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SJHA Mid-Season Survey Results

By Marty Rubin, 01/28/25, 3:30PM PST

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See the results and data analysis from the Mid-Season Survey.

SJHA is working hard to understand the diverse experiences of families and players across the association. Feedback that we receive will help us modify, enrich, and/or remove aspects of the program in order to make this the most transformational hockey experience for all players. These are the takeaways from the analysis of the Mid-Season Survey. 

What are we doing well? Connection & culture

  • 153 out of 197 respondents either agree or strongly agree that they feel challenged and motivated by their Head Coach. This is almost 80% of the association. While this number is down from the Early Season Survey (88%), I am still encouraged that so many kids connect with their coaches. 
  • Over 65% of the association has had at least one individual meeting with their coach. This is up from under 60% in the Early Season Survey. Moving forward, coaches will be connecting with players in short one-on-one meetings to give progress reports, check in on their overall health, and get feedback from their perspective.
  • Roughly the same number, 56% in the Early Season Survey and 53% in the Mid Season Survey, respond that they will definitely come back to Seattle Junior next season. This comes from the work that our amazing coaches do to drive our culture, live into our values, and teach the game to our kids and families. 
  • Social media engagement is up! For the Mid-Season Survey 58% of respondents report checking out social media either daily or weekly which is up considerably from the Early Season Survey's 46.5%. Connecting on social media is the best way for our members to know what else is going on in our hockey community. We love to share community service events, team parties, tournament wins, and other special interest stories. Subscribe now!


What do we need to be aware of? Intentionality & enrichment

  • 20 out of 37 goalie respondents report being challenged at practice and 19 out of 37 goalie respondents report that they are receiving the right amount of skill development. We are working with coaches to make sure that they have a plan for goalies for the entirety of practices, whether they are in net with the team or not. And, we are always working on being more intentional about their time taking shots because goalies are not simply animated shooter tutors, they need specific tasks and instruction just like the skaters. Our Goalie Director Mark will be reaching out to talk about what coaches can do when Goalie Instructors are not at practices.
  • 30 out of 54 female identifying respondents (55%) reported feeling challenged mentally and physically during practices. This compared to the total data set in which 65% of all respondents reported feeling challenged mentally and physically during practices means that there is a gap for our girls seeing the challenges they need in practice. We are going to be working with coaches to enrich practices through extra skills, new rules, and augmented learning environments that can make for more challenging practices for physical and mental development. 

Where are we falling behind? Talking about development

  • Approval rating for skill development during practices has dropped considerably from 72% to 57% across the whole association. This is a common trend throughout a season because our players are in the middle of their nonlinear development paths! Right now one can only see a fraction of the improvement that a kid has actually made in this season with the demands of the routine in January, but with a growth mindset and belief in long-term athletic development, we are confident that the process will yield leaps and bounds for each kid come playoff and tryout time. Coaches are going to wrap this season up with spirals on skill, new and exciting small area games, and end of season meetings with families to discuss each player's progress from the coach's perspective. We encourage families to dialogue with their coaches about their player's progress any time!

In all, I am encouraged by the majority of the data we received from families. 10UC got much higher grades across the board in the Mid-Season Survey than the Early Season Survey. 8U Mite and Mitey Mite have had glowing reviews. And the Tier II teams are showing improvements as well. Coming back to how we intentionally design practices, connect with our players and families, and inform our families about the progress we are seeing will go a long way to bounce back in the End of Season Survey which will come out in mid-March. 

Thank you for taking the time to read our data analysis. Please check out the attached document for the raw results of our survey.

And, thank you again for giving us your feedback and time. We truly appreciate every bit of information, positive or constructive, because we genuinely want to be the best organization we can for your kids and families!