U19 Hockey Rankings

[Rightnut]

Re: U19 Hockey Rankings

Yeah, it is crazy, and unnecessary.

The leagues start play much too soon, and the parents go along with it. At best a youth hockey player gets two 50 minute sessions a week for practice, but will play two, and sometimes three games in a weekend. Minimal development takes place. Too many parents are more concerned with having their kids play the game (usually on full ice) than on practicing skill development. They should be practicing for six weeks before the first game, and not have more than one game a week. Surveys have been done that show the biggest cause of kids dropping out of the sport is not the cost, but the time commitment. Time commitment as in travel to games, many of which are not local (a radius of more than 15 miles).

I agree with your premise although I think things are different depending on geography and level of play. Out here where the Stanley Cup resides AAA teams practice 3-4 times a week for 4.5-6 hrs a week in addition to the games. Non-tournament travel is much longer with the average game 90-100 miles away. Tournaments are fly aways. That's pretty much the norm at AAA. Lower levels, less practice, less commitment.

 

[96IllinoisDad]

Re: U19 Hockey Rankings

Far too many games, need to spend much more time on skill work. Even more so at the younger age levels. I've told this to every coach and it goes nowhere, instead I hear them say the parents want more games. It would bring the expense of the game down as well, opening it up to more people.

Elite level U19 teams need to travel to find competition. When you travel, you pack in games to jutify the travel. The Mission, for example, played in 7 tournaments in first 16 weeks of season. This accounted for 80% of their games.

If instead you compare, practice days vs. game days from August 15 to end of December, Mission had 51 practice days and 28 game days - little less than a 2-1 margin practice-day to game-day ratio. Ice is costly in Illinois, but any Mission girl can skate at any other Mission practice (coach's okay of course). Many take advantage of this. My D skated in at least 1 extra practice a week. So, for kids that do this, they get to a 3-1 practice-day to game-day ratio.

FYI, Illinois hockey (AHAI) does not permit teams to conduct organized practices or required clinics before August 15.

 

[CrossCheck]

Re: U19 Hockey Rankings

Far too many games, need to spend much more time on skill work. Even more so at the younger age levels. I've told this to every coach and it goes nowhere, instead I hear them say the parents want more games. It would bring the expense of the game down as well, opening it up to more people.

Couple things....coaching [really coaching] a practice is difficult...more difficult than coaching a game. So do the math...the coaches would rather play than practice. Ditto for parents and frankly, most kids too....is that terrible? ["skill development" suffers...yes, we all know that...but at the end of the day, most of these girls are not going to play D1 [nor do most want to]...So if the geniuses at USA Hockey say the game is all about 'having fun'...and if games are more fun for all concerned, then at the end of the day...who cares? That said, 80 games! is too much fun

 

[Call It]

Couple things....coaching [really coaching] a practice is difficult...more difficult than coaching a game. So do the math...the coaches would rather play than practice. Ditto for parents and frankly, most kids too....is that terrible? ["skill development" suffers...yes, we all know that...but at the end of the day, most of these girls are not going to play D1 [nor do most want to]...So if the geniuses at USA Hockey say the game is all about 'having fun'...and if games are more fun for all concerned, then at the end of the day...who cares? That said, 80 games! is too much fun

I agree with the above but I also agree with Hux. There must be a balance? As an adult player, I never practice ( I should), I just play games. Kids sign up to play hockey, they don't sign up to practice hockey. The ADM model is a great thing for the youth, where practices are more fun small games.

 

[ne7minder]

Re: U19 Hockey Rankings

You don't get out (of Minnesota) much do ya? Unfortunately, the "season" starts the last weekend of August for many teams. However, in Minnesota the season starts much earlier than that for most players, what with the "AAA" summer tourney teams, then the Fall Elite League, and high school starting in early November.

My only experience with youth hockey is Minnesota. I'm so old we had to chase the mammoths off the ice in order to play. I never played inside till high school. The high school league used to keep a very tight rule on season length and number of games played. My kids played on travel teams and still only played 30-40 games a year. But they had 2-3 practices for every game. I really don't think we are doing kids a favor having them in 80 games at such a young age. I understand that programs like Mission have a different set of problems but I wonder if they are doing what is best for kids & instead are a hockey factory. Maybe it is because I did not have great talent but I always felt sports helped make a more rounded person but an intense focus on a single sport has the exact opposite effect.

 

[giwan]

Re: U19 Hockey Rankings

Elite level U19 teams need to travel to find competition. When you travel, you pack in games to jutify the travel. The Mission, for example, played in 7 tournaments in first 16 weeks of season. This accounted for 80% of their games.

If instead you compare, practice days vs. game days from August 15 to end of December, Mission had 51 practice days and 28 game days - little less than a 2-1 margin practice-day to game-day ratio. Ice is costly in Illinois, but any Mission girl can skate at any other Mission practice (coach's okay of course). Many take advantage of this. My D skated in at least 1 extra practice a week. So, for kids that do this, they get to a 3-1 practice-day to game-day ratio.
FYI, Illinois hockey (AHAI) does not permit teams to conduct organized practices or required clinics before August 15.

Game days OR games? And better teams do have more practice. Still too many games.

 

[96IllinoisDad]

Game days OR games? And better teams do have more practice. Still too many games.

80% of their games were played in those 7 tournaments.