Young children and skating/hockey

[LotusBlossom]

[quote="Benjo"]...

Encourage your kids to play other sports too. Soccer is amazing for cardio because a good deal of practice time is spent doing laps around the field. Gymnastics, even beginner gymnastics for 3-4 year olds is terrific for building balance.

Baseball I can honestly say I got nothing out of except maybe some hand eye coordination. 90% of the game is spent standing around.[/quote

My daughter plays soccer and the cardio she gets from their workouts and running is great. Unfortunately this past season, she played goal so not as much movement.

I'm in agreement with baseball for the most part, but I still love to watch it.

I've been skating since I was 3 years old. I have always loved the ice and felt comfort on the blades. I didn't learn to actually skate properly on figure skates until I was in my late teens, but I have a ton of respect for figure skaters. The efficiency of their movements on the ice showed those that played hockey just how good they really were as skaters.

Tons of good programs here in the Lower Mainland these days through Parks and Rec and other community programs for kids that want to get into sports. I am all for them.

[Per]

The neighbourhood where we live has Sweden's most active speed skating club in it, which means that pretty much every kid start taking their skating lessons at age 5 or 6. An interesting side effct of this is that our local kids tend to dominate the local hockey scene for ages 10-15....

So much so that the boys team was invited to some kids' tournament a couple of years ago where they faced development teams from Moscow and Toronto...

Problem is that we only have an outdoor skating rink and no real adult team, so as they grow older they switch to other teams. The local club, HSK, is mainly active in speed skating and soccer, but also has hockey for kids.

Anyway, kind of reinforces what others have said, skating is fundamental to success in hockey.

As for figure skating, I don't know, but back in the day when I followed Björklöven during their glory days, they had a smallish D-man, Torbjörn Andersson, who must have dabbled in it... He'd go full speed in one direction, then make a 360 degree turn on a split second and go full speed the exact opposite direction. Made quite a few opponents look really foolish when they slammed into the boards and the supposed victim was long gone. Never seen any other hockey player turn as instantly as he did, and I'm pretty sure there must have been some figure skating lessons involved.

Back then all players had a day job, and he was a career instructor(?) at my school. I remember being fascinated by the awkward shape of his nose, which was bending in so many directions it was just weird. He must have broken it a zillion times and never have it set properly, so it zigzagged from left to right and in profile looked a bit like a moguls slope...

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=3259

Anyway, it's often good to let the kids try a number of sports early on to develop their allround fitness and let them see what fits them best, and what they enjoy doing.

Björn Borg was a very promising hockey player, made the U16 national team, before he decided to focus on tennis, and we have had several players in Sweden that were considered elite in both hockey and soccer in their age group before choosing which path to pursue. Typically you focus more on strength in hockey and endurance in soccer, whereas technicality is a feature in both, and combining the two sports is often not a bad idea, as it will give you a combination of everything and thus make you better at both.

[Vpete]

My oldest son tried lacrosse this spring and loved it!! Seriously violent sport with so much freaking running and cardio I have never seen so much sweat on young boys! (yeah I meant it to sound that way).

My little guy wants to do it this year too so I bought him a lacrosse stick and he now whips the ball around with his brother and is getting pretty good for 7.

I get more excited about hockey season for my kids sometimes than the NHL- just fun being involved.

[ODB]

I get more excited about hockey season for my kids sometimes than the NHL- just fun being involved.

I know what you mean. You’d have to see my kid... he's only 3 and a half. We go and get his equipment and the guy at the store is really helpful. I haven’t played hockey in 25 years. I don't know how to size kids equipment. Especially skates and helmet! So as I said the young guy that helped us was really cool. He asked who his favorite player is and when my dude answered Ryan Kesler. The guy was like good choice man, I like him a lot also! He looks at me and says nice, all I ever hear is Crosby or Ovetchkin. Anyway I'm rambling on. After we pay for his equipment he comes around the counter and says to my kid alright buddy you're ready to go. Have a good season, score 50! They do a high five!

My boy’s so excited to play hockey. This is going to be so much fun.

And he looks soooooo cute in his little hockey equipment!

[Vpete]

I get more excited about hockey season for my kids sometimes than the NHL- just fun being involved.

I know what you mean. You’d have to see my kid... he's only 3 and a half. We go and get his equipment and the guy at the store is really helpful. I haven’t played hockey in 25 years. I don't know how to size kids equipment. Especially skates and helmet! So as I said the young guy that helped us was really cool. He asked who his favorite player is and when my dude answered Ryan Kesler. The guy was like good choice man, I like him a lot also! He looks at me and says nice, all I ever hear is Crosby or Ovetchkin. Anyway I'm rambling on. After we pay for his equipment he comes around the counter and says to my kid alright buddy you're ready to go. Have a good season, score 50! They do a high five!

My boy’s so excited to play hockey. This is going to be so much fun.

And he looks soooooo cute in his little hockey equipment!

Go buy yourself a new set of skates and get on the ice with the kids- tons of fun. After the 5-6 age hockey just gets more and more serious. It's still fun but serious business the older they get.

I helped coach my older son's team last year- it was fun but most of the kids are far better than I could ever be now but the teaching part of coaching is fun. Having one on one time with a kid to help him understand positioning, strategy and plays is really fun. However, the kids hockey better not affect my 41 games for the Jets this year!

[Benjo]

I forgot about Lacrosse! Great for getting used to physical play because kids hit in Lacrosse long before hitting starts in hockey. Not to mention all the benefits of catching and throwing lacrosse balls at insane speeds while running at full tilt! So much fun.

[Fred]

The beauty of the kids being involved with a early hockey program is they completely loose track of the fact they're learing to skate, they're waring equipment that will reduce the effect of falling to a pain free skate. And the number of times you see kids doing some pivot or what ever and you think, man I bet he won't be able to do that...and then he does. Monkey see Monkey do. But getting them onto the ice as other have mentioned is a huge component, you can't just leave it to others you have to be involved directly yourself one way or another. Last but not least my first kid I was always telling him try this do that....strictly in the hope of helping but soon learned the best thing i could do was to just find some point to praise them about on the drive home. Encouragement and confidence is such a huge part of their development

[ODB]

I fear one aspect of hockey... other parents!

My wife works with a lady whose son plays and is 10. She warned us it can get nutty! A kid that played on her kid’s team last year spent the summer in Europe at some hockey school. His parents packed up and took him to train for the summer. He’s 10 years old... my God!

My kid is playing for fun. If he’s good he’ll make it as far as his natural ability will take him. We will not be doing crazy shit to try to give him an edge.

This lady said there are parents in the stands with stop watches timing their kid’s ice time??? I know already I’m not going to enjoy this part of the game.

[Vpete]

I fear one aspect of hockey... other parents!

My wife works with a lady whose son plays and is 10. She warned us it can get nutty! A kid that played on her kid’s team last year spent the summer in Europe at some hockey school. His parents packed up and took him to train for the summer. He’s 10 years old... my God!

My kid is playing for fun. If he’s good he’ll make it as far as his natural ability will take him. We will not be doing crazy shit to try to give him an edge.

This lady said there are parents in the stands with stop watches timing their kid’s ice time??? I know already I’m not going to enjoy this part of the game.

this does not happen at your son's age during the fun Timbits cat herding games but it surely does later on. I had a some huge fat parent confront me about how I cheered and two years ago. It was strange and everyone looked at me perplexed (with understanding of my situation). As the guy said I was blind I responded that I wasn't and I could plainly see he should lay off chesseburgers. He got up and left. There was no response to that other than a fight.

That happens too.

My oldest son's teacher is a ref and scouts for the Wheat Kings. In June he had a dumb ass guy in a beer league cross check him from behind and then kick his head with a skate all because of a penalty call!!

IF you don't get a grip on kids emotions and attitude early it turns into that ^^!!

The worst are the teenage team who come from further north and are predominantly native. They seem to want to take all their historical angst out on whitey. They goon it up and assault refs and other fans. My brother-in-law was a convenor and hosted a age group playoff once. Once native team had a player kicked out for fighting. The kid and his dad waited after the game for the refs to come out to attack them. My brother-in-law had to get 5 other guys to barricade them off while the two refs left via another entrance.

Every year there is a great story of crazy parents and fans. It's totally fun to spectate and hear these things.

[Benjo]

I'm from Vancouver Island and there's MAYBE about 1-3 kids on the entire island who has the stuff to make it in hockey per age group. Yet that doesn't stop parents from being completely insane.

The best player I've ever played with had to quit playing rep hockey because the AAA team's coach built up how much the team relied on him to the point where he was throwing up before every game, the throwing up didn't stop until he played with us on the C team and he could have fun again. This guy took a wrist shot from center once, it hit the cross bar and got lodged in the ceiling at age 11...Eventually he just quit but you could definitely see the potential and ability he had.

The 2nd best player I played with made it to the ECHL.

[Puck]

Sadly, this parent problem is in all the sports. It's worst where the parents *think* they really know the game, but it's everywhere. About the only thing I can see being a problem is kids not getting ice time due to talent, but most of the little guy stuff has evenly rotating lines.

I have an overly developed sense of fairness, so I hope I can keep my perspective with regards to officiating, but I know I understand that they are just trying to have fun out there - refs too.

[Vpete]

Nothing says "I'm tough" when you are a fully grown man bellowing at a 15 year old ref for an 11 year old's hockey game!

[Per]

... the best thing i could do was to just find some point to praise them about on the drive home. Encouragement and confidence is such a huge part of their development

Couldn't agree more.

[Strangelove]

I fear one aspect of hockey... other parents!

This lady said there are parents in the stands with stop watches timing their kid’s ice time??? I know already I’m not going to enjoy this part of the game.

I've seen stop-watch parents in action! I've seen ridiculously intense behind-the-scenes politics. I've seen psychotic hockey parents escorted from arenas. I've seen the dire effect all this has on the kids. Unfortunately my son had talent. My advice is: don't let your kid play rep no matter how good he is!

Oh there are... some... good hockey-parents out there. And I have some fond memories of getting shit-faced with some of them ar various tourneys in various hotels in various cities/towns. So yeah I managed to have some fun despite the morons, despite the 3-4 per week 5:00 AM practices.

They take it WAY too seriously at the higher levels. They're just kids damnit! It should be all about the fun...