Disorganized hockey: any strategy better then others?

[SolarWind 23]

quick background: my 7 years old son didn't want to play for a while so we skipped the winter season, but then all of a sudden expressed a desire to play again so I signed him up for a rec league which is a mix of ages & skill levels. Because of this the play is extremely disorganized – kids are basically chasing the puck, nobody is playing positions, providing supporting, passing etc. In some respects it’s quite similar to some adult drop-ins :)

He's staying with the play, creating turnovers, setting up other players but doesn’t score often since he ends up being the one creating the plays. It obviously takes quite a bit of work and he's putting effort into it, but despite my praise gets discouraged by his #s…

So after a couple of games I started wondering if there's any strategy that could be more effective for my kid in terms of scoring? Maybe instead of fighting for the puck he should just stay out of the pack and try picking up "the change" by scooping loose pucks or something?

Thoughts?

[Chadd 916]

More than anything, get him to stop focusing on the numbers. Anything else is just feeding the problem.

[SolarWind 23]

sure, but still? ;)

I mean there's no "problem per se since it's just for fun anyways - I encourage & support his effrort, but he'd obviously like to put the puck on the net more often, and if there's any strategy to help him with it'd be nice :)

[Chadd 916]

sure, but still? ;)

I mean there's no "problem per se since it's just for fun anyways - I encourage & support his effrort, but he'd obviously like to put the puck on the net more often, and if there's any strategy to help him with it'd be nice :)

Who wouldn't like to put the puck in the net more often?

Any strategy just for him is going to result in bad habits and more frustration when he doesn't get the puck from others. The coach should have at least some type of plan on the ice, if not, there really isn't anything you can do on that front. Have him work on his skating and shot if he wants to score more.

[The Mafia Line 0]

Whats most important is to improve his stating. That is the most important and the hardest thing in hockey. To repeat Chadd he shouldn't worry about numbers. Hockey at 7 should be as fun as possible while teaching him the basics and instilling a sense of work ethic. If it's fun, he'll love the game and want to play and get better (then he should strive to be the best skater on the ice). If it's stressful and feels like work he won't like it and won't practice. With age, he'll learn the left wing and whatever other systems of what not.

[SolarWind 23]

Chadd - it's a 'free for all' kind of league - very basic, coaches are merely attendants, and don't even offer any advice to players left alone doing any planning

re improving skating: actually skating is his best asset since he's been skating consistently since 4 & he loves it!

utilizing it to his advantage is a whole different story since his hockey sense hasn't progressed that much

[fatwabbit 93]

Not hockey, but I help to coach my son's soccer team. He's involved in the SSG, or small sided games... essentially 4 on 4, with most likely new team mates every week (they gather ALL the kids together, then randomly make teams every week).

He did really well the first week, making lots of passes... I kept telling him its a team game where he needs to set up his team mates more, and if he scores, then its just a bonus. In the first couple of games, he had a lot of assists, and the following few weeks he got a few goals. Needless to say that he's really happy when he scores, but overall he loves playing the game. After every game its a matter of talking to him and telling him to make sure he does play as part of a team... and not to focus on the points.

[BarDownGinos 3]

Dude, he's 7. He's got years of structure and strategy ahead of him. Don't worry about it.

[Skoda10 14]

I hear what the others are saying, you should keep the focus on having fun, but as a parent I feel your pain. Kids can get so focused on one thing that really matters to them, even if it's not what they should be focusing on.

I would suggest teaching him about some basic positioning. Such as if two or three of his teammates are already bunched up in the scrum for the puck, don't go in too. Stay outside the pack and wait for it to pop out. Also maybe tell him that getting to the puck first and digging it out for his team is just as important as scoring.

After all assists get you on the scoresheet too. ;-)

[shooter27 116]

At that age it should be all about having fun and developing his skills. As long as he's working hard and enjoying himself, nothing else matters.

I can't tell you how many youth teams I played against (squirts and below) that won a lot of game and put up numbers because their coaches instilled a great system (as much as kids that age can play a system) but when those kids went to move up in levels and play for better teams they couldn't compete because their fundamental individual skills never got developed. Meanwhile, the kids that I played with and teams like ours that emphasized fund and skills were the ones who were able to keep moving up the food chain and found significant long-term levels of success in hockey.