Youth/Minor/Development Hockey

[Mike]

This is what I have discussed, at length, with some of the other parents. Are they not watching the same thing I'm watching? One kid in particular...doesn't skate hard in practice, doesn't back-check hard in games, loses every puck battle because he can't be bothered and then gives the kid that took the puck from him a wicked two-hander as the play goes back the other way. This is a kid that should be rewarded with ice-time in crunch time? Actually this is one issue I had with our coach. This kid played with him last season, his mother is the team manager, and the kid is not a bad kid off the ice. Even though there were a couple of better kids out there during the tryout he went with this kid because I think he knows him and felt that he could bring out his best. In hindsight, this was probably a bad move considering one of the kids that was cut went to another rink, made their "AA" team, and scored the game winning goal against us in our first game on Saturday!

You're going to get favorites in every rink, on every team, at every level ... it exists higher up than you would like to think. My solution to this is to have an outside hockey guy come in, and pick the teams. Here's your best 12-13 kids at PW and below, here's your best 15 at Bantam and up ... go nuts. It'll never happen, lol.

That's a pretty cool kid that would do that and I'm sure his parents would have been on board with whatever you decided to do in that situation. You know, I actually have no idea how these kids on the 3rd line feel about this whole thing...just their parents.

He was actually a former teammate of my son, and I told his mother what he did after the game. If I sat her kid for the whole game, she probably wouldn't even ask why. Nicest lady ever, and her dad is an awesome guy too. Never hear a word from either of them.

[Puck Head]

Easy answer.

You roll the lines evenly, and as Mike mentioned, the lines shouldn't be #1, #2, etc.

This isn't my take on this....it's USA hockey, Canadian Minor hockey, European hockey, etc.

We've been over this at all the USA hockey meetings, it's not even up for debate.

 

You do that till Bantams, at that point is around the time the players can start earning ice time.

Where players can start finding "roles".

 

Typically coaches that are short shifting players are either very new, very insecure, or only interested in winning then development.

1- They are squirts, the ONLY concern you have is development and fun.

2- Guess what, statistically that kid not quite as developed in mite/squirts, has a better chance of playing Jr hockey then the superstar, (it's just something many coaches have been talking about).

 

This isn't a question as to what they coach should have done. It's easy, there is nor should be no grey area here.

 

One thing we have done at the squirt level, is select 9 forwards and 4 defenseman. With kids being sick, whatever, any forward at that level should be able to fill in on D.

3 lines is simply too many on a roster of 9 year olds IMO.

 

The ONLY time you limit icetime, is in regards to lack of work ethic or bad attitude.

And that's typically the last issue you have with the less developed players.

[Kevin]

Coach just called a parent meeting after practice on Tuesday. Should be interesting!

[Puck Head]

I didn't get a chance to expand on this, to clarify on comment I made,

statistically that kid not quite as developed in mite/squirts, has a better chance of playing Jr hockey then the superstar

 

13/14 is the 1st age group that goes through the USA national select process.

We just got done with that this summer. Top 200 players in each of 4 birth years end up at the national camp.

We had 7 selected from our team, (my son was not one).

 

At the meeting, they said this, (which I already knew).

 

-50% of these 200 players will not be back here next year.

-50% of those players won't be back the year after next.

-50% of those won't make it to the national camp as 16 year olds.

So of these 200 players, around 10-15 will make the top 200 as U16 players.

 

They looked back, and said......90% of the top players in the nation we will need past age 16, you guys just left at home.

MAKE sure you develop the hell out of everyone....we will need them.

 

So, when talking about SQUIRTS, (even 8 years out)...these coaches need to be developing everyone....EVENLY.

 

You start playing ice time games it screws you two different ways.

You get the kids not getting the ice, which takes the fun out of the game, and as you mentioned, brings politics into it.

And you get the kids getting extra ice, who start feeling a sense of entitlement, a feeling they are "special".

 

And the WORST problem is the parents of kids getting extra ice. Cause it's a tough reality 6 years later when they realize, it never, ever, ever mattered who was good at Squirts.

 

Any decent coach concerns himself with work ethic, citizenship, sportsmanship, CHARACTER, accountability, etc at those ages.

Not the +/- of certain lines.

[Mike]

http://blog.purehockey.com/

 

5 Travel Hockey Secrets For Parents

 

Your child was developing well in the house hockey league, so much so that he was among the best at his position. Since hockey is his sport and he’s committed to getting better, it was only natural that the next step was trying him out for the local travel team. He made the team for the fall season and things are obviously different than playing house. Not only are his teammates and competition better players, but your son is on the ice three to four times a week as compared to once or twice in the house league. You’re traveling in the car for several hours to away games and you’ll be spending Thanksgiving night in the car to a weekend tournament out of state. Welcome to the life of a travel hockey parent.

 

Sound like you? Just as your son will be adjusting to the travel hockey game, you’ll also need to adjust to it as well. But don’t fret – there’s a big payoff. Not only will you see your young hockey player improve by leaps and bounds thanks to better coaching, more practice and games and playing against better competition, but you’ll also likely make some great parent friends along the way. With that being said, here’s a look at 5 secrets that all new travel hockey parents need to know:

 

All so true

[Dunny]

Here's my take: If you want to have fun, go play house league. Everyone plays equally.

 

If you want to play Rep hockey, be prepared to sit in situations where I think you'll fail. You're representing my town and we're here to win. We didn't drive 2 hours in a snow storm to play everyone equally, we came to win. That being said, a normal league game doesn't really mean much so I wouldn't be to rigid in ice time but come playoffs or Silver Stick calibre tournaments I'm going to ride my horses whether they are 10 or 18 years old.

[Mike]

Here's my take: If you want to have fun, go play house league. Everyone plays equally.

 

If you want to play Rep hockey, be prepared to sit in situations where I think you'll fail. You're representing my town and we're here to win. We didn't drive 2 hours in a snow storm to play everyone equally, we came to win. That being said, a normal league game doesn't really mean much so I wouldn't be to rigid in ice time but come playoffs or Silver Stick calibre tournaments I'm going to ride my horses whether they are 10 or 18 years old.

This is generally how it is, more so at tier 1

[Puck Head]

Here's my take: If you want to have fun, go play house league. Everyone plays equally.

 

If you want to play Rep hockey, be prepared to sit in situations where I think you'll fail. You're representing my town and we're here to win. We didn't drive 2 hours in a snow storm to play everyone equally, we came to win. That being said, a normal league game doesn't really mean much so I wouldn't be to rigid in ice time but come playoffs or Silver Stick calibre tournaments I'm going to ride my horses whether they are 10 or 18 years old.

 

And why

[Puck Head]

This is generally how it is, more so at tier 1

 

Which would be wrong.

[Mike]

Which would be wrong.

 

But that's how it is. And it's not just our area that does it. I've seen every team shorten their bench, from league play to the SJ Jr Sharks, to Canadian teams.

[Dunny]

Because we want to win. Our rural town versus all rural towns in Ontario. Pride and status are everything. Destroy Kincardine. Annihilate Walkerton.

Getting to an All-Ontario final was only recent surpassed in my life events by the birth of my children and you don't get to that point by playing everyone equally.

 

AAA kids think they're going somewhere, great, develop away, but down in BB you basically have 3 goals, win the WOAA, win your regional Silver Stick and win the fucking All-Ontarios, we aren't there to develop players for Junior 'C'.

[thes5]

If you don't know how good your kid is, you're either blind, or stupid. Whether or not you believe this should happen in youth hockey, if you can't handle it then don't put him on a team where you know he's not a top 6 player.

 

Mikey, you know for a fact that there are plenty of blind parents out there!

 

Tier I, the coach is going to try to win. Our parents know that, in a tight game/3rd period, some lines might pick up extra ice/PP time. Typically, we will make up for that lost ice time during the next game. Otherwise, we roll lines.

 

Parents, yes even Tier I, have to realize that the odds of their kid getting an ice hockey scholarship are painfully slim. A little perspective makes for good hockey parents.

[Mike]

Our 3rd line gets minimal ice time in close games that matter. Shit, one of our top 4 over all forwards didn't see the late ice time in close games, because he was taking penalties 200' away from our net. Tier 1 plays to win around here. That's just the way it is.

[Puck Head]

Big difference between 13-16 year olds

And 6-11 year olds

[Mike]

Big difference between 13-16 year olds

And 6-11 year olds

 

I agree. But if you put a tier 1 squirt minor coach in the same position, you're going to get the same result 85% of the time. Jay, again this is another thing that makes hockey here different than there, it's not just April tryouts. Lol. And it's all for the same reason ... Keeping the families of the better kids happy. People want to win. People want their kids to win AND have top minutes. No one wants their top players to go to another, or rival organization. It sucks, and I hate to say it, but $$$ 70% - hockey 30%

[Pete]

Almost doesn't seem worth it to have the kids involved so early.

[Dunny]

The politics at age 4 and 5 have absolutely floored me, but the kids at that age have absolutely no clue so they're just out there doing their thing and building a good base to grow from without even knowing it. If you want your kid to play competitively at any level I think it's best to start early. Skating is everything, so that's really all you have to do. The rest at that age is kind of ridiculous. My kid spent his entire first year as a 4 YO playing Minecraft and Pokemon on the ice during practice.

 

 

Pragmatically, it gets the kid out of the house. They're much easier and pleasant to deal with when they've burned off energy.

[thes5]

I agree. But if you put a tier 1 squirt minor coach in the same position, you're going to get the same result 85% of the time. Jay, again this is another thing that makes hockey here different than there, it's not just April tryouts. Lol. And it's all for the same reason ... Keeping the families of the better kids happy. People want to win. People want their kids to win AND have top minutes. No one wants their top players to go to another, or rival organization. It sucks, and I hate to say it, but $$$ 70% - hockey 30%

 

Developing the kids to be better players and people should be the focus, regardless of age. Of course, Tier I families realize that they are playing the highest level of competition and that their kids are not guaranteed ice time. But, if a program can't field three lines of Tier I caliber players, then they should play AA, not AAA.

 

Sitting the third line for most of the game is ridiculous. Keep in mind that the other team has a third line as well. Either the team you field is good enough to compete or its not.

[thes5]

The politics at age 4 and 5 have absolutely floored me, but the kids at that age have absolutely no clue so they're just out there doing their thing and building a good base to grow from without even knowing it. If you want your kid to play competitively at any level I think it's best to start early. Skating is everything, so that's really all you have to do. The rest at that age is kind of ridiculous. My kid spent his entire first year as a 4 YO playing Minecraft and Pokemon on the ice during practice.

 

Pragmatically, it gets the kid out of the house. They're much easier and pleasant to deal with when they've burned off energy.

 

Absolutely. At that age, its more socialization for the kids than anything else.

 

You see problems when you have parents who are riding their 5 year olds to excel. They are actually bribing kids to score goals with money, toys, ice cream....you name it. When some of these kids hit 13 and are no longer the star of the team, and are tired of hearing dad's after-game speeches, they either quit or regress.

[Pete]

Puckhead told me if I have a kid who wants to play, keep him in rec and do a lot of clinics until he's older, 11 or 12.

[Dunny]

And that's fine. I don't have my kid in hockey so he can have a career playing hockey or try to receive a free education. I just want him to experience competition, heartache and sheer joy playing hockey like I did. Be part of a team with a goal.

[Mike]

Almost doesn't seem worth it to have the kids involved so early.

 

Well they have to start skating as early as possible, or they'll never be able to keep up. Honestly, the 8, 9, and 10 yo studs, are rarely the 13, 14, and 15 yo studs. Hockey changes a lot at peewee, then even more in hs. After that it's a matter of which kids want it more.

[thes5]

Puckhead told me if I have a kid who wants to play, keep him in rec and do a lot of clinics until he's older, 11 or 12.

 

Lots of power skating combined with puck handling. Can't skate, can't play.

[Pete]

Lots of power skating combined with puck handling. Can't skate, can't play.

 

Yep, that's the plan. When the time comes haha.

[Mike]

Might have to shut him down for the season. I'm giving him until the holiday break to improve on the ice. His range of motion in both knees is back to normal, but the swelling and pain is still there. If he can't get up and down, he's gotta sit. On the bright side, if I do decide to shut him down, I get a pro-rated amount of money back from tuition insurance, which will be about 40% at the time of my decision.