Victoria Esquimalt Assessment Policy

Policy: Player Evaluation and Team Selection for Victoria-Esquimalt Lacrosse Association (VELA)

These guidelines shall be distributed at the time of player registration and apply to all divisions with more than one team except Mini-Tykes; and have been designed to give each player a fair and equitable opportunity to demonstrate their ability to play the team game of lacrosse. The process considers both the growth and development of each player and placement on a team that best suits his or her talents and abilities within the division they are playing.

General: The purpose of evaluations for NOVICE and below within VELA is to ensure that playing abilities are balanced between the teams within each division. When player abilities demonstrate that the association is capable of flooring a Novice tier 1 team then the purpose will be to first identify players for the competitive team under the same process utilized to identify players in Pee Wee and above. The second purpose will then be to ensure that playing abilities are balanced between the remaining teams.

The purpose of evaluations for Pee Wee and above is to give all players an opportunity to demonstrate their playing abilities and should it be necessary to ensure that playing abilities are balanced between the teams within each division.

The Coaching Coordinator shall be responsible for administering the evaluation and selection process: in his/her absence the Executive shall designate an alternate.

Participation: All players must be evaluated before being placed on a team.

Players that are unable to make the evaluation process must notify the Coaching Coordinator immediately. These players abilities will then be judged separately by the Coaching Coordinator during regular practice sessions and a decision rendered as to the ability of the player and their position on the Player Selection List. The Coaching Coordinator will then appropriately assign the player to a team. As this could affect the balance between teams, suitable adjustments may need to be made in consultation with division Coaches and the Vice-President. The Coaching Coordinators decision regarding player evaluation and team placement will be final (refer to player movement policy).

Process: Evaluations will consist of 2 optional familiarization - warm-up practices, one fitness and skills evaluation session, followed by 2 evaluation games. For purposes of the overall evaluation a weighted scoring will be used and may be adjusted each year depending on the age group being examined and trends in the game. A reasonable guide would be 25% fitness, 25% skill, 50% ability in game.

A Player Selection List rated highest to lowest within each division, will be developed from those players who fully completed the evaluations. This list will be used to determine team selections and be produced by the Coaching Coordinator.

Evaluations shall be based on fitness, skill level and ability in a game situation.

Fitness evaluation shall consist of number of push-ups within a specified time, number of sit-ups within a specified time, timing for leg raises, sprinting, and the beep test. Timings and distances will be adjusted accordingly for each division.

Skills evaluation shall consist of passing, shooting and catching drills that have an unbiased form of measurement. Passing drills will be made on targets. Shooting drills will conducted on a wooden goalkeeper. Coaches will do the passing for the catching drills. The same coach will make all passes for a particular drill.

Game ability will be evaluated in 3on3 and 5on5 games. Both individual and team, offensive, defensive and transition abilities will be assessed based on the following list of abilities.

After each evaluation game a ranking list will be developed for defence, offence and transition play by the evaluators based on a players demonstrated abilities.

Goalkeepers will be evaluated at the fitness testing and with a different set of passing and catching skills. All goaltenders will be considered for an 'A' team selection by the Head Coach.

Evaluation reports for the fitness and skills portion only will be provided to players at the time evaluations are completed.

Team Selections: When balancing teams, selections shall be made from the Selection List and all completed evaluations by a Selection Committee of all coaches within the division, one evaluator with no children in the division, and the division Vice-President. This committee will be chaired by the Coaching Coordinator who will be responsible for the final decision regarding team balancing (refer to player movement policy). Normally 2 exhibition games will be used to verify that teams have been correctly balanced.

For Pee Wee and above (and the Novice Advanced team when applicable) each 'A' team Head Coach will have the right to make final selections from the Player Selection List including all goaltenders to aid in team continuity as follows:

• For teams with up to and including 15 runners: Team selection must come from the group of top players on the Player Selection List equal in number to the number of runners on the team plus 4. Due to the nature of the game and the normally limited amount of left handed players, it would be acceptable for a coach to select one optional left handed player who is not on this restricted list.
• For teams with over 15 runners: Team selection must come from the group of top players on the Player Selection List equal in number to the number of runners on the team plus 6. Due to the nature of the game and the normally limited amount of left handed players, it would be acceptable for a coach to select one left handed player who is not included in this group of top players.

In all cases including goaltenders the Head Coaches decision will be final.

Evaluators: Evaluators will not be required for the fitness or skill portions of the evaluation, as these results will have an unbiased form of measurement. If necessary, coaches and parents within the divisions will be asked to record the results.

For the ability in a game situation portion of the evaluations there shall be a minimum of three evaluators present for each game evaluation session. They will include one coach within the division designated by the Coaching Coordinator, or his/her designate and two non-coaching evaluators, who should not have children in the division being evaluated. If more than three evaluators are used, the fourth may be a non-coach familiar with the players who may have children being evaluated.

Appeals: Appeals will only apply to PeeWee and above and the Novice Advance program.  It is acknowledged that the evaluation process is not completely objective and at times players abilities may not be fully recognized.  Should a player feel that their abilities were not correctly assessed during the evaluation process; an appeal in writing must be submitted to the Vice-President in charge of the division within 7 days after the initial team selections have been made.  Appeals submitted after 7days will not be heard.  The players abilities will then be assessed separately by the Vice-President in charge of the division and the Coaching Coordinator during regular practice sessions and a decision rendered as to the ability of the player and their appeal.