8 and under numbers

Discussion of Minnesota Youth Hockey

Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)

Post Reply
elliott70
Posts: 15425
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:47 pm
Location: Bemidji

8 and under numbers

Post by elliott70 » Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:24 am

USAH down 23 %
MnH down 9%

Numbers by association available.
No one has 100% retention which is not surprising.
Few held their own or had gain.

InThePipes
Posts: 1006
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:26 pm

Re: 8 and under numbers

Post by InThePipes » Wed Jun 16, 2021 9:09 am

elliott70 wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:24 am
USAH down 23 %
MnH down 9%

Numbers by association available.
No one has 100% retention which is not surprising.
Few held their own or had gain.
Where can I find these #'s?

elliott70
Posts: 15425
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:47 pm
Location: Bemidji

Re: 8 and under numbers

Post by elliott70 » Wed Jun 16, 2021 9:53 am

I RECEIVED THEM VIA EMAIL.
USAH may have them somewhere on their web page.
Your registrar may have access, your district director has them or email me and I will forward yo what I have.

elliottm@paulbunyan.net

elliott70
Posts: 15425
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:47 pm
Location: Bemidji

Re: 8 and under numbers

Post by elliott70 » Wed Jun 16, 2021 10:14 am

InThePipes wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 9:09 am
elliott70 wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:24 am
USAH down 23 %
MnH down 9%

Numbers by association available.
No one has 100% retention which is not surprising.
Few held their own or had gain.
Where can I find these #'s?
If you have a particular association in mind I can perhaps copy the info and post it here.

elliott70
Posts: 15425
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:47 pm
Location: Bemidji

Re: 8 and under numbers

Post by elliott70 » Wed Jun 16, 2021 10:28 am

Here is page one (cover) of USAH report.

This report focuses on the foundation of USA Hockey’s player base – the 8 & under age category. It examines
the entry-level age group at both the National and the Affiliate level for the past five seasons, as well as the
past three seasons at the local association level. The objective is to help all levels of USA Hockey’s structure
understand their past performance and create achievable growth goals for the 2021-22 season.
Furthermore, USA Hockey’s Program Services team provides youth hockey leadership with national programs
and tools to grow their 8 & under program while facilitating a more meaningful experience for volunteer
leadership.
Local associations can learn more about national growth programming and leadership resources
by visiting: www.usahockey.com/programservices.

8 & UNDER GROWTH GOAL
The annual 8 & under growth goal set for 2021-22 season is 2.5% (as reflected in the Hattrick goals for each
association). This goal is applied across the National, Affiliate, and local association levels. We do know,
however, that if we grow at the same rate as pre-pandemic, we won’t return to our numbers for another 5
seasons, so growth is more crucial than ever for the upcoming season.

TOTAL BOYS & GIRLS HOCKEY PARTICIPATION: AGES 8 & UNDER
While we continue to concentrate efforts on the 8 & Under category, participation was down as expected.
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
Participants 107,703 115,694 122,135 123,303 121,796 94,582
% Change 1.70% 7.40% 5.60% 1.00% -1.20% -22.3%
MN Participants 17,651 18,002 18,839 18,769 18,572 17,010
MN % Change 4.8% 2.0% 4.6% -0.4% -1.0% -8.4%

TOTAL BOYS & GIRLS HOCKEY PARTICIPATION: AGES 9 THROUGH 14
The universe of 9-14-year olds retreated further as seen below. A slowdown in growth at 8U is still negatively
impacting the early ages of 9-14, and will be increased with a gap of new players at the 8U level during the
pandemic. We need to keep this in mind as there will be an emphasis on the importance of retention efforts
combined with growth efforts.
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
Participants 183,275 184,502 186,161 187,766 187,468 173,717
% Change 1.20% 0.70% 0.90% 0.90% -0.20% -7.3%

RETENTION INCREASES WITH AGE
Youth hockey retention increases with both age and seasons played. While retention rates are fairly
consistent from 10U, 12U and 14U age levels, the overall growth of hockey relies on acquiring more 8 &
under players.
Minnesota’s retention average for 2020-21 by age segment in comparison to the National average

SCBlueLiner
Posts: 661
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:11 pm

Re: 8 and under numbers

Post by SCBlueLiner » Thu Jun 17, 2021 9:44 am

1. COVID had a huge effect on U8 numbers last year, which should surprise nobody. What we really need to keep our eyes on is this year's enrollment numbers. Need a huge rebound.

2. USAH numbers do not take into account players in non-sanctioned leagues. AAU Mite hockey is growing every year.

Post Reply