Playing on a Boys Team vs Girls Team for Player Development?

[DPA MacManus]

Any thoughts from girls and/or coaches that have been there, as to the pro's & con's of young girls having the opportunity to play on a boys team at the Sqt & PW levels? Obviously, every case is different but just curious as to the type of development that has been witnessed over the years...good, bad, or indifferent.

[keepitreal]

No pat answer; depends on the kid and the program. PW introduces checking, although often the girls have matured faster at that age and many can handle it. Not all associations have enough for a large girls talent pool, but a good player who works hard in a supportive environment should develop regardless. Much of this relates to how hard they work and learn off the ice and in the off-season. There is certainly a history of excellent girls players who have come out of boys hockey, but only now are we starting to see the first upperclassmen who have come solely out of the co-rec and girls programs since kindergarten. Most see the development gap between the girls and boys tracks for a female has narrowed to where it's negligible in many programs.

In short, if a girl can play at the "A" level of most boys programs, there's certainly a case to be made in staying with it through peewee if she can handle the physical game. However if she cannot excel among the boys at squirt or peewee, her development may actually suffer. I saw this with several girls who were shunned by their teammates and rarely played on boys squirt and peewee teams, who left and matured into impact players at U12, U14 and high school once they were given opportunities to gain confidence and learn with their peers.

[DmanDad1980]

I agree w/ keepitreal, there is no clear answer, each individual player makes it different.

I will say that the girls are the equal of boys at the Squirt level for the most part. The separation begins in PeeWees, where the boys checking and the speed of the game becomes a challenge for most of the girls. This is the time that a vast majority of the young ladies move to U12 to play hockey.
If a young lady can stay with the speed of the game at PeeWees and can handle the bumping, and there are those that have done this, I have seen some very good results in the development of the player becoming a very good Girls High School player.

There is no right or wrong here, but what fits for each young lady.
I do believe that it takes a very disciplined, hard working and determined young lady to accomplish the integration with boys in Pee Wees or beyond.

[hockeyrube7]

And just remember there is no gaurentee that for a girl staying with boys does that ever equate to success. So ask yourself what does my daughter want, I'd say, and be honest.

[twowayplay]

Don't forget to look at whose coaching. Quality of coaching should play in to the decision too

[hockeya1a]

I would say if you have a quality girls A team to play on and good coaching, stay with the girls I believe the bond that these girls will make is important for there growth.
On the other hand if there is no A team for your daughter and she is top 10 on a squirt team then that should be fine too.
But when they get to pee wee they can usually hang with the boys in the first year but after that it gets tough.
If you have a good athlete and she works hard she will be good nomatter where she is.

[cluelessinminnesota]

The game is about FUN. No player will develope to their maximum potential if they aren't having FUN.

That being said, ALL girls should be playing on girls only teams by age 9.

When they are mites the gender differences aren't yet as pronounced, but by the time they are 8,9 or 10. They know they are girls and all their friends are girls. So it only makes sense for them to play together as hockey players.

The only exception I can accept is if the girl's team and coaching staff in your community is terrible. Otherwise, your daughter will have the best chance of developing her hockey skills and love for the game playing with girls.

If you have a daughter on a boys team and she is 9 or older I'll bet that you are a problem parent whose daughter comes home from hockey many nights not smiling.

When my daughter was younger her favorite activities were the team parties and sleepovers not the games.

If your daughter needs better opportunities than the local girls program offers, sign her up to play on a girls AAA team during the summer. If your daughter is truly talented, these opportunities will be available. If no one is calling her by the time she is ten, then she is probably not an elite player yet.

[joehockey]

I think playing on either can be good - all depends on the kid, what they want to achieve and the program/coaches involved. In todays hockey you can and might want to do both.

If you play on a boys A team in the winter get with and play some top girls hockey in the summer maybe play up an age. If you play girls get in some 3x3 or league to play with and against boys. The summer team my daughter plays on plays boys bantam teams (no check) part of the summer to experience the speed and vertical nature.

If you can play A boys probably better than A girls for hockey development but it will not be the same social experience. If the option is to play boys B or C versus girls A play girls A.

Again with todays ability to play almost year round you can do both and get the experience/positives of both.

[goalzilla]

I agree that the one thing you really miss out on is the social experience that girls have on a girls team. On a boys team a girl can be a team mate but it just isnt the same. As for development I think a goalie can develop more playing boys hockey or at least being exposed to it as a secondary team or program. The strength of the shots are more consistant and usually a faster game IMO it really expidites improvement. My daughter has always played girls hockey as a primary and boys as a secondary. She'll play pick up with the boys and go to camps with them. However, I asked her if she wanted to play boys hockey only and she said no. She said she knew she would show more improvement, but she would miss out on the social aspect and she wanted to be with her friends. Would I have liked her to play boys hockey? Maybe, but it's not about me, it's about her having fun and loving the game.

[MNHockeyFan]

Many good points above, however I disagree with clueless when she said, "That being said, ALL girls should be playing on girls only teams by age 9." The key here is to look carefully at your options, and remain flexible, if you have that choice. All other things being equal, a girl will be exposed to faster/better hockey and will improve faster by staying with the boys as long as she can keep up and be AT LEAST an average player. This is provided as long as she can FIT IN. It's not only up to her but it also depends on the particular group of boys she plays with. I've personally seen examples of girls advancing through the PeeWee A level with completely different experiences/outcomes. In one case the girl got along great with her boy teammates and was considered to be "just one of the guys" in the locker room, as they were very supportive. In the other case the girl was a good player but that particular group of guys were very nasty and treated her like an outsider - really never accepted her and she and her parents were very unhappy the whole season. So it not only depends on the coaches and the girl's ability and personality, but also on the particular group of boys at that age group she would be playing with. This varies depending on the coach and the maturity/acceptance level of the more talented boy players that the rest of the team looks up to for leadership. If the girl is not accepted by the best players (leaders) on the team, the whole experience can become painful. In other cases, the boys adopt very well to having a girl or two on the team, as long as they like them personally and are helping the team win (or at least not costing them wins).

Besides all of the other great points made above, these are a few other points to consider.

[Jethrotull]

Here is how it worked for my daughter. She played with the boys from age 5-7. She then decided not to play for a year because she did not like playing with the boys anymore. She was odd girl out at all the parties and never got invited over to any small gatherings. A year later they started U10's and she was back on the ice. She is now a senior, playing in her 13th year of hockey and loving every minute of it. Believe me when I say, hanging and goofing around with your friends on the team is a huge part of hockey. Very few girls are of the character to like boys hockey into squirts and even fewer into peewees. Bantams would be a mistake for any girl. Play with the other girls as soon as possible. You will not regret it.

[finance_gal]

I don't think it matters if she plays on an all girl team or a mostly boy's team, It seems like boys teams sometimes have better coaching But good coaching will develop kids to their potential no matter what sex they are. Bad coaches will develop bad habits in players of either sex. A girl in Woodbury is still playing with the boys in Bantams and she is every bit as good as any of the boys we've seen because she's had some good coaching along the way. She's having fun and the team makes her feel welcome. If I was looking for development I would look at the coaches more that the sex of the team because that will make the difference in the kind of development and experiance she has in hockey.

[OntheEdge]

I agree that there is no pat answer, however I do believe that the bias should be playing with the girls for many reasons (there are exceptions to every rule). If the girls program has good coaching and the team is a competitive A team I think girls really benefit more from playing with the girls.

There are the social reasons, developing bonds with girls that she will end up playing with in HS is important but moreso I believe that the girls game and the boys game are played differently. My observation over the years is that girls that play on the boys side generally are good skaters and play more aggressively however such girls generally aren't as developed at shooting and stickhandling since they don't get to stickhandle and shoot as often on in the boys game. Also, most girls that play with the boys end playing defense especially the girls that go on to play with the Peewees (I assume the reason is to avoid much of the contact that comes with playing forward) which also hinders their growth in shooting and stickhandling.

This is only a generalization and there are exceptions but I think the girls game has advanced greatly and gone are the days that a girl must play with the boys in order to develop into a great player. People often use Wendell as the justification for playing with the boys but people fail to understand that when Wendell and others like her played at the youth and HS level girls hockey wasn't very good and they didn't have much choice.

Finally, I often think about this issue in a different context. Most girls that play boys are generally pretty good players. Are they good because they play with the boys or were they just good already? I think that they were good already and I think that playing with the girls would make them better players. I also think that if all of the girls that are playing on the boys teams would play with the girls, the girls program would be stronger and help the develop of all of the players in the girls sport. In other words, the girls program would be stronger if fewer girls would choose to play with the boys.

[DmanDad1980]

The social aspect is very big to a young person of 10-13. This is the time they are making choices on friends and what they like to do. It is a time when they are thinking "do I like hockey?" It is a time of growth.
As people have mentioned here, the sleepovers and the comraderie is truly important to kids this age, and important to their growth as a person as well.
Girls Youth Hockey has come a long way in recent years. The competitiveness has really grown, thus making it an attractive option for the exceptional young ladies. The growth of so many programs offering good "A" teams for the girls to play on, has strengthened the cause for girls to play with girls at U12, and more so at U10 now.
Hockey skills, friendship, and life lessons can all now be developed in girls youth programs, whereas that may not have been the option in years past.
Having fun keeps the girls in hockey for high school, and in hockey for life...

[Jethrotull]

Here is a very bizarre twist. Since girls playing on boys teams is accepted. Why would it not be OK for a boy to play non-checking hockey on a girl’s team? Lets say he is small in stature and does not like the checking in boy’s hockey but still likes to play. There are no options for him except to play with the girls or quit. This question should set off a few comments but I'm game to hear it.

[SECoach]

Here is a very bizarre twist. Since girls playing on boys teams is accepted. Why would it not be OK for a boy to play non-checking hockey on a girl’s team? Lets say he is small in stature and does not like the checking in boy’s hockey but still likes to play. There are no options for him except to play with the girls or quit. This question should set off a few comments but I'm game to hear it.

USA Hockey defines youth as boys and girls, and defines girl's hockey as girls only. Why can't boys play girls hockey? Because they aren't girls. Why can girls play youth hockey? Because the rules allow for it. If someone were to say this is not fair, you must considere that in most of the country, a girl's only opportunity to play is in youth hockey as there are not girls only teams in most places. This may change as girl's hockey grows, but for now these rules are necessary to ensure that girls are not closed out due to a boy's only league.

As far as should girls play in youth hockey? IMO if they can play girls they should, if they can't, they shouldn't.