Waconia Hockey Association is in full planning mode for the 2023-2024 season and that includes lining up our coaches! Coaches play a huge role in our players experience playing hockey both on and off the ice. We pride ourselves for having great coaches to represent Waconia Hockey and achieve our mission of providing a safe, fun and quality hockey program for our community’s youth.
Coaches do not have to be parents of WHA players. WHA does pay non-parent coaches. A Non-Parent head coach can receive $4,000 a season and a non-parent Assistant Coach can receive $1,500 a season.
WHA Parents who are coaches receive their Dibs hours for the season fulfilled for coaching and potentially other incentives.
If you know someone who may be interested, please pass on this information! If you refer a non-parent coach and they are hired on as a coach your family could receive a $200 discount on your season registration!
The Registration "Coaches Corner" is not currently available.
Please note these instructions are for the coaching application only and are different than the registration process for enrolling your son or daughter in playing for WHA.
Please complete these steps in order:
Age Level | Requirement | Focus Areas | Intensity |
---|---|---|---|
Mite/Ice Mite/U8 | Optional – Some dryland training preferred | Stick handling, shooting, passing, floor hockey | Light |
Squirt/U10 | Optional – Some dryland training preferred | Stick handling, shooting, passing, floor hockey | Light |
Peewee/U12 | Strongly preferred | Stick handling, shooting, passing, systems, conditioning, plyometrics | Moderate |
Bantam/U14 | Required | Stick handling, systems, conditioning, plyometrics, strength | Intense |
Practice Plans – We expect that each head coach will prepare a written practice plan for each practice. Ideally, the coaching staff will also prepare a written season-long practice plan (see Practice Plans for examples).
Skills Development – We expect that each teams’ practice focus will generally follow the Skills Development Guidelines prepared by the WHA Hockey Development Committee.
Dryland Training – We expect that each team will supplement its on-ice development with age-appropriate dryland training as outlined below (see also Drill Bank – Dryland):
USA Hockey provides a document titled "Avoiding the Coaching Cliff" that lists all the things that coaches should take care of to prepare for the season.
Links to Practice Plans and Drills
Visit the Coaches section of the Minnesota Hockey Web site for additional coaching information.
This form must be completed and turned into the association prior to a child coming back after an injury:
https://assets.ngin.com/attachments/document/0130/1798/Concussion_Medical_Clearance.pdf