gender. - Have both male and female teams or participants for each sport!s playing season - Have at least the minimum number of contests and participants for each sport.

All Division II women!s hockey teams are listed on the NCAA website: http://web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec/sponsorship?sortOrder=0&division=2&sport=WIH

Division III: - Must offer at least 5 sports for men and 5 for women - Offer 2 team sports for each gender. - Have both male and female teams or participants for each sport!s playing season. - Have student-athletes who do not get sports-related ﬁnancial aid.

All Division III women!s hockey teams are listed on the NCAA website: http://web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec/sponsorship?sortOrder=0&division=3&sport=WIH

NCAA Eligibility Center: www.eligibilitycenter.org This is the website to look at to ﬁnd out the eligibility requirements for student-athletes who want to play sports at the Division I or Division II level. You will need to register with the Eligibility Center - the instructions for doing this are right on the home page.

NCAA Core Courses: If you want to be eligible to be a student-athlete at a Division I or Division II school, you must take the 16 core courses listed below. This does NOT apply for Division III schools. DIVISION I DIVISION II 16 Core-Course Rule 14 Core-Course Rule 16 Core Courses: 14 Core Courses: 4 years of English 3 years of English 3 years of mathematics (algebra 1 or higher) 2 years of mathematics (algebra 1 or higher) 2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of 2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab if offered by high school) lab if offered by high school) 1 year of additional English, mathematics or 2 years of additional English, mathematics or natural/physical science natural/physical science 2 years of social science 2 years of social science 4 years of additional courses (from any area 3 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or nondoctrinal above, foreign language or nondoctrinal religion/philosophy) religion/philosophy)

NCAA Student: www.ncaastudent.org This is a great website that provides a user-friendly guide to the NCAA which will help you prepare for life as a student-athlete while at university and for the rest of your life.

Standardized Testing: There are a variety of different standardized tests that are used for admissions to US colleges and universities. SAT Tests - http://www.collegeboard.com/ - PSAT: This is the preliminary SAT that gives you ﬁrsthand practice for the SAT. This is usually taken in grades 9-11. - SAT: This is the most widely used college admission test. Most students take the SAT during their grade 11-12 year and almost all colleges and universities use the SAT to make admissions decisions.

- SAT II: These are specific subject tests that are required by some US college/ universities for admission. Subject tests are hour-long tests that allow you to showcase achievement in specific subject areas where you excel. There are the only national admission tests where you choose the tests that best showcase your achievements and interested. Coaches will let you know if these are required for their school and whether there are specific tests that you must take.

You can learn more about the SAT and SAT II tests at the website below: http://sat.collegeboard.com/about-tests

ACT Test: http://actstudent.org/ The ACT is a national college admission examination that consists of subject area tests in English, Math, Reading and Science. There is also an optional reading portion - that you may be required to take depending on whether they are required by the schools you are applying to. ACT results are accepted by all 4-year college and universities in the U.S. You can learn more about the ACT from the test format to the dates the test is offered and how to register at the website above.

SAT vs ACT - Major Differences: - The SAT has 3 components: Critical Reasoning, Mathematics and Writing. The ACT has up to 5 components: English, Math, Reading, Science and an optional Writing portion. - The ACT is a content-based test. This means that the ACT tests the student!s knowledge of subject material learned in high school. The SAT tests critical thinking and problem solving. - The ACT includes a science reasoning test; the SAT does not. - The SAT is not entirely multiple choice. - The SAT has a guessing penalty; the ACT does not. - The ACT tests English grammar; the SAT does not. - The SAT tests vocabulary much more than the ACT. - With the SAT, students can earn a maximum of 800 points on each of the 3 sections. - With the ACT, students can earn a maximum of 36 points on each section, which the ACT then averages for a composite score.

Some students will take both tests to see which one they do better on. There are also many different books, websites and courses you can use to practice and see which might be a better ﬁt for you.

Unofficial vs Official Visits: There are 2 types of visits to a school!s campus a prospective student-athlete can take. Unofficial - This is a visit where the prospect and the prospect!s family pay for the expenses associated with visiting the institution. The prospect can contact the coach to arrange a tour of facilities and campus. You can “unofficially” visit as many schools, as many times as you want.

Official - This is the visit where lodging, meals and limited entertainment are provided to the prospect. The round trip travel expenses can also be covered for the direct travel to and from the campus. You can only make one official visit to any single school and are limited to a maximum of 5 official visits to Division I or II institutions. Division III schools do not have official visits - all visits are unofficial.

NCAA Recruiting Rules: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome? WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/ncaa/NCAA/Legislation+and+Governance/Eligibility+and +Recruiting/Recruiting/recruiting.html

This website details all the recruiting rules for each of the 3 NCAA Divisions.

Recruiting Calenders - There are certain times of the year when US college coaches can contact you as a prospective student-athlete and some when they can!t. The way they can contact you and the frequency with which they can contact you changes based on what year you are in high school and whether you are from the United States, Canada or another international country.

Go to: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/ncaa/ NCAA/Legislation%20and%20Governance/Eligibility%20and%20Recruiting/Recruiting/ Recruiting%20Calendars/

And click on “Other Sports Guide” to find the recruiting calender for Division I Women!s Hockey. This is a terrific resource that not only outlines when and how the coaches can contact you, but also contains critical definitions for what constitutes a coach “contacting” you or “evaluating” you.

The college coaches get tested on these rules regularly and are expected to follow them to the letter. That being said, you should educate yourself on the rules and regulations, and be aware of the critical periods that govern the recruiting process for women!s hockey.

Use the “Year-By-Year Division 1 Planning Timeline” in this guide to help you navigate these key periods and details.

Critical Dates & Periods In the Division Recruiting Process:

Please note that these are NOT all the rules - but they are some important ones to keep in mind as you navigate the recruiting process.

Freshman & Sophomore Year (Grade 9 & 10): - Coaches can send non-recruiting materials - questionnaires and brochures. - Coaches CANNOT call you - except that they can call an international prospect (Canadian or other) during the month of July after their sophomore/Grade 11 year. - You can call and email coaches at any time. - They can evaluate you off-campus at this time at games but they can!t initiate contact off-campus with you. - Unofﬁcial visits are allowed.

Junior Year (Grade 11): - Coaches can send you recruiting materials after September 1st. - Coaches can call you once per week (this does not include voicemails). - You can call and email coaches at any time. - Coaches can evaluate you off-campus at any time and can make contact with you off- campus after July 1st. - Coaches can email you after September 1st. - Unofﬁcial visits are allowed.

Senior Year (Grade 12): - Coaches can send you recruiting materials at any time. - Coaches can call you once per week after July 1st before you start grade 11. - You can call and email coaches at any time. - Coached can email you at any time. - Coaches can evaluate and make contact with you off-campus at any time. - Unofficial visits are allowed. - Official visits are allowed anytime after your first day of classes begin at high school. You can have an official visit at a maximum of 5 schools and can only visit each school once officially. - Before a school can invite you on an official visit, you will have to provide the college with a copy of your high-school transcript and SAT, ACT, PSAT or PACT score.

DIVISION II & III Schools: Division II and III schools are governed by their own recruiting rules which can be different based on which conference the team plays in. It is best to ask the coaches directly what the critical timelines are for their school and whether there are any rules and regulations that you need to be aware of. The coaches will be well aware of their rules are and should be adhering to them.

National Letter of Intent (NLI): http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/nli/NLI/About +the+NLI/ By signing a National Letter of Intent, a prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the designated college or university for one academic year and can receive an athletic scholarship for one full academic year. Once a National Letter of Intent is signed, prospective student-athletes are no longer subject to further recruiting contacts and calls.

FOR CANADIAN UNIVERSITY HOCKEY

Recruiting: - Resources can be limited for CIS schools when it comes to recruiting. While most head coaches are full-time, many of the assistant coaches are not, which means that the time available to recruit is greatly reduced, especially in the heart of the season. Many schools are very selective about which games or tournaments they attend. - Due to this lack of resources, it is especially critical that you email the coaches of programs that you are interested in. They may not watch as many games as some of the US coaches, so you are helping yourself, and the coaches, out quite a bit by reaching out and initiating contact with them. - CIS coaches do have rules to follow when they are recruiting, but a fundamental difference is that communication with a prospective student-athlete can take place at any time.

You can ﬁnd a full guide to being a student-athlete in Canada at the website below: http://english.cis-sic.ca/information/student-athlete_info/athletes_guide

Here are some of the key points about recruiting from this site:

Are there any restrictions to who I can contact? Unless you have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI), or you are already a CIS student- athlete, there are no restrictions to who you can contact. If you have signed an LOI, you are not permitted to initiate or respond to contact with another school for the purpose of competing for that other school.

Are there any restrictions to who can contact me from a CIS institution? Unless you have signed a LOI, or you are already a CIS student-athlete, there are no restrictions to who can contact you. If you have signed an LOI, you are required to inform another CIS institution!s representative that you have done so; upon any subsequent contact by the same CIS institution for the same purpose, you should notify the Athletic Director (or designate) of your LOI Institution within 48 hours.

Can I practice with my prospective CIS team? For women!s ice hockey, you cannot practice with a CIS team during the competitive season;" you may practice with the team outside the CIS competitive season.

What about recruiting trips, travel, and enticements? You are limited to one funded visit within an academic year, in whole or in part, to a CIS campus, although you are not limited to the number of unfunded visits to a campus or to the total number of schools you visit.

Categories NCAA Division 1 NCAA Division 3 CIS

Location United States United States Canada

Scholarships Athletic scholarships available - not Academic and financial-need based Some offer athletic & financial awards necessarily for all athletes and not always a scholarships. No athletic scholarships. up to tuition, however Ontario “full ride” (sometimes partial). Academic universities can only award up to and financial-need based scholarships too. $3500 as athletic scholarship. Academic & financial-need based scholarships.

Academics All different types of programs offered at all schools - you must research the reputation of the programs based on your interests. For the CIS schools, you are typically applying to a speciﬁc program (ie. business or math), whereas for many of the NCAA schools, you are simply applying to gain admission into the school itself. Differs by school.

Tests for Entry SAT, ACT, some require SAT IIs SAT, ACT None - based on your grades

Recruiting Timing: Starts in Grade 10, most intense in Timing: Starts in Grade 10, most intense Timing: Mostly in Grade 11 & Grade Grade 11 & fall of Grade 12 in Grade 11 & fall of Grade 12 12 Rules: Most strict rules (see “Rules & Rules: Differs by conference. Some Rules: Can talk to players at any Regulations” chart) cannot talk to players at tournaments. time about schools Resources: Have the most available in Resources: Not as many - you should Resources: Not as many - you terms of time. Able to travel more and be at contact them if you are interested in their should contact them if you are more games/tournaments. program. interested in their program.

Letter of Commitment Yes Yes These are optional - but if one is signed, it is binding

Early Signing Period Yes Yes No

Go through NCAA Yes No No Clearinghouse

Ofﬁcial Visits Yes No Yes

Commitment Level All have similar commitment levels in-season. The big difference tends to be in the off-season - athletes at the NCAA Division 1 & CIS level tend to have a bigger time commitment to their sport in the off-season.

WCHA

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number

www.bemidjistate.e ssertich@bemi Bemidji State Bemidji- MN du/ Steve Sertich djistate.edu 218-755-2958 www.bsubeavers.com/whockey/

frost017@umn. www.gophersports.com/sports/w-hockey/minn-w- Minnesota www.umn.edu/ Brad Frost edu 612-625-0188 hockey-body.html

[email protected]. www.umdbulldogs.com/teams-womens- Minnesota- Duluth Duluth- MN www.d.umn.edu/ Shannon Miller edu 218-726-8164 hockey.php

eric.means@m www.msumavericks.com/index.aspx?path=whocke Minnesota State Mankato- MN www.mnsu.edu/ Eric Means nsu.edu 507-389-3217 y

brian.idalski@a www.undsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_I North Dakota Grand Forks- ND www.und.edu/ Brian Idalski thletics.und.edu 701 -777-6490 D=13500&SPID=6403&SPSID=58668

Nate handrahan.2@ www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/w-hockey/osu- Ohio State Columbus- OH www.osu.edu/ Handrahan osu.edu 614-292-7073 w-hockey-body.html

www.stcloudstate.e jlgiesen@stclou St. Cloud State St. Cloud- MN du/ Jeff Giesen dstate.edu 320-308-4806 scsuhuskies.com/index.aspx?path=whockey

http://www.wisc.ed www.uwbadgers.com/sports/w-hockey/wis-w- Wisconsin Madison- WI u/ Mark Johnson 608-262-0101 hockey-body.html NCAA Division 1 Women’s Hockey Programs

CHA

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number

www.mercyhurst.e msisti@mercyh www.hurstathletics.com/index.aspx?tab=hockey2& Mercyhurst Erie- PA du/ Michael Sisti urst.edu 814-824-2142 path=whockey

Moon Township- colontino@rmu. www.rmucolonials.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OE Robert Morris PA www.rmu.edu/ Paul Colontino edu 412-397-4478 M_ID=13900&KEY=&SPID=6531&SPSI

www.syracuse.edu [email protected] Syracuse Syracuse- NY / Paul Flanagan du 315-443-2885 www.suathletics.com/index.aspx?path=wice

D1 Independent

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number Sacred Heart Fairﬁeld, www.sacredhea Thomas omalleyt@ 203-878-860 2 http://www.sacredheartpioneers.com/sports/w- University Connecticut rt.edu/ O'Malley sacredheart. hockey/index edu NCAA Division 1 Women’s Hockey Programs

ECAC

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number

Shannon sdesrosi@clark www.clarksonathletics.com/index.aspx?tab=_hock Clarkson Potsdam- NY www.clarkson.edu/ Desrosiers son.edu 315-268-4481 ey&path=whock

www.colgate.edu/h gfargo@colgat www.gocolgateraiders.com/index.aspx?path=whoc Colgate Hamilton- NY ome Greg Fargo e.edu 315-228-7839 k

dld43@cornell. www.cornellbigred.com/index.aspx?path=whockey Cornell Ithaca- NY www.cornell.edu/ Doug Derraugh edu 607-255-6675 &tab=1

www.dartmouth.ed mark.hudac@d www.dartmouthsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB Dartmouth Hanover- NH u/ Mark Hudak artmouth.edu 603-646-0919 _OEM_ID=11600&SPID=4726&SPSID

whockey@fas. Harvard Cambridge- MA www.harvard.edu/ Katey Stone harvard.edu 617-495-2281 www.gocrimson.com/sports/wice/index

www.princeton.ed jkampy@prince www.goprincetontigers.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB Princeton Princeton- NJ u/main/ Jeff Kampersal ton.edu 609-258-5975 _OEM_ID=10600&KEY=&SPID=4275

www.quinnipiac.ed rick.seeley@qu Quinnipiac Hamden- CT u/ Rick Seeley innipiac.edu 203-582-3294 www.quinnipiacbobcats.com/sports/wice/index

[email protected] Rensselaer Troy- NY www.rpi.edu/ John Burke u 518-276-2192 www.rpiathletics.com/index.aspx?path=whock

Shannon sdesrosi@clark www.clarksonathletics.com/index.aspx?tab=_hock Clarkson Potsdam- NY www.clarkson.edu/ Desrosiers son.edu 315-268-4481 ey&path=whock NCAA Division 1 Women’s Hockey Programs

ECAC (Continued)

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number

cwells@stlawu. www.stlawu.edu/athletics/saints/women%27s%20h St.Lawrence Canton- NY www.stlawu.edu/ Chris Wells edu 315-229-5740 ockey

Claudia barcombc@uni www.unionathletics.com/index.aspx?path=whocke Union Schenectady- NY www.union.edu/ Barcomb on.edu 518-388-6771 y&tab=womens

joakim.flygh@y Yale New Haven- CT www.yale.edu/ Joakim Flygh ale.edu 203-432-4785 www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/w-hockey/index NCAA Division 1 Women’s Hockey Programs

HOCKEY EAST

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number

Boston College Chestnut Hill- MA www.bc.edu/ Katie King [email protected] 617-552-3104 www.bceagles.com/sports/w-hockey/bc-w-hockey- body.html Boston University Boston- MA www.bu.edu/ Brian Durocher [email protected] 617-358-3881 www.goterriers.com/sports/w-hockey/bost-w- du hockey-body.html heather.linstad www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-hockey/conn-w- Conneticut Storrs- CT www.uconn.edu/ Heather Linstad @uconn.edu 860-486-0612 hockey-body.html

maria.lewis@m Maine Orono- ME www.umaine.edu/ Maria Lewis aine.edu 207-581-1732 www.goblackbears.com/sports/w-hockey/index

Brian brian.mccloske New Hampshire Durham- NH www.unh.edu/ McCloskey [email protected] 603-862-1161 www.unhwildcats.com/sports/wice/index

www.northeastern. edu/neuhome/inde womenshockey Northeastern Boston- MA x.php Dave Flint @neu.edu 617-373-2631 www.gonu.com/index.aspx?path=whockey

Providence Providence- RI www.providence.edBob Deraney rderaney@prov 401-865-2291 www.friars.com/sports/w-hockey/prov-w-hockey- u/ idence.edu body.html james.plumer@ Vermont Burlington- VT www.uvm.edu/ Jim Plumer uvm.edu 802-656-2044 uvmathletics.com/index.aspx?path=whockey NCAA Division 3 Women’s Hockey Programs

ECAC EAST

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number

www.castleton.edu bill.bowes@cas Castleton Castleton, VM / Bill Bowes tleton.edu 802-468-6427 www.castleton.edu/athletics/whockey/index.htm

Holy Cross Worcester, MA www.holycross.ed Peter Van pvanbus@holy 508-793-3407 goholycross.com/sports/w-hockey/index u/ Buskirk cross.edu Manhattanville Purchase, NY www.manhattanvill David Turco turco@govalian 914-798-2761 http://www.govaliants.com/index.aspx?path=whock e.edu/ ts.com ey&&tab=1 Massachusetts- Boston, MA www.umb.edu/ Colleen Harris colleen.harris@ 617-287-7869 http://www.beaconsathletics.com/sports/w- Boston umb.edu hockey/index New England Henniker, NH www.nec.edu/ Sis Paulsen spaulsen@nec. 603-428-2406 www.nec.edu/athletics/varsity-sports/womens-ice- College edu hockey Nichols Dudley, MA www.nichols.edu/ Jillian Campbell jillian.campbell@ 508-213-2444 http://nicholsathletics.com/index.aspx?path=wice&t nichols.edu ab=icehockey2 Norwich Northfield, VM www.norwich.edu/ Mark Bolding mbolding@nor 802-485-2302 www.norwichathletics.com/sports/wice/index wich.edu Plymouth State Plymouth, NH www.plymouth.eduAshley Kilstein arkilstein@ply 603-535-2776 athletics.plymouth.edu/sports/wice/index / mouth.edu Salve Regina Newport, RI www.salve.edu/ Michael Cox michael.cox@s 401-341-2294 www.salveathletics.com/sports/wice/index alve.edu www.usm.maine.e jlauziere@usm. Southern Maine Portland, ME John Lauziere 207-780-5996 southernmainehuskies.com/sports/wice/index du/ maine.edu St. Anselm Manchester, NH www.anselm.edu/ Kerstin kmatthews@an 603-222-4271 saintanselmhawks.com/sports/wice/index Matthews selm.edu St. Michael's Colchester, VM www.smcvt.edu/ Chris Donovan cdonovan@sm 802.654.2765 www.smcathletics.com/sports/wice/index cvt.edu NCAA Division 3 Women’s Hockey Programs

ECAC WEST

School School Location Head Coach Coach Email Phone Number Team Website Website www.buffalostate.eCandice moxley15@gm www.buffalostateathletics.com/index.aspx?path=w Buffalo State Buffalo, NY du/ Moxley ail.com 716-878-3365 hockey&tab=hockey2

www.chatham.edu jevans1@Chat Chatham Pittsburgh, PA / Jason Evans ham.edu 412-365-1265 www.chatham.edu/athletics/icehockey/

earl.utter@cortl www.cortlandreddragons.com/index.aspx?tab=ice Cortland Cortland, NY www.cortland.edu/ Earl Utter and.edu 607-753-5445 hockey2&path=whockey

dejackson@el Elmira Elmira, NY www.elmira.edu/ Dean Jackson mira.edu 607-735-1837 athletics.elmira.edu/index.aspx?path=whockey

diane.dillon@o Oswego Oswego, NY www.oswego.edu/ Diane Dillon swego.edu 315-312-2880 athletics.oswego.edu/index.aspx?path=whockey

www.plattsburgh.e houlekj@platts www.gocardinalsports.com/index.aspx?path=whoc Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY du/ Kevin Houle burgh.edu 518-564-4243 key

Potsdam Potsdam, NY www.potsdam.edu Jay Green greenjw@potsd 315-267-2904 www.potsdambears.com/index.aspx?path=whocke / am.edu y&tab=_icehockey Neumann Aston, PA www.neumann.ed Casey handrahc@neu 484-840-4726 www.neumannathletics.com/index.aspx?tab=_iceh u/ Handrahan mann.edu ockey...whockey RIT Rochester, NY www.rit.edu/ Scott McDonald [email protected] 585-475-7148 ritathletics.com/index.aspx?path=whock

Utica Utica, NY Dave Clausen dclausen@utic 315-792-3729 www.ucpioneers.com/index.aspx?path=whockey& a.edu &tab=1 NCAA Division 3 Women’s Hockey Programs

MIAC

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number

www.augsburg.ed Michelle mcateer@augs Augsburg Minneapolis, MN u/ McAteer burg.edu 612-330-1377 athletics.augsburg.edu/index.aspx?path=whockey

bp- Bethel St. Paul, MN www.bethel.edu/ Brian Carlson carlson@bethel 651-635-8522 athletics.bethel.edu/index.aspx?path=whockey .edu bbruinin@cord. www.cord.edu/Athletics/women/hockey/current/ho Concordia (Minn.) Moorhead, MN www.cord.edu/ Brett Bruininks edu 218-299-4438 me.php

Gustavus mcarroll@gusta Adolphus Saint Peter, MN gustavus.edu/ Mike Carroll vus.edu 507-933-6297 https://gustavus.edu/athletics/whky/

sdebus01@ha Hamline Saint Paul, MN www.hamline.edu/ Steve DeBus mline.edu 651-523-2871 www.hamline.edu/athletics/womens-hockey/

jkranz@csbsju. www.csbblazers.com/index.aspx?tab=icehockey& St. Benedict Collegeville, MN www.csbsju.edu/ Jennifer Kranz edu 320-363-5870 path=whockey

bmmarshall@st St. Catherine Minneapolis, MN www.stkate.edu/ Brad Marshall kate.edu 651-690-8771 www.stkatesathletics.com/index.asp?path=whock

tmannor@smu www.saintmaryssports.com/index.aspx?path=who St. Mary's Winona, MN www.smumn.edu Terry Mannor mn.edu 507-457-1412 ckey

John bazzachi@stol St. Olaf Northfield, MN www.stolaf.edu/ Bazzachini af.edu 507-786-3148 www.stolaf.edu/athletics/hockey/women/

www.stthomas.edu tdpalkowski@st St. Thomas Saint Paul, MN / Tom Palkowski thomas.edu 651-962-5919 http://www.tommiesports.com/wh/ NCAA Division 3 Women’s Hockey Programs

NCHA

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number

Adrian Adrian, MI www.adrian.edu/ Chad Davis cdavis2@adria 517-265- www.adrianbulldogs.com/sports/w-hockey/ n.edu 5161ext.5000 Concordia (Wis.) Mequon, WI www.cuw.edu/ Jim Ingman Jim.Ingman@c 262-243-4528 http://www.cuwfalcons.com/sports/wice/index uw.edu Danielle danielle.syrowik Finlandia Hancock, MI www.finlandia.edu/ Syrowik @finlandia.edu www.fulions.com/index.aspx?path=whockey

Lake Forest Lake Forest, IL www.lakeforest.ed Carisa Zaban zaban@lakefor 847-735-6135 www.goforesters.com/sports/wice/index u/ est.edu www.marianuniver jlkivi93@maria Marian Fond du Lac, WI sity.edu Jamie Kivi nuniversity.edu 920-923-8934 http://www.sabreathletics.com/sports/wice/index

St. Norbert De Pere, WI www.snc.edu/ Rob Morgan rob.morgan@s 920-403-2022 www.snc.edu/athletics/hockeyw/ nc.edu St. Scholastica Duluth, MN www.css.edu/ Jackie [email protected] www.csssaints.com/index.aspx?path=whockey&ta MacMillan du b=hockey2 Wisconsin-Eau collinmj@uwec. Eau Claire, WI www.uwec.edu/ Mike Collins 715-836-4515 http://www.blugolds.com/sports/wice/index Claire edu Wisconsin-River joseph.b.cranst Falls River Falls, WI www.uwrf.edu/ Joe Cranston [email protected] 715-425-3508 www.uwrfsports.com/index.aspx?path=whockey

Wisconsin- Ann aninnema@uw Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI www.uwsp.edu/ Ninnemann sp.edu 715-346-2180 athletics.uwsp.edu/index.aspx?path=whockey

Wisconsin- dlaughl1@uws Superior Superior, WI www.uwsuper.edu/ Dan Laughlin uper.edu 715-395-8089 uwsyellowjackets.com/index.aspx?path=whockey NCAA Division 3 Women’s Hockey Programs

NESCAC

School Location School Head Coach Phone Team Website Website Coach Email Number

Amherst Amherst, MA www.amherst.edu/ Jeff Matthews jmatthews@am 413-542-2219 https://www.amherst.edu/athletics/teams/winter/ice herst.edu hockey-w Bowdoin Brunswick, ME www.bowdoin.edu/ Marissa O'Neal moneil@bowdo 207-798-7132 athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/wice/index in.edu Colby Waterville, ME www.colby.edu/ David Venditti dvenditt@colby 207-859-4915 www.colby.edu/athletics_cs/womens_hockey/ .edu Connecticut Kristin.Steele@ College New London, CT www.conncoll.edu/ Kristin Steele conncoll.edu 860-439-2847 www.conncoll.edu/athletics/whockey/

Hamilton Clinton, NY www.hamilton.edu Emily emcnamar@ha 315-859-4679 www.hamilton.edu/athletics/womens-ice-hockey McNamara milton.edu Middlebury Middlebury, VM www.middlebury.e Bill Mandigo wmandigo@mi 802-443-5398 www.middlebury.edu/athletics/sports/womenshock du/ ddlebury.edu ey carson.duggan Trinity Hartford, CT www.trincoll.edu/ Carson Duggan @trincoll.edu 860-297-4184 athletics.trincoll.edu/sports/wice/index

www.wesleyan.ed jamckenna@w Wesleyan Middletown, CT u/ Jodi McKenna esleyan.edu 860-685-2904 www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/wihockey/

Williams Williamstown, MA www.williams.edu/ Meghan Gillis Meghan.Gillis 413-597-2899 williams.prestosports.com/sports/wice/index @williams.edu Canadian University & College Women’s Hockey Programs

ONTARIO TEAMS (OUA - Ontario University Athletics) School Location School Website Head Coach Coach Email Phone Number Team Website

Brock University St.Catharines- jdenham@broc ON www.brocku.ca Jim Denham ku.ca 905-688-5550 x4034 gobadgers.ca/sports/wice/index

Guelph Rachel rachelf@uogue University Guelph- ON www.uoguelph.ca Flanagan lph.ca gryphons.ca/index.aspx?path=whockey

qwhockey@qu Queen’s Kingston- ON www.queensu.ca Matt Holmberg 613-533-6000 x75145 www.gogaelsgo.com/hockey-w University eensu.ca

UOIT (University of Ontario karen.nystrom www.uoitridgebacks.com/varsity/w- Institute of Technology) Oshawa- ON www.uoit.ca Karen Nystrom @uoit.ca hockey/index.htm

Ryerson lisa.Haley@rye www.ryersonrams.ca/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM University Toronto- ON www.ryerson.ca Lisa Haley rson.ca 416-979-5000 x4651 _ID=22300&SPID=74496&SPSID=593393

University of vicky.sunohara Toronto Toronto- ON www.utoronto.ca Vicky Sunohara @utoronto.ca 416-978-2224 www.varsityblues.ca/index.aspx?path=whockey

University of sreagan@uwat www.varsity.uwaterloo.ca/index.aspx?path=whoc Waterloo Waterloo- ON uwaterloo.ca Shaun Reagan erloo.ca 519-888-4567 x35526 key

University of chiggins@ivey. www.westernmustangs.ca/index.aspx?path=whoc Western Ontario London- ON www.uwo.ca Chris Higgins uwo.ca 519-661-3269 key

University of www.uwindsor.ed jimh@uwindso Windsor Windsor- ON u Jim Hunter r.ca 519-253-3000 x2437 www.golancers.ca/index.aspx?path=whockey

Wilfred Laurier rosborne@wlu. www.laurierathletics.com/varsityathletics/createt Waterloo- ON www.wlu.ca Rick Osborne 519-884-0710 x2182 University ca eam.php?sport...

York University jrawson@york Toronto- ON www.yorku.ca Jen Rawson u.ca 416-736-2100 x20107 www.yorkulions.ca/sports/wice/index/ Canadian University & College Women’s Hockey Programs

QUEBEC TEAMS (QSSF - Quebec Student Sports Federation) School Location School Website Head Coach Coach Email Phone Number Team Website

McGill University peter.smith@ www.mcgill.ca/athletics/varsitysports/teamshom Montreal- QC www.mcgill.ca Peter Smith mcgill.ca 514-398-7005 e/ice_hockey_w/

University of Montreal www.umontreal.c Isabelle isabelle.leclaire www.carabins.umontreal.ca/pages/Sports/hockey Montreal- QC a Leclaire @umontreal.ca 514-343-6111 x2656 -feminin.aspx?lang=FR-CA

Carleton University Shelley shelley_coolidg Ottawa- ON www.carleton.ca Coolidge [email protected] 613-520-2600 x4220 goravens.carleton.ca/womens-hockey/

University of Ottawa yevola@uotta Ottawa- ON www.uottawa.ca Yanick Evola wa.ca http://www.geegees.ca/sports/16

Concordia University llawton@alcor. Montreal- QC www.concordia.ca Les Lawton concordia.ca 514-848-2424 x3866 athletics.concordia.ca/intercollegiate/whockey/ Canadian University & College Women’s Hockey Programs

Alberta Colleges (ACAC) - http://www.acac.ab.ca/pages/hockey-womens.php School Location School Website Head Coach Coach Email Phone Number Team Website

Grant MacEwan Edmonton, http://www.mace Lindsay (780) 232-7407 http://www.macewanathletics.ca/index.php?sport University Alberta wan.ca/web/hom McAlpine _id=6 e/index.cfm

Mount Royal srivett@mtroy www.mtroyal.ca/campusservices/athleticsrecreati University Calgary- AB www.mtroyal.ca Scott Rivett al.ca on/athletics/chooseateam/coug_whockey.htm

NAIT (Northern Edmonton, http://www.nait.c Deanna deannai@nai 780.471.8557 http://www.nait.ca/65779.htm Alberta Institute Alberta a/default.htm Iwanicka t.ca of Technology)

Red Deer Red Deer, http://www.rdc.a Trevor Keeper trevor.keeper 403.342.3373 http://www.rdc.ab.ca/athletics/kings_queens/hoc College Alberta b.ca/Pages/defa @rdc.ab.ca key/Pages/default.aspx ult.aspx

SAIT (Southern Calgary, http://sait.ca/ Terry Larson saitwhoc@g (587) 999-0098 http://www.saittrojans.com/teams/hockey/women Alberta Institute Alberta mail.com s_hockey.html of Technology) Canadian University & College Women’s Hockey Programs

Canada West School Location School Head Coach Coach Email Phone Number Team Website Website

University of howie.draper www.bears.ualberta.ca/en/Teams/PandasHockey. Alberta Edmonton- AB www.ualberta.ca Howie Draper @ualberta.ca 780-492-7234 aspx

University of Manitoba [email protected] www.gobisons.ca/index.php?page=team&sport=h Winnipeg- MA umanitoba.ca Jon Rempel manitoba.ca 204-474-7274 ockey_w

University of Saskatchewan steve.kook@us www.huskies.usask.ca/Home_Left/womens_sport Saskatoon- SK www.usask.ca Steve Kook ask.ca 306-966-1045 s/hockey/

University of Regina sarah.howald www.reginacougars.com/index.aspx?path=whock Regina- SK www.uregina.ca Sarah Hodges @uregina.ca 306-585-5629 ey

University of British Columbia Graham graham.thoma gothunderbirds.ca/index.aspx?tab=icehockey(w)& Vancouver- BC www.ubc.ca Thomas [email protected] 604-822-2309 path=icew

University of Calgary Danielle danielle.goyett Calgary- AB www.ucalgary.ca Goyette [email protected] 403-220-8807 www.godinos.com/index.aspx?path=whockey

University of chandy.kaip@u gohorns.ca/index.aspx?path=whockey&tab=wom Lethbridge Lethbridge- AB www.uleth.ca Chandy Kaip leth.ca 403-332-5218 enshockey2 Canadian University & College Women’s Hockey Programs

Atlantic (AUS - Atlantic University Sport) School Location School Website Head Coach Coach Email Phone Number Team Website

Dalhousie sean.fraser@d athletics.dal.ca/dalhousie_tigers/teams/women_s University Halifax- NS Dal.ca Sean Fraser al.ca 902-494-1684 _hockey.html

St FX University [email protected] Antigonish- NS www.stfx.ca David Synishin a 902-867-5409 goxgo.ca/index.aspx?path=whockey

Saint Mary’s christopher.lar University Halifax- NS www.smu.ca Chris Larade [email protected] 902-496-8115 www.smuhuskies.ca/hockey-w-welcome.html

University of Moncton www.umoncton.c denis.ross@um Moncton- NB a Denis Ross oncton.ca www.umoncton.ca/umcm-sports/node/128

St. Thomas University Fredericton- pmurphy@stu. http://w3.stu.ca/stu/athletics/teams/womens_ho NB www.stu.ca Peter Murphy ca ckey/default.aspx

Mount Allison University Sackville- NB www.mta.ca Zach Ball [email protected] 506-364-2401 athletics.mta.ca/varsity/w_hockey/index.html

University of Charlottetown- Bruce whockey@upei Prince Edward PE www.upei.ca Donaldson .ca 902-629-2265 www.upei.ca/athletics/womens-hockey/ Island

CEGEP Colleges: https://www.sportetudiant.com/fre/collhof/index.cfm?sectorID=2 School Location School Website Head Coach Coach Email Phone Number Team Website

Saint-Jerome St Jerome, http://azimut.cstj. Pierre Alain pierrealain@ (514) 596-4140 Quebec qc.ca videotron.ca

Edouard- Longueil, http://www.colle Patrick (450) 679-2631 ext http://www.lehockey.ca/Equipe/lynxep/Accueil Monpetit Quebec ge-em.qc.ca/ Larivière 2377

Saint-Laurent Montreal, http://www.cege Marie-Claude mc_roy35@h (514) 953-2085 http://www.cegep-st- Quebec p-st- Roy otmail.com laurent.qc.ca/sports/secteur- laurent.qc.ca/ intercollegial/hockey/hockey-feminin/

Dawson Westmount, http://www.daws Scott s_lambton@ 514-235-2255 http://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/our- Quebec oncollege.qc.ca/ Lambton yahoo.ca communities/athletics/athletics-2010- home 2011/hockey

John Abbott Ste. Anne de www.johnabbott. Hank Binning henry.binning 514) 608-8855 http://www.johnabbott.qc.ca/current- Bellevue, qc.ca @cgi.com students/sports-and- Quebec recreation/intercollegiates/women/hockey

Limoilou Quebec City, http://www.climoi Pascal pascal.dufres (418) 647-6600 ext http://www.climoilou.qc.ca/fr/services_aux_etudi Quebec lou.qc.ca/fr/ Dufresne ne@climoilou 6574 ants/activites_sportives/sports_des_titans/hocke .qc.ca y_aa_feminin.php

Lafleche Trois http://www.clafle Michaël mikelapointe Rivieres, che.qc.ca/englis Lapointe 99@hotmail. Quebec h.html com

Lionel-Groulx Sainte- http://www.clg.q Éric (450) 430•3120 Therese, c.ca/ Miculescu ext 7829 Quebec

TOP 20 LIST

School Name School Location Size (# Program(s) of Interest Head Coach Head Coach Head Coach students) (ie. biology) Name Email Phone Number

STEP 1: SELECT SCHOOLS TO CONTACT • Start narrowing down your choices (using the “3 Ss Worksheet”). Critical things to consider are: academics offered, location, costs, size, sports, division. • Research the academic & athletic programs (using the “Navigating the Web” video) • You should have a list of 15-25 schools. Obviously you!ll have some that you are more interested in than others, but in the beginning, you want to keep your options very open. • Gather coaches! contact information (using the “College Hockey DETAILS”)

STEP 2: WRITE YOUR INTRODUCTORY LETTER (to send via email) • Include all the critical information coaches need. • If their team/school has a recruiting questionnaire, fill that out before sending the letter - and include that you!ve filled out their questionnaire in the email you send them. Note: Most of the recruiting questionnaires ask for very similar information. Make the process easier on yourself and save your answers in a separate document so that you can refer back to it when you have to fill out the next questionnaire.

STEP 3: CREATE YOUR INTRODUCTORY VIDEO • Create your video (using the “How To Create The Perfect Video” worksheet) • Keys: Keep it short and simple. Show practice and game footage. Don!t send a highlight reel. Note: Send the video if and when the coaches ask for it. If they are able to see an upcoming game of yours in-person, they may not ask for video. If you are play very far away from their location or aren!t playing in the tournaments you normally recruit at, they may ask you to send them an introductory video.

STEP 4: TRADE COMMUNICATIONS • You can email or call a coach at any time to speak with them about opportunities at their school. NCAA Division 1, Division 3 and CIS schools all have different rules about timing, type and frequency of communication that you need to be aware of (see the “Recruiting Rules & Regulations” sheet). • If and when a coach contacts you, get back to them as soon as possible. Also make sure that you have questions prepared for them (see “Sample Coach Questions”). • Track ALL your communications with coaches (using your “Communication Chart”).

STEP 5: SEND UPDATES • Make sure that you are sending updates to coaches at regular intervals (using the “Quick Update” sample). Earlier in the process, this should be twice a season. As you move into your Grade 11 and 12 year, the frequency will increase. Make sure they are aware if you change teams or your team adds a tournament that they are likely to be recruiting at.

STEP 6: CREATE YOUR “DECISION SCORE SHEET” • When you start getting to the point where you are deciding between a few schools, create a “Decision Score Sheet”. This will allow you to keep critical things in perspective as you make your ﬁnal choice.

STEP 7: MAKE YOUR CHOICE • Hopefully, if you!ve done all the work, this should be easy at this point. Depending on which division and country you want to play in, you may need to sign a Letter of Intent. Coaches will let you know these details at this point. Look at the “College Hockey DETAILS” section to double-check.

STEP 8: FOLLOW-UP WITH THOSE IN THE “RACE” • Make sure you send a ﬁnal communication to the schools you didn!t choose that you were very involved in the recruiting process with so that they don!t hear about your choice from someone else. This is never an easy call to make (call them if you can instead of email) but it is a common courtesy. They know you are making a choice - and they aren!t going to be mad at you if you don!t happen to choose their school.

© Total Female Hockey 2011 52 YEAR-BY-YEAR PLANNING TIMELINE - NCAA Division 1 Grade 9/Freshman Year Grade 10/Sophomore Year Grade 11/Junior Year Grade 12/Senior Year This is when the scouts really start Take unofficial visits at any schools July: This is when coaches can Scouts and coaches are not really looking at players, especially at the that you are interested in to get a initiate contact with you via phone. looking very much at players at this Division 1 level. better idea of what the school is all Players who are being recruited will point. If you are among the best in about. You can do this in the be called by the end of this month. your age group in the country, you Begin to really research your summer or anytime during the year. Scholarships can be offered at this may get noticed, but they are college and university options and point - but not receiving an offer spending almost all their time create a list of schools that interest Email any schools you are doesn!t mean that you aren!t being looking at older players. you. interested in with your team!s looked at. schedule and all your contact Work as hard as possible to get Fill out and submit the on-line information. This is especially August: the best grades you can. recruiting questionnaire for any critical as you have likely changed * Begin planning “official” visits. If a schools that you know you are teams. school is interested in you, they will Take classes that match your interested in. invite you on an official visit. school!s NCAA list of approved September of your junior year: Remember that you can only take a courses. You can receive this list at Send an email to the schools you This is when Division 1 coaches total of official visits (unofficial visits www.eligibilitycenter.org. are interested in and include your can first start contacting you via are unlimited). team!s game and tournament email (if you are not from the US, * Register for SAT/ACT as needed. schedule for the season. they can contact you once after July 1st of your grade 10/ September: You can contact the coaches by sophomore year). * Begin taking official visits to phone and email, but they cannot compare schools. contact you first. When you call Send a short video of you playing them, make sure to include your in game (and practice footage) to October: full name, graduation year, email any schools you!re interested in. * Retake SATs/ACTs if you need to and mailing address and the improve your scores. current team you play for. Take your SATs and/or ACTs in the winter and/or spring. When taking November: YEAR-BY- Contact any schools that you are your SATs, make sure to add the You can sign a National Letter of interested in visiting “unofficially” NCAA Clearinghouse number Intent (NLI) early this month. If you to set up a time to meet the (9999) as a place to send your have been offered scholarship YEAR coach. scores. money, and have chosen your school, you will get your application DIVISION 1 Fax a copy of your unofficial high Send an updated copy of your high in early this month and receive NLI school transcript (both grade 9 school transcript (grade 9, 10 & 11) papers from that school. and 10) after your final grades after your final grades have been PLANNING have been added to any schools added to any schools you!ve been December: Most Division 1 schools you!ve been in contact with. in contact with. will have selected and accepted 75% TIMELINE of their incoming class at this point. Schools can send you letters Register for the NCAA during this time. Clearinghouse at the end of your January: If you have not chosen your Junior year. school yet, most schools applications are due this month. 53 SAMPLE LETTER TO SEND TO COACHES

Subject Line: Player Interested in (enter name of university here) Women!s Hockey Program

Dear Coach (coach!s last name here),

My name is (your full name here) and I have an interest in playing hockey for (name of school here) in (year you want to start university/college).

I am currently in ___Grade at (enter the full name of your high school here) in (city), (state/province) and am looking to attend university in the fall of (enter the year here). I have looked closely at the websites for your school and hockey team. I am interested in studying (whatever programs you are interested in), and I think your school would be a good ﬁt for me. My current average is __% (if your school does GPAs, put this in there too).

[NOTE: If you are interested in the NCAA and have registered with the clearing house, put the number here. Also if you have written your SATs, put your scores here. If you plan on taking the SATs or ACTs sometime this fall, write down when you will be taking them.]

This season I am playing for the (enter full name of team and level here). The head coach of the team is (head coach!s name). My team will be playing in a number of tournaments this year including the (names of tournaments you are in throughout the season).

[NOTE: If you have a tournament coming up and have your schedule, include that information as well. For example: Our ﬁrst tournament of the year is the Stoney Creek Tournament on September 10th-12th in Hamilton, Ontario.]

This past season I played for the (enter full name of team and the level A/AA) and in the _____ games we played, I scored _____ goals and _____ assists.

[NOTE: If you are a goalie, put down total number of games played, number of wins/ shutouts , GAA, save percentage.]

Below is my athletic proﬁle, which includes contact information for my coaches. If you wish to know more about me, feel free to call or email them. I have spoken to them about including their information in this letter, and they will be happy to talk to you about me.

[NOTE: Go on the team!s website and see if they have a recruiting questionnaire - if they do, fill it out BEFORE sending the coach this email and say in your email that you filled out the recruiting questionnaire on their website. I have also filled out the recruiting questionnaire on the ______Hockey Team Website.]

Please let me know if there is any more information I can provide you. Also, there is any information you wish send me about your school, hockey program or campus that would be greatly appreciated. My home address is: [put your full mailing address here as well as your email address and your phone number]

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,

Your Full Name Your Complete Mailing address Your Email address Your phone number

(put your full name here)

Athletic Proﬁle: Sports: " Hockey, and any other sports you play at a high level Position: " Forward, Centre, Defense, Goalie - include which way you shoot or catch DOB: "" 27/05/1995 (dd/mm/yyyy) Height: " ie. 5!6” Weight: " ie. 150 lbs

High School: "" [full name of high school here] Graduation date: " ie. June 2012 GPA/Average: "" ie. 88% or 3.5""" SAT:""" [include scores if you!ve taken them or the date you!re taking them] I want to study: " [put down any of the academic programs you are interested in] Team Coach: " include full name, email and phone number "

I asked a number of different NCAA and CIS coaches this simple question: “Exactly what do you want to see in a “highlight” video from a player?”

Here!s what they had to say: WHAT TO DO 1. Send them a combination of game footage and practice footage. With the game footage, they get to see what kind of decisions you make on the ice. For this reason, make sure that the entire play in being ﬁlmed - do not just have the camera following you around exclusively. With practice footage, they get to see your skill level in particular drills. For example, if you are a defenseman, they will want to see how you play a 2-on-1. But in the game footage you shoot, there may not be any 2-on-1s. Hopefully your coach is open to the idea of helping you to “engineer” certain situations - like 2-on-1s, 1-on-1s and corner battles, so that you can send the scouts the most completely video possible.

If you are a FORWARD - Coaches want to see what you are capable of: - in the offensive zone: on the attack - 1v1s, 2v1s, and 2v2s. - in the defensive zone: positioning and ability to read & react to the play

If you are a DEFENSEMAN: - in the defensive zone: how do you play against a 1v1 and 2v1, how do you handle pressure when you!ve got the puck, do you make quick decisions & a smart ﬁrst pass - in the offensive zone: shooting and decisions are important - but the defensive side of the game is more valuable for them in the initial scouting phase.

If you are a GOALIE: - They want to see how you play shots under pressure - not just the easy ones. Don!t just give them your highlight reel saves - show how you move in the net & play the puck.

2. Keep it short and sweet. Show 5 to 8 minutes tops of your game footage. Make sure to show full shifts and not just highlights. They need to see as many aspects of your game as possible. For practice footage, keep it under 10 minutes.

3. Show yourself playing against the stronger teams you play against. While there is nothing wrong with showing yourself dominate against a weaker opponent, there is a lot more value for the scouts in seeing you play against the strongest competition. Show yourself playing in as many different situations as possible - offensively, defensively, on the power-play, on the penalty kill. Add a few highlights too - if you have a spectacular goal, save or shot, add it in there. It!s NOT a Top 10 video.

It doesn!t matter to them whether the video you send is in a DVD or YouTube format. They just want to see you play.

Sample of a Player Video (both game & practice footage): http://totalfemalehockeyclub.com/video-sample/how_to_videos/

IMPORTANT NOTES: Make sure that you clearly indicate which player you are in the video. Every coach mentioned that they!ve received videos where they can!t tell who the player they are supposed to be looking at is - this is not good. You can do this by indicating what color jersey and number you are right at the beginning of the video. An even better way of indicating which player you are is to have a small arrow on the screen that follows you around or by putting a light spotlight around you. Again, this isn!t critical (if you can!t ﬁgure out how to do it, don!t stress out about it) but it does make it much easier for the coach to watch you play. So if you can add that in, it will make a difference.

WHAT TO AVOID 1. A “Hollywood” Production: There is no need for all sorts of fancy special effects. The video must be high quality so that they can clearly see your skills and abilities as a player. Your ability to use special effects won!t change whether you are a good enough prospect to pursue. They also do not want any footage of you in the beginning where you are giving a monologue or sharing your personal resume. The game footage is more than enough at this point.

2. Poor Quality: While they don!t want to see a Hollywood production, they deﬁnitely won!t watch grainy footage where they can!t ﬁgure out which player you are out on the ice. The video quality is critical.

REMEMBER... The purpose of this video is to give the coaches! a short introduction to your skills and abilities as a player. This is especially valuable if you play in a smaller centre or your team isn!t playing in any of the tournaments that the scouts tend to recruit at. Coaches NEVER make a ﬁnal decision on a player based on video alone. If they like what they see, they will make and take the time to come and see you play in person.

PERFECT VIDEO RECAP: - Clearly indicate which player you are - at the very least, tell them which number, team and color jersey you have on. - Shoot 5-8 minutes of game footage - all your shifts strung together. - Shoot 10 minutes of practice footage - keeping in mind the position-speciﬁc details above. - Show your performance against a stronger team. - AVOID giving them a Hollywood production or a poor quality video. - Keep it simple.

Set up this chart for yourself in Word or Excel so you can track your communication effectively.

School Coach Name, My Interest Sent Letter & Completed Sent Video Updates Sent All Contact NOTES Phone, Level Proﬁle Questionnaire (enter date) (enter date & Dates Email (high, (enter date) (enter date) what you medium, low) sent)

As you go through this process, you!re going to be talking to many coaches - and each and every one of them is going to do their best to make their program as attractive as possible for you. To make sure that you learn all that you need to know about their hockey program and school - and can therefore make the best choice possible for you - here are some important questions to ask about the academic and athletic opportunities at their school. Some of the answers to these questions may be more critical for you than others - make sure that you get all the information you need before making your decision.

Don!t feel bad about asking questions! This is a HUGE decision and it is part of the coach!s job to help you.

ACADEMICS

How do you prioritize academics with your players? Each coach will have a different philosophy regarding the importance of academics relative to athletics. There is no right or wrong answer here - it is just important that you ﬁnd out whether the coach!s philosophy on academics is similar to yours.

Have you had other players successfully complete the same degree as I!m interested in? This is an important question because it tells you whether other student-athletes have been able to succeed in a similar program. Some majors are more time consuming that others. Some require labs or ﬁeldwork in addition to regular class hours. This is especially important to know if you anticipate missing class hours for away games as it can be very challenging to make up these non-class hours, as well as group assignments. The coach may not be able to give you an exact breakdown of the hours that will be required of you academically, but if you know that other players have been successful pursuing a similar program, you know that it is possible to do even with the athletic demands of the team.

How strong is my degree program? The reality is that some majors are considered “easier” than others at some schools. This is especially important to know if you are looking to pursue another degree after you complete your undergraduate degree. Being in a stronger program during undergrad will help you in the application process for graduate school. There are also schools that specialize in speciﬁc degree programs - some are more science, math and engineering focused, while others have more to offer in the humanities.

ATHLETICS

Can you describe your coaching style? Every coach has a different coaching style - and every player responds to different coaching styles in different ways. Some need an “in your face” type coach and some prefer a more laid-back approach. Again - there are no right or wrong answers here, but it is critical that you ﬁnd a coach who uses a type of motivation and discipline that is a good ﬁt for your learning style.

What are your expectations for the upcoming year? Every coach wants their team and players to succeed, but not everyone can win the national championship. By asking this question, you!ll learn what goals the coach has set for the team - but more importantly, you!ll understand what they believe deﬁnes a “successful” season for them.

What role do you think I might play on your team? This is one of the harder questions to ask - because you may not get the answer you want and the coach may not be able to give you the clearest answer. With the amount of players the coach may be recruiting, the role of each player on the list may not be completely deﬁned. That being said, if you are being actively pursued by the school, the coach likely already has an idea of how they might use you on the team.

Can you describe the scholarship program at your school? Some programs can!t offer athletic scholarships at all. Some can offer some full scholarships - but not for every player on the team. Some teams may have 10 players on a “full ride”, another 6 players who are on partial scholarships (either athletic or academic - or both) and maybe even another 4 who are receiving no ﬁnancial assistance at all. Some scholarships cover all four years of tuition, as well as room and board, while some are given out year-by-year. Every coach and school handles this differently - so it is critical that you ask this question!

What are the time and physical demands of being a part of this program? How many hours per day will you be training with the team? What other time is required - study hall, team meetings, out-of-town travel? You need to get a ballpark idea of how much time you will spend with your sport so that you can ﬁgure out how to manage the demands of your academic program as well. Every player at the varsity level has to train on and off the ice - that!s a given. But some programs are more physically demanding than others both in-season and out of season.

COLLEGE LIFE

What does a typical day for a student-athlete look like? This will give you a good idea of all the things you!ll need to balance and juggle as a student athlete. All teams have different practice times, class schedules are different at every school and then you need to consider meals, study hall, down time and everything else that goes into being a student-athlete.

What is the average class size? This can vary drastically from school to school and from program to program within each school. Class sizes can vary from single digits all the way up to the hundreds! It is unlikely that you!ve experienced either one of those extremes as a high school student, but both ends of the spectrum have their advantages and disadvantages. It is also important to know whether the classes are being taught by professors or teaching assistants. Coaches won!t know exact classes sizes but their answers will be able to give you a fairly good idea of what type of attention you will be receiving as a student.

Do most of the players live on campus or off-campus? Some schools require that students live on-campus in their ﬁrst year. Some do not require it at all. Some coaches try to get their athletes living together and some are completely “hands-off” when it comes to living arrangements.

FINANCIAL AID

Describe the different financial aid packages. Some schools offer athletic scholarships and some don!t. Some cover full tuition, room and board and some cover a fraction of your overall costs. It is important to know what your financial aid package entails. You will also want to know whether you might be able to eligible to receive any of the other financial aid packages that the school offers. It goes without saying that your parents will need to be involved in the conversation at this point.

If I get seriously injured and I am unable to participate, what will happen to my scholarship? It is important to know what the institution!s commitment to injured athletes is. This may not be the same for every school or for every athlete. It!s not the most uplifting question to ask - but it is a very important one.

What type of jobs do student-athletes typically have on campus? First, you!ll want to ﬁnd out if you can be employed while in season, or out of season. It may be something that is required with the ﬁnancial package the school gives you.

WHY SEND UPDATES?

You should send an update to coaches twice each season - once in the fall and once at the closer to the end of the season. This allows you to send any updates to your schedule, provides highlights of the season, share updates your stats, and shows the coaches that you are still interested. You can also include your upcoming schedule if you are moving on to a club team during the off-season. This is just another opportunity to highlight any of your recent successes, and updates the coach current on your athletic and academic achievements.

By this point in the communications process, you have probably already established a relationship with the coach. So all you need to do is send this quick update in the body of an email. Nothing fancy or elaborate required.

WHAT SHOULD THE UPDATE LOOK LIKE?

I can!t give you an exact format to follow for your updates. You need to write it on your own, in your own “voice”, but you want to include these key details below :

• Your full name • Highlights for your team, and you as an individual, from the season • Your current GPA or grade percentage • Any academic and/or athletic honors you have received • Stats from your latest season • Other vital info on your achievements or competitiveness • Immediate future plans - an example might be if you send this email after the season is complete, include which team you are playing for next season (if you know already) • Full mailing address, email, and phone number at the bottom

This email update doesn!t need to be long at all - in fact, the shorter it is, the better. Just make sure to include this critical information and keep the lines of communication open.

• You absolutely must work your way through this Score Sheet before making your ﬁnal decision. If you!ve done your homework, this should be fairly easy to work your way through.

• At this point in the process, it is very unlikely you will be looking at more than 5 schools. If you are, you may need to tighten up your selection criteria - or just make this score sheet a little larger!

• On this rating scale, 1 is the highest and 5 is the lowest. Keep in mind that this is relative - all of these schools are among your top choices after all. You can give multiple schools a “1” ranking in the same area. A “5” doesn!t necessarily mean that it is a horrible match - it might just be the lowest in that area out of your top 5.

• And if all else fails, go with your gut! It is a huge decision, but if one school & program just keeps jumping out at you time and time again, odds are that it is the right choice for you! There are no right or wrong answers here - just what is most right for you!

Potential Net Cost Their Level School Academic Academic Athletic Coaching Potential To Be An After Overall of Interest Name Quality Match Quality Staff To Improve Impact Financial Impression In You Player Aid

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5