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12U Q&A: Transition to Body-Checking

02/04/2014, 8:15am MST
By Bob Mancini - USA Hockey

Q: I am concerned that since USA Hockey changed the checking rule for peewee, my son, who is playing peewee hockey this season, will have a hard time adjusting to bantam hockey where the players are bigger and stronger. Is there anything I can do as a coach and a parent?

A: While most people understand that the checking rule change has made the game safer at the peewee level, it is just as important that we recognize that this change has given our coaches and players the extra time needed to properly introduce and teach the concepts of body checking.

Body checking is a skill that, like all the others, must be taught through correct technical teaching and developed through repetitive practice. Coaches at the peewee level should follow a progression of drills and teaching points throughout the season to prepare their players for play at the bantam level. With the introduction of the American Development Model and the emphasis on age-appropriate coaching, players are first being introduced to incidental body contact through the close proximity of small-area station-based practices and cross- or half-ice games at the 8U mite level. With the addition of allowing body contact through the playing rules of squirt and peewee hockey, players are put into a four-year window of learning and practicing proper body checking technique before their graduation into bantam hockey.

You can learn more about USA Hockey’s body-checking progression by clicking here.

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