‘None of you will ever make the National team…because you’re not crazy enough!”
That’s the message Women’s National Team head scout, Wally Kozak delivers when he speaks to young female prospects and their parents across the country.
“Usually there is silence, they are stunned, and then the laughter comes and they get my message,” he says. “The message is that you have to be crazy enough to do what it takes to make the National Team. Prioritizing commitment is very tough for most young players to do. I want them to understand from the start that the competition and expectations are very high and that people need perspective.”
Few people in men’s or women’s hockey have watched and coached as much hockey at every level as Wally Kozak has. He is a master of the game, and knows how to evaluate young talent.
One of the questions both Wally and myself get asked by young players and parents most often is, “how do I make the National Team?”
The process really begins in your home province. Regardless if you live in a city like Calgary or a small rural town, the opportunity to be evaluated exists if you are good enough.
Provincially, this is through the Program of Excellence, where players are identified and evaluated by provincial coaches in a format that usually involves attending a zone camp and making a zone team.
This process runs from the late spring through the summer for Bantam and Midget-aged players.
From there, players may have an opportunity to play in an event like the Alberta Winter Games, where they are scouted and identified for the next phase, the Canada Winter Games and the provincial team. Throughout the camp and competition process, provincial and National team scouts are evaluating players and creating a talent pool.
From the provincial and Canada Games level, players are then selected to attend more regional camps, which then narrows to a National camp of 40 to 60 players to select the Under-18 National team.
This year, Canada will host the very first U-18 Women’s World Championship, which is a great step for the game.
Some U-18 players may be good enough to move to the U-22 National or Senior Programs early on, and some players who are late bloomers may get a second look at the U-22 level.
In future years to come, all players on the Senior National Team will most likely have played at the U-18 and U-22 level.
As the game improves, it is also becoming less and less of an advantage to be selected for provincial teams for girls who stay in the boys game, if similar opportunities exist on the female side.
For example, a young girl playing boys Peewee hockey may be just as challenged to play girls Bantam hockey.
With the female game playing more of a puck possession, finesse game and the absence of contact, it becomes harder for girls to maintain their puck skills and confidence if they are not receiving enough ice time or focusing on that on the boys side.
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules and in some rural communities there is no choice.
But the choice to play with the boys may not always be the best one. If you are playing boys hockey, you must be attending these regional identification camps to be seen and evaluated.
The best way to find out more about the process is not by contacting Hockey Canada, but by contacting your provincial branch and starting from there.
Out of 80,000 players in Canada, there are only 20 who will make the National Team. However, there are so many other options that the game has to offer at every level.
From the Canada Games to Canadian and US scholarships, from playing abroad to coaching, the game keeps getting better and better. |