ADM Kids

Q: Do you have any body-checking recommendations for players transitioning from 12U to 14U?

A: Above all, it’s essential to understand what body-checking is and how it’s applied to hockey today. Its singular purpose is to separate an opponent from the puck.

Hopefully your child has experienced body-contact progressions throughout their hockey experience and has an idea of what to expect at the next level. That’s the intent of USA Hockey’s progressive programming.

At 8U, cross-ice hockey is designed, in part, to increase body contact in an age-appropriate way to begin teaching players the concepts of using their bodies in contact situations, e.g., angling, 1-on-1 puck battles, etc.

At 10U, small-area competitive games should have contributed to their growing awareness of angling, steering and navigating through congested areas and body-contact situations.

At 12U, we recommend implementing safety, angling, contact confidence training and controlled full body-checking in practice to continue the preparation for body-checking at 14U. If your child’s hockey coaches have followed this progression, the transition should be quite smooth.

On the other hand, if players haven't experienced this, here are a few recommendations that might help you and your child:

• Have an understanding of on-ice safety and how to protect yourself, for example, check out USA Hockey’s Heads Up, Don’t Duck resources.
• Learn where danger areas are on the ice and always keep your head up, especially in those areas. An example would be the area approximately five feet away from the boards. In these areas, it’s important to understand how to create time and space between you and the opponent, and also understand proper body positioning along the boards. Click here to see USA Hockey's off-ice body-checking training video. Click here to see a video that shows simple off-ice drills that teach proper body positioning along the boards.
• Practice safe habits when retrieving the puck. Always look over both shoulders to see what is developing behind you. At the same time, create good angles that will help you surround the puck and prepare to make a quick pass.
• Practice mirroring, angling and timing with a partner. You may be surprised to learn just how much you can prepare with simple, proper technical training.
• Practice body positioning and proper posture that provides strength and stability on the ice. That means flexion in your ankles, knees bent, hips down, chest up, shoulders square with your head up. Stable hockey players are more confident and this will enhance their performance and safety on the ice.
• Continue to work on improving all of your skills, including skating, as this will assist you in preparing for more contact as you get older.
• Remember, age-appropriate off-ice strength training is also a key element of this process and will help prepare players for increasing body contact.

And, keep in mind that these suggestions apply to both male and female players. Body contact is a component of both the men’s game and the women’s game, even though full body-checking is not allowed in women’s hockey. Learning and improving the body-contact skill through proper progressions and gained knowledge will enable both boys and girls to become more efficient players and enjoy enhanced performance.