Advice for Parents

U10 to U18 (Rep) & Jr. A

With over 15 years coaching & instructing at the Minor Hockey levels, we wanted to share some insight we've learned over the years...

In-Season:

Stop Chasing Teams - Trust the Process & Understand Long-Term Development:

Change isn't going to happen overnight, it takes time. Find yourself a coach who understands this, has experience with the process, and is willing to develop for the long-term and not just "win now" every single game.

Even if you're a top player, living on the ice and getting extra ice time every game does not equal "developing". What are they learning about adversity? About being team-players? About competing for ice time?

From a Team point of view, you can see below the process our 2008's went through from U11 to U16. By no means were we a top team in U11, we didn't win championships every season, and we didn't rotate players every season like the GTHL. We may have finished U16 with the player who was the #1 OHL Pick, but he didn't go into U16 as the expected #1 pick, he wasn't our best player since U11 - in fact, he played "AA" in U11 and we selected him for "AAA" in U12. Minor Hockey is a marathon, not a sprint, make sure your player is developing their skills, developing as a human being, and ENJOYING playing.

We all know how the 2008's finished, with winning the OHL Cup, but here are some details throughout the journey:

U11, finished 4th in OMHA West league play, did not advance in Marlies or SilverStick tourneys. We lost all 4 games to #1 Halton, but beat them 5-1 in OMHA's (a lot of skill development throughout most of season, team systems started later in season, video pre-scout before OMHA's).
U12, began a 1-goal losing streak vs YSE that would last until U16 (U12: lost 2-1 in ORHC Tourney Finals, U14: 1-0 in U14 Red Wings QF, 2-1 in OMHA Semi's, 2-1 in U14 OHL Cup QF, U15: 3-2 in OMHA Finals. (In U16, we went 2-0 against them, including a 6-0 OHL Cup win).
In U14, we beat JRC 4-0 in a mid-season exhibition game, and I believe that was a turing point in our team, where they finally realized how good they can be and that these GTHL teams weren't superior (we would not lose to any GTHL team that season except Vaughan, undefeated vs JRC, Marlies, NYR).
In U15, we went 32-0 in season, 3 for 3 in tournaments, but lost the big game: gold medal game 3-2vs YSE.
In U16, we faced adversity: suffered our first regular season loss since U12 (an OMHA record 1,420 days without a regular season loss), did not win any of our tournaments, lost 5-0 to Barrie twice - but we prevailed to win the OHL Cup, knocking off #3 Barrie in the QF, #2 NYR in SF, and #1 Vaughan in the finals.
Vaughan was always the best of the best: U14 GTHL, SilverStick and OHL Cup Champs, U15 GTHL & OHF Champs, U16 GTHL & SilverStick Champs. In U14 OHL Cup they beat YSE 8-1 in the finals, Peterborough 10-2 in the Semi's, and beat us 9-3 in the tournament and 5-2 in another game. In U15 we closed the gap losing both games against them with an empty-net goal. In U16 we beat each other once in OT heading into the OHL Cup Finals grudge match.
It's a long process. Face adversity, develop, and enjoy it.

2008 AAA's - Trust the Process (U11 to U16).png

What are YOU teaching YOUR Player?

Let's call a spade a spade - we live in different times: growing up, the player/student (child) was never "right" in our generation - what the teacher said, coach said, authority said, etc. was the correct answer (right or wrong) and you better abide by that and listen. Nowadays, everyone sides with what the child wants and refuse to face adversity or take accountability/properly discipline.

As parents, you should be doing 2 things: teaching them how do beat adversity, and working with them at their confidence.

These are some of the biggest issues in sports, especially at the minor hockey level these days. Nobody wants to EARN it anymore, they all want it given to them with a sense of entitlement, and when it doesn't go their way it must be the coach/somebody else's fault.

Work with your player through adversity (it may not be a short-term fix, it may take time) and work with them on their confidence - don't let the coaches thoughts/actions make them after their own, without blaming a coach find a way to make them realize this will make them stronger in the long-run and the speed bump is something they have to get over.

Some examples with our 2008's:

Ethan Belchetz: U12, he was technically a 3rd line player for us. Needed to improve his speed. Had a great shot, but couldn't get it off in games. By U14, he had improved, but still wasn't "the guy", technically not 1st line, but didn't run away from that challenge. Ethan always asked questions, wanted to be better, worked and worked, became a 1st line player by U16.
Matthew Ross: In U12, semi-finals and finals of Reps Tournament, we "played to win" - on the PK, Matthew wasn't strong enough to clear the puck out of his zone, so we told him we couldn't use him for PK's when we were playing to win. From U14 (and to this day), he has one of the best shot releases I've seen. Lived near Coach Ty, and Ty would always tell me "saw Rossy in the driveway again today shooting pucks". His attitude and drive are what make him such a great player.
Jonny Brooks: Was told late in U12 that he'd be on the bubble to make the team next season, had to improve his speed and conditioning. Covid occurred next season, and by U14 tryouts, I couldn't believe the speed and conditioning improvements. He spent that whole time running, doing strength workouts in his garage, eating better, etc. and it was beyond noticeable - Jonny became a super important piece for our team success from U14 to U16.

These are just a few examples. Unfortunately, there's many, many more examples of the opposite - players & parents who want to play the blame game and not willing to work and EARN what they want. I'm not saying there's not scenarios where the coach is wrong or you need to find an alternative team, but we need to be better with our players at facing adversity, maintaining our own confidence, and realizing it will shape us in the end.

Off-Season:

Become an Athlete:

Play OTHER sports!!! As a hockey school owner, the "smart play" would be to tell you to practice hockey-hockey-hockey only. But I am not doing that. I see players all the time struggle with certain skills (skating stride, hand-eye, etc.) when it gets to about U14 and older, as they lack athleticism. Playing other sports will help contribute to your on-ice athleticism for hockey!

FOCUS on SKATING when ON THE ICE:

You can find somewhere OFF the ice to work on your PUCK SKILLS and SHOOTING SKILLS (driveway, basement, school yard, etc.). So when you do get ON the ice, focus on SKATING as often as possible: edge work (especially outside edges), stride, and speed. The game is so fast nowadays and you won't be able to climb the hockey ladder if you can't keep up to the speed.

Watch NHL Playoff Hockey:

Pretty self-explanatory - this is the best time to watch NHL hockey - the game changes as there's more checking, it's harder to score, players are sacrificing their bodies, everything is magnified - this is the hockey yur players should pay extra close attention to and try to replicate in their games.