AAU

[Ziegler]

Ok.  For argument sake...if playing up is so bad and its all about fun and a social environment why not just play in house? Plenty of good options at paramount, Anaheim and TSC.  Heck of a lot cheaper and they get pizza and trophies at the end of the year which are 2 things kids love.

[Puck Yeah]

Ok.  For argument sake...if playing up is so bad and its all about fun and a social environment why not just play in house? Plenty of good options at paramount, Anaheim and TSC.  Heck of a lot cheaper and they get pizza and trophies at the end of the year which are 2 things kids love.

So traveling to other cities, seeing new sites, museums, restaurants, culture etc should only be for those destined for the NHL?  Sorry Johnny 8, fun is only for in-house kids, you future Hall of Famers must play up.  Bock to lahders for you Borislav, vee haff verk to do.

[#4BobbyOrr]

I think the playing up issue is getting a little convoluted, it's more about getting to move on to full ice games than it is about playing with older kids.   

[Deuce]

This was an interesting thread. Enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts.


My son is playing his first season of SCAHA hockey. He is 5 and a birth year 2011. He is one of the better kids on his team and I've been worried about him playing Mites for 3 MORE years after this one.


I see the merits for the little ones aged 5-6 but I do agree that a good number of the 7-8 year olds are ready for a larger ice surface like half ice. Not to mention the size differences between the small 5 year olds and large 8 year olds is pretty dramatic.


Maybe someone here more knowledgeable can help me out but why isn't there a division below mites? Maybe make the 5-6 year olds play like they do now and at 7-8 let them play half-ice and start keeping score and stats? Does SCAHA just assume all those kids need to be in in-house?


My son played in the 6U in house at TSC last year as a 4 year old and had fun but its sooo far from our house in San Dimas. Our only option without driving to far for practices is travel hockey with older kids. I wish there was a better in house option for my son so he wasn't stuck playing 4 years of SCAHA mites. I fear he is going to get burnt out playing with no score, rankings, stats and no full games other than in tournaments.

[WTF]

This was an interesting thread. Enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts.


My son is playing his first season of SCAHA hockey. He is 5 and a birth year 2011. He is one of the better kids on his team and I've been worried about him playing Mites for 3 MORE years after this one.


I see the merits for the little ones aged 5-6 but I do agree that a good number of the 7-8 year olds are ready for a larger ice surface like half ice. Not to mention the size differences between the small 5 year olds and large 8 year olds is pretty dramatic.


Maybe someone here more knowledgeable can help me out but why isn't there a division below mites? Maybe make the 5-6 year olds play like they do now and at 7-8 let them play half-ice and start keeping score and stats? Does SCAHA just assume all those kids need to be in in-house?


My son played in the 6U in house at TSC last year as a 4 year old and had fun but its sooo far from our house in San Dimas. Our only option without driving to far for practices is travel hockey with older kids. I wish there was a better in house option for my son so he wasn't stuck playing 4 years of SCAHA mites. I fear he is going to get burnt out playing with no score, rankings, stats and no full games other than in tournaments.

So there always seems to be a rush to get to full ice as quickly as possible.  The MOST important thing is to do the age appropriate functions geared towards the human body's chronological development.  Humans develop 80-90% of their synapses in their brains between ages 3 and 8.  Our synapses develop based on our experiences, the more experiences the more synapses.  This helps as they got older since the more synapses that are developed the faster the brain processes information and the faster the body moves as a result.  You may want your 8u child who is an advanced athlete to progress to full ice as soon as possible but they will touch the puck less and have less decision making experiences.  I know of a kid who is playing in the USHL right now, played 4 years of cross ice hockey in track 2 so he could play with his friends and get the age appropriate training.  He was always the best player on the team and the 4 years of cross ice in house did not stunt his development at all.

[area51]

This was an interesting thread. Enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts.


My son is playing his first season of SCAHA hockey. He is 5 and a birth year 2011. He is one of the better kids on his team and I've been worried about him playing Mites for 3 MORE years after this one.


I see the merits for the little ones aged 5-6 but I do agree that a good number of the 7-8 year olds are ready for a larger ice surface like half ice. Not to mention the size differences between the small 5 year olds and large 8 year olds is pretty dramatic.


Maybe someone here more knowledgeable can help me out but why isn't there a division below mites? Maybe make the 5-6 year olds play like they do now and at 7-8 let them play half-ice and start keeping score and stats? Does SCAHA just assume all those kids need to be in in-house?


My son played in the 6U in house at TSC last year as a 4 year old and had fun but its sooo far from our house in San Dimas. Our only option without driving to far for practices is travel hockey with older kids. I wish there was a better in house option for my son so he wasn't stuck playing 4 years of SCAHA mites. I fear he is going to get burnt out playing with no score, rankings, stats and no full games other than in tournaments.

lmfao...at that age, score, rankings, and stats only matter to the parents. You should keep your kids from looking at stats as long as you can, and definitely never let them know this board exists!

[#4BobbyOrr]

This was an interesting thread. Enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts.


My son is playing his first season of SCAHA hockey. He is 5 and a birth year 2011. He is one of the better kids on his team and I've been worried about him playing Mites for 3 MORE years after this one.


I see the merits for the little ones aged 5-6 but I do agree that a good number of the 7-8 year olds are ready for a larger ice surface like half ice. Not to mention the size differences between the small 5 year olds and large 8 year olds is pretty dramatic.


Maybe someone here more knowledgeable can help me out but why isn't there a division below mites? Maybe make the 5-6 year olds play like they do now and at 7-8 let them play half-ice and start keeping score and stats? Does SCAHA just assume all those kids need to be in in-house?


My son played in the 6U in house at TSC last year as a 4 year old and had fun but its sooo far from our house in San Dimas. Our only option without driving to far for practices is travel hockey with older kids. I wish there was a better in house option for my son so he wasn't stuck playing 4 years of SCAHA mites. I fear he is going to get burnt out playing with no score, rankings, stats and no full games other than in tournaments.

So there always seems to be a rush to get to full ice as quickly as possible.  The MOST important thing is to do the age appropriate functions geared towards the human body's chronological development.  Humans develop 80-90% of their synapses in their brains between ages 3 and 8.  Our synapses develop based on our experiences, the more experiences the more synapses.  This helps as they got older since the more synapses that are developed the faster the brain processes information and the faster the body moves as a result.  You may want your 8u child who is an advanced athlete to progress to full ice as soon as possible but they will touch the puck less and have less decision making experiences.  I know of a kid who is playing in the USHL right now, played 4 years of cross ice hockey in track 2 so he could play with his friends and get the age appropriate training.  He was always the best player on the team and the 4 years of cross ice in house did not stunt his development at all.

Maybe I'll just keep my kid in cross ice until he'e 16, then he can really dominate!

[Deuce]

This was an interesting thread. Enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts.


My son is playing his first season of SCAHA hockey. He is 5 and a birth year 2011. He is one of the better kids on his team and I've been worried about him playing Mites for 3 MORE years after this one.


I see the merits for the little ones aged 5-6 but I do agree that a good number of the 7-8 year olds are ready for a larger ice surface like half ice. Not to mention the size differences between the small 5 year olds and large 8 year olds is pretty dramatic.


Maybe someone here more knowledgeable can help me out but why isn't there a division below mites? Maybe make the 5-6 year olds play like they do now and at 7-8 let them play half-ice and start keeping score and stats? Does SCAHA just assume all those kids need to be in in-house?


My son played in the 6U in house at TSC last year as a 4 year old and had fun but its sooo far from our house in San Dimas. Our only option without driving to far for practices is travel hockey with older kids. I wish there was a better in house option for my son so he wasn't stuck playing 4 years of SCAHA mites. I fear he is going to get burnt out playing with no score, rankings, stats and no full games other than in tournaments.

lmfao...at that age, score, rankings, and stats only matter to the parents. You should keep your kids from looking at stats as long as you can, and definitely never let them know this board exists!

I meant scores and team standings, which would result in playoffs and not just ending the season with a regular game like every other week.


I do agree that at age 5-6 kids should just be out there and play but I also see the viewpoint that at age 7-8 kids could play half ice all season instead of starting in Jan like they do now.


Also, scores don't just matter to parents. Every kid on our team knows the "score" of each game/period they play even though they don't keep score. Our kids have the most fun at tournaments where they do keep score and team standings. Part of the thrill of sports is the competition and I think there should be a healthy balance of what USA hockey is trying to do now and playing actual games (cross or half ice) where there is a winner and loser. Learning adversity and perseverance through losing is an important thing. To think my son will play mite for 4 years and never really win or lose other than in tournaments is a bit concerning. But thats just my opinion. I do like ADM and the cross ice games are awesome for the little ones his age. He is having fun this year and hopefully my concerns for 2-3 years from now are proven to be moot.

[#4BobbyOrr]

USA hockey has its head so far up its ass it is a joke. every major hockey market - MI, IL, NY, and New England has developed a sizeable AAU full ice mite league since USA HOCKEY mandated cross ice.  if you don't give the customer what they want they hey will get it elsewhere.

[Maverick]

There is no magic formula to this.  Each kid is different, my youngest sucked at mite age cross ice and could never keep up with the play of the little speedsters.  Now 2 years later my little Gretzky does great on the full ice as 2nd year squirt (when he feels like trying, but that is a different subject).

[#4BobbyOrr]

Chicago AAU mite full ice:
http://chicagounitedhockey.com/index.php/teams


Michigan (7 divisions of full ice mite hockey!):
http://mayhl.rsportz.com/


New England:
http://www.neaau.org/sports/hockey


There are many more.  here's a good article on it:
http://cayhockey.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-mite-hockey-battleground.html

[Puck Yeah]

Ever wonder why high level player and Pros don't practice on full ice? 


AAU doesn't market full ice to kids, they market full ice to egos.

[#4BobbyOrr]

Pretty sure I saw the Kings practicing full ice on sunday. 2 on 1's, 3 on 2's, etc.  My 9 year old's team does full ice drills

[Puck Yeah]

My son never even skated until a 2nd year squirt.  It's a miracle he can even stand up an a pair.


He went to a 1 public skate in April, did a dozen stick times, joined an in house team mid season, played one full in house season in the summer and then played Squirt BB travel in the fall.  He was the top defenseman on the team even with all those full ice mites that had been playing for 5 years.  No prodigy, Mites experience just doesn't matter all that much.


To each their own.

[#4BobbyOrr]

Informal poll, how much are the fees for the mite travel program at your rink (not including uniforms and extras, just the basic fees)?