SYHA FAQ

Q: What is the role of SYHA in the Shaker Youth Hockey Program?

A: SYHA is a non-profit organization comprised of volunteers; most are parents of current SYHA players. We primarily support the program through fundraising to pay for tournaments, coaching expenses, and additional ice time. SYHA assists with Thornton Rink scheduling and other aspects of the hockey program, but the recreation department of the city of Shaker Heights ultimately controls the hockey program including enrollment limits and rules, registration processing, fees, rosters, and facilities.

Q: Does SYHA have a girls hockey team?

A: SYHA supports girls playing hockey.  A mixed-age girls team was formed in ’23-‘24, and SYHA supported with ice time at Thornton, and will attempt to do so in the ’24-’25 season. The girls team is in the process of engaging with the City, as the city controls team enrollment and registration. The girls team is also assessing opportunities for ice time at other rinks and engaging with other Cleveland area girls hockey teams.

Q: Why do practice times change sometimes after they are posted on the website and the app?

A: This can be due to a number of factors including:

• Coach availability
• Player availability
• Changes on one team that necessitate changes for another team
• Human error

Q: Why do PeeWee teams have late practices?

A: We are a community program with one ice rink that is shared between our program, the high school varsity and JV programs, the ice-skating program, the adult hockey program, the learn-to-skate program and public skating sessions. Our ice time on Mondays and Wednesdays begins at 7:30p. Our ice time on Tuesdays and Thursdays begins at 7:15p. In the ’24-‘25 season, SYHA divides its Monday through Thursday night practices between 3 Bantam teams, 3 PeeWee teams, and 3 Squirt teams. We schedule the Bantam teams for the late practices Monday through Thursday with each team getting a half sheet of ice. This leaves one sheet open for the later ice time two nights a week. We try to rotate this through the PeeWee teams during the season. We schedule what is available to us. Unfortunately, we have later ice times for some teams.

Q: Is a large number of players and teams causing later practice times?

A: No. If we had more older players, the later ice time would not be as big a problem. If we had four Bantam teams – they would get the later ice time exclusively. The size of the program does not impact how much ice we have available to us nor when it is available to us.

Q: Why are teams having practices at Garfield?

A: This IS due to the size of the program. USA Hockey recommends kids are on the ice for a game or a practice 4 times per week. We are one of the only programs in the area that offers this on a fairly consistent basis to all our teams nearly every week.

In order to accomplish this, we had to find additional ice elsewhere. The city does not put a limit on the number of players in our program, and the success and quality of our program has increased program size. In March, we began contacting other rinks in the area. Garfield was the only rink that had a consistent weekly timeslot available for us. Garfield hosts practices for several programs and a girls team, but does not currently have a full CSHL program, which is likely why we were able to get ice time from them. The Garfield practices may be more attractive from the standpoint that aside from the first week there – those practices will be on Tuesday nights from 5:30p-6:30p.

Q: How are the number of tournaments determined for each team?

A: Mites: SYHA covers the entry fee for one tournament for each Mite team. Each team can choose what tournament to go to or choose not to go to a tournament. This is up to the coach(es). If a Mite team wants to go to more than one tournament, the parents need to cover the costs of additional tournaments.

Squirts, PeeWees and Bantams: each team attends an out-of-town tournament over MLK weekend. The entry is covered by SYHA. SYHA also will cover the entry fee for one additional tournament. Each team chooses whether to attend an additional tournament, based on coach decisions. If a team wants to go to more than one additional tournament, the parents cover the costs of those additional tournaments.

Q: What is your role in player placement and team roster construction?

A: I make these decisions to build the best overall program I can with the players who register, balancing player development and team balance. I assess players throughout the season, the off-season, and then pre-season. I also discuss roster placement with coaches in our program from year to year. Then I place players where they are best suited for development as a hockey player. I always offer 1:1 discussions with players regarding their development and placement.

Q: Why are some players rostered on multiple teams in the pre-season?

A: This provides additional assessment to determine optimal placement. When final rosters are completed for the regular season, players will not be double-rostered. They will have one team that they are on for league play. During the regular season, teams needing a player to fill their roster due to illness or absence can call a player up from a lower level team on a per-game basis. A player who is a skater on one team can be listed as the Back-Up Goalie on a second team and only play goalie for that team.

Q: Why do some teams have smaller rosters?

A: Smaller rosters allow more playing time. Team sizes and ability levels are aligned to the best possible extent.

Q: Why do some teams have larger rosters?

A: The highest-level Bantam and PeeWee teams, and sometimes a Squirt team, have typically had larger rosters. This is because they will often play 50-60 games each season. These higher-level teams are one of the attractions of the Shaker program; similar level club teams tend to have even larger rosters. Parents on these teams pay additional monies to cover the costs of ice-time, referees, games, and tournaments.

Q: How is a player rostered on the highest-level team?

A: Players are placed on teams based on skill level, ability, and what is best for their hockey development. Each year, difficult decisions must be made—there often skilled players who feel they should be on a different team than the one to which they were assigned. This is part of youth sports, and we strive to make the best decisions we can.

Q: What is a birth year team, and why have we had them?

A: From time to time, Shaker has had birth year teams (where all players are from a single birth year, instead of the normal two-year spread). This allows us to schedule more games against regionally competitive travel/club teams, because many of the higher-level teams are birth-year teams. Designating a team in our program as a birth-year team makes it easier for other programs to schedule competitive games with a Shaker birth year team. As with the top-level teams, parents on birth year teams typically pay extra to fund additional ice time and games.

Q: Why do some birth year teams actually have a player or two who are not in that birth year?

A: As with any team in our program, kids can play up. This includes birth-year teams. The birth-year is a designation not a requirement of birth-year. In some instances, the best situation for an appropriately skilled player is to join a birth year team one year older than their actual birth year. As with our other teams, players are placed where we (the coaches and I) believe they are best suited for their development as a hockey player.

Q: Is it unfair to place players who are new to the SYHA program on birth year or top-level teams, when other players have been in the SYHA program for longer?

A: We place players where they have the best chance to develop as a hockey player. This has nothing to do with whether a player is new to the program or not. We try to do what is best for each player. We do not have “spots” for players; players register with the city, and we then form teams with the registered players. None of the hockey programs in our region have a residency requirement. Shaker is no different. I am proud to say that many players have chosen Shaker over other programs in our area.

Q: Will birth year teams will stay together throughout their time in SYHA?

A: No. Players are assessed from year to year and placed where its best for them. As an example, we had a 2011 birth year team. That team was together for one season.

Q: Do we recruit players to come to Shaker?

A: No. If a parent contacts me about our program, I tell them what we have and what we can offer. I am proud of our program, and we have grown substantially over the years.