Coach News
2026 Season - Coaches Needed!
Come be a part of the best sport to ever be played! NMICE needs coach volunteers to help us grow the hockey community one division at a time!
The following is required for ALL coaches prior to helping out on the ice
USA Hockey and the Coaching Education Program require both certification and registration to be eligible to coach. Registration is done online on a yearly basis.
Basic Requirements:
- Register as a member of USA Hockey ($46 plus any affiliate fees). Click here
- Complete the background screening ($30 minimum). Click here
- Complete the USA Hockey SafeSport Training (required every year, cannot be added to a roster until completed). Click here
- Complete the Foundations of Player Development Pre-requisite. (Coaches will need to complete the Foundations of Player Development module before purchasing their age-specific module. Once a coach completes the Foundations of Player Development module there will be a 15-minute window before they can purchase and complete their age-specific module).
- Complete the online age-specific module(s) for the age level of play you are coaching. (Cost is $20 per module and only needs to be completed once per age level. Must be completed PRIOR to participating in any team activities and cannot be added to a roster until completed) Click here to register for the modules.
- Coaching Education Program Certification Clinic. Must be completed by Dec. 31. Each season ($60) - all coaches start at Level 1.
- Find, register and attend the required certification clinic. (Cost is $60) You can only attend one clinic per season and all coaches start at Level 1. You can take clinics from April 1-Dec. 31 each season. Click here to locate a clinic.
- In addition to USA Hockey requirements, LOEAHA requires Concussion Training - email your completion certificate to registrar@nmice.org.
Thank you in advance for volunteering!
Communication is Key
Talk to your team managers weekly and find out what's going on from parents. A lot of parent discussions go on in the stands while you're on the ice with the kids.
Locker Room Rules
The locker rooms at any venue are for hockey teams, their coaching staff and locker room monitors ONLY! Parents, siblings, other relatives and friends are not permitted in the locker rooms. The only exception to this is for MINI MITES and MITES and only when a screened Team Official is present in the locker room. A parent may assist players in these age divisions to prepare for practices or games. Parents of younger age division players are encouraged to help prepare their child and then leave. Wean your child of needing assistance as early as possible. If the only thing that they can′t do is tie their skates then they can go outside the locker room to get them tightened or a coach can help them out. There′s no reason for parents, siblings, other relatives and friends to be in the locker room.
- Parents are not welcome in the locker room
- Siblings are not welcome in the locker room
- Horseplay is not allowed in the locker room
- No cameras (including cell phones) allowed in the locker room
Under no circumstances are males allowed in the GIRLS locker room. That includes Dad! Male coaches are only permitted in the GIRLS locker room IF the team is dressed AND there is an adult female team official present in the locker room (for pre-game talks or pre-practice instruction). Similarly, females are not allowed in co-ed team locker rooms above the Squirt age division. Female players will dress in a separate locker room and may join the team only for pre-game talks or pre-practice instruction if the rest of the team is dressed.
Locker room cleanliness is the players′ responsibility. Coaches will police the locker room after every game or practice to ensure that it is picked up. When players are done dressing for games or practices, they are asked to zip and stow their gear bags so that other players may walk in the locker room without obstructions.
- The use of pucks or balls off the ice surface is not allowed; this includes but is not limited to tape rolls, tape balls, bottle caps, chunks of ice/snow etc. Some arenas have a place for this type of activity but most do not. The exception to this is under the direction and supervision of a team official for the purposes of instruction/skill development.
Games vs Scrimmages
A scrimmage is defined as a team splitting up to play against each other or within the SAME association. Scrimmages set up between 2 different associations are defined as GAMES. Games need to be arranged between your association's Schedule Coordinator and the NMHRC official's scheduler. True scrimmages are to be officiated by the coaching staff.
Kelly Colyer, the Rocky Mountain District Referee in Chief forwarded this letter to all associations recently. We are posting it here in an effort to increase awareness about this issue.
"This letter is to educate association staff and officials in New Mexico of the growing request for officials to work “scrimmages.” A scrimmage is defined as a team splitting up to play against each other or within the SAME association. Scrimmages that are being set up between 2 different associations are defined as GAMES.
Games need to be arranged between your association’s Schedule Coordinator and the NMHRC official’s scheduler. If you are running a true scrimmage they are to be officiated by the coaching staff. If you happen to be a coach as well as an official and wish to officiate the scrimmage, then you may do so but your game crest is not to be worn.
This is in the best interest for all involved from the standpoint of any major penalty infractions being committed and not being upheld because of the title of scrimmage.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
Coaching Ethics Code
All NMICE Coaches are required to review the USA Hockey Coaching Ethics Code annually and sign an attestation and agreement to abide by the Coaching Ethics Code as part of their seasonal coaching registration. Resources: USA Hockey Coaching Ethics Code, SafeSport for Coaches, Coaching Clinics (CEP), USA Hockey Concussion Protocols, USA Hockey Coaching Resources, USA Hockey Rule Book.