ADM Kids

There might come a point in an athlete’s life when a lot will be demanded of their time during the offseason.

To borrow a recent example from another sport: NBA head coach J.J. Redick used his final news conference of the season, after his Lakers were eliminated in the first round in just five games, to talk about how the entire roster needs to be in “championship shape” next season.

Gulp. So much for the notion of rest between now and October.

The very youngest athletes, of course, like 6U/8U hockey players, should be under nowhere near that type of pressure to perform or stay fit. 

That said, the traditional summer offseason is still an important time for young athletes. It’s a period to recharge and be active in other ways outside of hockey – a time when being “productive” mostly means trying new things outside of hockey.

Guy Gosselin, a player development manager of USA Hockey, has some thoughts on what that looks like for those youngest players.

Gosselin encourages young athletes and their parents to worry less about exactly what activities they are signed up for and more on what they are getting out of it.

If it incorporates basic athleticism, it’s probably a good thing.

“You're still working on your fundamental movement skills and your physical literacy, especially those ages, and the kids need to be active,” Gosselin says. “We talk about physical literacy all the time, and everybody has a kind of a different definition for it, but to me it's moving through space confidently. We want to develop resilient athletic kids that are happy.”

To that end, it is important always at that age – and particularly in the offseason – to keep the activities fun.

“Consider signing up for a park and rec program where there's unstructured free play in a safe environment,” Gosselin says. “Kids can get their movement in and have some fun and learn some new skills and actually make decisions for themselves.”

That last point is a big one, Gosselin says, as athletes get older.

“Once you make decisions and you succeed your confidence builds up,” he says. “If it's all structured, and we're telling them what to do all the time, they're not gonna develop like we want them to. They're not gonna be able to function when something doesn't go according to script.”

Should the offseason mix involve hockey? It really depends on the situation, but in general a little goes a long way and a lot is probably too much.

“It's just kind of what works for you and your family, how much is too much,” Gosselin says. “You have to sit down and talk with your child and help guide them. You can't just sign up for 10 weeks of hockey camp in the summer and expect them to be super hungry and excited about playing the next season. One of the keys to development is they have to have a passion for the sport.”

There will come a time for more hockey, but the youngest ages are not that time. 

“You definitely want to build that inner athlete first,” Gosselin says. “Build the human, then the athlete and then the player.

If it’s done in the wrong order, things can go sideways.

“I know it's hard for moms and dads who have to hold in the reins a little bit on this early stuff because they feel like kids are going to be left behind,” Gosselin says. “But that balance is so important to have enough gas in the tank to ramp up when it's time to ramp it up.”

While there is no one perfect plan for every young player in the offseason, in general the goal is to encourage a lifestyle that helps kids stay active and gain athleticism.

“Activities where these kids are learning how to throw and catch and twist and turn, where they work on stability and change of direction, all that stuff comes into play regardless of what sport you're going to do,” Gosselin says. “And when you sign up for other sports, they will develop interpersonal social skills and life skills.”

Even something as simple as nudging kids outside on a nice day can be considered part of an offseason plan.

“Get your kids moving and get away from screens,” Gosselin says. “Just kind of guiding them in the right direction, it's a huge deal.”