Parent Playbook

Whether you’re new to the Wausau Youth Hockey Association or have long been involved with the association, we believe the information contained here and in the links will be invaluable.

The purpose of this handbook is to familiarize you with the policies, procedures, expectations, and guidelines of Wausau Youth Hockey. It is our hope that your son or daughter will enjoy their hockey experience. Since you are an integral part of that experience, we want you to enjoy it as well. For that to happen, we want you to have as much information as possible regarding the working of our program.

Wausau Youth Hockey is proud of the dedication and hard work our volunteer coaches, board members and hockey parents provide. We also know that as good as our organization can be, we need input and suggestions. Please feel free to contact any Board Member with your feedback regarding this handbook or any aspect of Wausau Youth Hockey.

At the beginning of each season, Wausau Youth Hockey will conduct formal player evaluations for the 14U/Bantam, 12U/PeeWee, and 10U/Squirt classifications for the purposes of forming teams when there are enough players to form more than one team at an age classification. These evaluation sessions will focus on both player skills and competitive situations. Tryouts will be held over the course of several days with pre-determined drills and scrimmages.

There will be 3 to 5 evaluators per age group including a combination of outside evaluators, in house evaluators, and High School coaches, when available. Evaluators will have sufficient knowledge of hockey to select teams. The primary, but not exclusive source for these evaluators should be our coaching staff, provided no one is evaluating their own child. It is most desirable for the evaluators to have recent coaching experience at the level they evaluate. The evaluators must be present for all scheduled sessions.

Goalies will tryout as goalies with a separate goalie tryout process as needed. Players who wish to be evaluated as a goalie, either exclusively or in addition to being evaluated as a skater, must declare this at registration. The Hockey Operations Committee will determine how goalies will be evaluated and placed. This does not exclude other players from playing goalie during the season. It does not guarantee that players wishing to be evaluated only as goalie shall necessarily be placed on the highest-Class team, even if there are no other goalies being evaluated. Nor does it guarantee any player priority on playing goalie on the team they are placed.

At the 8U and 6U Mite levels, informal evaluations may be conducted during regular practice sessions.

For more information on rostering and selection of teams click here

Hockey game day is an exciting day, and it takes every parent throughout the season volunteering to help make game day a success! Volunteering can be exciting and fun--getting a "behind the scenes" view of the game is rewarding for both you and your child(ren). Each home game requires parent volunteers for each team your child(ren) are assigned to, and it is expected, that parents share in the responsibilities throughout the season. To note- this does not fulfill your required volunteer hours for the association. For home games, each team is responsible to fulfill the following ‘official game day’ duties.

• Penalty Box
• Official Scorekeeper
• Game Clock Operator
• PA/Music Operator (optional)



*For away games, we may need to provide a Penalty Box operator for our team’s penalty box.

Please note, these positions are considered ‘officials of the game’ and you will need to refrain from cheering while performing these important duties and remain composed during the game.

Tournaments are a fun and exciting time for both players and their families. They create lasting memories and provide a chance to celebrate teamwork and dedication. It takes a whole team of committed parents working together to ensure everything runs smoothly--from organizing logistics to supporting the players--all contributing to a successful and enjoyable tournament experience for everyone involved.

Teams hosting tournaments will be responsible for the game day duties as outlined above, in addition to securing raffle baskets via donations, obtaining items for goodie bags, making team posters and covering needs in the lobby during the tournament.

Fundraising:

Each family will be responsible to raise $300 annually for the Wausau Youth Hockey. Family is defined siblings registering and residing at the same address. This can be accomplished by providing a $300 payment or selling raffle tickets. Tickets will be handed out in the month of November. A cash or check written out to Wausau Youth Hockey for the full amount the raffle tickets at the time of receiving the tickets. Your check will then be cashed in February after the raffle drawing. We hope that you will share the date listed for the Icebreaker event and raffle drawing—we love to see new faces and share in the fun!

*If you'd be interested in more fundraising, ask about our Fundraising Committee! We are always in need of more fresh faces and ideas!

Volunteering/DIBS:

In non-profit sports organizations, the membership must make financial and time contributions for the association to succeed. The financial contribution is achieved through registration fees and fundraising. With the hard work and dedication of all the associations' members, Wausau Youth Hockey will continue to grow and ensure hockey is enjoyed by all participants.

Service hours will be posted on the Wausau Youth Hockey website through DIBS. By the time of registration, expectations for service hours will be communicated to all members.

The following will be the associations guideline:

• Half of the volunteer hours (DIBS) must be scheduled by November 10.

• The rest of the volunteer hours (DIBS) must be scheduled by January 10.

• If you are not signed up for your DIBS, your skater(s) is not eligible to participate in practice or games.

• It is the responsibility of individual volunteers to claim volunteer sessions on the Wausau Youth Hockey website. This is the only way to ensure that your hours will be credited. Volunteer hours will be tabulated throughout the season by the DIBS Coordinator.

• Sign up can be found on wausauhockey.org > Account > Volunteer

• Exceptions to this policy may only be approved by the DIBS Coordinator. If a family joins the association later in the season, their required volunteer hours may be reduced.

Service hours may also be satisfied by:

• Concessions stand hours as documented on DIBS
• Board membership/Committee membership
• Coaches
• Team Managers

Any shifts not completed in the season, will be rolled to the next season. Example, volunteer hours not completed in the 2024-2025 season, will be added to the necessary hours in 2025-2026 season.

*Scorekeeper and Scoreboard Operating are not duties that count toward service time, unless for special tournaments and approved by the WYH Board. These are volunteer positions and if no one steps forward, home games will be cancelled and WYH will forfeit.

For more information on Dibs/Volunteering click here

Please take the time to familiarize yourself with our policies