Defense Specific Trainers RFP, News (Greater Kingston AAA Hockey)

GREATER KINGSTON HOCKEY ASSOCIATION

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT – DEFENSE SPECIFIC TRAINING

2024/25 TO 2025/26 (2 YEAR CONTRACT)

INTRODUCTION

The Greater Kingston Hockey Association (GKHA) is a non-profit organization, and has been providing minor hockey programming for approximately 140 youth from the ages of U10 to U18 in Kingston, Ontario. The GKHA operates under the auspices of Hockey Canada, the Ontario Hockey Federation, and the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, and run by volunteers and a small team of staff in the club office.

OBJECTIVE

The Greater Kingston Hockey Association (GKHA) is seeking qualified hockey developers to delivery defense specific skating/skills development programming to its players at all age groups (U10 – U18). Qualified individuals are invited to submit a proposal to the GKHA.

The GKHA intends to sign a (2) two-year agreement with the successful Proponent with the option to renew the agreement for (1) one additional year in 2026/27 season, if approved by the GKHA Executive.

All terms and conditions will be subject to negotiation. The GKHA reserves the right to terminate the agreement without penalty if just-cause can be warranted (i.e. Personal conduct violation that goes against the GKMHA Code of Conduct, dereliction of duties)

DEVELOPMENT SERVICES REQUIREMENTS

The GKHA intends to provide U10 through U18 teams with a minimum of (2) two sessions per month, throughout the hockey season, defense specific training for each team. The sessions will occur during regularly scheduled practice times, or if the team has secured extra development ice times, then it can occur at those timeslots. 

Proponent should outline the skills and milestones to be taught during the development sessions for the season, and work closely with the team coaching staff to make sure what is being taught in the development sessions is executed in game play. 

Proponent will be an advisor to the coaching staff, and may send/receive periodic communications with the coaching staff in a mentor role.

Proponent will work closely with the Director of Hockey Operations and the Director of Hockey Development, to help with the defense specific development plan. 

Proponent will be a resource during GKHA tryouts to help the Head Coach make an informed decision on player selections for their team.

Safety and development are of paramount importance. The Proponent will be solely responsible for hiring, training, and supervising qualified instructors as their helpers (if required). The successful Proponent will be required to provide proof of Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders certification, and current, valid Criminal Record Check including Vulnerable Sector Check, for each instructor, to be submitted to the Director of Hockey Development. Use of instructors not listed in the Proposal submission must be submitted to the GKHA for approval prior to them participating in any on-ice activities with GKHA members.

Proponent must provide a price per season to deliver the development instruction services. The cost of ice time for development sessions shall be the responsibility of GKHA or the team (U10 thru U18) should they have secured their own private development ice time.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS

Proponents must provide a description of their organization (if applicable), size, area of expertise, and experience must be provided. At least three (3) references must be provided, including name, telephone number, and email address.  

Proponent will issue monthly invoices to the Treasurer of GKHA at the end of each month, outlining dates and hours worked. These monthly invoices will be reviewed and approved by the Director of Hockey Development, prior to the Treasurer issuing payment. Payments will be made by email transfer (EMT).

Should this proposal be accepted, the Proponent will enter into agreement with GKHA for the faithful performance of the services covered by this proposal. The response must also guarantee that all quoted prices will be honoured for the duration of the Initial Term of the agreement. Should the GKHA and the Proponent wish to extend the agreement, adjustment to price may be negotiated for the optional year (2026/27).  

In carrying out its obligations, the Proponent shall familiarize themselves with, and comply with all applicable GKHA, OMHA, and Hockey Canada regulations with regards to player safety and development.  

The Proponent shall maintain commercial general liability insurance written on an occurrence basis and providing coverage for all activities related to or undertaken in connection with the work described herein with a limit of not less than $2,000,000.00 for each occurrence. Such insurance shall apply to all of Proponent’s on-ice personnel.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS

Please read this Request for Proposal document very carefully and provide all of the required information in sufficient detail to allow the evaluation team to make an informed decision.

Deadline for Submissions – Proposals must be returned no later than 7:00pm on March 31st , 2024 by email to [email protected] and cc’d to [email protected] 

Questions regarding the Request for Proposal must be submitted via Email to the Vice President and/or Director of Risk Management, no later than March 24th , 2024. Answers to any questions raised by Proponents will be communicated to all Proponents involved in this Request for Proposal no later than March 28th , 2024.

By submitting a Proposal, the Proponent certifies that the information submitted is correct, that the Proponent understands that the information submitted will be used to assess their organization’s suitability to become a supplier to the GKHA.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

The GKHA is committed to providing a top tier hockey experience to our members. To that end, all proposals will be considered using a fair and robust evaluation process. Responses will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1. Quality and comprehensiveness of the program proposal. We have provided key facts and expectations regarding the program, but we have not been prescriptive about how the program should be run.  We are looking to each bidder to leverage their hockey, player development and leadership experiences to put forward a creative and robust proposal that will maximize player engagement and development and achieve the right level of parent-instructor engagement, while ensuring a safe and fun learning environment.

2. Qualifications and development successes of the bidder. We will place significant weight on references from existing/past clients.

3. Professionalism, qualifications and development successes of proposed coaching staff.

4. Ability to scale up, if required, to meet the staffing requirements for the defense development program.

5. Competitiveness of pricing.  While our goal is not to seek out the lowest cost provider, non-competitive pricing (on both the high and low end), will be considered outliers and will affect our evaluation accordingly.