HighSchoolHockeyForums.com

How much is too much?

How much ice time should the players receive? I often hear people claim that kids at this age should'nt play more than 50 hours a year. Then the same people sign their kids up for camps, clinics, AAA, Showcase hockey. Add it all up and the kids are still skating close to 100 hours a year.

Below I copied a question and answer session with Wayne Gretzky. This is one of his replies.

Q: First, I want to say that I think you're the best. Ok, to my question. My son plays youth hockey, and I was wondering, what's the best way to improve all his skills at once?
A: Just be on the ice every day. Practice is obviously the biggest thing, but I think the best way to improve all your skills is to be on the ice whenever you can, just playing games, pickup games on ponds or outdoor rinks, everything. Just skate and play as much as you can.

Read between the lines of the Great One- play as often as one can if they love doing so.

A kid wanting to go out on the pond or be driven to the outdoor rink just to play and skate is vastly different than playing in an organize structure or attending a camp.

Hello tomASS-

Skate as much as you can. Means, skate as much as you can. I agree! Why not let the kids skate when they want? Some love outdoor hockey. And some like indoor hockey. Some like open skating. Some like pond hockey. Some even like structured hockey. To each his own.

I can honestly tell you that the past 2-3 years have either been too mild or too cold.
When we trek out to skate on weeknights the local assocation uses all the rinks in my area. I think this might be a reason why so many parents choose clinics and camps. Same day, same time each week helps with everyones busy schedule.

Boogy, it seems you keep trying to justify what your child is doing this winter. everyone who has seen those camps at mm or have kids involved already know the value. if your child is having fun and stays enthusiastic while he trains there, keep it up. if he starts getting burnt out pull back and take it easy. you know your child better than anyone else on this forum, keep your eyes open for possitive and negative signs and act accordingly for your childs best interest.
you do not have to justify anything to anybody but watch your son and enjoy the ride.
keep in mind; somtimes a week off for some kids is all they need to re-energize while some kids need much longer breaks.
I think a good development program is priceless, mix in unstructured open hockey with that and you have good balance.
good luck this winter, I hope everything works out for you and your son.

my bad - should not even have engaged.
what was I thinking

Please shut this guy down. He is starting up his Mite deal all over again.

Hobey faker- I agree! Well put. Since I'm new to youth hockey I like to hear what others say. Since this is a youth hockey forum. I like replies good and bad.
I'm interested what others have to say. For everyone that disagree's on one subject. There's just as many people that agree. I've been receiving some hidden emails. Some people like to stay neutral. I respect their feelings. With some of the backlash I've been receiving I understand why they make that case.
Good luck!

Outside, fresh air pond is the best. Organized is to just entice and feel the child out if they have the passion to do something ON THEIR OWN .
It just helps to set some guides to skate, hold stick meet / make friends.
No mom/dad around critiquing every move or how much ice time they get.

You will have 7 – 10 years of trial and air before High school.

Smart kids get it, it a fast game. watching helps too to figure out how to help the team when 90 % of the time you do not have the puck on your stick when your on the ice. Learn from other mistakes is very helpfull. what broke down and why. what worked and why.

Worrying about HOW MUCH ICE TIME A KID SHOULD GET means the parents uses it as a crutch to say you have to go to practice. Sounds like a discouragement to me.
People get over it. Most do, ask a parent whose kid has graduated.

breakout wrote:Please shut this guy down. He is starting up his Mite deal all over again.

Well said Breakout!!!!

Indians / Breakout-

I'm not positive why I would be shut down? I'm talking youth hockey. Once again. If you don't care for my post. It's your right to not read it. If you want to be critical. That's fine too. Your choice!

The beauty of this board? As long as I'm talking about youth hockey. It's all good. You're the ones who are taking this to a negative level.

Life's too short to be miserable. Be happy!

PEACE!

One more thing! Lets see how the poll goes. So far personal choice / depends on skater seems to be the favorite pick so far.

tomASS wrote:my bad - should not even have engaged.
what was I thinking

oh god.

Youth hockey Question:

tomASS, Since you're a well educated in youth sports. I want to pick your brain. Please be honest!

There's talk of some coaches and youth players renting a RV this winter and making a trip to Canada to play in a youth hockey tournament.

A) Is this a good idea?
B) Is this a waste of money?

I feel this might be a fun trip. But why spend a lot of money to rent a RV and drive all the way to Canada? When we can stay in the Metro area and play the best youth teams in the state of Minnesota?

PEACE!

BoogeyMan wrote:Youth hockey Question:

tomASS, Since you're a well educated in youth sports. I want to pick your brain. Please be honest!

There's talk of some coaches and youth players renting a RV this winter and making a trip to Canada to play in a youth hockey tournament.

A) Is this a good idea?
B) Is this a waste of money?

I feel this might be a fun trip. But why spend a lot of money to rent a RV and drive all the way to Canada? When we can stay in the Metro area and play the best youth teams in the state of Minnesota?

PEACE!

That sounds really fun...a bunch of over zealous parents and 10 year old kids in a RV in the middle of Canada in the winter. I say go for it.

Flatice- I heard it's been done before. Do you know anyone that might have done this?
I'm wondering if it's in our best interest. After all if we want to play the top youth team's in state. We might as well save the money and play metro area teams.
Which brings me to my other question.

What do people think of signing Mite teams up to play in tourneys?

PEACE!

BoogeyMan wrote:Flatice- I heard it's been done before. Do you know anyone that might have done this?
I'm wondering if it's in our best interest. After all if we want to play the top youth team's in state. We might as well save the money and play metro area teams.
Which brings me to my other question.

What do people think of signing Mite teams up to play in tourneys?

PEACE!

what was done was 4 friends with 5 kids go to Wilcox, Saskatchewan in the summer for a week long camp at Notre Dame prep school. We dropped the kids off at camp and checked in with them every couple of days after the day was over - never sat, watched, prayed and hoped that some day we could live our failed sports lives through them.

Fathers had a great time in Regina ( just nord of Wilcox, eh?)
- watched a Vikings pre-season game in a so-called Regina sports bar
- played over 6 rounds of golf at 6 different courses
- started every morning with Bloody Mary's or Screwdrivers with
breakfast cooking on the Weber
- Ended every evening with steaks and nice Cuban cigars
(legal in Canada) while sitting around a RV park campfire with a TV/
VCR combo hooked up to the RV watching movie classics like -
Blazing Saddles, Slapshot, Young Frankenstein, etc
- took advantage of the weak Canadian Dollar by buying a crap load
of hockey equipment and tape. What's the statute of limitations for
declaring customs at the border
- I think we almost drove home without remembering we had kids.

The youngest participant was a second year squirt, and we fathers can't even remember the hockey CAMP we let our kids go to because the father's vacation was just too good. We still wish we would have golf one more round.

Boogey you really are looney in thinking you can try to embarrass me or catch me in a conundrum. What did anything of this have to do with the so called "hockey subject" you want to stick to and really want to discuss??

Once again you did not listen close enough to the person giving you inside information or you choose to manipulate and lie about the real facts.

Hey forum is the type of person Boogey is plain and simple:!:
He once again has it wrong.

BoogeyMan - no to the tourney, but yes to the camp, but no to the camp if you plan on sitting there all day long praying to the hockey gods for the next Wayne.

Why the Ban Boogey forum was taken down is now really a travesty