ADM Kids

Q: My son didn’t make the top team at 12U in our association. Does this mean that he doesn’t have a chance to make the top 14U team?
 
A: Not at all! Just because a player isn’t the top player at 12U doesn’t mean he can’t develop into one of the top players at 14U.
 
We like to say that, at 14U, kids start to choose whether they want to play hockey or become hockey players. There’s a lot that goes into player development, and “grit” is an important component. It takes more than physical tools to reach one’s full potential. A kid who might not have been the most physically gifted at 12U, with another year to mature physically, may end up passing kids who previously were ahead of him or her — particularly if he or she has a high “grit factor” (great work ethic). Put differently, some kids decide they want to be hockey players, not just play hockey, and their commitment to improve – their grit – helps carry them to previously unexpected levels of performance.
 
We’ve seen many kids who weren’t the best players at 12U go on to become high-level hockey players. Some even played in the NHL. A recent example is Mark Van Guilder, a 30-year-old Minnesotan who made his NHL debut with Nashville in April.
 
Click here to listen as NHL Network talks with Van Guilder about his NHL debut. He mentions that his peewee coach wouldn’t have bet on him getting to that level and that he simply hoped to make his high school team.
 
The bottom line is that no one knows at 12U who will be the best players down the road, so encourage your kids to keep working and developing so they can follow — or maybe even exceed — their dreams!