ADM Kids

One of the beauties of the youngest ages of hockey is the absolute range of skills and abilities on display. These smooth out over time as players’ sizes and time spent playing hockey become more equal, but for 6U or 8U players there is a vast range in both cases.

Whether a youngster is still green and learning some of the very basics of hockey or has a combination of natural ability and early ice time to land on the more advanced end of the spectrum, the mission is the same: Making sure they are learning, comfortable and having fun.

With the help of USA Hockey Player Development Manager Dan Jablonic, let’s explore some of the ways to do that as it pertains to the most fundamental skill in the sport: skating.

Regardless of ability level, good skating starts with balance, agility and coordination. Those are the fundamental building blocks of athleticism.

In hockey, it takes balance to stand up on skates along with agility and coordination to move around the ice.

They're just learning basic stability on the ice and, you know, balance that goes with it and just being able to, you know, stand up on your own on skates.

“The more we can actually teach these kids stability and hockey positioning, that's going to be a foundation when they are trying to learn those locomotion skills,” Jablonic says. “Each skate has a couple of edges, inside and outside, and how do we actually move through the ice? A big piece and challenge for us as coaches and parents is just getting the kids comfortable on the ice.”

Getting comfortable means having fun – learning to do all the things hockey requires within the context of play.

“The more that we can offer activities that have kids working on their stability and balance and maybe a little bit of agility and coordination, the better,” Jablonic says. “At 8U it could be as simple as just playing tag with kids. At the youngest ages, maybe you’re throwing a couple of tennis balls or soccer balls on the ice to work on bending down to pick them up.”

That’s more effective at the youngest ages than overloading players with finer points about technique.

“There are a lot of activities out there that will force kids to use proper technique, but they're having so much fun that they don't even know they’re being taught something,” Jablonic says. “Telling a kid about ankle flexion, your knee bend's gotta be right here – there is a place for that, but at the same time you need to create the activity that generates the type of technique you're looking for.”

Part of getting comfortable on the ice, too, is knowing that you are safe. Good shin pads, knee pads, hockey pants, gloves and helmet can reinforce that it’s OK to fall.

“I think having good equipment really helps out with kids at that age because you know you’re going to fall,” Jablonic says. “Having those areas protected where you're going to actually fall helps with the trial and error of all of it.”

Another part of every skater feeling comfortable at 6U and 8U is making sure they know that it is a long path to greatness.

“Even the best players in the world at the NHL level, they're always working on their skating either before practice or after practice,” Jablonic says.

In the offseason, playing other sports can help with confidence because young athletes are building on their overall physical literacy.

“The more that we can really get these kids jumping, throwing, skipping and hopping off ice and get them comfortable, it's going to be an easier transition once hockey season starts again,” Jablonic says.

And for the full spectrum of abilities on a young hockey roster, confidence is key. It could be the relative novice who has only been on skates for a year or two or the more seasoned skater who is ready to take another leap forward.

“There are going to be some kids that you see and you say wow, they’re an absolute natural. You’ll look at some other kids where, wow, this is really, really a challenge,” Jablonic says. “But that's our job as parents and coaches is to stay incredibly patient. Our sport is hard. The more energy you put into it, the more you're going to get back out of it.”

And hopefully they’ll soon play 10U, then 12U and beyond.

“The more you can create those environments where they're trying things, all of a sudden they're just going to take off like little rocket ships,” Jablonic says.