At that level the kids should be learning the basics and maybe how to play each position.
I'm still of the mind that kids shouldn't even play games until they're at least 8 years old. Getting in 50 minutes when they're 4 or 5 is useless. There's always one or two kids that know how to handle the puck and the rest are one-kicking, skateboard-style, trying to get around the ice. Wouldn't that 50 minutes be put to better use by having each kid run drills with a puck?
Anyway, most parents are great, but the vocal minority suck bigtime. I coached houseleague Atom for a few years and while there was some great times I hated a handful of parents.
I got one 11 year old girl half way through the season who started the team with a broken heart because got cut from a high level girls travel team. When we got her she had a serious attitude and it came from her dad, mom, uncle and grandma that would attend each game and practice. They were all built like John Goodman and yelled with every pound of flab they had on their bodies. She thought she was so much better than anyone and during her first practice she skated up to me and said "This league is garbage. I'll probably score 150 goals here". (She finished with 4 in the remaining 20 games).
The girl HATED playing anything but centre and if she was moved to any different position she'd put in a half-assed effort. What made it worse was when we're trying to give her instructions on passing the puck and playing as a team, she would step on the ice only to hear her 2000 lb chearing session yell the exact opposite. They'd yell things like "Don't pass! You're the only one that can score on this team!"
Anyway, her dad used to tell me that since the last 2 minutes of play were stopped time I could put anyone I wanted on the ice. Translation: Put my daughter out for the last 2 minutes of each game. I told him that it's houseleague, all the parents paid the same amount, and I'll continue to roll 4 lines with equal ice time.
Another great thing about houseleague is how they give you 18 skaters and only half the ice to practice. You try to control 18 hopped up 10 and 11 year olds and make sure they're all paying attention!
After one practice I got a visit from a mom (sorry ladies, it's the mothers that are the worst!) who berated me for not keeping better control of the practices. She complained how she saw two kids just sitting in a corner for over 3 minutes doing nothing while drills were going on elsewhere. She suggested that I use a couple of the fathers to help run the practice. I told her that'd be a wonderful idea. What happened? Her husband and another father came on the next week and not only couldn't they control any of the kids, their own kids were the worst ones of all and wouldn't listen to their dads in the least. After the practice wrapped up, both of the fathers went to their wives and told them "Keep your mouths shut! Our coach is doing the best he can out there!". The fathers didn't return the next week. One practice was enough for them.
Anyway, after starting 0-7 for the year you can imagine the crap I took. Some parents wanted us 'fired'. Nice eh.
But slowly the kids started to get better. Some of the worst skaters got stronger and our better players started playing like real leaders.
We ended up winning the whole thing by years end. A number of kids told me it was the most fun the had ever had. That was the greatest reward.
One more great 'hockey parent' story. One kid on our team had never played hockey or skated before. But he was a real worker, a great listener and a great kid all around. He scored only 2 goals that year but his dad never saw one of them. He was too busy taking smoke breaks every 10 minutes. He also showed up to most games half in the bag.
So in short, when you decide to put your kids in hockey don't give the coaches OR the REFS a hard time. They're doing their best. Just sit down, drink your Timmy's coffee and enjoy the festivities. There are some parents out there that have kids with disabilities that prevent them from even competing in sports. Be thankful you have healthy enough children that they can and be grateful you live in a country that provides hockey as a service to the community. It's just a game and no matter how hard you try, you're never going to play in the NHL through them no matter how bad you want to.
Me? My son will be going into hockey next fall. I can't wait. The most I hope he gets out of hockey is self confidence and the ability to play the sport with some skill. I think it would be my dream if he even got a minor scholorship to any school because of hockey. And of course, I can't wait to play with him on the pond every winter.
It's probably best that your kids didn't go anyway. Hockey isn't much fun if your coach only keeps you for a benchwarmer. (Been there, done that.)
