Kansas City Stars Hockey

As your Kansas City Stars Hockey Director, I will continue to provide timely updates on the progress we are making to improve our program and the experiences of the families within our organization.

 

Survey Results: As you know, we conducted our first ever online survey seeking feedback from our families regarding programs and facilities. Thank you to those of you who participated. We received over 200 responses. It is clear that you care about the Stars organization and welcomed the opportunity to have your voices heard.

 

Overall, the responses were very favorable and validated those things that we have done well as an organization. However, all organizations have strengths and weaknesses. The first step to addressing shortcomings is to identify them. As such, one of the reasons for the survey was to identify problem areas in need of attention and improvement to make sure we are moving in the right direction. 

 

As I anticipated, the majority of the problem areas relate to the general categories I listed in my initial communication to our families. Specifically, there are five issues that you told us loudly and clearly needed attention and improvement. Rather than ignore these issues or sweep them under the rug, we choose to face our organizational shortcomings and communicate to you our strategies and commitments for improvement. In no particular order, these are the problem areas you identified along with my comments and strategies for improvement:

 

 

Strategy for Success:

 

Parent meeting prior to tryouts with coaches and Travel Hockey Director to cover the tryout and team selection process, anticipated expenses, coach fees, and practice/game schedule.

 

We will be providing a uniform expense spreadsheet that will be used by all team managers and made available to parents on a regular basis to account for team income and expenses.

 

Our coaches will send out regular e-mails to all families to provide updates on the team’s progress and to share thoughts and ideas on the team’s progress and goals. I will also emphasize to our coaches the importance of communication with the players individually to provide positive feedback and establish individual and team expectations.

 

Team managers and moms/dads will be expected to communicate clearly and regularly regarding schedule updates and changes and other team events.

 

The Coaching and Competition Committee will facilitate communication at all levels in addition to its other duties as described on the new Stars website.

 

 

 

Strategies for Success:

 

I am establishing specific guidelines for all coaches regarding organizational expectations for coach conduct and performance. We will specifically address when to arrive for games and practices, practice planning, mentoring and being a positive role model for players and parents. I will work with the house coaches. As the Travel Hockey Director, J.F. Quintin will work with the travel coaches. J.F. and I will coordinate our efforts to establish, monitor and enforce consistent organizational expectations for all of our coaches. 

 

 

 

 

Our ice time cost has risen 15% over the past three years. Through tighter budgeting and cost controls, we have held fees level for that time period. However, you should expect to see a very modest increase in registration fees this year in response to rising costs for the organization.

 

We are in the process of forming a Fundraising and Sponsorship Committee. The purpose of this committee will be to identify and organize sponsorship and fundraising opportunities at the organizational level and to provide additional similar support for team fundraising activities. Anything we can do to lower costs and/or increase programs that we offer will be a huge benefit to our families.

 

 

 

Everyone will be held accountable for their conduct at all levels. Players, coaches and parents will all read and sign contracts incorporating USA Hockey Codes of Conduct and Zero Tolerance policies. Members of the Stars organizations will be expected to adhere to those polices and be proud ambassadors for our teams, our organization and our city. 

 

Any conduct related complaints will be forwarded to the Coaching and Competition Committee for review and follow up. Any resulting discipline will be subject to Board review and approval.

 

 

 

Hal Edwards, the general manager for the rink, shared with us his plans for improving rink operations and facilities. If you have been to the rink lately, you will already see some of those improvements coming to life. Bobby Collier has been named Hockey Director for the rink. He will formally take on his role in coordinating our scheduling and other needs with the rink. The rink has spent significant sums on major building improvements, equipment repair, maintenance and replacement. Pro shop inventory has been added. Operating hours will be posted for the Pro Shop, grille and bar. Efforts to improve grille operations are underway. Added focus has been placed on cleaning and maintenance, especially with regard to the dressing rooms. Staff training and education has been stepped up with increased customer service in mind. We appreciate Hal’s awareness of our needs and willingness to work together to make events at our “home rink” more enjoyable for all concerned.

 

In closing, it is clear that we are doing many more things right than we are doing wrong. Through our survey, we have identified and validated areas for attention and focus in creating and implementing programs for our families. The Stars organization is primarily a volunteer organization including board members, coaches, team managers, team moms and dads, tournament directors, fund raisers and others. Please keep this in mind and thank these people for their service in making this organization so great and diligently striving to make it better for your players and your families.

 

Regards,

Tom Tilley