Is the time coming where kids don't play winter hockey?

[HockeyDad41]

del

[karl(east)]

Outlier is a term that means in this case, athletes who are above and beyond the norm. It is a statistical term that infers the data point is so far out of the norm, there must be a special cause that created it. For example, what make Alexander Ovechkin so much better than the 100's of other kids that went through the same development path at his Russian Hockey School.

You can have an outlier at an early age, that does not maintain that status through maturity, or conversly, you may have an average kid who becomes exceptional at maturity.

Exactly.

A roughly synonymous word, in the way that we're using it here, would be "standout."

Very interesting discussion, by the way...keep it up.

[sorno82]

I think what some are referring to is the parent of the exceptional kid appears to be pushing their kid too hard, the parent of the average kid becomes jealous and says you are ruining your kid. The early results favor the exceptional kid since he may be maturing faster and/or gets a lot more ice time and better development opportunities. The problem comes at puberty when maturity may slow or interests may change. Some of these exceptional kids will stay exceptional and we will be talking about them when they become NHL draft eligible. Some will fade away for a variety of reasons, though the universal term is burnout. And then you will get the late bloomer who becomes exceptional, which disrupts the early development/specialization argumenet.

Each parent will use the anecdotal examples to prove their point, when in the end, it is just parental egos clashing.

[sorno82]

Hmmm... Tell me more about this Russian Hockey School. I might want to get my kids enrolled in that right away. Is it in Edina?

I believe all the top teams in Russia sponser the youth development and create hockey schools for their prospects.

[HockeyDad41]

del

[karl(east)]

Hmmm... Tell me more about this Russian Hockey School. I might want to get my kids enrolled in that right away. Is it in Edina?

I believe all the top teams in Russia sponser the youth development and create hockey schools for their prospects.

So what you are telling me is that there is no awesome "Russian Hockey School" in Edina that I can enroll my kids in? Bummer.

Well, they do appear to be coming to the US for a bit this summer: http://www.russianhockeyschool.com/the_program.html

But if you're looking for something more long-term, I can hook you up with a friend of mine in Yakutsk.

[HockeyDad41]

del

[karl(east)]

But if you're looking for something more long-term, I can hook you up with a friend of mine in Yakutsk.

Thanks, but that's where I draw the line. I would never send my kids to a hockey school in North Dakota.

I'm glad you have your priorities in order there.

[play4fun]

jancze,

Your original question was along the lines of whether the time is coming when kids forego winter hockey, and play summer hockey instead on teams of their choosing. I'd say that may be the case for a few, but it's not likely as a trend.

Kids will more likely choose to skate year-round, rather than skip winter association hockey.

To play on most of the competitive summer teams, kids have to go through tryouts and/or maintain their ability to compete once added to a team, or risk being cut. If kids skip winter hockey, they'll likely fall behind their peers when it comes time to suit up again for summer -- and risk their summer spot in doing so. So for those that prefer summer hockey over winter hockey, for whatever reasons, they'll most likely continue to need to skate during the winter if they want to continue with their chosen summer squad.

That's just my opinion.

On the development side of the conversation, I am struck by how many Swedish players are top considerations for the draft. They all started in a youth organization somewhere, right? I was curious about that, and tried to look for some information on their youth development. Although the article I found speaks about their U20 and U18 teams, it speaks about the turnaround within their youth develomental model. It may provoke some thoughts. I've never posted a link, so I hope this works...

http://www.iihf.com/nc/home-of-hockey/c ... eover.html

[Terry.Moore]

I was using outlier in way that is consistent but slightly different than Sorno82 stated. An outlier is a statistical anomoly. This can be a kid who is 6'8" (natural) or it cna be a kid who chooses to skate 150 hours every summer (intentional) or combination (a devoted wieightlifter with favorabel big-muscle genes-see J. Laurenitis).

I am thinking of outliers as those who intentionally choose to be different than their peers.

For example (numbers are made up)

40,000 Minnesota kids want to play NHL hockey-that's mainstream

2000 kids (not parents) decide to work at it and 500 kids actually do thousands of hours of work instead of hanging with girls or video games. These 500 kids are the outliers (intentional).

20 kids make the NHL. All of them are in the group of 500, except 2, who are both are 6'5" with natural athletic ability (natural outliers).

[Terry.Moore]

Also:

-Lakeville is an outlying community

-It is summer, so kids are out laying in the sun (they are out-layers)

-The loudest politician might be out-lying his opponent (he is an out-liar)

I better go back to work.

[spin-o-rama]

+1