General Guidelines

The information set forth below is provided in order to give you an overview of the expectations and level of commitment that will be required should your child be selected for an Indy Racers travel team. Should your child be selected for a team, he/she will be playing at a very competitive level. In order for the team and the association to be competitive, players, parents and coaches will be required to make a substantial level of commitment to the program. Please take a moment to read through the information with your son/daughter carefully. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact any of the board members or coaches. Their e-mail addresses are posted under the “Executive” and “Coaching Staff” sections of this website. 

• Sportsmanship/Player and Parent Conduct: Players and parents are required to display nothing less than the highest decree of sportsmanship at all times. Both must support each member of the team, including other players and parents, the coaching staff, the team, and the program. Any action (including coaching from the stands) deemed detrimental to the best interests or success of the team will not be tolerated and will result in the immediate removal of the player and family from the team. The Board will strictly enforce this “zero tolerance” policy.

• Team Budget: Prior to, or at, tryouts, the coach will furnish each parent with a draft of the team budget. 

• Equipment: Players will be required to purchase some matching equipment, such as helmets, pants and gloves and will be required to purchase Racers jerseys and socks.

• Conflicts with School: Players may be asked to miss one (1) or two (2) days of school over the course of the season due to tournament schedules or travel commitments. Such conflicts will be kept to an absolute minimum. 

• Practices: Indy Racers teams generally practice twice per week. 

• Playing Time: Unlike house programs, players participating on an Indy Racers team may not receive an equal amount of ice time. When necessary, and at the some discretion of the coaching staff, coaches may “shorten” the bench or double shift players based upon what is in the best interests of the team at a given time. Players earn playing time through attitude, behavior, productivity, intensity, and work habits displayed in games and practice. If you have any questions regarding ice time, please contact the team coach prior to the tryout regarding his philosophy on the topic. 

IRTHA Tryout Absence Policy: All players wishing to be considered for a given Racers team must be on the ice for that team’s tryout sessions. In an extreme situation where a player cannot attend a team’s tryout sessions, the parents of the player and the team’s coach must send the IRTHA Board a message (administrator@racershockey.com) setting forth the circumstances of the player’s situation. The Board will respond to both the parents of the player and coach with the Board of Director’s decision regarding whether the player can still be considered for team selection notwithstanding the absence. The player must still pay the $65.00 tryout fee. This process obviously does not guarantee the player a roster spot on the team, but failure to follow the process will result in the player being ineligible for the team. A player who does not attend tryouts for a given team and who not obtain pre-approval from IRTHA for the absence will not be eligible to play for that team at any time during the season without the prior approval of the Board Directors. Players excused for physical injuries are still required to attend tryouts. 

IRTHA Play Up Policy for Birth Year Teams Participating in Central States Developmental Hockey League (CSDHL):   All IRTHA teams playing in the CSDHL will consist of players born in the same year. Any player wanting to play for the CSDHL birth-year team consisting of players one year older than the player must secure approval as outlined herein. For example, this policy would apply if a Bantam Minor player wanted to play for the Bantam Major CSDHL team. This policy does not apply to Gold, Silver, and Bronze Racer teams as players can tryout/play within their USA Hockey-defined age category without a play-up approval. Without exception, no play-up requests will be approved to move a player up to a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Racer team that plays in the next USA Hockey-defined age category. The USA Hockey categories including the following: (1) Mites (’01s), (2) Squirts (‘00s, ‘99s), (3) Pee Wees (‘98s, ‘97s), and Bantams (‘96s, ‘95s). 

In general play-ups are approved only in rare situations where player development could be compromised if the player did not play up. To be eligible for play-up approval, a player must be a top five player on the CSDHL Racer team that he/she is moving up to as ranked by that coach. To start the process, the coach of the CSDHL team requesting the play-up must contact the IRTHA Board (administrator@racershockey.com)  prior to tryouts and ask for permission for the player in question to tryout/play-up. The Board will vote on allowing the player to tryout/play-up based on the coach’s feedback as to the talent of the player and his/her rank. If more information is needed by the Board, it will obtain that information prior to voting. A waiver must be signed prior to the play-up becoming effective. 

Parent Volunteers: The success of each Indy Racers Team is dependent upon the commitment of member families. With that in mind, it is essential that we identify parents who are willing to accept the positions set forth below.   Please indicate if you are willing to volunteer for any of these positions in the “online registration” form.

• Team Manager/Treasurer (Can be split into two positions): (a) Team contact for day-today questions/issues; (b) Keeper of all player-related information (medical, birth certificates, USA hockey roster, etc.; (c) Provides score sheet to scorekeeper prior to games, collects and submits sheets after games; (d) Coordinator for all other team positions; (e) Handles all fiscal matters, including assessment collect and payment (ice, fees, refs, etc.)

• Equipment Manager: (a) Secures locker room for all games and practices, home and away; (b) Keeper of water bottles, pucks, first aid kit, etc.; (c) Keeper of spare equipment bag, which should be brought to all games.

• Scheduler/Referee Coordinator: (a) Schedules all home and away games, working closely with the coaching staff for competitive comparisons; (b) Coordinates all ice-related scheduling issues/cancellations; (c) Provides team with schedule revisions as necessary; (d) Works with Manager to coordinate tournament registration and payment; (e) Works with referee scheduler to ensure coverage for home games; (f) Coordinates obtaining and canceling referees for all home games, regarding of where the home ice is.

• Sponsorship/Fundraising Coordinator: (a) Manages all team fundraising efforts; (b) Responsible for sponsorship banners; (c) Responsible for sponsorship appreciation gifts.

• Scorekeeper: (a) Works the score table at all home games; (b) Responsible for running the clock and maintaining score sheets. 

• Travel/Meal Coordinator: (a) Schedules all hotels for out of town games; (b) Works with visiting teams to provide information on local hotels; (c) Works with hotels for group rates and incentives for teams; (d) Provides directions and maps to rinks and hotels for away games; (e) Provides rooming lists and occupant requirements to hotel as directed by each team member’s lodging information; (f) Coordinates team dining options and reservations for out of town games.

• Team Mom(s): (a) Team activity director (helps Manager with parent meetings, parties, etc.); (b) Helps coordinate team dining options and reservations for out of town games; (c) Organizes team banner/spirit type items; (d) Decorates locker rooms; (e) Organizes end of season banquet/awards.

• Website/Video/Photographer Coordinator: (a) Establishes and maintains team website (schedule, pictures, general team and player information; (b) Coordinates videotaping of selected games for coaching staff.