USA Hockey Parent Awareness
Below is a link to the USA Hockey Parent Awareness PowerPoint. We recommend all parents take the time to read through this PowerPoint. Click Here to view the USA Hockey Parent Awareness PowerPoint (.ppt)
Scoring Big with Hockey Shot Training Pads
The Hockey Shot Training Pads are one of the most popular training aids on the market today. These training pads help your player practice shooting while greatly reducing wear and tear on your player's hockey stick. That's one big score. So are they worth it? Here's our review of Hockey Shot Training Pads:Purpose of training pads: Players can practice off-ice shooting or stickhandling skills while protecting their hockey stick blades from the concrete or paved surface. Shorter pads allow for a shooting and basic stickhandling, while longer pads add more stickhandling and passing opportunities with a partner.
Prices: $34.95 for four-foot long by two-foot wide Junior pad with 1/8-inch thickness; $59.95 for the four-foot long by two-foot wide Intermediate pad with 3/16 thickness that is recommended for heavy shooting load; and $79.95 for five-foot long Professional pad that is also a foot wider than Junior/Intermediate and the same thickness as the Intermediate. The Premium SkillPad at $109.95 is the thickest pad at 1/4 inch with four-foot length and three-foot width.
Top Features: The pads are made of a synthetic composite to replicate the feeling of the ice surface. The shooting pads can be used virtually anywhere (driveway, cement floor, you name it) and work with any pucks or balls. There are synthetic ice pucks that might work the best.
As parents know, hockey is an expensive sport. The cost of equipment can be overwhelming, especially when kids continue to outgrow their current gear. The key difference with the hockey training pad is your player will not outgrow this training aid. It can be used whether a player is 6 or 16. Some other bright spots:
- It prevents those nasty tape marks on your floors or driveway.
- Parents save money by preventing wear and tear on expensive sticks.
- Your player's off-ice hockey shooting practice is more realistic and effective.
- The shooting pad is flexible - it can be set-up/stored anywhere.
What Hockey Shot says: On its website (www.hockeyshot.com), Hockey Shot says that the shooting pads will make your player better - guaranteed. Of course, no training aid can take the place of proper instruction. If your player receives the correct coaching on technique, then the shooting pad will help your player maximize instruction time. The shooting pad will also help lessen the amount of "ice-time" needed. This saves parents money that is usually spent on drop-in or open-ice time.
Final period: The Hockey Shot Training Pads are a valuable training tool. The training pads give young players a training aid that will help them practice while preventing wear and tear on sticks. It's a training aid that will be useful for years – you don't outgrow it.
Editor's Note: For a limited-time, when you use the code "cares1", parents will receive 15% off of any Hockey Shot-branded training pad.
Reviewed by Cares program editors.
USA Hockey – Relax It’s Just a Game Video
USA Hockey – Hide and Seek Video
USA Hockey – Pin the Tail on the Donkey Video
USA Hockey Zero Tolerance Policy
The USA Hockey Zero Tolerance Policy was put in place to curb disruptive behavior which may interfere with other spectators or participants of a game. This policy covers treatment of officials and spectator behavior - Click Here to view the PDF.
How to Make Tryouts Less Stressful
Below is a special article by Keith Andresen who has been involved with USA Hockey and coaching youth hockey for the past ten years. In this article, Keith discusses travel team tryouts and how parents can keep this process in perspective and make it less stressful for the family.For youth hockey families this can be the most confusing and stressful time of the year, especially for you folks who have never been part of the travel hockey world. There are so many options and so many people trying to "sell you" on their program. Which one is best for my child? Should I sign up for a spring camp? Will attending a spring camp help my child's chance of making a team? All of these are good questions and I will try to help you better understand what you're getting yourself in to.
Let me start off by saying that most travel hockey clubs have good intentions and work very hard to do what's best for the local hockey community and each child in their program. I often compare the local hockey associations to a donut shop: many varieties to choose from, they are all good but everyone has their favorite. It's important to do your homework and find out what each club offers and what their philosophy is.
Let me start by talking about Mites so please give me a moment while I climb up on my "soapbox". The only thing 6-8 year old kids need is to have fun and the opportunity to participate. Whether or not your child plays recreational or travel hockey at the Mite level will not affect their ability to get a college hockey scholarship or play in the NHL. However, in many cases, it will affect their ability to enjoy the game as they get older, as I have seen many kids quit playing by the time they are 12 and 13 years old because they are burned out. You won't even see the burnout coming. One day your young hockey player will just quit and you'll be left wondering what happened. Ask any USA Hockey official what they think of Mite travel hockey and you'll find that the people who do not have a financial stake in a travel hockey association will tell you that Mite travel hockey is crazy. The folks from these clubs who are selling Mites on $3500 programs are the ones who make a living coaching these kids and they want to make sure their pipeline is full at the bottom.
If you're a recreational player looking to try travel for the first time, or a player who enjoys multiple sports and activities then you will want to find a program that will give you the opportunity to grow as a hockey player without demanding too much of your time and money immediately. There are several programs designed to offer competitively priced travel hockey options that give you a challenging environment while still recognizing that people have lives outside of hockey. Talk to folks who run the different programs and find out exactly what type of commitment is required. You don't want any surprises so doing your homework before tryouts is important.
If you currently are involved in a travel hockey program then you probably have a fairly good idea of the landscape. You are either happy with your association or possibly looking for something new. If you're looking for a new home your experiences from the past will help you decide where to go. What did you like about your previous club and what challenges did you face. Were you particularly impressed by one of the teams you played this past season? If so, go on-line and gather information about the program and see if they would be a good fit. The travel hockey community is relatively small so talking to other hockey families will give you good insight.
Whether you are new to travel hockey or a veteran it's important to find out about the coaches at the age group your child will be playing at. No single person can have a greater affect on your child's enjoyment of the season than the coach. Regardless of the age or the skill level every coach should possess some combination of hockey knowledge, coaching skills and people skills. Don't discount the people skills in this equation. I have known many coaches who have vast hockey knowledge but have no business coaching kids. On the other hand I know quite a few great coaches whom are not "hockey experts" but have sufficient knowledge to assure an excellent hockey experience. A good coach must be able to teach hockey skills and life skills. They must be able to take 15-20 individuals and make them into a team with each player having a role.
Last but not least is the subject of spring camps. The spring camps that many of the local associations run are a fairly recent innovation. While I believe that these camps serve a purpose, I don't believe attending a camp is going to assure you of making a team in that organization. While a camp may help you improve your skills they won't transform your game in a matter of a few weeks. Don't be led to believe that the only way you'll make a certain team is if you attend a pre-tryout camp. Remember that the coaches selling you the camp will make more money if they have more participants. When it comes to tryouts those same coaches will be selecting the best players, not necessarily the ones who attended their camp. As long as you understand the dynamics you won't be disappointed.
Like I mentioned earlier, all of the associations have something good to offer. Do your homework and go into the tryout process with your eyes open and as much information as possible. The more work you do on the front end will help assure that you won't be disappointed. Good luck!
Just a thought: No matter your age or skill level make sure you have fun! Teams at every level, including the NHL, will have "fun" at every practice.
Special thanks to Keith Andresen for the above article. Keith Andresen has been involved with USA Hockey and has been coaching hockey for the last 10 years in Texas.
1 Way to Improve Parent and Coach Communication
Do you want to improve the parent coach communication on your hockey team? At the beginning of the season implement a "24 Hour Rule." This rule states that parents wait 24 hours after a game before talking to the coach, player or official.It will give you the parents the perspective they need. Youth sports can be an emotional experience. For parents, it is important to separate their kid’s sports development from game emotions. For this reason, many leagues and coaches have adopted the “24 Hour Rule” which simply states that coaches will not discuss a game or situation until at least 24 hours after the fact. This important rule does two things: First, it moves the discussion away from the presence of the team. Second, it allows all parties to have time to put things in perspective.
3 Keys to Hockey Fundraising Success
3 Keys to Hockey Fundraising Success - The secret to youth sports fundraising success is 1- Properly motivating your sellers, 2- Choosing products to sell that are in demand with prices above $7, and 3- Sell only products with profit margins of 50% or more. If you don’t motivate your sellers, sales will be mediocre.If you sell inexpensive products, then revenue will be too low. If you don’t sell products with high profit margins, it will be difficult to meet your funding goals. Sell products people really want, that offer good value, and that provide good profits. Do that and your sports team fundraiser will be a big success. Special thanks to Kimberly Reynolds for this fundraising tip.
Warning! Recruiters Browse Social Network Sites
Social networks are the craze amongst our youth. Facebook, myspace, SportsGist.com, MyStack.com and Badjocks.com are examples of social network sites where our children may be listed or at least browse.A recent study by Frank Butts, University of West Georgia takes a look at college athletes and monitoring of the social networks by universities and colleges. The article states “NCAA athletes have come under intense scrutiny from college officials in recent months. The current level of monitoring by athletic departments ranges from mere advisories as to what athletes should post, to a complete ban on the use of any social networks”.
“The NCAA has not formally taken a stand on the social network issue rather leaving the monitoring to universities and colleges. Universities are concerned about the negative images portrayed on social networks, thus impacting recruiting, team morale and the universities own image. Parents should be concerned about the excessive information posted by their kids. Bookies may pose as a friend and solicit illegal contact and take the information and use it to their own advantage in gambling and point-shaving opportunities. If this connection is made, the athlete’s eligibility may be at stake and the scholarships as well,” states Mr. Butts. Students have been suspended, ticketed, and dismissed for posted information on social networks.
The article states that, Cornell University IT Director, Tracy Mitrano say, Google’s online cache, may be retained even after deletion. Mitrano says a cache allows material to be viewed through a search engine even when you think the material is deleted. A high potential graduate was refused employment when the employer found an inappropriate remark made by the applicant in an online cache.
The findings of this study suggest that NCAA II athletes need further education about or at least the implications of the image issue associated with public social networks. These schools have less staff to work with the athletes on image issues. The greater perception of a positive image projected on the social networks reported by NCAA III athletes is perplexing to the researchers and needs to be looked into further. With the relative visibility of NCAA Division I athletes, it is to be expected that these athletes’ social network accounts would project a positive image, and they did, according to the athletes and the study. The study reports there is a growing trend of high school athletics-related abuse of social networks where policies are merited.
Parents need to assure their younger athletes are aware that recruiters browse at social network sites to learn about their athletic abilities and their character. Rebellious images, underage partying and free expression may cause the recruiter to think twice about scholarship offers.
Thank you to The Sport Journal, a quarterly referred sports journal by the United States Sports Academy for this very interesting article. View the entire article by clicking here.
