This is a season of tremendous change for the Coaching Education Program across the United States. We in Minnesota will be affected by a number of differences from past years. Those of you who have been coaching for a while, even one season, will recognize the differences when I point them out below. I am hoping that by communicating early and often, we will all get used to these changes quickly and easily. Here is an outline of the new elements of our coaching program. For complete details, visit the websites referenced below.

1. New national coaching requirements. This is huge, and includes:

a. The old chart, which said that for a particular type of team you needed a particular CEP Level, is GONE. Forget about it.
b. In place of the chart, new coaches take 1 clinic per season, starting with Level 1 their first year, then Level 2 the second and Level 3 the third. After that, there are renewal options OR the chance to take Level 4. Coaches who are already certified start out at their current level, and then move on according to the above progression.
c. In addition to having a “current” coaching level, all coaches need to take (at least) one of the new “age specific” online training modules. If you are coaching Squirts, you take the 10-and-under online module. These are inexpensive ($10) and very state-of-the-art, they’ll make you a better coach. ALL active coaches need to take these, even those who already have Level 4 and 5.
d. The complete text of the new rule is in the Coaches section of the Minnesota Hockey website.

2. No more coaching cards. If you already have a card, you can use it to verify prior season training, but starting this fall, the online (USA Hockey) coaching certification list will be used to verify current training, including your coaching program level and any age-specific training. You can print it at any time from the website; click here to get started.

3. Level 1–3 Clinic prices were standardized at $40 each. Online modules are $10 each.

4. Excellent new manuals on body contact/checking will be passed out at Level 2 clinics.

5. Small Area Games books will be passed out at Level 1 clinics.

6. ADM on-ice reference cards/practice plans will also be passed out at Level 1 clinics.

7. All coaches at clinics will receive a CD with completely new coaching manuals for Level 1–3, with added practice plans and other reference material.

8. Our coaching clinics will feature totally new presentations, with plenty of video and examples added.

9. Significant changes to the Coaches section of www.usahockey.com to support all these new materials.

I know that there will be questions about all this. Your association’s ACE (Coaching) Director will be trained to help you, and the USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey websites have been updated to answer questions and point you in the right direction. I hope that these new materials, which were prepared with a huge investment of time and money for your benefit, will help you be a better coach for your young players. My instructors and I will be learning about them along with you. Please be patient in this inaugural year, but don’t hesitate to ask questions. Have a great season!

Christian Koelling, Minnesota District Coach in Chief

The proposed rule change will move the age of legal body checking in games from 12U to 14U.

WHAT ELSE WAS LEARNED DURING THE STUDY?

Although the original focus was not on the injury side of this issue, there has been so much medical research conducted and brought forward that it simply cannot be ignored. USA Hockey must always consider the health and safety of its players. There have been multiple recent studies (in Canada at the AAA level) showing that the serious injury rate at PeeWee is four times greater in checking vs. non-checking leagues. Of note is the identical injury rate between those same two groups in practice (low). What also came to light is the fact that, cognitively, the 11-year-old brain has not fully developed the ability to anticipate while multitasking. Anticipation is 50 percent of a player’s ability to protect himself and avoid heavy contact that leads to these serious injuries.

We realize there should be contact in hockey; however, we do not want to place players into a situation where their cognitive skills are not yet fully developed to protect themselves. This is a function of brain development that players cannot “learn” by doing. In addition, when it comes to concussion baseline testing, it’s been shown that the PeeWee age brain is not yet developed enough to conduct accurate baseline testing.

WHO ELSE WAS INVOLVED IN THIS DECISION PROCESS FOR USA HOCKEY?

USA Hockey’s Player Development Committee and Body Checking Sub-Committee. The Body Checking Sub-Committee is made up of experts from a variety of areas. This includes people like USA Hockey’s ADM Regional Managers, Al McInnis, Mike Milbury, Dr. Michael Stuart from the Mayo Clinic who is USA Hockey’s Chief Medical Officer (all three of Dr. Stuart’s sons have played in the NHL), and many others. USA Hockey has taken a very inclusive look at this issue.

WOULDN’T THE RULE CHANGE HURT BIGGER PLAYERS?

During the PeeWee years (11–12 years old), most male players are on the cusp of hitting their adolescent growth spurt. It is still to be determined who will end up being the bigger players in the long run. The player that has greater size and strength at PeeWee may end up being on the average or smaller side when everything evens out during the later teen years. This means that players who rely on size and strength at an early age do not develop the necessary playing skills they need to be effective later on. Body contact and body positioning skills are far more important for a player to acquire at the PeeWee level and are the precursors to effective checking and playing skills as they get older.

WHAT IS BODY CONTACT vs. FULL BODY CHECKING?

It is not accurate to simply say USA Hockey is taking checking out of PeeWees. The overall proposal is to increase the allowable body contact beginning at Mites and progress through Bantam when full, legal body checking would begin in games. As an example, the American Developmental Model (ADM) Red, White & Blue Hockey at 8U introduces the cross-ice environment to increase traffic and congestion and thus the associated natural body contact by simply reducing space. The proposal would then increase the allowable body contact as players progress through Squirts and PeeWees. Competing at the puck, angling to gain possession or stopping an offensive attack are examples at these levels.

An important objective of this proposal is to eliminate the “Big Hit” in PeeWees where players ignore the puck and try to “blow up” an opponent. Though not allowed in games, coaches will be asked to introduce and teach full body checking techniques in every practice ( 85 practices / year = 170 total during the two years) during the two PeeWee years. We believe this to be a better solution than what we often times see today as a single weekend “introduction to checking” clinic. The proposal is to provide players with two years to acquire the necessary checking skills in a safer environment.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?

You may check out the following web page featuring information on the rule change proposal, which includes presentations by experts such as Brian Burke, General Manager of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, Dr. Michael Stuart, and many others.

WHEN WILL WE KNOW & WHEN WOULD IT TAKE EFFECT IF PASSED?

USA Hockey’s Board of Directors, Councils, Committees & Affiliate Presidents have discussed all playing rule proposals at their Winter Meeting in January 2011. The USA Hockey Board of Directors will vote on the proposal in June 2011. If passed, the change would take effect in the fall of the 2011-2012 season.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE SPRING OF 2011 AT U12?

No change to spring 2011 hockey. The 2011 spring season will be played under the current rules and format since the proposal will not be voted on until June 2011.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PEE WEES GOING INTO THEIR SECOND YEAR?

Due to the nature of the two-year hockey levels, second year PeeWees will continue to learn proper checking during their training sessions so they can better apply them in 14U Bantam games. If the rule proposal is passed, all PeeWee hockey will be played under the new rule effective immediately.

USA Hockey Body Checking Rule Proposal Information on the Internet

Click here to find all of the following information:

Player Development

• Body Checking Presentation
• Checking the Right Way for Youth Hockey
  USA Hockey Off-Ice Checking
• FAQ Page
• ADM Stage Documents: Fundamentals, Learn to Train, Train to Train

Safety

• Dr. Mike Stuart’s Mayo Clinic Concussion Presentation
• Caroline Emery Study
• USA Hockey Player Development Sub-Committee on Body

Checking Recommendation Endorsements and Media

• Brian Burke – General Manager, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Ron DeGregorio & Kevin McLaughlin talk to Maksymum Hockey Radio Show
• Toronto Globe & Mail Article
  Quebec Radio Interview

Editor’s Note: Thank you to USA Hockey for providing this information.

1. IT ISN’T REAL HOCKEY. USING HALF THE SURFACE AND THE SMALLER NETS WON’T HELP KIDS LEARN THE REAL GAME. Do other sports ask their youngest athletes to play on a full-size football field, use a 10′ basketball net, run 90′ bases or use a full-size soccer net? No. Smaller fields and equipment are used everywhere except in hockey. Age-appropriate surfaces and equipment help put the game into perspective for younger kids, allow for better development of their skills and, most importantly, help make the game more fun for the kids!

2. IT WILL BE TOO CROWDED ON THE ICE. I have now seen two practices in person with 60+ Mites on the ice at the same time and have watched multiple videos of practices with the same amount (or more) and have yet to see it look crowded. Well-planned practices with the right number of coaches to help run stations are effective ways to use ice efficiently without crowding. All of the kids I witnessed at these practices and jamborees were engaged in fun drills or games with lots of puck time and plenty of smiles!

3. THE KIDS WON’T LEARN TEAMWORK. How much teamwork is involved with one skater taking the puck from one end of a full sheet of ice, skating it all the way down, and then shooting before most of the other teammates can catch up or get involved in the play? You know you have seen it at a Mite full-ice game over and over. Cross-ice forces kids to work together in smaller areas to develop scoring opportunities and be creative.

4. THE KIDS WON’T LEARN TO SKATE. The ADM actually emphasizes age-appropriate skating drills and places a lot of focus on fun drills and activities that help players develop more over the long term. The smaller areas also help kids increase their quickness and explosive speed, which is best developed at the younger ages.

5. THE KIDS WON’T LEARN ABOUT POSITIONING. It won’t matter if kids know where to be if they can’t skate there or if they don’t enjoy the game. Also, teaching positions too early can stifle creativity and the ability to think on the fly. When they are older, players can learn more about positioning, breakouts, and forechecking systems without hurting their development early on.

6. THE ADM IS ONLY FOR THE AVERAGE PLAYER. Kids learn, grow and develop at different speeds. The 7-year-olds who you think might be the next superstar may not develop as fast as others later on. Providing good coaching and development to all is important when kids are young since early segmentation has proven to be unreliable as a predictor of which kids will develop into elite athletes. It’s best for those kids who excel early on to continue to focus on age-appropriate drills that will best help their long-term development. Those drills can help both the 6-year-old who has been skating for three years and the 8-year-old who is enjoying his first season.

7. HOW WILL KIDS GET IN SHAPE OR GET THEIR CONDITIONING? Have you battled for a puck in the corner and gone back and forth in about a 10′ space for 20 seconds? Have you ever gone back and forth between the point and the slot four times? There are numerous ways kids can get conditioned in small areas or in small games, so don’t worry about missing out on that aspect with the ADM. There are a lot more ways than skating lines on a full sheet to build up conditioning, especially with fun drills and small-area games that keep kids smiling and wanting more even though they are dead tired!

8. TOO MUCH FUN IS A BAD THING. Really? If the kids are enjoying the puck touches, small games and scoring, and are learning to love development, how can that ever be a bad thing? I just don’t get that comment but hey, people have said it (I can’t make this stuff up). Think about it. If the kids come off the ice tired, developed, smiling and excited about when they can come back again for more, where is the down side? I wish everyone could find something they enjoy so much that is also great for their long-term development!

9. THE RINKS AND ASSOCIATIONS ARE JUST TRYING TO MAKE MORE MONEY BY JAMMING MORE KIDS ON THE ICE. It couldn’t be further from the truth. First, re-read the myth about crowding. Second, more efficient use of the ice can decrease your costs and can increase the number of times you practice each week. I, too, was once a hockey snob when my kids were younger and thought they needed more full ice. They would have been better developed if they had used the ice they had more efficiently and practiced more often than having a full sheet all to themselves. This could have improved their skills, made the game even more enjoyable, and helped reduced the costs mom and dad incurred each season.

10. THE KIDS WON’T HAVE AS MUCH FUN. Ask your kids if they like to play games or stand around? Ask them if they like to carry the puck and score goals? Ask them if they like whistles and stoppages in play? Kids invariable have more fun when they are actively engaged during practice or in a game. High-energy drills, variety of drills, drills with pucks and small games all help develop kids while they are having loads of fun! Also cross-ice games support these same ideals with more puck touches, more scoring opportunities and less stoppages and make for a more enjoyable game for everyone involved!

USA Hockey put a lot of research and effort into looking at how to approach the game—so give the ADM a chance when your organization implements the model. I am very confident you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results!

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Kevin Universal, president of the Carolina Amateur Hockey Association, for this story.

Do you know someone that should be considered for the Total Hockey Volunteer of the Month? If so, please click here and complete the application. One volunteer will be featured each month in the Minnesota Hockey Newsletter, Let’s Play Hockey, and on www.minnesotahockey.org. That volunteer will also receive a $50 Total Hockey gift card and four tickets to a select Minnesota Wild game. In addition, a $500 Total Hockey credit for starter hockey gear will be contributed in his/her name to their  association.

• You only need to nominate someone one time per year.  All nominees will be considered each month for the Total Hockey Volunteer of the Month throughout the particular hockey season that they were nominated.
• Questions?  651-602-5727 or info@minnesotahockey.org

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Minnesota Hockey for this story.

“The symposium was extremely positive and the instructors all came away with a better understanding of USA Hockey’s Long Term Athlete Development,” said Mike MacMillan, USA Hockey coach-in-chief and head boys hockey coach at Buffalo High School. “It was especially interesting to hear the presenters from the IIHF commend USA Hockey for the major strides we have taken in player development,” continued MacMillan. “And it was especially gratifying to hear that the Minnesota model was continually referred to by so many of the presenters.”

A short video of some of the highlights from the weekend can be viewed here. If you have more time, please view a series of videos that were recorded on many on the symposium’s presentations. One presentation of note was by Don Waddle president of the Atlanta Thrashers and Dr Steve Norris Director of Physiology and Strategic Planning at the Canadian Sports Center in Calgary, CA. Dr. Norris set that stage for the rest of the weekend with his talk on long-term athlete development. His presentation made many realize what changes we need to make to provide better development and opportunities for all those that participate in our sport.

Another recommended presentation is from Brian Burke, the General Manager or the Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2010 USA Olympic team. Brian summed it all up and put in perspective where we are now and where we need to go in the future with our development programs. “Many of the community-based associations found in Minnesota Hockey have actually been incorporating many of the principals of ADM for quite awhile,” said Terry Evavold, ACE/ADM Coordinator for Minnesota. “Attending the symposium reinforced my belief that we have something special in Minnesota that all of us should be very proud of!”

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Minnesota Hockey for this story.

Unfortunately, many of today’s players look at practice much in the same way they look at broccoli—with a great deal of disdain. In my mind, the goal of every coach is to make the healthy meal more appealing to our athletes in order for them to attain and build the necessary skills to guide them throughout their journey upwards in the youth hockey ranks.

The ultimate goal is to make practices as much fun as the games, because in the end it is practice that allows our players to develop the skills that will allow them to have the success they desire in the games.

As a coach this can be difficult to achieve. How do I make practice appealing enough and the games special enough to drive the desired outcome? In my mind, you feed them the healthy meal so that when the dessert comes they can really enjoy it and it becomes a special event that they have earned.

So how do we do this? First of all, you have to change the culture and get both the players and the parents to understand how important practice is to their development. The pace, intensity and focus needed in every practice session is critical in order to have positive, productive movement forward.

How do you get your child to eat a healthy meal? Trick them, hide the fact that they are working hard and getting the necessary touches and repetitions through FUN, CHALLENGING and CREATIVE drills and games that takes the mundane aspects of developing a player and masks them.

Kids love to be challenged; they love to compete and they want to have fun. If I can get my players to enjoy coming to the rink, working hard and leaving with a smile on their faces, then I have won the most important challenge I face as a youth hockey coach.

We get so consumed with the games and wins and losses that we lose sight of the real fight. I feel strongly that if I can get my players to give as much as they can and be passionate about how hard they train then I have already won.

As a coach practice is my opportunity and responsibility to make my players better, and games are the player’s opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned from their dedication in practice. As a coach, the practice sessions are mine. That is my world and I take great pride in what I put forth. To the players, the games are theirs and we need to respect that; however, we need to make sure we have given them the tools and skills to have the success they desire.

At the end of the day it comes down to the willingness to fight, to change the way we look at practice. It is about the skills we are developing not about the systems or the positioning or where a kid stands for a faceoff. Consider this: If I am a conductor of a marching band, do I focus as much of my student’s time on marching and where they stand as I do on how well they play their instrument?

It is our responsibility as coaches, administrators and parents to make sure our kids are eating properly so that at the end of the journey we can look back at a healthy young adult who has a strong base of skills and knowledge of the sport, and take pride in the fact that they got to a great place because of the environment we created.

Let’s collectively change the way our kids look at practice and together we will have given the great sport of hockey a much healthier, larger and passionate pool of young players.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Roger Grillo, USA Hockey Director-Northeast, for this story.

The USA Hockey rule is simple. It requires that at least one responsible adult be in all hockey locker rooms at all times when players are present. As always, however, the devil is in the details of execution. Initially, that person may be a coach or some other person. A coach frequently has reason to leave the locker room, and this suggests always having some other responsible adult present. Any person other than a coach should be subject to criminal background screening, just like the coaches. The team can form a group of gender-correct parents, who would be screened and scheduled so that at least one of them was in the locker room at all times before and after practices and games when the players are there. The designated parent would have to come early and stay late. That parent could also have the locker room key and be responsible for securing the room when the players are on the ice. The parent would have to understand that his or her role is limited to supervision, and that he or she is not an additional coach.

Scheduling Locker-Room Monitors

Parents of Mites and Squirts are routinely in the locker rooms before and after practices and games to assist their sons and daughters with their equipment. Implementing the new rule would simply involve having one or more of them come early, remain in the room until the players take the ice, be present when they return, and stay until all players leave the locker room. Older players, of course, do not require such assistance, so the parent would have to come early and stay late on his or her scheduled duty days.

Handling Cellphones

In addition to hazing, rough-housing and verbal abuse, coaches and the supervising parents need to be reminded that many players bring cellphones to hockey practices and games. Sometimes the phone is needed to call for a ride home. Most cellphones, however, include a digital camera. The opportunity for inappropriate locker room photos exists, and our players may not realize the harm such pictures cause when published on the Internet. This can be prevented by establishing a team (or association) rule banning cellphones in the locker rooms. The rule can be implemented by having the supervising parent collect the phones when the players enter the locker room and return them when they leave. This team or association rule is another reason for each team to establish a group of parental locker room supervisors.

Protecting Coaches, Players and Volunteers

Quite apart from protecting the players is the issue of protecting coaches. Our society is litigious, and there have been instances in which coaches were subject to allegations that they were physically or verbally abusive to a player. If the team arranges for another adult to be in the locker room at all times, an independent witness exists. The parent can verify that there was no abuse, or, heaven forbid, serve as a deterrent and prevent the abuse from happening.

Implementing the new rule will require time and cooperation from everyone. Supervision should not be the coach’s responsibility; for association teams it should be part of the team’s parental duties. Each local association will have to implement the rule for its tryouts, its clinics and its teams, just as Minnesota Hockey will have to implement the rule for its clinics, advanced clinic tryouts, advanced clinics and select teams.

The rule originated jointly from the USA Hockey’s Coaching Section and the USA Hockey Risk Management Committee. It was adopted with a near-unanimous vote of the Board of Directors. It is another of the rules designed to protect our players, coaches and volunteers, not unlike background screening and helmets for referees and coaches. Its implementation requires and deserves the assistance of all players, coaches, parents and volunteers.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Bruce Kruger, Risk Manager, Minnesota District, USA Hockey, for this information.

• It is imperative that all local programs have an adult (coach, assistant coach, team manager) present in the locker room, or at the locker room door, to assure that only players, coaches and approved team personnel are permitted in the locker room.
• Further, coaches/team managers must personally monitor the locker room environment at all times while players are present and also make sure the locker room is appropriately secured during times when players are on the ice.

Please make sure this information is shared with those appropriate and thank you in advance for your immediate and on-going attention to this matter.

Dave Ogrean
Executive Director
USA Hockey

Here are ten great ways to celebrate Hockey Weekend Across America:

1. Wear your jersey to school
2. Bring a friend to a public skate
3. School project: Who is your favorite hockey player, why?
4. Informational table at mall or high‐traffic area
5. School seminars where they teach hockey and do demonstrations (put on hockey equip)
6. Try Hockey for Free
7. Shoot the puck expo
8. Invite a neighbor to practice
9. Hockey 101 courses
10. Bring a friend to a game

For more great ideas click here (pdf).

Editor’s Note: Thank you to USA Hockey for these great ideas!

This is a countrywide effort to have local rinks and associations offer a free sample of hockey at a consistent time with the maximum amount of ease. The goal is to have least 200 rinks offer the program from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm their local time zone. For other questions, please email growthegame@usahockey.org.

Editor’s Note: For more information on Hockey Weekend Across America, please click here.