Where does your kid play

[javorka]

Just make sure his b-day is early in the year
Size matters at hockey camps

Very interesting article - can't say any of it surprised me, though.

I think I can speak with some authority on this since we had one August baby another in October and our third in March - having your kids in the first part of the year gives them an advantage in most situations, including school. I think if you ask any teacher they would agree that the oldest kids in the class are typically (although not always, of course) the most mature physically and mentally, and are the leaders in the group.

Of course planning when you have your kids isn't always that easy........

 

[FiveThreeEmptyNet]

U9 House League - Space Coast Iceplex

I live in Orlando. My 5-year-old (turns 6 in January, which makes him one of those "good hockey birthdays" mentioned ) was on me in March to get him on a hockey team. He'd only tried ice skating once. It was predictable. (He shuffled.)

We made a deal. He could play on a team if he learned how to skate.

Our summer was a blur of public skates, tot hockey clinics, Mite/Squirt clinic, Skate N Shoot, and Learn to Play. He was on the ice 2-3 times per week for a total of about 5 hours. Fortunately the public skates often butted up to one of the aforementioned.

Sidenote: there is NO better place to be in the summer than a rink. He can play as much as he wants as far as I'm concerned!

Participation is very low down here, so we had to choose between the Mite House League at RDV (17 miles/35 min. from the house) or U9 at Rockledge (42 miles/45 min.)

He's one of two 2002 kids in the U9, but he skates second-shift so it is mostly against 6- and 7-year-olds. He wasn't overmatched at all in the first game.

I love hockey but am hoping he gets back to soccer and basketball so he can develop some other coordination. He likes tennis quite a bit and has fun when we smack golf balls. There is an interest in flag football and baseball. We'll see.

He'll probably play on a travel team in the next few years if his interest remains. It is very hard to find comparable competition in Florida, unless maybe you are in Fort Lauderdale.

 

[Nbr-17]

Cool. How did he come up with the desire to play hockey? I mean around here everybody plays so it's a common/normal thing. But I wouldn't think that he'd get too much exposure in Florida.

Our boys won their first AAA tourney last Sunday:

 

[brymel]

Congratulations. What tournament were you in? My son plays AAA for the Chicago Young Americans.

 

[FiveThreeEmptyNet]

my story

Cool. How did he come up with the desire to play hockey? I mean around here everybody plays so it's a common/normal thing. But I wouldn't think that he'd get too much exposure in Florida.

Our boys won their first AAA tourney last Sunday:

Good question, thanks for asking.

I am from Edina, MN - as much hockey country as you can find in the US. I played a lot as a kid. My best friend still lives there and has five kids - all playing.

My son would see my trophies when we visited grandma and she also kept ALL my youth jerseys. Then he'd go to my friend's house and play in the basement with those kids. As a result, he kept bugging me to play.

When I moved here in 1993 there weren't many rinks and the state didn't have professional teams. I had quit hockey cold turkey and just figured I'd never see the inside of a rink.

He got me back involved and now I'm playing weekly (some would say 'weakly' in a 35+ league). Actually, it is going very well even though I weigh 70 pounds more than I did when I finished HS.

My story is that I had the passion and enough skill, just not enough of the speed-size-strength necessary to stand out (or keep up) after kids hit puberty. Still loved it though, even playing outdoor 4-on-4 men's league after college for a few winters.

Great sport. I'm glad my son has it going for him and I'm glad he's got me back at it.

Which AAA tourney was that? I know a Florida kid that played in the Bantams won by the Toronto Marlboroughs somewhere in/near Toronto. A biggie with 40 teams, almost all of them very good.

Probably a little more hockey here than you think. There are 17 facilities in the state. Not a lot for 17,000,000 people, but there also isn't a ton of competition for the ice time. The youth program is very strong in Fort Lauderdale especially.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Cool. How did he come up with the desire to play hockey? I mean around here everybody plays so it's a common/normal thing. But I wouldn't think that he'd get too much exposure in Florida.

Our boys won their first AAA tourney last Sunday:

That's great. It looks like they just won the Stanley Cup. Gotta love it.

 

[Nbr-17]

Good question, thanks for asking.

I am from Edina, MN - as much hockey country as you can find in the US. I played a lot as a kid. My best friend still lives there and has five kids - all playing.

My son would see my trophies when we visited grandma and she also kept ALL my youth jerseys. Then he'd go to my friend's house and play in the basement with those kids. As a result, he kept bugging me to play.

When I moved here in 1993 there weren't many rinks and the state didn't have professional teams. I had quit hockey cold turkey and just figured I'd never see the inside of a rink.

He got me back involved and now I'm playing weekly (some would say 'weakly' in a 35+ league). Actually, it is going very well even though I weigh 70 pounds more than I did when I finished HS.

My story is that I had the passion and enough skill, just not enough of the speed-size-strength necessary to stand out (or keep up) after kids hit puberty. Still loved it though, even playing outdoor 4-on-4 men's league after college for a few winters.

Great sport. I'm glad my son has it going for him and I'm glad he's got me back at it.

That makes sense. Stick to your story

Which AAA tourney was that? I know a Florida kid that played in the Bantams won by the Toronto Marlboroughs somewhere in/near Toronto. A biggie with 40 teams, almost all of them very good.

That was the one. The boys beat the Marlboroughs twice. First in the round robin and then in the final.

 

[Crosbyfan]

That makes sense. Stick to your story



That was the one. The boys beat the Marlboroughs twice. First in the round robin and then in the final.

How does being the "Canadiens", even if it's the "Toronto" Junior Canadiens go over in Toronto?

 

[Nbr-17]

How does being the "Canadiens", even if it's the "Toronto" Junior Canadiens go over in Toronto?

Actually their headcoach is a Red Wings fan. It took me a while, but I've gotten to grips with the notion that my son plays for the Canadians (just kidding ). I'm just glad he ain't playing for the Senators

 

[Crosbyfan]

Actually their headcoach is a Red Wings fan. It took me a while, but I've gotten to grips with the notion that my son plays for the Canadians (just kidding ). I'm just glad he ain't playing for the Senators

At least it's not the Toronto Central Red Army!

 

[Dakota Sioux]

My daughter played on the peewee B boys team last year even though she was squirt age.She was the leading scorer and 2nd in penalty minutes.She loves the contact which she wouldn't get playing on the girls team.This year she will be on the A team and will be one of the better players as most of the kids will be first year peewee players.Her goal is to play for the FIGHTING SIOUX of North Dakota and be an Olympian someday.Lofty goals but with her passion for the game and her God given talent I won't put it past her.We start the season in 2 weeks.

 

[Zine]

My 2 1/2 year old and I play in the basement.....where he always beats me on a last second breakaway.

I'm gonna try and get him on skates this winter.

 

[Nbr-17]

...Her goal is to play for the FIGHTING SIOUX of North Dakota and be an Olympian someday.Lofty goals but with her passion for the game and her God given talent I won't put it past her.We start the season in 2 weeks.

Goals are good, without goals you get nowhere in life.
My son wants to play in the OHL (Major Junior A) and I tell him: "Keep it up and you never know what can happen. There is one way to make sure you won't play though... and that's to quit"

 

[Nbr-17]

My 2 1/2 year old and I play in the basement.....where he always beats me on a last second breakaway.

I'm gonna try and get him on skates this winter.

It's the right age to start IMHO, good luck, hope he enjoys it.

 

[Dakota Sioux]

Goals are good, without goals you get nowhere in life.
My son wants to play in the OHL (Major Junior A) and I tell him: "Keep it up and you never know what can happen. There is one way to make sure you won't play though... and that's to quit"

I agree wholeheartedly about setting goals.As her coach the last 7 years we sit down and set goals for the upcoming year.This year we are working on developing a good snap shot and have been working on it this summer at home.She has a great wrist shot but sometimes she takes to long to get it off so with a good snap shot she should see some more scoring chances.My personal goal which is the same every is to be a better coach than I was the year before.

 

[krax]

My son is born in 99 and plays with a 95-96 team here in Switzerland.
Loves hockey above all and would spend 24h a day at the ice rink if it was possible. That's since he's 3.

Picture taken at age 7:
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4597754

 

[Nbr-17]

My son is born in 99 and plays with a 95-96 team here in Switzerland.

Wow that's quite an age difference. Around here that would be pretty much impossible unless he's the next coming of Wayne Gretzky.
At what age do they allow body contact in Switzerland?
Here in Ontario it starts at minor atom (8 & 9 year olds, born in 98 this year). I've seen kids plays one year up around here, but they rarely benefit from it.

 

[krax]

Playing in his category was ridiculous. He would set up assists for his teammates without an opponent being able to touch him.
It's basically the fact that he's more hours of ice-time than most of his fellows. Maybe others will catch up.

Yes, body contact is allowed for the 95/96 but that's what he likes about playing hockey.

His team is not playing in the top league. This would be too much for him, but the current league just fits his abilities.

 

[krax]

Just to clarify:
He joined the 95/96s when he was 5.
We tried to put him back into his category, it was a nightmare...
Opposing coaches/parents would not believe his age, yell at him and make him cry. He would not dare to go out and finish the game, not understanding the adult's reactions.

 

[Nbr-17]

Sounds like there are crazy hockey parents everywhere
Obviously the situation is very different in Switzerland than around here. My son would not survive playing with kids that are 3 years older and he is big for his age (80% tile). Also usually the physical play (hits) increases as the level drops. That is because of the lower skill level and the kids make up for it by hitting. There is less hitting in AAA than in AA and in A.
That being said the GTHL has over 10000 rep league players accros 9 age divisions and 500 rep teams. There are 12 AAA teams in each age group.

 

[thrill_me_mogilny]

My son is playing "real" hockey for the first time. He's taken some learn to play hockey courses, and of course skating with school, but this is the first time on a team. We're with Mississauga Hockey League(Novice) He got his first point this weekend, an assist and we're both over the moon about it. He's on the small side but still mucked it out in the boards.

Someone mentioned contact being allowed at 8-9? I think I was told his was no contact. Does it vary between house and rep?

 

[javorka]

.....but still mucked it out in the boards.

Someone mentioned contact being allowed at 8-9? I think I was told his was no contact. Does it vary between house and rep?

I wondered about that, too.
Our kids play in Alberta, and hit hockey starts at Pee Wee, regardless of whether it is rep or house league.

 

[Hank19]

My son is playing "real" hockey for the first time. He's taken some learn to play hockey courses, and of course skating with school, but this is the first time on a team. We're with Mississauga Hockey League(Novice) He got his first point this weekend, an assist and we're both over the moon about it. He's on the small side but still mucked it out in the boards.

Someone mentioned contact being allowed at 8-9? I think I was told his was no contact. Does it vary between house and rep?

Hitting starts for Atom (travel only) in our area. After that, peewee is when all levels begin body contact.

 

[brymel]

Hitting starts for Atom (travel only) in our area. After that, peewee is when all levels begin body contact.

From what I have always heard, USA hockey rules allow checking at the PeeWee level and not before. In Canada it begins at the Atom/Mite level. IMO, I would rather see it begin at the earlier ages. It is a part of the game, and why not teach it from the beginning. Those first few games at PeeWee are always interesting to watch, as kids only seem interested in checking. After about the third game, they get back to playing hockey.

 

[javorka]

...... In Canada it begins at the Atom/Mite level..../QUOTE]

Not in Alberta. At least not on our area. Our kids don't hit until Pee Wee. Not legally, anyway.