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Introduction to Athlete Development
Life is good. Your young hockey player loves the game and wants more. As a parent you would like to give your athlete every chance to succeed. But, you have questions....
How much hockey is enough? Should your athlete play spring hockey, or perhaps another complementary sport like soccer or lacrosse? Does your athlete need to attend summer hockey camp to get ready for tryouts in September? How many camps? Which camps? What should you look for in a spring hockey program or camp? Should you focus on skills development, or should your athlete play on the best team available, go to lots of tournaments and play to win? How much does all this cost?
When should your athlete start dryland training? How much weight training is appropriate? What other types of training are available? Will my athelete "fall behind" if she isn't in the gym?
Does Cochane Minor provide enough ice during the season? Should you look for more ice? What about hockey in the schools? How many tournaments is appropriate for an atom or novice level player?
Lots of questions. And, if you talk to people, many different perspectives on how to answer them. One thing you should do as a parent is ask around, and ask different people so you can appreciate the approaches that others have taken, and what has worked or not worked. Ask coaches. Don't be afraid to ask parents with athletes who are playing at a higher level or playing Junior hockey. Ask people involved in other sports. Seek out expertise rather than just the ambitious parents on your team...
One approach to athlete development is described in the "Canadian Sport for Life" program developed by the Canadian Sport Centres. They provide an athlete development model which is worth looking at. Hockey Canada is currently developing a hockey specific model based on this more general model (and once its published we'll have it here as a linked document). These models provide context for answering questions about athlete development, including those posed above.
In Cochrane Lea Norris is a good resource person if you have questions on Sport for Life or the athlete development model. She may be reached at lea.norris@sleaveconsulting.com, and at (403) 589-0592.
Developing a winning mental game.
Hockey is a physical game, but elite hockey players will tell you that as players develop the mental aspects of the game become more and more important. Having a positive attitude, and being open to taking postive lessons from every situation that comes up become important factors if an athlete is to play to their potential. As parents, learning to be postitive and encouraging to your athlete is highly important to their development.
A good reference book on this subject is "Hockey Tough" by Saul L. Miller. You might surprised how much emphasis this sports psychologist places on postive attitudes, and how concerned he is that overly negative or critical parents not damage young promising hockey players. Worth the read!
Another source of inspiration is "Jungle Jim" Hunter. You can catch him on Fan960 on Saturday mornings.
In Cochrane, a person with sports psychology background and a strong interest in coach development is John Clubb. His He may be reached at clubbsportc@aol.com
More information
For more information on this topic please talk with your athlete's coaches, or contact one of the Cochane Minor Hockey executive. We probably won't have all the answers, but may be able to refer you to some other sources. Please recognize that Minor Hockey isn't a complete athlete development program - just one of the building blocks for a happy successful hockey player.
Created by: Blake Fleming -- Last updated:Aug 10, 2009
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