| How skill development keep kids safe on the ice |
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| Learning to shoot well takes practice. For an 8U hockey player, though, there are efficient ways to get better and tips for doing it. Ken Martel, technical director for USA Hockey's American Development Model, offers a few of them gleaned from experience. |
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Q: I coach at the 8U level. We share our ice and have about 35 players at each practice. Within that 35, there is a wide variety of skill levels. If we divide the players into six groups of like ability, do I need six different practice plans to cover each group?
A: Before I answer your question, I would like to commend you for having that many young players on the ice for practice and for segmenting them into groups by similar ability skill-wise. It's always great to see coaches putting young athletes into great development environments! Now, to answer your question. No, you do not need to have six different practice plans in these kinds of scenarios. What you do need is to use what we like to call "the art of coaching."
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| Zones |
| Breaking up the ice surface at 8U to fit the size of the players is an important developmental tool for learning. Game play at 8U ideally segments the ice into three zones to allow for three simultaneous games. This is good for development as well as reducing the overall cost to play at 8U. It provides more skill-development repetitions and more opportunities to be on the ice. |
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