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8U Q-and-A: Creating a Great Game Day

12/21/2015, 10:30am MST
By Bob Mancini, ADM Regional Manager

Q: How important is the game-day experience at 8U?

A: Creating an exciting 8U game-day experience is very important, mostly for the sake of fun, but also for development, too.

When players graduate from learn-to-play levels to the 8U level, great effort should be given to creating an organized, exciting and well-structured game-day experience. This will not only provide a progression of play and competition for the players, it will also provide an environment that looks much like the one they see on television, with hard-board dividers used to form a separate and well-defined game surface.

Using intermediate nets, with goalies, will also help provide the desired progression of play, keeping the game age-appropriate while also delivering a heightened level of competition, excitement and fun.

The off-ice ambiance is important, too. Playing music during the warm-up and announcing goal scorers over the speakers are great ways to provide a special feel to the game experience.

Ultimately, game-day is what we make it – and we recommend making it great!

Some additional points to take into consideration:

  • Keeping score should be used only as a tool to enhance the progression of players and create a game environment at 8U. Wins, losses, individual statistics and standings should not be a part of 8U hockey.
  • Referees are encouraged at 8U. They do not have to call penalties, but rather help instruct players to follow the rules. For any flagrant infractions, situations that could result in injury or repeated penalty situations for one player, the referee will escort that player to the coach for further instruction and/or discipline, if needed.
  • Face-offs after goals and/or other stoppages of play are recommended, but referees should drop the puck quickly instead of waiting for all players to line up in the right positions.
  • Shift lengths are designed to allow each age group to involve themselves in play based on their age, size and skill level, as well as to begin introducing a sense of urgency into each shift. For 8U kids, keep shifts to 60 seconds. The goal is to keep the players active every other shift in order to maximize playing time. Begin with a quick three-minute warm-up and use a running clock buzzer to keep track of time.
  • Group the players who are playing against each other by similar ability levels to help foster even competition and boost player development.
  • Lastly, don’t forget to invite grandma, grandpa, other family members and friends to cheer and share in the joy that is the 8U game experience.

The author, Bob Mancini, is a longtime hockey coach and player-development expert. His experience includes two seasons in the NHL as an Edmonton Oilers development coach and more than a decade as a head coach in the NCAA Division I and OHL ranks.

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