New president faces big changes in the minor-hockey system
By Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Tavistock Minor Hockey has a new president and he has signed up at a time of major change in the system.
Brad Witzel is a former player and coach with Tavistock Minor Hockey who, most recently, was in charge of the U7 beginner program before taking the reigns as leader.
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) has been less than subtly persuading member associations over the last few years to become more competitive, which has resulted in the watering down of talent and the number of teams in smaller centres such as Tavistock. The push is on for associations to amalgamate, creating a stronger talent pool at the A level, something that has been done by many associations in the Southern County League, including Ingersoll and Tillsonburg which joined forces to create South Oxford Storm.
Witzel said while the OMHA has been communicating with member centres and welcomes feedback, the hometown hockey slogan boasted by the organization is not something small centres necessarily agree with, particularly following the abolishment of provincial playdowns.
“Do we think this is what’s best for that hometown hockey? I would say probably not. Decisions are being made at that level and we are implementing them and making it work. I do know small centres have presented to the OMHA to reinstate the playdowns, but that’s not the direction they have gone.”
Witzel said there is some value in revisiting that decision, but if it isn’t changed, then he and his executive will do the best they can to make the existing framework work.
“We certainly heard some complaints from parents and coaches who know what it used to be like. It's one thing for a kid in U11 or U13 who has never participated in a playdown against Twin Centre or Ayr and went on a playoff run. They don’t know any different. I know what it’s like to do that as a player and a coach of the U15 team or bantam back then.”
He added when Tavistock teams advanced to the provincial semi-finals with back-to-back games on a Saturday, the arena was filled with family and community members alike.
“It’s a great experience for those players but this generation won’t find out what it’s like and that’s unfortunate. We will keep sharing our thoughts on how to make it better but I’m not sure they will revert to the old ways.”
Another concern when it comes to being competitive against larger centres comes from what’s called the second entry teams, formerly known as additional entry. These teams play at a level between rep and house league and have traditionally helped some players develop to reach the rep hockey level. Witzel explained it is getting more difficult to ice that level.
“There are fewer associations that have it. What we are hearing is they would play in the same league as the rep teams so we would be playing them until the first opportunity to seed teams. So, the second teams would have to play all the first teams and that’s not fair.”
Witzel added there is a lot of value in losing a good, close, hard-fought hockey game, but no team benefits out of a 20-0 score, something he worries could happen more often.
“It’s not good for the team doing the scoring and it’s not good for the other side. That’s likely our second entry team if they are playing an A team from Aylmer, for example.”
He added the additional entry of minor hockey, one Tavistock has won many OMHA championships in, is being lost but from a local-league perspective, it could help.
“The goal is for every player to be challenged. It’s not ideal to have a few kids who could be playing at a higher level controlling the puck and the kids not at that level playing with them and not able to get better themselves.”
Tavistock entered into preliminary amalgamation talks with Embro several years ago but no deal was signed. Witzel said there are options, but nothing is on the table at this point.
“New Hamburg is already an A centre so there’s not an option there. There have been talks with Embro in the past and maybe something bigger than that if you were to look at Plattsville. It can be a very complicated thing to pull together.”
Any amalgamation would need support from not only the associations involved but also the membership of each group. Witzel said Tavistock is open to having conversations to see what may or may not make sense.
“One problem is neither centre is overly close geographically and how far is everyone willing to drive? I wouldn’t say it’s off the table, but it isn’t something we are actively working on,” he added.
A resurgence of girls hockey?
Witzel said they aren’t able to share much yet, but girls hockey could be back in Tavistock this fall.
“We are being careful with how much we are sharing right now. We are trying to protect the organization we are working with as well. We applied, we were denied, we applied again and were not successful.”
The OWHA told Tavistock that a girls program here could impact nearby organizations, something Witzel said is unfortunate.
“We are just trying to find an option for the girls to stay here if that is their preference. We had an association from nearby reach out to us and they are in a situation where they almost have too many participants. They have similar challenges around ice time, so we started exploring the possibility of a partnership to create a Tavistock brand under their umbrella.”
Witzel added he and his fellow executive members are excited but cautioned there is much work left to do to make it a reality.
“It will come down to how many girls we have in our program at the different age groups. Each team would need a minimum of 10 players and a goalie. We are optimistic but it will depend on where the players are in their situations as we know some of them are trying out elsewhere for more competitive teams.”
Should the Tavistock Jets be resurrected, any team would play at the local or house-league level. The current minor-hockey program has players registered from Embro, Shakespeare, Woodstock and other areas. Witzel said they are more than open to welcoming more female players into the fold to bolster the girls’ numbers.
“It would be great if that came to fruition. As you know, hockey is a great way to meet people and make new friends, so if we get kids from the surrounding area to make this work, that’s a good thing.”
Looking ahead
Witzel, like every other member of the executive, are volunteers who work hard to provide a positive experience for the boys and girls taking the ice. He explained one challenge this coming season will be finding ice time for everyone involved.
“We can all agree there is tremendous value in hockey and organized sports. We are fortunate, or unfortunate, to have a growing minor-hockey program with a registration of over 300. We have big numbers in the younger years with our lower figures in the U15 and U18 age groups and, if we keep growing at the younger ages, we will be even bigger.”
He added they are competing for ice time with figure skating along with a junior and senior hockey team, something unique to Tavistock in the area.
“That’s a challenge. We hear from our members about a constant demand for more ice time. The skating club is growing and they need more ice. Looking for ways to accommodate that is going to be tough.”
Witzel said minor hockey is working with Matt Lamers at the arena to perhaps leverage weekday morning practices, which he admits presents its own set of challenges but could be a way to find more ice time. He added the executive has some new members and is larger than in years past, something he is confident will be a positive going forward.
“At the AGM, we decided to expand. There’s a lot to do and historically only a few people to do it so we are trying to spread it out more. That brings new ideas which is exciting but it’s a new team and we have to find our way as a group because we haven’t worked together before. That’s not a major concern of mine, but it’s something we are going to work through and find what works well.”
Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette
