The challenges of change - Matt Symes

RED DEER – Who is your customer? What does that customer want? What can you do to improve your customer’s experience?

Three key questions involving one common theme – if you don’t know what the problem is that you are trying to solve, your attempts at change will not be successful.

For 90 minutes on Friday night, Matt Symes stated, stressed, discussed and reinforced these questions and themes during the keynote address to open Hockey Alberta’s 112th Annual General Meeting and Hockey Conference at the Cambridge Hotel.

Symes is a founding Partner at Symplicity Designs who has helped introduce more than 350 organizations to the principles, methods, and tools of performance excellence. He has worked with numerous organizations in all sectors, including Hockey Nova Scotia and the Francophone education sector in New Brunswick.

The Friday evening presentation set the stage for a workshop session on Saturday morning, which Symes will be leading with Minor Hockey Association representatives and Hockey Alberta volunteers.

“Hockey is a hard game to change,” said Symes.

He talked about the challenges involved with change, being prepared to move fast enough, and making sure that the proposed changes solve the problem. Identifying the problem is the first step.

“You have to define the problem before you work to solve it,” Symes said. “You have to understand your organization from the outside in, not the inside out. Do you know what your customer is saying? Are we making decisions based on what the customer wants?”

The Hockey Conference continues Saturday morning at Red Deer College with the Leading Change workshop led by Symes. That will be followed by a session on Complaint Handling and Policy Development led by Steve Indig of the Sport & Law Strategy Group, and a hot-stove session will be held to discuss some of the sport’s hot topics.

The Annual General Meeting gets underway at 2 pm.

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce the coaching staffs for the 2020 Alberta Winter Games.

The six coaching staffs for the female program are comprised of one director of operations, one coach mentor, one head coach, one assistant coach, and one apprentice coach. The eight coaching staffs for the male program are comprised of one director of operations, one coach mentor, one head coach, and two assistant coaches.

Female Program Staffs > | Male Program Staffs >

Female regional selection camps kick off this weekend, November 29 - December 1 in Wetaskiwin (North) and Innisfail (South). Male regional selection camps run the following weekend, December 6-8 in Vegreville (North), Edmonton (Capital), Olds (South) and Calgary.

The Alberta Winter Games are set for February 14-17 in Airdrie.

RED DEER - Alberta Sledge is proud to announce the 17 player roster for the Alberta Sledge Program during the 2019-20 season.

The roster was finalized following a two-day tryout camp at Pason Centennial Arenas in Okotoks, Alberta. The camp included skills evaluations and two Intersquad games. A total of 20 players were in contention for the 17 roster spots.

Roster >

This program selection is not a reflection of the final team roster that will represent Alberta in the 2020 Canadian Sledge Hockey Championships in Leduc, Alberta this upcoming May. A final Team Alberta roster announcement will be made in the spring of 2020.

Alberta Sledge’s program roster includes two goaltenders, five defensemen and ten forwards. Head Coach Steve Arsenault (Spruce Grove, AB) assembled the roster with support from Assistant Coach Chris Cederstrand (Okotoks, AB), and Team Director Dean Krawec (St. Albert, AB).

For more information on Alberta Sledge, please contact Dean Krawec, Team Director, at [email protected] or 780-991-5507.

RED DEER – The Hockey Alberta Foundation has a new Chair and Vice Chair of its Board of Directors after the Foundation’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday at Red Deer College.

Dennis Zukiwsky (Red Deer) was acclaimed as the new Chair, taking over from John Windwick. Jeff Robson (Calgary) was acclaimed as the Vice Chair, taking over from Dennis Zukiwsky. Zukiwsky previously served as the Board’s Vice Chair, while Robson was previously a Director on the Board.

Two new Board Members were also voted in. Todd Thiessen, from Red Deer, and Kent Smith, from Medicine Hat. Both bring a wealth of experience and are sure to be an asset to the Board.

Board members continuing to support the HAF are John Windwick (Calgary) as the Past Chair, John Kosolowski (Edmonton) who remains the Board Treasurer, Bob Bartlett (Lethbridge), Graham MacLachlan (Calgary), Lorne Radbourne (Grande Prairie) and Chris Turchansky (Edmonton).

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta has a new Chair and Vice Chair at the helm of its Board of Directors after the organization’s 112th Annual General Meeting on Saturday at Red Deer College.

Len Samletzki was acclaimed as the new Chair, taking over from Terry Engen. Allan Mowbray was acclaimed as the Vice Chair, taking over from Fran Zinger.

Both step into their new positions from previous Director positions. Samletzki, from St. Albert, previously served as the Board’s Finance Director, while Mowbray, from Calgary, was a Director at Large.

Other Board members are Michael Bates of Cochrane, Francois Gagnon (Fort McMurray), Wilson Gemmill (Grande Prairie) and Brock Harrington (Drumheller). Engen remains on the Board as the Past President, taking over for Rob Virgil. Joining the Board, as the new Finance Director, is Donna Gallant of Edmonton. And Zinger is also staying on the Board for an additional year, as she was appointed to the final year of Mowbray’s Director at Large term.

In his inaugural address to the Members, Samletzki highlighted his three key priorities for the Board and Hockey Alberta over the next three years: growing the game, continuing to develop players and coaches, and the ability to be agile.

“We need to be able to react quickly to the changing face of hockey,” said Samletzki. “There is a great opportunity for us in the coming years.”

In his final formal action as Chair, Engen announced the 2019 Chair of the Board Award recipient is Aaron Rawlake. The formal presentation will be made to Rawlake at a future date.

In his closing address as Board chair, Engen reflected on how his work with Hockey Alberta and Hockey Canada has “given me much more than I can ever give to them as a volunteer.”

He also reminded the organization to remember that they have great resources in the Life Members, five of whom attended this year’s AGM.

“It’s very important to be able to go to the Life Members for their input. We should never forget what history has done for us,” Engen said.

Long-time Hockey Alberta Board member, Rob Virgil (centre) was presented with a Hockey Alberta jersey at his final AGM as Past Chair. Rob Litwinski (CEO) and Terry Engen (outgoing Board Chair) made the presentation.