Whether it be practices or skill sessions, there is a major disconnect between training and training for the right reasons for the majority of families in today’s hockey world. Many parents and players are “drinking the wrong kool-aid” but who’s to blame?
When it comes to on-ice development, or “skill training” as it’s referred to, all parties have turned to social media for various reasons: Parents to see who and what is trending, players checking accounts to see which training videos are getting the most likes, and trainers using these platforms to sell their product. On-ice development has turned into a popularity contest: a numbers game of how many likes a video can get, partly based on video editing. The more toys on the ice, the catchier the song in the video, the fancier buzz words hashtagged, the better the training – right? The truth is, training is no longer game relatable and we are building practice players who can’t translate these skills to game situations.
Who is to blame for the lack of quality skill development being offered out there to youth hockey players? Are we to blame the trainers, most of whom are under qualified and working to make a quick dollar? Should we blame the parents, who often believe they know what is best for their child, but never played or were involved in the game of hockey? Is there room to put blame on our hockey governing bodies or is this beyond their reach? It certainly seems impossible for our hockey governing bodies to ban non qualified trainers from being on the ice, but are they in a position to offer a better option with certified coaches and trainers that can properly teach and develop? The only ones we can’t blame are the ones personally being affected by this major disconnect: our youth hockey players. While the blame can’t be placed on any specific person or group, the need for a solution to our training disconnect is urgent. Simply put, we are doing a disservice to our youth hockey players.
What is the disconnect? How are we cheating our youth? Outside of social media popularity, and regardless of who is to blame, what is the philosophical problem we are faced with today? The issue is the lack of proper training and development: which leads to the inability to focus and work on the fundamentals of a youth hockey player. Is the issue that the majority of coaches don’t know how to teach the fundamentals and how to correct mistakes and deficiencies so they use toys and gadgets as a crutch? Does it go back to our social media problem that teaching fundamentals doesn’t attract likes and followers? Is the developer to blame for not being knowledgeable or the parent to blame for sending their kid to the trainer? How is it beneficial to have a beginner who is unsure of his or her edges, posture, balance, and foundation, working through a jungle gym of toys flipping pucks over, sliding pucks under, and spinning their way around? Why don’t we have the ability as a hockey culture to stay patient, stick to the script, and let the process play itself out one step at a time? Crawl, stand, fall, walk, run. We all seem to understand the progression infants take, but when it comes to hockey we want to mohawk before we can stride, toe drag before we can stickhandle, and take a one timer before being able to master a wrist shot. We are disconnected to what is important in our development and worry too much about the outside noise. We are too worried about “keeping up with the Joneses” and not worried about what is best for the long-term development of our players.
Our disconnect doesn’t stop with the type of development we choose for our youth but also when it comes to the decisions being made for winter hockey. We are at a point in society where we’ve turned our youth players into unrestricted free agents, selling their services to organizations that carry a name, or a coach that has a pedigree. We often make decisions based on rankings, possible linemates, and many false promises. We make decisions often based on team success or prestige, rather than the development and ice time being received. As long as we are playing on a championship team, it doesn’t matter the lack of ice time or attention being received. We disconnect ourselves from reality, convincing ourselves that there is more value in being a part of winning than playing, learning and at times failing. Yes parents, I am talking directly to you on this one. You are to blame for this part of the disconnect. Your pride is in the way of making the right decisions for the proper development of your young hockey player. The players’ needs and development, playing time, coaching they receive, fun they should be having, these are the criteria we should be worried about when making decisions.
Our disconnect has also made us forget that at the end of the day, this is all about the players, and that roughly 0.1% of youth hockey players make it to the NHL for even one game, while the percentage of players able to make a living playing hockey is even less. For the rest of the 99.9%, some might be lucky enough to make the AHL and earn a minimum salary of roughly $50,000 a year, or maybe make the ECHL and earn a minimum salary of about $15,000 a year. With this hockey training disconnect, what are you – the parents -sacrificing for this tiny hope of playing in the NHL or the minimum salary of $15,000 if you are good enough to make it to the ECHL? Our disconnect has gone so far that education is now being sacrificed. Parent’s flock to hockey “academies” who offer a ton of hockey and ice time, at the sacrifice of online schooling, a go at your own pace curriculum overseen by one chaperone who canvasses a room of 20 plus hockey players. We have convinced ourselves that this online educational structure is worth it because it allows for hockey to take a front seat and the dream of the NHL to be that much closer. I write WE, but it really means you, the parent who continues to make the wrong decisions in your child’s hockey journey, and in turn, their life journey.
Today I cannot include myself in the WE, because I have yet to have children, but I hope your errors and disconnect will allow me to make the right decisions for the right reasons if and when that time comes. I left Canada to attend a US boarding school, partly sacrificing hockey to put academics first. While the academics were top notch, hockey didn’t start on campus till mid November. I admit that is a heavy sacrifice to make on the hockey front, waiting till mid November to get into the day to day grind of hockey. If you agree that a mid November start date is a sacrifice, are you also willing to admit that online schooling, moving along at your own pace, being supervised by a chaperone is a major academic and life sacrifice? We need to reconnect to the real world and set out the best path for life, not only hockey. Not every American can be lucky enough to be selected for the National Team Development Program, because if that was the case everyone would have an easy decision to make and everyone would be making the right choice. These newer hockey academies that offer a private school in class learning with the day to day grind of hockey really speaks to me, they should speak to all of us. The academic side offers a small in class student to teacher ratio, certified teachers, and a regular curriculum. A hockey program that offers daily practices starting in September, game schedules that offer 50+ games, certified coaches and skill developers. A situation where you aren’t sacrificing academics or hockey. The Shattuck St Mary’s (Minnesota), St Andrew’s College (Ontario), American Hockey Academy @ CATS (Massachusetts) of the world.
Whether it be summer development, winter programs, or anything to do with hockey, the priority should only be on what is best for the player. Working on fundamentals during the off-season because they lack a certain ability or playing a level down or with a weaker organization so they could properly develop through game success, our decisions need to be about the player. We need to reconnect on what is important and not be disconnected with the worry of social media and popularity. We have lost our way, it is time we start living in the moment, play where you play and let hockey take our players where hockey is meant to take them, wherever and whenever that may be.
Keif Orsini
Rapid Hockey Development
