jmiami

Sounds like the coach should not be coaching kids of that age-level. The way you describe his methods, they might be okay at a high-school/Juniors/college level, but not for kids who are 8 or 9 years old. When kids are that age they should be encouraged to try things out, ask questions, and not be afraid to make mistakes while learning the game. I had great coaches from age 9 on upward. Perhaps it was because they had played at high levels (almost all had played NCAA or minor pro), and knew that it is counter-productive to treat a 9 year old the same way you'd treat an 18 year old. Most of all, I remember that I had tons of fun, and I credit our coaches for that. The only time I had a coach who was a prick was in high-school. There were bag skates, yelling, the whole nine yards. But by then we were all 16-17 and it just rolled off our backs. Nobody took it personally. Here is what I suggest. You mention that your kid is on a travel team. I assume that means there is a house league too? I would pull him off the travel team and have him play house league for a year or two before going back to travel, hopefully with a different coach in his new age-bracket. With reduced pressure in house league it might make him realize if he really likes the game, or not. But I think the most important thing is what your kid wants to do. If he doesn't even want to play house-league because of his experience with this coach, it might be time to hang up the skates for a while. If he misses the game enough, he can always come back.

this is an interesting discussion re tapping. I never encountered it when I played in high school decades ago. But upon getting back into the game again a couple years ago, mostly via open hockey sessions, I come across it all the time. The place I see it most is at a game where there are a lot of Junior players, as well as Russian players who played high-level on the other side and live here now. It's a pretty intense pick-up game actually, and lots of fun. A lot of them tap-tap. I would say most actually. It never bothered me though. It just struck me as being competitive, an effort to distract. And sure enough, I started doing it too from time to time. But nobody on the other team has ever flipped the puck to me as a result. And to be honest, I don't think it is very effective in distracting opposing players under most circumstances. But man, I had no idea it was considered "bad manners" in pick-up. Or worse yet, a "douchebag" move! Ouch! So from now on, it's one thing to do it in my Juniors/Russians pickup game if the urge strikes me. But I'll make a point not to do it in the other pick-up games, which are more laid back. I pride myself on being a good sportsman, and honestly had no idea that this was considered unsportsmanlike in pick-up. Thanks for pointing it out!

Regarding drop-in. In my book, fancy-danglers who ignore open teammates should not be congratulated on scoring goals. I've come across a number of these yo-yos, none of whom have made a living playing the game, or even played D1/D3 college. The fancy-danglers I deal with are mostly failed Junior players who never got to the next step cause they couldn't make grade in school, or have personality issues. On the other hand I have played drop-in with/against guys who have played Pro/Olympic,D1/D3 college. The first thing you notice is that they love to pass the puck and are very unselfish. In fact, most of them thrive on setting other guys up. And none of these guys do excessive dangling, cause they are coming from a contact-game, and dangling doesn't really go over so well in a contact game. Moral of the story regarding this thread is PASS THE PUCK! The puck can move up-ice a lot faster than a player can.