Comments on: Advantages in Hockey

By: jtbourne

jtbourne — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:03:47 +0000

Yeah, you rocked that comment. That makes a lot of sense.

By: minnesotagirl71

minnesotagirl71 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:47:15 +0000

Far North – the tortoises have probably caught up with the hares by 3rd grade because the nature of the beast (the beast being public education) slows the hares down. Teachers have to teach to the middle of the class – the tortoises might get some extra help, but the hares generally aren’t able to keep moving at their own pace so they have to slow down to the pace of the class.

I’m not disrespecting public education (I’m a proud product of it and an employee of our local school district). It’s just the reality of one teacher doing his or her best to teach 25+ kids at various levels of ability.

Athletics are the exact opposite – in general – the best get more attention, more playing time, access to better facilities and the lesser skilled players get less attention, etc. So the gap widens….

I wish that communities would be able to provide more levels of play – competitive, less competitive, house leagues, pick up games, etc. The more kids we can keep involved in athletics (at whatever level) the better!

By: jtbourne

jtbourne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:00:07 +0000

It totally is true in sports, as in school, but kids get labelled so young, it’s impossible for them to prove it. I was fortunate to live in such a hockey-dense area that when I got cut from the top teams (as in, every year until I was 16), there was still mid-level competitive hockey. I know that’s not an option everywhere, where its either all-star awesome hockey, or crayons up your nose, kids with helmets on backwards hockey.

I’d say by nine/ten years old some kids are definitely ready for better coaching and harder competition. Anything earlier than that seems absurd.

As for the Saul Miller book (I read that too), I was the opposite. I was smaller when I was younger, so I learned the nifty little survival skills, so that by the time I was almost 6’2″ I still have puck skill with some size. It got a lottt easier when I finally did grow.

By: Far North

Far North — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:34:28 +0000

A comp league representative in my area pretty much told parents that if their kids didn’t enter the competitive program as mites, they’d probably never get in.

The pressure to choose/be chosen for the “elite” track starts very, very early.

What’s strange is that academically, any primary grade teacher will tell you that there are huge differences in skill levels when kids enter school, but that by third grade many of the “tortoises” have caught up with or surpassed the “hares.” If that’s true academically, isn’t it likely to be true in kids’ sports as well?

I’d like to see programs wait a lot longer before separating players into comp or house leagues. What age do you think is appropriate, Justin?

One more thought . . .

In his book “Hockey Tough,” sports psychologist Saul Miller talks about something he calls “big guy easy syndrome” . That’s when big young players rely on their size advantage, and don’t develop a strong work ethic. They can get by with this for a long time . . . but eventually it catches up with them. Being the biggest 12-year-old on the team is probably a great advantage in the short-term . . . but maybe not in the long-term.

By: John

John — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:51:25 +0000

Good stuff, good read.

By: jtbourne

jtbourne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:13:36 +0000

Thanks bro. I have an opportunity with USA Today, so I was trying to write them some original content. I deemed this one not-quite-worthy, so it probably reads more like an article than most of my blogs. Thanks for the plug, the more readers the better!

By: possum

possum — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:38:56 +0000

Maybe it’s because an ECHL team is my home team, but this is one of your better articles man. I’m going to have to share it with the Checkers’ message board, we have a lot of fans that think they know what goes on in the dressing room, on the ice, and in the players’ heads.

By: jtbourne

jtbourne — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:45:13 +0000

Thanks Bruce, too bad the timing for the Phoenix thing was just off!

By: Bruce Hollingdrake

Bruce Hollingdrake — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:36:10 +0000

Hey Justin, not sure if you are on Twitter – just Tweeted this post (little exposure for you)

A Must Read article I just read on how playing in higher leagues gives some a few big advantages http://bit.ly/1iGh4 #Hockey #Gladwell

@TheHockeyWriter

By: jtbourne

jtbourne — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:19:41 +0000

When you’re the best in the world, you’re allowed to do a few weird things.