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COACHING STAFF
Head Coach: Joel Dunham Assistant Coach: Emerson Hachimoto Team Manager: TBD PRACTICES*
GAMES Schedule will be posted on TeamSnap once set. |
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10U Player Development
The ABCs
At 10U, there should still be a focus on developing players' overall agility on the ice (and off the ice, too). Agility is the ability to change the body's position efficiently, and it requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength, and endurance. Great 10U drills for agility-building include tag and obstacle courses that include combinations of sprints, stops, turns and maneuvers around, over and under objects. These can be done on or off the ice.
Development
At 10U, boys and girls are transitioning from the FUNdamentals stage into the Learn-to-Train stage. This signals the onset of a critical period in their long-term development: the Golden Age of Motor Skill Development.
While athletic development is not rigidly age-determined, most kids, by the time they enter 10U hockey, have enough skeletal and musculature development to take advantage of the neural development that has simultaneously occurred. This means that most kids who are in the 9- to 10-year-old range are in prime position to develop motor coordination and acquire sport-specific skills. They have the ability to lift the ceiling higher for their future overall athletic potential. Skating and puck control skills are the primary focus throughout the 10U age group and should be practiced consistently all season. At this age, players begin having the ability to really concentrate on individual technique.
Half-Ice
Cross-ice hard dividers are not just for 8U hockey. They can create a great learning environment for players at any age. Many important hockey concepts are reinforced efficiently and repeatedly in this environment, and also in 4v4 half-ice games.
Improvement
Improvement is something that all parents want to see in their kids as part of their youth sports experience. But while the scoreboard is used as a measuring device in the outcome for individual games, it doesn’t always give an accurate picture of the improvements we can see in our kids. For example, when a player improves his or her passing ability, success is dependent upon their team’s ability to catch.
As the individual players improve, over time, the cumulative results can eventually be seen on the scoreboard, but it is a slow process. As parents, we always need to maintain proper perspective on the outcomes of individual games and remain focused on the process of continued improvement.
Jump Rope
Oldies can sometimes be goodies and the jump rope certainly qualifies as both. It’s such a simple fitness tool, but it can also be one of the most valuable for children in the 10U age classification. Balance, explosion, stamina, rhythm – the jump rope builds all of these in a developing athlete, which is why jump rope drills are included in USA Hockey’s ADM dryland training materials.
Patience
Been playing two years? Four years? Six years?
Born in January? How about June? November?
There are many factors beyond our children's control that contribute to who is "good" in youth sports at 10U. And these same factors have little to do with who ultimately becomes a top performer in the years to come. It's extremely important for all adults involved in youth sports to have patience in the development of children. The focus at 10U needs to be fun, participation with friends and basic skill development that sets the table for future success.
Kids develop at different rates. It’s not until they've all gone through puberty and the playing field levels out that we can begin to see which have a passion for sport and might truly excel. At 10U, the journey is still merely getting started.
Quality
At 10U, this is the Golden age of Skill Development, so in a quality practice, expect to see:
WIN
WIN is a coaching acronym. It stands for "What’s Important Now." It's used by coaches to help players focus on the current moment and shift them back into a process-driven mindset. This concept of What's Important Now is also valuable in player development. Certain aspects of development, like basic fundamental skills, need to be learned before players can effectively develop other more complex aspects of the sport. For example, if your players don’t have the skill to catch passes, then your breakout — any breakout — is not going to be very effective.
At 10U, What's Important Now is developing the fundamental skill set that will allow players to succeed as they grow older and the game becomes faster and more demanding.
Content adapted from www.ADMkids.com
At 10U, there should still be a focus on developing players' overall agility on the ice (and off the ice, too). Agility is the ability to change the body's position efficiently, and it requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength, and endurance. Great 10U drills for agility-building include tag and obstacle courses that include combinations of sprints, stops, turns and maneuvers around, over and under objects. These can be done on or off the ice.
Development
At 10U, boys and girls are transitioning from the FUNdamentals stage into the Learn-to-Train stage. This signals the onset of a critical period in their long-term development: the Golden Age of Motor Skill Development.
While athletic development is not rigidly age-determined, most kids, by the time they enter 10U hockey, have enough skeletal and musculature development to take advantage of the neural development that has simultaneously occurred. This means that most kids who are in the 9- to 10-year-old range are in prime position to develop motor coordination and acquire sport-specific skills. They have the ability to lift the ceiling higher for their future overall athletic potential. Skating and puck control skills are the primary focus throughout the 10U age group and should be practiced consistently all season. At this age, players begin having the ability to really concentrate on individual technique.
Half-Ice
Cross-ice hard dividers are not just for 8U hockey. They can create a great learning environment for players at any age. Many important hockey concepts are reinforced efficiently and repeatedly in this environment, and also in 4v4 half-ice games.
Improvement
Improvement is something that all parents want to see in their kids as part of their youth sports experience. But while the scoreboard is used as a measuring device in the outcome for individual games, it doesn’t always give an accurate picture of the improvements we can see in our kids. For example, when a player improves his or her passing ability, success is dependent upon their team’s ability to catch.
As the individual players improve, over time, the cumulative results can eventually be seen on the scoreboard, but it is a slow process. As parents, we always need to maintain proper perspective on the outcomes of individual games and remain focused on the process of continued improvement.
Jump Rope
Oldies can sometimes be goodies and the jump rope certainly qualifies as both. It’s such a simple fitness tool, but it can also be one of the most valuable for children in the 10U age classification. Balance, explosion, stamina, rhythm – the jump rope builds all of these in a developing athlete, which is why jump rope drills are included in USA Hockey’s ADM dryland training materials.
Patience
Been playing two years? Four years? Six years?
Born in January? How about June? November?
There are many factors beyond our children's control that contribute to who is "good" in youth sports at 10U. And these same factors have little to do with who ultimately becomes a top performer in the years to come. It's extremely important for all adults involved in youth sports to have patience in the development of children. The focus at 10U needs to be fun, participation with friends and basic skill development that sets the table for future success.
Kids develop at different rates. It’s not until they've all gone through puberty and the playing field levels out that we can begin to see which have a passion for sport and might truly excel. At 10U, the journey is still merely getting started.
Quality
At 10U, this is the Golden age of Skill Development, so in a quality practice, expect to see:
- Individual skill work done in a high-activity, high-engagement environment.
- Plenty of repetitions for efficiently refining a player's technical skills. Station-based practices are one of the best ways to provide a high number of reps and efficient skill development.
- Skill development with an increasing degree of complexity and decision-making.
- Game situational play through small-area games to teach the skills, concepts and tactics of ice hockey, along with the ability to make quicker decisions.
WIN
WIN is a coaching acronym. It stands for "What’s Important Now." It's used by coaches to help players focus on the current moment and shift them back into a process-driven mindset. This concept of What's Important Now is also valuable in player development. Certain aspects of development, like basic fundamental skills, need to be learned before players can effectively develop other more complex aspects of the sport. For example, if your players don’t have the skill to catch passes, then your breakout — any breakout — is not going to be very effective.
At 10U, What's Important Now is developing the fundamental skill set that will allow players to succeed as they grow older and the game becomes faster and more demanding.
Content adapted from www.ADMkids.com