IN THIS ISSUE

AHAI Annual Meeting

What Were Olympians Doing at Age 12?

Developing the Never-Quit Mentality

Want More Kids Playing Hockey? Quit Making It So Exclusive

Want Your Kids to Get Better at Hockey? Have Them Play Less, Experts Say

Videos: Parents Need to Stop Trophy-Chasing & WIndows of Trainability

Just for Coaches:
On-ice Drills & Resources

Volume 4 Issue 5
May 31, 2017
USA HOCKEY 8U PARTICIPATION SURGES TO RECORD HIGH

USA Hockey recently announced a record 115,694 participants at the 8-and-Under level for the 2016-17 season, setting a new standard in the national governing body's 80-year history. The total includes a record number of first-year 8U participants (52,076), a record number of returning 8U participants (63,618) and a record number of female 8U participants (20,558). The results marked USA Hockey's third consecutive year-over-year 8U participation increase and seventh consecutive year exceeding 100,000 participants at the 8U level. "We're delighted to report another year of record growth in our 8U player pool and we're excited about what that means for the future of American hockey," said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. FULL ARTICLE>>
ILLINOIS ADM NEWS
2017 AHAI ANNUAL MEETING IS SATURDAY, JUNE 3RD
The AHAI Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 3rd at the Hyatt Woodfield in Schaumburg. Registration instructions for the meeting have been sent to all AHAI Registered Associations board members, hockey directors, registrars, and those listed as contacts with AHAI. If you are on your Association's Board of Directors and feel you should have received a registration link please check with you organization's President or contact AHAI Communications Manager, Gretchen Cockey, at gretchen@ahai2.org for a link.
 
The format this year will include an opening Town Hall style forum followed by breakout sessions covering a variety of topics that you, the membership, wanted to hear more about. The meeting agenda and a description of each session can be found  HERE .
 
The Annual Meeting will conclude with guest speaker Don Granato, University of Wisconsin Men's Hockey Assistant Coach and former USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) Head Coach. John Dunne will conduct the formal meeting portion following Don's presentation.
USA HOCKEY ADM NEWS
WHAT WERE OLYMPIANS DOING AT AGE 12?
By Michael Rand ~ If the stereotypical image of an Olympic athlete is that of someone who has toiled for almost an entire lifetime, from a very young age, to hone his or her particular craft by training in one sport year-round, the athletes themselves would like to set the record straight. According to results from the United States Olympic Committee's  Path to Excellence Survey, which looked at athletes who competed in the Olympics between 2000 and 2012, there is great value in playing more than one sport. You might even go so far as to say that if you are a 12U hockey player right now, the path to the Olympics is paved by variety instead of early specialization. FULL ARTICLE>>
DEVELOPING A NEVER-QUIT MENTALITY
By Dave Pond ~ There's a YouTube video of 12-year-old Aybatyr Myrzabae competing with teammates in a tug-of-war competition that has racked up an incredible number of worldwide views. Although the competition was of importance to those involved, it's Aybatyr's never-give-up attitude that's inspirational. Who wouldn't want this kid on their team? How can we as parents and coaches nurture our children to develop these intangibles? FULL ARTICLE>>
INTERNATIONAL ADM NEWS
WANT MORE KIDS PLAYING HOCKEY? STOP MAKING IT SO EXCLUSIVE
By Ken Campbell, The Hockey News ~ It's great that a luminary such as Mark Messier wants to see more kids playing hockey in Canada, even if it's part of a greater goal of helping Bauer and Canadian Tire sell more hockey equipment. It might come as a surprise to some people, but the kids who don't play organized hockey in this country outnumber those who do by a considerable margin.  FULL ARTICLE>> 
WANT YOUR KIDS TO GET BETTER AT HOCKEY? HAVE THEM PLAY LESS, EXPERTS SAY
By Ronnie Shuker, The Hockey News ~  Ben Prentiss sees it all the time. Parents come in to his Connecticut gym and expect him to put their child on a path to becoming Jonathan Quick, Max Pacioretty, Kevin Shattenkirk or any of the other NHL stars he trains during the off-season. What they don't know is that comparatively little training for his high-profile clients involves hockey. In the summer, his guys don't even hit the ice until late July or early August. FULL ARTICLE>>
ADM MULTIMEDIA
PARENTS NEED TO STOP TROPHY-CHASING AND LET THEIR KIDS LEARN
In this video, former NFL player AJ Johnson says that it's a problem that parents don't let their kids learn life lessons in their continual chase for the trophy for their kid. Parents are too often willing to have kids change teams for the sake of wins, rather than being loyal to a team in their community and going through struggle.

ROGER GRILLO: WINDOWS OF TRAINABILITY
ADM Regional Manager, Roger Grillo, explains the Windows of Trainability. These windows include Suppleness, Speed, Skill, Stamina, and Strength. WATCH VIDEO>>
JUST FOR COACHES
ON-ICE DRILLS
Four Corners
RESOURCES FOR COACHES
iCoachKids
Where youth coaches meet, share and learn. iCoachKids: Innovative Education & Training for a Specialist Children & Youth Coaching Workforce.  READ MORE>>

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