Strongest U10 AAA Team in MN?

[mn_Jr_NorthStars]

RealisticRonnie"]"Some coaches shorten their bench at the U10 and U12 level to win a plastic trophy.

Does it really matter to anyone other than the parents, which team is the "Best"?? And that is just so they can brag to their friends and co-workers...

It should be about these young players having fun, becoming better hockey players and developing a love for the game!

Seriously mn_Jr_NorthStars? I mean give me a break. Why do we even keep score? Are you the guy who won't let the mites keep score because everyones a winner? That is exactly the kind of attitude that allowed our beloved Minnesota North Stars to move to Dallas back in the day.

RealisticRonnie -- Sorry, I did not write that very well! Thanks for pointing that out. The point I was trying to get across was at the U10 level it is very difficult to say this team is the "Best" team. I really believe that the competition for the girls is great, and learning to be gracious winners and losers is a valuable life lesson. I didn't mean we shouldn't keep score. I think the girls should always "want" to win. I simply meant we should keep it in perspective and keep it about the girls, and not the parents or coaches egos. I have seen coaches at the U10 and U12 teams shorten their bench to 7 or 8 players to win a game, leaving 6 or 7 kids hardly seeing the ice. That to me is pretty sad!!

[James B Mcbain]

You rule! 2001 Girls Machine

[royals dad]

now that's funny! 01 Machine seriously/ keep drinking the kool-aid!

No one trains harder! Some of the kids even go to 1st Hockey where some NHL'ers have been training this summer.

Seriously? I cant believe you would be proud of training 9 year olds that hard, why would the fact they train NHLers mean they are good at training 9 year olds. Get some perspective, 9 is to young to specialize (per USA and Canada Hockey) and it is to young to do any intense hockey dryland training.

[James B Mcbain]

now that's funny! 01 Machine seriously/ keep drinking the kool-aid!

No one trains harder! Some of the kids even go to 1st Hockey where some NHL'ers have been training this summer.

Seriously? I cant believe you would be proud of training 9 year olds that hard, why would the fact they train NHLers mean they are good at training 9 year olds. Get some perspective, 9 is to young to specialize (per USA and Canada Hockey) and it is to young to do any intense hockey dryland training.

Winners are made not born!

[royals dad]

No one trains harder! Some of the kids even go to 1st Hockey where some NHL'ers have been training this summer.

Seriously? I cant believe you would be proud of training 9 year olds that hard, why would the fact they train NHLers mean they are good at training 9 year olds. Get some perspective, 9 is to young to specialize (per USA and Canada Hockey) and it is to young to do any intense hockey dryland training.

Winners are made not born!

So are loosers I guess. You should call discovery and pitch a reality show on how you "make" your 9 year old winners. It could be added to the line up with Dance Moms.

[RealisticRonnie]

Hey Royals dad, are you seriously that slow? I think 'ol James B McBain is yanking your chain a little. DUH!

[royals dad]

Hey Royals dad, are you seriously that slow? I think 'ol James B McBain is yanking your chain a little. DUH!

That is what I thought first to and then I looked at posting history and he looked like he actually had a connection to their training center. So long story short, yes I guess I am that slow.

[InigoMontoya]

Seriously? I cant believe you would be proud of training 9 year olds that hard, why would the fact they train NHLers mean they are good at training 9 year olds. Get some perspective, 9 is to young to specialize (per USA and Canada Hockey) and it is to young to do any intense hockey dryland training.

Winners are made not born!

So are loosers I guess. You should call discovery and pitch a reality show on how you "make" your 9 year old winners. It could be added to the line up with Dance Moms.

I guarantee they are not the only 9 year olds in the state that have been on a treadmill or have high-stepped through the rope ladder on the floor. royals dad likes to climb on his high horse, but has no reason whatsoever to breakout the polarizing rhetoric by throwing around the word "specialize". The kids and parents choose to work hard at something as 9 and 10 year olds - those girls are probably also working hard at softball, tennis, soccer, etc., etc.

[luckyEPDad]

I guarantee they are not the only 9 year olds in the state that have been on a treadmill or have high-stepped through the rope ladder on the floor. royals dad likes to climb on his high horse, but has no reason whatsoever to breakout the polarizing rhetoric by throwing around the word "specialize". The kids and parents choose to work hard at something as 9 and 10 year olds - those girls are probably also working hard at softball, tennis, soccer, etc., etc.

Used to be that strength training before 11 was considered a waste of time. That's being rethought, but you still see a lot of experts recommending no resistance other than body weight or resistance bands before that age. I think all experts agree that the best results are achieved by promoting a healthy active lifestyle. You want to associate active with normal and fun rather than only with hockey so if a kid drops out of hockey they remain healthy and active. I think this is the main danger of "specializing". Of course what experts call early specialization and what people on this board mean when they use the term are about as different as a bullet shot from a gun vs. one thrown by hand. A difference in magnitude, orders of magnitude.

As for working hard towards a goal, I don't think a 10 year old is mentally capable of understanding the concept. Reasoning is just beginning to develop and will continue through their teenage years. I don't think they can see a path linking hard work now to future glory. I'm of the opinion that what we call "driven" is really "obsessive". Instead of "I'll skate herbies to make me a better player" they are thinking "Skating herbies is part of hockey and is therefor fun." Maybe it works out to essentially be the same thing, but looking at my player I see someone who would like to do hockey related activities 24/7 just because they are hockey related. Maybe this is true of all top athletes. They're not quite right in the head. God bless the abnormalities that give life such variety.

[InigoMontoya]

No 9 year olds are strength training - boys or girls. (And as an aside: I hate the argument that they should only use their own body weight. Why should an 80lb kid do 10 pull ups, but shouldn't pull down a bar with 20lbs attached to a pully-cable? Why should that kid push his 80lbs up, but not push up a bar with 5lbs on each end?) There are more than a dozen dryland facilities in Edina, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, St Louis Park, Lakeville, etc., etc. - some that cater to sports other than hockey. These kids are working on their skating strides on the treadmill or crossovers on the flywheel, they are working on shooting and puckhandling (whether in tennis shoes or in skates on synthetic ice), they are working on foot speed and hand eye coordination, they are doing lunges and jumping up in the air. They are not bench pressing, they are not doing squats, they are not dead lifting. They are not turning out little Drago, a hockey machine. I imagine that those of you that fear something sinister is going on inside one of these buildings should just go inside and look; they'd be happy to show you around. This reminds me of the folks years ago that wanted to burn that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone book - they hadn't read it, they had no idea what it was about; they saw it was about witches and wizards and magic and saw an opportunity to scare folks - shame on them then, and shame on folks who want to try to scare a bunch of parents looking for an outlet for one of their children's passions.

I think 10 year olds are plenty capable of understanding their are consequences for their actions, both good and bad. They will be starting their fifth or sixth year of school, where I hope that lesson has been planted firmly into their heads each and every day.

And once again, just like no one had mentioned "specializing" before; no one has mentioned "herbies". Why even put the picture into people's heads? I would hope that most coaches realize that an uptempo practice accomplishes all of the conditioning needed, while the kids are learning other aspects of hockey.

[luckyEPDad]

[quote="InigoMontoya"]I hate the argument that they should only use their own body weight. Why should an 80lb kid do 10 pull ups, but shouldn't pull down a bar with 20lbs attached to a pully-cable? Why should that kid push his 80lbs up, but not push up a bar with 5lbs on each end?)
[\quote]

The reasoning I've read against free weights is balance and injury. Lower the weight enough to be safe and there's really not much point in doing he exercise. Many reps at low resistance is no longer in favor. High intensity always is the new mantra. Herbies for conditioning, bad. Half ice herbies to work on stopping and starting, not so bad. Half ice herbies while stickhandliing looks like an effective drill to me.