AAA teams for kids born towards the end of the year?
Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)
AAA teams for kids born towards the end of the year?
I have a 99 and 01, both were born late in the year. My 99 has not played squirts yet and my 01 has played in-house mites and should make an advanced team this year. Each one seems to be a year behind others in his birth year. Are there any options for late birth year kids?
They have to work very hard. The top AAA teams have rosters with all but a couple players having birthdays before July 1. There are plenty of AAA opportunities for your boys as some teams are made up of the younger players after the older ones get picked over. As we've read on the forum NHL teams even have a heavy percentage of players born in the first half of the year. In Minnesota, as opposed to places with year around AAA, it will be an advantage for them during the winter association season as they'll be among the older players.
At first the difference in the speed of the game will be a shock to most players, but they will adjust. As long as they don't lose their confidence I think it will only help them in the end. Some kids won't adjust well to the transition to checking, but they will have to make that transition at some point anyway. If the kid is very small and a late B-day or doesn't like the physical aspect of the game that can be a problem.
Our boy is a mid Dec B-day. He will be a first year PW this year so it was definitely a disadvantage at the beginning of the AAA season as most of the kids had already played a year of PW's and were at least a half yr older. By the middle of the season he had picked up his game was one of the top players on the team. It really pushed him to take his game to another level. He now has an advantage over the other kids in his Association that played down a level. There is a vast difference in the speed of the game from one birthyear to the next in AAA.
Our boy is a mid Dec B-day. He will be a first year PW this year so it was definitely a disadvantage at the beginning of the AAA season as most of the kids had already played a year of PW's and were at least a half yr older. By the middle of the season he had picked up his game was one of the top players on the team. It really pushed him to take his game to another level. He now has an advantage over the other kids in his Association that played down a level. There is a vast difference in the speed of the game from one birthyear to the next in AAA.
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keepmeoutofit
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:00 am
6 months one way or the other does matter.
at least with hockey the kids play with kids in a 12 month range. with so many of the kids being held back in school now, players in basketball and football are competing against a much older range of players.
i'd lime to see minnesota go with "play by year plan" same as the rest of the country
at least with hockey the kids play with kids in a 12 month range. with so many of the kids being held back in school now, players in basketball and football are competing against a much older range of players.
i'd lime to see minnesota go with "play by year plan" same as the rest of the country
Later birthday
Our experience with a later birthday (November) is that the higher level of competition in AAA forces the younger players to keep up. By the end of the summer, they are generally on par with the other players that are a year older in school.
The two years of AAA has helped our player play association A level as a first year player and be a contributor on that team. This season should give him the chance to be a leader as a second year A player in association hockey. Summer is pretty serious hockey and training, winter is a bit more fun and allows him to play hockey with schoolmates. Very enjoyable mix.
Our view is that it is a good balance to have a player with a later birthday and that the AAA programs that take some of those younger players can see tremendous improvement from the beginning of the AAA season to the end of the AAA season.
The two years of AAA has helped our player play association A level as a first year player and be a contributor on that team. This season should give him the chance to be a leader as a second year A player in association hockey. Summer is pretty serious hockey and training, winter is a bit more fun and allows him to play hockey with schoolmates. Very enjoyable mix.
Our view is that it is a good balance to have a player with a later birthday and that the AAA programs that take some of those younger players can see tremendous improvement from the beginning of the AAA season to the end of the AAA season.