24 Hours

It is a fairly standard rule but still worth a mention. Whenever I come across either a parent or coach that is upset by something that has happened within the league, I request that they take 24 hours to contact me.

The 24 hours gives them time to cool down. Time to look at things from all angles and discuss it with others who might calm them before they talk to you. If you attempt to handle things in the heat of the moment you will hear things that would never be said after the cool down.

Stick to the policy and make no exceptions. People will be upset when you refuse to listen but once they understand that they need this time to put things in perspective they will be much more rational to deal with. What seems like a tragedy today will most often be tempered by time.

Create a Schedule

To create a simple regular season I use a rotation. Each round of the schedule has every team playing every other team once. Only team 'A' needs any tinkering otherwise they will only play as visitors. After Round 5 the 6 teams have played all other 5 once each. To add another round just copy and reverse the home and visiting teams. Team B is highlighted to make following the rotation easier.

Round 1
Team A vs. Team B
Team C vs. Team D
Team E vs. Team F

Round 2
Team A vs. Team D
Team B vs. Team F
Team C vs. Team E

Round 3
Team A vs. Team F
Team D vs. Team E
Team B vs. Team C

Round 4
Team A vs. Team E
Team F vs. Team C
Team D vs. Team B

Round 5
Team A vs. Team C
Team E vs. Team B
Team F vs. Team D

Scheduling Math

Before you can determine how many games will make up a season you need to know a few things. How many teams will make up the league? How many games will each team play in a week? How many weeks will the season last? What can you afford?

Let's assume a game costs $100 for the playing field or arena and $30 for officials, so a total of $130 per game. The league has 10 teams. Each team will play every other team once to complete one round of the schedule or 9 games since they don't play themselves.

One round would be 10 teams X 9 games each = 90 / 2 teams per game =45 games per round at a cost of 45 X $130 = $5850 per round. This would be a balanced schedule meaning that every team plays every other team an even number of times. If the costs were too high or the resulting season were too long, the season could be shortened by making two divisions of 5 teams.

In a schedule with two divisions of 5 teams the math would be the same. 5 teams X 4 games = 20 / 2 teams per game = 10 games per round at a cost of 10 X $130 = $1300 x 2 divisions = $2600. Playoffs could then see the winner of each division play each other for an eventual champion but remember that every playoff game has its own costs involved.

Start With a Joke

It's playoff time. A 15 year old ref calls me over after the first of three back to back games he will be officiating. He's a ref I trust, has a few years under his belt and is very level headed for his age. He says there is a parent that has been on his case all game long and can I talk to him before the team plays again. I look to the parent he has singled out. "Billy that can't be him, his kid doesn't even play on either team that just played, he's going on next". Just then to prove me wrong, the parent waves at us.

I made my way around the rink to have a talk with him. "Why are you harassing the ref when your kid isn't even playing?"

"He missed an offside." I then explained to him that he had better sit quietly and watch his son play because if he kept it up he would be leaving the arena.  I still have no idea why he would care enough to harass a 15 year old.

Logic does not always apply when it comes to sports, many people (especially Canadian hockey fans) have another personality that emerges when they walk through the doors of the arena. Do your best to protect your officials from the parents.