Why do parents hate cross ice hockey??

[patty59]

Can someone explain that to me? I have played hockey my entire life, I was a referee for a long time and now I coach little kids. In 2019 Hockey Canada is mandating cross ice hockey for novice aged players and people are scared shitless of it. I don't get it. Hockey USA has been doing it for years with great success. I see a huge benefit, not only because 7 year old kids playing on the same size ice as NHLers is crazy, but because it will force the coaches to teach skills rather than systems. I wonder how much time is wasted every year teaching kids about offside, not only teaching it in practices, but how much time is wasted in a game?

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[cowboy82nd]

Because the Americans are doing it!!!

 

[cowboy82nd]

I joke.

 

[puckpilot]

Unless something is completely broken, IMHO, most people, whether they want to admit it or not, hate change. Change brings uncertainty and that brings fear.

Parents worry about how this will affect their child. Imagine this scenario, kid is a great skater but stone hands. With full ice, they can take full advantage of their skating and develop their hands while still being very effective. In the cross-ice environment they may struggle more, and no parent wants to see their kid struggle, especially if they think they're "special".

When you change an environment there will always be those who are positively affected and those who will be negatively affected. There is no free lunch. It's hard to tell how a kid will respond to the new environment, and nobody wants to be on the negative side of things, so there's a resistance to change.

IMHO, it's about the devil you know.

 

[BruinDust]

Because:

A) Most parents never played the sport and know really nothing about it from a minor hockey level. They see NHL players on full-sized ice, and think that the more kids play on a full-sized surface, the better they will become.

B) Some parents believe their kid is a future superstar and he/she is being held back or their development hindered by cross-ice hockey.

Or a combination of A and B.

 

[BruinDust]

Can someone explain that to me? I have played hockey my entire life, I was a referee for a long time and now I coach little kids. In 2019 Hockey Canada is mandating cross ice hockey for novice aged players and people are scared ****less of it. I don't get it. Hockey USA has been doing it for years with great success. I see a huge benefit, not only because 7 year old kids playing on the same size ice as NHLers is crazy, but because it will force the coaches to teach skills rather than systems. I wonder how much time is wasted every year teaching kids about offside, not only teaching it in practices, but how much time is wasted in a game?

Absolutely. Coaches shouldn't even worry about systems for kids that age.

Smaller surfaces mean more touches of the puck. The more a young kid gets to handle the puck in game situations the better and more composed with the puck they will be. You get kids now at that age who aren't the best skaters, and go entire games with very few touches of the puck. Hurts their confidence, which is a massive part of the game, and hurts their overall enjoyment of it. What kid wants to play a sport where they never touch the ball/puck?

 

[patty59]

Because:

A) Most parents never played the sport and know really nothing about it from a minor hockey level. They see NHL players on full-sized ice, and think that the more kids play on a full-sized surface, the better they will become.

B) Some parents believe their kid is a future superstar and he/she is being held back or their development hindered by cross-ice hockey.

Or a combination of A and B.

I've heard both reasons from parents, but the thing I can't wrap my head around is there is real life proof that it in fact makes everyone better at hockey, I suppose some people measure their kids success at hockey when they are 7 by the amount of goals they get and can't see them becoming better skaters and puck handlers. It's funny because I hear the same argument for tiering 7 and 8 years old, that stiffer competetion will make them better, but at the same time they talk about how taking space away from their kid is going to make it harder for them, which is it?

No one puts their kid in golf and makes them hit from the black tees, why are you making them play on an ice surface made for adults?

 

[patty59]

Because the Americans are doing it!!!

I know you are joking, but the Americans are going to surpass Canada in hockey if hockey Canada doesn't take a long look at the way they develop their kids.

 

[A4T1L6]

my kid is a future superstar and this is holding them back

 

[FFWRX]

As a parent that had a kid play in both travel mite hockey (half ice) and squirt house league (full ice) at the same time it is just harder to watch. I'm sure it is better for the kid to learn to battle through other players, and the lesser skilled kids get more puck touches which brings the overall skill level up. It just doesn't have a good flow. I think it has helped his vision and maybe his passing (same number of people in half the space). As a defenseman it is a little harder not going of rink markings for spacing. It creates tennis matches with some kids that don't want to try and carry it through a crowd. My son says it just not as fun.

TLDR: No flow; not as fun; better for development

 

[Howie Hodge]

The best soccer players are developed where? The US and Canada? Where there is ample playing space, equipment, and usually "real games?"

Obviously not; it's countries where kids play a lot on smaller areas (often not even grass), and touch the ball a lot more. Where they learn to play in close quarters with the need to develop quick decision making. Why many small countries produce way more world class players than does The US and Canada.

Conversely, we actually do it right with baseball in North America. Lot's of repetition when learning. We accept you can't jut put most kids out on the diamond and expect them to actually hit properly. (Yes pitching is a strong consideration to..)

Same principle applies to young hockey players; teach them how to play first.

Many hockey parents in North America are clueless. Give Johnny a nice set of equipment and put him on a nice big ice surface. "Hey; Johnny's playing hockey!"

No he's not, he can't skate well and/or can't handle a puck. He's out there on a hockey rink only. Johnny sucks.

Parents are often about show; and not substance. Most parents are clueless.

They need to be taught what development really is before the kids are allowed to "play" the real game.

Cross Ice Hockey is vital to development in most kids. I could argue all, but there's always prodigies.

Small sided games in all sports are paramount to development. Even the pros still engage in small sided games when they train.

 

[cynicalcitizen]

The cross ice and half ice games are fabulous for development. However, when you get 10 good-sized and talented kids on the ice at once, it becomes a very ugly game. At that point, you really need to play 4 on 4 to maintain some of the advantages of increased touches. 5 on 5 with bigger, better kids eliminates almost all time and space that is available and to a level that doesn't help passing and quick decision making. It has its place though.

 

[Inkling]

You're hearing from the moaners but I'd want to see real statistics to know how most parents think. You're not going to hear from parents who likely think it's just fine. You're also probably also going to hear from parents in competitive or who plan for their kids to be in competitive while the vast majority of kids just play house league and are probably happy with the switch.

I think some Novice competitive players are fine on full ice, but they are the minority.

 

[PiggySmalls]

From an American standpoint, I really enjoy the cross ice/half rink setup. Gives kids a higher chance of touching the puck. Reduces the impact of a kid that has speedy little legs.

 

[patty59]

You're hearing from the moaners but I'd want to see real statistics to know how most parents think. You're not going to hear from parents who likely think it's just fine. You're also probably also going to hear from parents in competitive or who plan for their kids to be in competitive while the vast majority of kids just play house league and are probably happy with the switch.

I think some Novice competitive players are fine on full ice, but they are the minority.

I hear this a lot, but I don't really get it. If half ice is going to make the player better in the long run then you should want your higher end kids playing it too since it will make them better as well. It all depends on how you measure success at the novice level, if parents see their kid scoring 100 goals in a season I suppose they could think their kid is getting better, but are they really, or can they just skate a bit better than everyone else at that moment in time?

 

[Inkling]

I hear this a lot, but I don't really get it. If half ice is going to make the player better in the long run then you should want your higher end kids playing it too since it will make them better as well. It all depends on how you measure success at the novice level, if parents see their kid scoring 100 goals in a season I suppose they could think their kid is getting better, but are they really, or can they just skate a bit better than everyone else at that moment in time?

It probably has advantages for them as well, but probably not as critical since they have the skating skills and passing skills to make use of the larger ice. The average player at that age takes a lot longer to make it down the ice, so the smaller ice will speed things up and keep people involved. The move to cross-ice is probably more driven by the skill level of the average player. On the other hand the higher level players will have to adapt to the larger ice when they move up to Atom, and will miss the two years of experience on the large ice. In the end it probably doesn't matter for the competitive players as skill will always find a way to adapt to the situation.

 

[patty59]

It probably has advantages for them as well, but probably not as critical since they have the skating skills and passing skills to make use of the larger ice. The average player at that age takes a lot longer to make it down the ice, so the smaller ice will speed things up and keep people involved. The move to cross-ice is probably more driven by the skill level of the average player. On the other hand the higher level players will have to adapt to the larger ice when they move up to Atom, and will miss the two years of experience on the large ice. In the end it probably doesn't matter for the competitive players as skill will always find a way to adapt to the situation.

The whole point is there is less skill needed to play full ice. You just have to be a faster straight line skater.

 

[RandV]

Absolutely. Coaches shouldn't even worry about systems for kids that age.

Smaller surfaces mean more touches of the puck. The more a young kid gets to handle the puck in game situations the better and more composed with the puck they will be. You get kids now at that age who aren't the best skaters, and go entire games with very few touches of the puck. Hurts their confidence, which is a massive part of the game, and hurts their overall enjoyment of it. What kid wants to play a sport where they never touch the ball/puck?

Ugh tell me about it. In the 80's my first year in soccer we played on a full length field. Because I was naturally good at checking people the coach planted me me on the 18 yard line and I was basically told not to move unless someone came near me with the ball. I mean what the hell was that? I was actually pretty naturally talented for it, but that killed my interest in the sport for years and I still suck at the finer ball handling skills today.

 

[BruinDust]

Ugh tell me about it. In the 80's my first year in soccer we played on a full length field. Because I was naturally good at checking people the coach planted me me on the 18 yard line and I was basically told not to move unless someone came near me with the ball. I mean what the hell was that? I was actually pretty naturally talented for it, but that killed my interest in the sport for years and I still suck at the finer ball handling skills today.

Sounds like my experience with Junior High Basketball. I was an OK ball player, good passer, decent shooter. Good enough to make the Grade 7 rep team and the Grade 8 version the next year at a decent sized school.

Problem was, I experienced my one and only growth spurt during this time.

All of sudden I was one of the taller players on the team, but not the tallest, there were still a few guys taller than me, and bigger, better athletes.

So my skill set was suited to a guard, but my height dictated that I was a forward, and all the coaches wanted the two forwards not playing center to do was post-up in the key. So I was always 3rd offensive option among the forwards, and was always beaten to offensive rebounds by the two bigger forwards on the team. So I never touched the ball, as the guards always carried it up the court. Wasn't long before I lost interest in the sport and stopped playing competitively.

Everyone wants to handle the ball/puck at least sometimes. I think cross-ice hockey at the ages that are being mandated will help more kids get more touches of the puck.

 

[LarryO]

I hope they're alternating full-ice hockey with cross-ice so the players learn to handle the puck at full speed, and learn to co-ordinate their skating skills with their puck-handling skills.

 

[krown]

As a coach for Novice Major this year (H3 for you old schoolers) I can tell you without a doubt cross-ice is better for skill development for the kids. Making quick decisions in a confined space. More touches for each player. Less wasting of time when the puck eventually goes down the length of the ice.

We were also thinking about moving to smaller nets as well. We found that a 7 year old who could raise the puck pretty much had an automatic goal. We played a few games with smaller, soccer nets and found that the kids had to work harder on placing their shots, and gave the goalie confidence that they wouldn't be shelled every time someone shot high.

 

[BruinDust]

I hope they're alternating full-ice hockey with cross-ice so the players learn to handle the puck at full speed, and learn to co-ordinate their skating skills with their puck-handling skills.

That's what practice is for.

I am assuming that practices are still run on a full sheet.

 

[Pez68]

The best soccer players are developed where? The US and Canada? Where there is ample playing space, equipment, and usually "real games?"

Obviously not; it's countries where kids play a lot on smaller areas (often not even grass), and touch the ball a lot more. Where they learn to play in close quarters with the need to develop quick decision making. Why many small countries produce way more world class players than does The US and Canada.

Conversely, we actually do it right with baseball in North America. Lot's of repetition when learning. We accept you can't jut put most kids out on the diamond and expect them to actually hit properly. (Yes pitching is a strong consideration to..)

Same principle applies to young hockey players; teach them how to play first.

Many hockey parents in North America are clueless. Give Johnny a nice set of equipment and put him on a nice big ice surface. "Hey; Johnny's playing hockey!"

No he's not, he can't skate well and/or can't handle a puck. He's out there on a hockey rink only. Johnny sucks.

Parents are often about show; and not substance. Most parents are clueless.

They need to be taught what development really is before the kids are allowed to "play" the real game.

Cross Ice Hockey is vital to development in most kids. I could argue all, but there's always prodigies.

Small sided games in all sports are paramount to development. Even the pros still engage in small sided games when they train.

Great post.

 

[Crosbyfan]

More icetime> less icetime
Take two Teams of 5 or 6 kids each on a frozen lake and check out how far apart they put the nets...

 

[ChuckLefley]

That's what practice is for.

I am assuming that practices are still run on a full sheet.

In most cases it’s broken up into station work. It’s now being done the way it should be. Smaller playing area to ensure everyone gets to play and it’s not just about the fastest or best skaters. Practice is all about skill work. Get the skills down and then work on doing them on a full ice surface. This is how mast sports, around the world, have been training for years.