ADM Kids

Q: What is the importance of body contact and body-checking skill development in the overall safety of our players?

A: Athletes in the 12U age group are in the final stages of the Golden Age of Skill Development training window. Body-checking is not legal during games until the 14U age category, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taught like other critical skills during the Golden Age. In fact, teaching body-contact and body-checking skills throughout the season in controlled practices and off-ice sessions during this 12U stage, as recommended by USA Hockey’s American Development Model, goes a long way toward keeping our players safe and reducing injury risk once they move to 14U. Body contact and body-checking are crucial skills to develop, along with the body-contact progressions of skating, angling, stick checking and body positioning. The more comfortable players get with body-checking during controlled practices, the more confident and controlled they will be when they move up to 14U.

Let’s remember that body-checking is a skill in which the purpose is to separate the opponent from the puck, or as 1976 United States Olympic Team assistant coach Grant Standbrook describes it, the idea is to “obtain position on an opponent and dispossess him of the puck.” The purpose is not to intimidate and it is certainly not to hurt anyone. This means that the right way is the controlled way. 

The most important responsibility for all involved in youth hockey is the safety of not only the players on your team, but of your opponents as well. Teaching the right techniques of giving and receiving a body check, especially at this critical stage of skill development, will ensure that players play the game the right way and with proper ethics and respect in a sportsmanlike manner.

Body-checking is an integral part of hockey and with body-checking there is a potentially higher risk of injury, but this risk of injury can be reduced by teaching our kids the right skills at the right time and truly adhering to a player-centered model of development.

For more information please access USA Hockey’s Checking the Right Way for Youth Hockey by clicking here.