Volume 7 Issue 8 | April 2020
Help, My Child is a Late Bloomer: 5 Tips for Overcoming the “Relative Age Effect” in Youth Sports
By John O'Sullivan, Changing the Game Project - “Here is my question,” a mother concerned with her 10 year-old son’s sports experience recently wrote me. “I am not afraid that my son will quit sports by the time he is 13. I am afraid that he will be denied the opportunity to play. My son is coordinated and coachable. He LOVES sports; we can’t even have a conversation without throwing a ball back and forth! He is not, however, tall, strong or fast. He is young in his class. His father was a late bloomer.” Sound familiar?

I get all kinds of emails from parents wondering what to do with their son or daughter who is a late bloomer. They see their child struggling not because of a lack of skill, but because he is falling behind physically simply due to being the last kid to grow and mature. Anyone who has been around a team of 13 year-old boys knows that some of them look like 10 year olds, and some are young men. We’d never have our U10s play our U15s, but that is often what happens in middle school aged sports!
NO HOCKEY...NOW WHAT?!
By Jim Clare, AHAI ADM Chairman
As we get used to having no hockey, obviously we must keep in mind what is most important - everyone’s health and safety. I know it is difficult, but it is also a time to take advantage of being away from the rink. From a hockey perspective, there are many ways that organizations can stay in touch with their membership. Many third-party instructors like USA Hockey are taking to social media to maintain contact with their hockey families. One example from USA Hockey is outlined later in this newsletter; they are running a series of zoom webinars via Facebook Live. You can find these webinars in the "Coaching News & Information" section at the bottom of this newsletter.

Closer to home, many clubs have also taken to social media to promote skills/drills that players can do at home to keep their hockey skills sharp as well as keep your player active during this downtime. Click buttons below to view examples of how a few clubs are hosting online skills sessions for their players. We encourage other clubs/coaches to do the same; it is a great distraction for your players and a way to keep them engaged. Click on buttons below to view a couple examples.
Let's Get Creative!
Hey coaches and parents let's get creative while staying home. AHAI is hosting a Hockey Physical Distancing Challenge to all our clubs. I use the word "physical" because we can still remain social through technology. The use of technology gives us many ways to interact with our teammates and families. The use of Facebook, Zoom, Instagram, etc. gives us many great ways to stay in touch.

We have already seen some great videos of teams doing the Toilet Paper Challenge, teams doing that same thing with a puck, creating hockey obstacle courses, and even a goalie on the corner holding a sign saying, “Honk if you miss hockey."

Let’s get creative! Send us your team or family hockey related videos. Please keep them short and sweet - less than 1 minute. We look forward to seeing what you come up with! Check out the fun "TP Challenge" videos below from the Ice Dogs and Sabres.
SUMMER HOCKEY
There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Choosing Summer Hockey Camps
By Greg Bates, Special to AHAI – With the coronavirus crisis dominating everyone’s lives, hockey might be a distant afterthought. But after the pandemic is hopefully under control, players and parents can focus on the sport again. Once that day happens, getting signed up for summer camps could become a huge priority.
Why Playing Other Sports Can Make You a Better Hockey Player
By Greg Bates, Special to AHAI – It’s become common these days for young athletes to specialize in one sport. And yes, a single-sport player could become extraordinarily good at that sport. But it’s not a given, said AHAI Coach-in-Chief Jim Clare, and there are many benefits to being a multi-sport athlete. “To me, the most important part of it is not necessarily what sport you play, it’s that you do something else,” Clare said. “That at 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 years old, you’re not dedicating 12 months of the year to being on the ice.”
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) UPDATE
As USA Hockey continues adapting to the coronavirus situation, the safety of participants always remains our top priority. Thank you to all players, parents, coaches, officials, administrators and volunteers for your continued passion and support for hockey in the United States and we’re all looking forward to returning to more normal times as soon as possible. In the meantime, all updates related to the coronavirus situation can be found by clicking the button below.
ADM: DEVELOPMENT STAGES
While every child is different, they all progress though the same stages of physical development – they just do it at different times and different rates. As a parent of a young player in youth sports, it’s important to understand that sports development is not a linear process. Some kids will grow early and others late. In youth sports, this can sometimes provide kids of the same chronological age with a short-term advantage or a short-term disadvantage. This is why USA Hockey works with local hockey associations to provide programming based upon long-term athlete development (LTAD) principles.

USA Hockey’s American Development Model recognizes eight different developmental stages. Based on physical and mental growth, some kids will move more rapidly through certain stages. The important thing to recognize is that everything tends to even out after all the kids go through puberty. So, keep the game fun for kids, keep them involved and, as a parent, enjoy each stage of your child’s athletic development. For a detailed look at each development stage, click button below.
COACHING NEWS & INFORMATION
Upcoming USA Hockey Webinars

  • Maria Mountain & Steve Thompson - "Goaltending: At Home Training Strategies" (4/2 at 3:30 pm EST)
  • Dean Kriellaars & Heather Mannix - "What is Physical Literacy? How Will It Enhance Performance for Your Athletes?" (4/3 at 3:30 pm EST)

Past USA Hockey Webinars

  • Tara Connelly - "Scoring: It's Not Just about the Puck Going into the Net" (4/1)
  • Zack Nowack - "Games Based Approach to Practice Design" (3/31)
  • Bill Beaney & Roger Grillo - "What is the Game Asking Us to Do? Using Small Area Play to Shape Way Players See the Game" (3/27)
  • Justin Goldman - "Goaltending: Embracing a Creative Mindset (3/26)
  • Marty St. Louis - "Offensive Zone Play: Youth to NHL" (3/25)
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