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What do you parents with older kids feel was the best course of action. We are getting information coming at us about 3v3, summer camps, AAA etc. What did you do, would you do if doing it again?

Sunsetcliffs98 wrote:What do you parents with older kids feel was the best course of action. We are getting information coming at us about 3v3, summer camps, AAA etc. What did you do, would you do if doing it again?

I'm not sure where in the city you are, but (of course) Mn Made choice program is hard to beat in the south west metro. (OF COURSE, my preference by far.) However ...

AAA United is starting a mite program from the Superrink, and I thought the Blades were putting a group together as well. I have no further information on either.

I may get flamed for this, but oh well. Association mite programs leave alot to be desired. Private groups will most likely be more intensive and thorough.

... IM(not so humble this time)O.

Sign them up for baseball/soccer or other summer activites first. Then look at a 3v3 league or MASH team. Cheap enough where you don't feel guilty if you miss a couple due to SUMMER activities.

It's important that they keep their feet on the ice once a week as opposed to an intense single week of skating and then done. When my children were young I thought Minnesota Made Summer of Ice, once a week on Saturdays, was a nice fit.

http://www.minnesotamadehockey.com/page ... ey-clinics

Check out all the programs offered... Then join the one that you can afford that will put his or her blades on the ice for the most time over the entire summer. Once a week minimum... I'm not a parent of a kid that is skating now. My son played D111 years ago, and my Grandson is a Bantam now.
I know from my coaching experience that skating is the most important thing that a beginner can do...

IMO there's nothing more fun than a 3v3 team with your buddies that plays once a week. It may not be ADM correct or fit in with the Russian school of training, but I think my kids get as much out of that as they do anything else. No practice, no coach, just pond style games.

Velocity has some nice summer programs for Mites that meet a couple times a week during the day.

MM4L the topic is summer hockey for mites, not sure what choice league and association hockey have to do with that.

Cliff,
I have the same age kid you do but will offer the following based on our experiences.

3 on 3--All depends on the league. We did a house lague with our association and he got very little out of it. Very unorganized-which was the intent--and very little effort on a consistent basis. We are now playing in a 3 on 3 league at Hat Trick and it is fantastic. Very high intensity and an excellent work out. I have never seen my kid so tired after a 60 minute skate. I would highly recomend.

Showcase--We have done a couple of seasons of Showcase and found it to be a mixed bag. Spring is better then fall. Our biggest gripe with Showcase is that they have a tough time maintaining parity. My kid didn't particulalry enjoy winning or losing by 10 goals. That said, he really enjoyed the tournament which they seed. All games, not really for development. swith most things hockey related the coach and the group you skate with will probably have the most impact on your kid's enjoyment.

AAA--Too early to say. This year will be our first venture into AAA.

Clinics--Again all depends on the coaches. We have participated in our league's summer program and were happy with it.

If you are in D10 there is an interesting AAA type program that I could forward information on if you are interested. Significantly less commitment than most. We have not participated in the program but I respect the coach that is running it. If you are interested send a PM.

That is all I got, I also would be interested in other's experiences.

Google NEEHS. They do a good job. The forest lake varsity coach runs STP programs for all the kids [mite thru varsity].

goaliewithfoggedglasses wrote:[...]MM4L the topic is summer hockey for mites, not sure what choice league and association hockey have to do with that.

yeah it was ... my fault. Association on the brain right now...

nofinish wrote:Sign them up for baseball/soccer or other summer activites first. Then look at a 3v3 league or MASH team. Cheap enough where you don't feel guilty if you miss a couple due to SUMMER activities.

This is what the majority of my nephew's association does. Maybe play showcase or mash then take the summer off until fall camps start.

The result:
No A team at the bantam level.
PW A's - 0 district wins and had to travel the furthest corners of the state to find weak enough teams to scrape out a tournament win.
Squirt A - 3 and 10 in district play.
Traveling mites - getting beaten by 5-10 goals every game.

Their C teams are fantastic though! Well..... one of them is anyway.

As hockey is one of the few sports that require a couple of very specific skills (duh) to play, I think the more time spent acquiring those skills the better. You don't have to spend a lot of money either. I would recommend a clinic like the one MM runs (shocker!) called Summer of Ice. It is a weekly one hour and twenty minute clinic that focuses on individual skating and skill development. The first hour they skate mainly line drills the full length of the ice. Each drill is done four times (repetition, repetition, repetition) and if Jr. isn't doing it right he will be corrected and sent back to the end of the line to try again. I liked it because they ran a tight ship and used almost all of the 60 minutes skating. The drills for the most part are very boring to watch, but really develop those core skating skills needed to move effortlessly around the ice in a game without having to think about what your feet are doing. They do also work with pucks and some stick handling and skating with the puck, but the focus is on the skating. The last 20 minutes is spent scrimmaging. No extraorndinary development here, but the kids really seem to like it.

Something like that once a week and then find some open hockey times at your area rinks would be a great and not terribly expensive way to have your son become a stronger skater over the summer. Not a huge commitment and you can still play all the summer sports too.

If all you are looking for is fun games, then Showcase and Mash are great choices.

Just my opinion, there are many many paths.

Do whatever makes your kid truly happy. Ask them what they want to do. If it is riding bikes and playing with friends let them do it. If it is playing soccer or baseball or golf. Let them do it. If it is a one week camp while doing other things the rest of the summer let them do it. If it is skating once a week or trying out for AAA let them do it. But make sure it is THEIR idea not yours. If you LISTEN you'll know what the kids do and don't want to do. Kids have a way of finding their own way.

JSR- With all due respect. I don't think mite kids know exactly what they want to do next summer.[Not my mites 01,02] My kids have always wanted to do what the oldest [94] was doing. Not that I'm suggesting signing young kids up for $3500 bucks worth of PHIT, but thats how kids think. So my point is no you can't simply leave the decsion up to 1st to 3rd graders.

old goalie85 wrote:JSR- With all due respect. I don't think mite kids know exactly what they want to do next summer.[Not my mites 01,02] My kids have always wanted to do what the oldest [94] was doing. Not that I'm suggesting signing young kids up for $3500 bucks worth of PHIT, but thats how kids think. So my point is no you can't simply leave the decsion up to 1st to 3rd graders.

I can agree with some of that. There is a big difference between the oldest and the youngest. The youngest wants to do whatever his borther is doing and if he can't he's ticked off and doesn't understand why he can't. But the oldest, what we did was present him with all his options and he got to choose what sounded good to him.

The Minnesota Icemen are looking for 2003 born players. We play in 2 tournaments this year! Please contact Coach Rich at blums7@gmail.com to learn about are wonderful program.

Thanks,

Coach Rich

I would suggest that you take the time and enjoy a many number of different things and ideas with the children. See the ideas through their eyes. A number of times kids do things because that what they think their parents want them to do and at 6 or 7 or 8 there is plenty of time to do a lot of different things.

Too soon your children will be grown and on their own and while I can say the memories I have of their childhood are great it is their memories of their own growing up that are better. Time is to short and it is in the child's best interest to find or to explore as many different ideas as possible and yes some might be different than hockey and if they want to excel and work hard make sure they are doing it because they want to, good work habits can be taught and can be used for life is all aspects.

greybeard58 wrote:I would suggest that you take the time and enjoy a many number of different things and ideas with the children. See the ideas through their eyes. A number of times kids do things because that what they think their parents want them to do and at 6 or 7 or 8 there is plenty of time to do a lot of different things.

Too soon your children will be grown and on their own and while I can say the memories I have of their childhood are great it is their memories of their own growing up that are better. Time is to short and it is in the child's best interest to find or to explore as many different ideas as possible and yes some might be different than hockey and if they want to excel and work hard make sure they are doing it because they want to, good work habits can be taught and can be used for life is all aspects.

So what you're saying is go with AAA then and forget about 3x3?

Not sure how your response helps answer the original posters request for information. He asked for opinions on what works and you recommend what again?

I would recommend Minnesota Made and than try to combine it with 3 X 3 program for sure. Top the summer off with a European Mite trip plus a couple of other summer tournments in Vegas and Montreal. You got to stay sharp! If you lose the edge by fall might just as well hang the skates up.

Decided to sign up for Little Twigs hockey camp in EP. Heard great things about it and Mike Terwilliger that runs it.

Little Twigs!! That is a GREAT name.