If you were the coach of this team, how would you make sure the kids at either end of the spectrum are receiving quality instruction commensurate with their skill and ability?
So many challenges, so little time. First, the development plan is the basis upon which all of the practices should be based. Most associations have been around for more than six years so they should be familiar with the little kids and have seen where past efforts have been deficient at the squirt level. Hold a hundred meetings during the summer, get it hashed out, and establish a flexible lesson plan for the entire season. That's the easiest part, a lot of work, but easiest; though surprising how many associations have no plan.
Tougher problem is getting the right guys on the ice. No different than baseball or soccer. Most dads that didn't play are fine on the ice - lining kids up, giving encouragement, keeping them from wacking each other; some dads that didn't play will research and provide great hockey input. This happens a lot in soccer; most of us old guys didn't play as kids or even watch it on TV (no ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN deportes in the olden days), some will come to soccer without a clue, some will figure, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to give the kids a good experience by learning the game myself, so I can teach it to them. On the flip side, just because a guy played, he's not immediately knighted as a super coach (especially 5-8). Some guys have been skating and shooting so well for so long that they don't remember not doing it. Some baseball teaching aides break the swing down into over a hundred seperate pieces - that is overkill, especially at the T-ball level, but it illustrates that a guy may have played ball in high school, or even college, but depending on the coaches he's had, not really know the mechanics of his sport, and even if he does, many not be able to communicate that knowledge from his own brain to the brain of another. In mites it's not enough to have him finish the drill, he has to do it correctly (my mind flashes to kids dragging their sticks behind them as they turn around a cone - no one corrects him, so he thinks he did it right. Teaching them to regroup in squirts now becomes a huge challenge because the kid turns and gets the puck in his skates because his stick is hanging out behind him. It's all about building blocks - you can't get a guy out at first, much less turn a double play, if the kids can't catch and throw). The skating stride is not that complicated to learn and teach correctly, however it is often not well coached in mites during the winter, if that was the case Laura Stamm and Robby Glantz wouldn't be charging $50+ an hour in the summer.
There are many more challenges including, but not limited to, the misunderstanding of small area games in many associations which is subsequently destroying hockey in those communities.
