If 99% of People in Youth Hockey are Great, Why is it so Broken?

We’ve talked a lot on the podcast the past month or so on the differences between the types of models for player development around the world.  In most parts of the US and Canada right now, we have a competition and opposition model, not one that prioritizes development.  The best models have competition on the ice and cooperation off of it.  Over here we have competition on the ice…and competition off of it.

As someone blessed to talk with people all over the world about elite athlete development (I also have a Master’s degree in Sport Performance), so much of what we see here goes against player development principles.

Out of whack practice to game ratios.  Too much pressure on coaches to win.  Early professionalization.  The infatuation with player and team rankings.  Early sport specialization.  Lack of community.  The narrowing of the talent pyramid at too young of ages. 

These are all things we see in so many parts of North America today, and quite frankly, it’s opposite of how the best development models around the world operate.  It also goes against all the research of what makes an elite athlete.

To develop elite athletes, we need better practice to game ratios so players are getting more touches and reps to enhance their skills and awareness.  We need less pressure for coaches to win so the primary focus can be on coaching to make players better (running a 1-2-2 for 12-year-olds and only playing 2 of your 3 lines will help you win, won’t develop kids).

We need less professionalization and more community.  We need less specialization and more kids playing multiple sports.  We need to narrow the talent pyramid way older than what we’re seeing right now (hello, mite AAA).

Is there a time to specialize? Yes.

Is there a time to bring the top players together to practice and play against each other? Absolutely.

But on the whole, the above is happening way too early and it’s created this pressure cooker and FOMO that is driving families either crazy or to other sports.  I wrote a few weeks ago on how this mindset has pushed Tier One hockey out of control.

So with all this, it leads me to a question I’ve been asking myself and trying to answer since I’ve really dove into trying to understand what is happening in youth hockey today:

If 99% of the people involved in youth hockey are great people, why is it so broken?

Truly, there are so many great people in hockey.  People who have dedicated their lives helping kids develop skills on and off the ice.  People who sacrifice so much of their time supporting kids in following their dreams.  People that are selfless beyond measure trying to make the game better for our kids and families.

Hockey is the greatest sport on the planet BECAUSE of the people.  The people aren’t the problem. 

It’s how the overall system and model of youth hockey (and youth sports) has changed so drastically over the past 10-20 years. It’s the shift from sports being about community, learning values, and prioritizing development to the emphasis on “making it” due to the commercialization and professionalization of kids that seems to keep getting younger and younger every year.

Youth sports is now a billion-dollar business, and we haven’t done a great job adapting.  Most of all, this shift to a professionalized model has created something that I think is at the root of all of our problems:

Fear.

There’s so much money and pressure involved in youth sports today.  And with that, it’s created a fear that dissuades people from trying to do things differently that might be against the grain or speak out against what they don’t believe in.  There’s a fear of retribution or losing opportunity for themselves or their kids that I hear from people constantly. 

Coaches coach differently.  Parents parent differently.  Administrators plan differently.  All through the fear they’ve amassed being involved in youth sports and not wanting to get passed or left behind.

Hockey directors and coaches (for the most part) know what’s going on is insane but feel like they have to play that game due to external pressure from the vocal minority of either powerful or delusional parents, some of which “own” these youth hockey clubs or are on their board and have a kid involved.  If hockey directors or coaches don’t win, they’ll hear about it and they fear for their job.  Get a few adult beverages in some hockey directors around North America and they’ll tell you some ridiculous stories.

In the eyes of these vocal minority of powerful and overbearing parents, winning equals good rankings and good rankings equals better opportunity for their kid to advance.  When in reality, the best thing that can help their kid advance is better development.  As a former Division One coach, I never recruited a kid that wasn’t really good at hockey and a really good person.  The team, league, or ranking had no bearing on my or any other coach’s decision to recruit them. 

Most parents also know what’s going on is insane. They don’t want to feel anxious all the time about the decisions they need to make in supporting their kids’ dreams of potentially playing high level hockey.  They don’t want to shell out thousands of dollars more than they know they need to in supporting that journey to their dreams. But the fear of missing out is so weaponized today that they feel like they have to do so many things outside their gut instinct of what is right for their kid because of the status quo of what youth sports has become. 

Fear has become the driving factor taking us down this path to the insanity we see today.  99% of people in hockey are great, but the fear everyone has, whatever the hat we wear, is undeniable.  And it causes everybody involved, many times against their better judgment, to make decisions or follow trends that keep taking us further into the abyss.

So let’s talk about what this fear has created. What is the by-product of this fear born from the business of youth sports? For me it comes down to two big issues:

1. The notion that MORE and FASTER is better

2. The obsession with results and rankings

Let’s dive in.

1. More and Faster is Better

I get the opportunity to sit and talk to one of the best performance coaches in the world every week on our podcast.  And we get the opportunity to pick the brains of some of the best people in the world at what they do in that arena.

And for those that listen to the podcast, you know Vechs’ saying as it relates to this:

More is not better…Better is better.

With how professionalized youth sports has gotten, and how much pressure there is on kids to “make it”, the idea of MORE and FASTER is very enticing. 

For parents, if their kid has a dream of playing high level hockey, they’re going to provide them with every opportunity to do so.  And many kids, like myself, find that dream at a very early age.  So parents are going to put them into everything they can, or everything they’ve been told to do, at the youngest of ages to help them accomplish that dream. They do it because they love their son or daughter and want to support them the best they can.

But so many parents are being told that more, more, more and faster, faster, faster is the path that will get their kid there.  Here’s the truth…

Development is a marathon, not a sprint.  We live in an era of instant gratification so we believe that the faster we jump into the craziness, and the more we push to do earlier, the quicker we are going to see results.  And that’s true – if you want the best 12-year-old.

But the best 12-year-olds aren’t always the best 15-year-olds.  And the best 15-year-olds aren’t always the best 18-year-olds. And the best 18-year-olds aren’t always the best 20-year-olds.  Some are, but a lot aren’t.

Why?

So many kids fall out of love with the game.  They start to see the game as a job rather than a passion.  The notion of “making it” has been so ingrained in them from such a young age from parents and coaches that they lose sight on why they play they game…because they love it.

I’ve been around a lot of players that have “made it” going on to live their dream of playing in the NHL.  And the one consistency 99% of them have is they all love the game.  Talent is very important, but a lot of talented players don’t achieve much.  They either don’t want to put in the work, fail to build resilience through adversity, or fall out of love with the game.  The biggest separator between the ones that succeed and the ones that don’t is the love for the game which leads to a willingness to work at it every day, especially through the adversity.

Former NHLer Drew Shore had a great post about this a few months ago and we had him on the podcast to elaborate more.  It was really, really good.

From my own experience, and not many people really know this, but I almost quit hockey at 16 years old.  I made the Chicago Steel out of tryout camp as a young kid but was not even close to ready for that level.  I had the worst year of hockey in my life and became depressed.  Luckily, I had an amazing support system of family and friends that got me through it, and over the next two years I rekindled my love for the game.  

But here’s the kicker – teammates I was better than the previous years passed me completely.  That loss in confidence because of the infatuation with more and faster in my development knocked me back probably two years.  I had to claw back to get back to where I needed to be.  It took a lot of hard days and nights, sacrifice, and some real self-reflection to do that.  Had I just stayed the course, not rushed, and took the marathon-not-a-sprint approach, man would that have been so much better.

Whatever level you want to ascend to, whether its “A” to “AA” through college to pro…so many more mistakes have been made by rushing it rather than what high-level hockey people call “marinating” at the level you’re at.

Everyone has their own path, and most take the long way.  Don’t be in such a rush to jump organizations, move your kid away from home, or add the extra “A” to your nametag.  The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  Faster isn’t necessarily better.

And neither is the More is Better mentality.

There are two really big fundamental problems with the More is Better mentality.

Overuse injuries and burnout.

We’re seeing overuse injuries at an alarming level in youth sports today.  Think Tommy John surgery in baseball, and equate that to hip, ab, and groin injuries in hockey.  Especially for goalies.

Kids are skating way too much and specializing way too early.  Talk to any strength coach or athletic trainer involved in the game, they’ll sound the alarm from what they see.  The best ability is availability, and if a kid is hurt all the time because of avoidable overuse injuries, they’re not developing their skills that will help them achieve their goals.

If a parent wanted to, they could sign their kid up for a showcase, clinic, or camp every week in the summer.  And some get pretty close to doing that. When I was a kid, I did a once-a-week fun spring league, a one-week stickhandling camp (shoutout Turcotte stickhandling), and maybe a no-pressure tournament with friends in the offseason.  Outside that, I got a break and played other sports until I got to high school.

There’s nothing wrong with some skill work with good coaches during the spring or summer.  There’s nothing wrong with doing a fun tournament or two with teammates.  There’s nothing wrong with clinics or camps where you can learn something new from a different coach.

But there is a lot wrong with kids doing these things excessively.  And there is a lot wrong with coaches or programs mandating their players be on the ice all summer to fill ice and line their pockets.  There has to be a balance. 

On top of that, during the season, you’re seeing so many kids have 3-4 practices a week, then multiple skill sessions whether it’s with an academy or a private coach, then play 4-5 games on a weekend.  That could be up to 10 ice touches in a week.  Yikes.

We have to give these kids a chance to relax and reset.  The toll on their bodies won’t be able to take it in the long run.  There’s a wear and tear that over the long haul becomes a big issue.  One of the biggest things being talked about in the strength and conditioning world right now is RECOVERY.  Strength coaches feel like they can’t do their jobs because kids are coming to them already tired and over-worked.

And to be an elite hockey player, you more than likely need to be an elite ATHLETE.  That component can’t be overstated enough. 

More hockey isn’t always better.  Better is better.  And we have to do better for the kids for their physical health and performance. 

We also REALLY need to do better for the kids for their mental health and performance. 

I worked in college hockey a long time and if you talk to most coaches at that level now – or in junior or pro hockey – the level of anxiety so many of these kids have when they get there is scary.  The pressure to perform that they’ve felt for years holds many of them back as they continue to ascend to higher levels.

That’s why I’m so outspoken about us creating environments where kids will fall in love with the game.  If they love it, they’ll be much more willing to work through the tougher moments which all elite athletes go through as they get older and things get more serious. Unfortunately that when-things-get-more-serious part seems to get younger and younger all the time. At times when they should be having fun and learning to love the game, they’re being treated like little pros.

When I get to talk in front of groups of parents, there’s one question I ask relating to these environments which typically elicits some emotional tears.

I’ll ask the group to raise their hand if their kid is too hard on themselves.

Every time, like clockwork, around 75% of the parents raise their hands.  From mites all the way to midgets.  If that’s not a sobering statistic, I don’t know what is.  When the parents look around and see how many hands go up, a few get emotional and work hard to try and keep it together. 

The environments that we have created as adults pushing more professionalization at too young of ages has generated this mentality in our kids. 

We treat kids like professionals before they have the mental and emotional capacity to handle it.  With that, we’re failing our kids.  And we need to be better.

I have arguments with a lot of coaches who talk about the “kids of today” being soft or mentally weak.  It gets me heated.  Kids today aren’t any softer or mentally weak than the previous generation.  But they are a lot more afraid to fail and make mistakes. 

Slapping an “elite” tag on them at such a young age seems to give coaches and parents the permission to treat them like pros – hounding them for making mistakes, sitting the third line kids for entire periods to win games, and recruiting super teams at young ages while existing seasons are being played leaving a number of kids and families left out of what should a fun second half of the season.

Would you put everything you have into something if there was that much fear of comparison, failure, or judgment? If there was all that pressure to perform? No chance.

Kids aren’t going all in because they’re afraid to fail and make mistakes. Not because they’re lazy or soft.  That’s on us, that’s not on the kids. It’s hilarious when adults talk about kids being soft. Well, who raised them?

Now for everyone rallying that the above is leading to the wussification of sports, there’s a difference between holding kids accountable to high standards and creating environments where kids are scared to make mistakes.  BIG DIFFERENCE.  If you are a good coach, you know the difference.  Kids need to be held accountable and challenged to work hard, be a good teammate, and compete to the best of their ability.  Things in their control.

Absolutely coach them hard to these standards.  But make sure it’s in an environment where mistakes and failure of execution are openly talked about as a part of getting better.  Not a roadblock to your team’s success or their individual careers.

More hockey at more times of the year is not better physically. 

More pressure at younger of ages is not better mentally. 

As Vechs says, More is not Better…Better is Better.

Issue 2. The Infatuation with Results and Rankings

Hopefully everyone knows this by now, but MyHockeyRankings was created to provide teams a vehicle to find games at the right level of competition.  It wasn’t created as a measuring stick of how elite your program is.  We actually had the founder of the site on our podcast to talk about this. He gave his thoughts on how the perception of his site has changed over the years and how it’s being weaponized to further the fracturing of youth hockey.

Here’s a thing I hope more parents can understand – the ranking of a team is way more about the talent of the kids on the roster rather than the development that’s happening on the ice.  It’s the same for youth hockey as it is in college and pro hockey.  The strength of a college program is only as good as its recruiting.  The strength of a pro organization is only as good as its scouting staff.  Just because a team has a high ranking doesn’t mean the kids are being developed.

Now for all the coaches out there screaming that’s not fair, two things can be true at the same time.  A team with a high ranking absolutely can have great coaching and a lot do.  But give Jon Cooper teams with no talent and he’s not going to the Hall of Fame.

Great coaching and development will help your kid achieve their goals and dreams, not the ranking of their youth team.  I saw it all the time as a college coach.  There are certain coaches that do a phenomenal job developing their players.  You see it by how their players compete, see the ice, and play together as a team.  Some have good rankings, some don’t.

But what I will tell you is that players on a lower ranking team with a good coach will pass players of a higher-ranking team with a coach who doesn’t value development and is paid to win.  I spoke with a college coach about it a few weeks ago, and wrote a post on it that exemplified this mentality.

Here’s another personal story that has shaped my perspective on the above too. 

When I was 12, I got cut from a team I had played with for years and ended up joining another one late that had a crazy Russian coach who we’d never heard about. We attended the first practice and were blown away by how different it was.  So many small area games, so much competition, it was so much fun.  And this was 25 years ago.  We were hooked.

This team I was on was thrown together with a bunch of misfits and could be best characterized as the Bad News Bears of peewee hockey.  We were an average AA team at best playing AAA.  All the talent for the most part was on the other team in town (there were only 2 AAA organizations in Chicago at the time). We got smoked by the other team at the beginning of the year.

But as the year progressed, we got so much better and started to beat teams that were smoking us just months earlier.  And we eventually ended up beating the team across town.

So naturally as is youth hockey, that team recruited all of our best players over the next year.  They asked me to come too, but my parents said no.  The coach I played for and the culture we had was way stronger, even though we didn’t have the talent or the status they did.

So we started back on the bottom again as first year bantams.  Got beat handily at the beginning of the year and then progressed to beat the team across town at the end of the year.

Finally for the next year, the talented group was like what the hell is going on over there…there’s no way that group should be beating us and they joined our coach.  What happened next was a National Championship at bantam major and a ton of kids that developed into D1 hockey players.

My parents thankfully would not have been infatuated by a team’s ranking if we had that back in the day.  They knew that if they wanted me to develop the skills to eventually reach my dream that the coach mattered way more than the status of a team.  So many parents tell me they feel the pressure to join the super team at even the youngest of ages or their kid will be left behind. 

That’s irrelevant.  Who is the coach? That’s way more relevant. 

If you really want to know which team to pick for your kid, go on LiveBarn and watch that coach’s practices rather than look up the team on MHR.  Talk to parents who have played for them and ask if their kid enjoyed their experience. Those things will be more of the determining factors of your player’s development than a ranking on a website.

The infatuation with results and rankings only further exacerbates the problem that youth hockey has become about recruiting over development.  The fear of not being on a top team even at young ages creates unnecessary pressure for families to feel like they have to organization-hop rather than just stay the course with a good thing where they are at.  If a coach or organization treats your family like crap or your kid hates coming to the rink, by all means look over to see what’s on the other side of the fence.  If they’re having a good experience and you have a good coach, the grass is rarely greener on the other side.

And to be honest, I want my kid to go through a few losing seasons.  I want them to learn how to come together with a group during times of struggle.  I want them to learn the value of facing adversity and build leadership skills centered on leading people to be better.

Some of the losing years I’ve had were great for my development as I had to learn how to keep a good attitude and show up to compete even when the odds were stacked against us.  I had to learn as a top player on not-so-talented teams how to put the team on my back at times and empower my teammates in others.  Going back to my peewee story earlier, I wouldn’t trade the immense number of losses in the beginning of the year for anything as my teammates and I learned to come together, grow, and ultimately, we had a phenomenal experience.

Another ranking that seems to be getting more popularity is individual player rankings.  I don’t know any of the people running these sites, they might be great people and evaluators of talent.

But as a parent or a player if you’re getting hung up on how many stars you have next to your name or the number you are ranked on a list…fear not.  It doesn’t matter.

What matters is your growth and development.  Remember, the best 15-year-olds aren’t the best 18-year-olds and so on.  The bantam major team that I was on that won the National Championship – the last player picked for that team was the only one that made the NHL.

My crazy Russian coach would get sued for doing this today, but it’s a great story.

On Day 3 of tryouts that year, our entire team was picked except for one spot.  The coach told all of us who made it that we didn’t have to go out on the ice for that last day.  Instead, he brought only two players on the ice to do 1v1 competitive drills to determine who was going to earn the last spot on our team.

Yes, you heard that right. Two players on a full sheet of ice competing in drills against only each other for the last spot on the team.

Mikey Brown was one of those players on the ice that day.  He ended up winning most of those battles and earned that last spot on the team.  The last person picked was the only one to make the NHL. At 14 years old. Mikey was one of the hardest workers on and off the ice and because of that he passed so many kids.

So many people get hung up on where their kid is at, what team they made or didn’t make, or where their kid is ranked at such a young age.  I’ve had parents of ten-year-olds reach out stressing about not being on the right super team or the right super league and it equally makes me laugh and cringe.

Development is a marathon, not a sprint.  Surround your kid with the right coach that creates the right environment and they will develop a work ethic and love for the game that will help them get as close to their potential as they can.  Team and individual rankings…immaterial. Environment and the development of intrinsic motivation…everything.

My hope in writing this post is that people can take a deep breath and re-center themselves on what’s important for our kids. What’s your why? There are so many great people involved in this game, and it’s so tough to see that fear so many of you have to be your best self at the rink and follow your gut instincts in helping kids fall in love with the sport and supporting them in their goals and dreams.

For all the coaches and parents out there, hockey is a game. The kids play hockey, they don’t work hockey. They’re not pros. They’re kids. And the irony in that is the more we treat kids at younger ages like pros, the less likely I think they are to become one.

That doesn’t mean we don’t challenge them and push them outside their comfort zone. That doesn’t mean we take their development any less seriously. But we have to do better to create more enticing environments conducive to developing great athletes and people. The kids are counting on us to be better. And it’s time to step up to the plate.