GCGH runs almost entirely on the goodwill of volunteers, at every single level. A volunteer’s passion is contagious, not only helping those that surround them but also helps the volunteer themselves improve!
We always have a need for volunteers, from the large scale organization through the teams on the ice. To make sure any volunteering experience is a positive one, it’s important that expectations are understood at the start, and that support is provided on a continual basis.
Knowledge of hockey is an asset, not a requirement to help in GCGH. As long as you want to have fun and help kids grow, that makes you a great candidate!
It is essential that all the girls have role models within the team structure. It is also a requirement that every team always have at least 1 woman available to assist any of the skaters. That makes for a great opportunity for women to get involved in a wide range of volunteer roles.
Each role has a different time commitment, and different times where needs are higher. The start of the season is busy for everyone in order to build the teams and manage all the paperwork. The manager and coaching team have the largest overall time commitment, given that they are not only responsible for planning but also ensuring follow through. At the other end, running the time clock takes no more time than being at the game.
Head Coaches (and assistants if wanting) can expect to spend at least an hour per week to prepare for games/practices. Having a lot of on-ice help allows the girls to have more individual feedback in the practices and can help with planning future practices.
Managers will help organize tournaments, extra ice time, schedule updates, game sheet updates on the website, and the paperwork necessary to establish the team at the start of the year. Once a team is running, they can expect to spend 20 minutes a week for administrative tasks. Many of the manager’s tasks should be shared in other volunteer positions.
When dealing with minors, it’s important that anyone with sustained and direct contact with children requires a valid Police Record Check ($10), which is valid for 3 years. It will also require a Criminal Declaration Form (free). It can take a few months for the check to complete, since Police Services are very busy at the start of sport season.
For many volunteer positions, it is also required that Respect in Sport be completed. This costs $35, and can be completed on-line in at most 2 hours.
All forms can be found on the Resources page.
Some positions require a different level of training and certification. This ensures that everyone is following the same general practices, and is keeping the health and safety of the kids at heart.
The most time demanding is for any head coach, where the training typically requires at least 1 weekend of training & evaluation. As the skill level of players increase, so does the training demands on the coaching staff. Most of these costs can be reimbursed and more details can be had from contacting the association.
A full description of each can be found on the Resources page.
Hockey is a team sport and the volunteers behind the scenes are no different. Together, we achieve more than working alone.
Board members, coaching staff, and other volunteers are there to answer any questions you may have, and help out in difficult situations. Having a backup for roles within a team also helps distribute the work, so that if someone is unavailable, another can step in as needed.
Handbooks and plans are being built so that new volunteers don’t feel overwhelmed with a blank slate of work. There are never any bad questions!
Additional assistance is provided to coaching staff on how to improve their skill set. A group is available to help with creative drills, conflict resolution, running a game, team activities, and a wide assortment of other team related activities.