I just found an excellent story on the development of the Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Mathews. I'd always wondered how a kid growing up in Arizona not only made it to the NHL, but is thriving in it. Why everyone in hockey is talking about Auston Matthews . The article is a bit dated and every once in a while I regret cancelling my daily subscription to the Globe and Mail. however, not usually on recycling day.
With the New Brunswick Hockey Association endorsing cross-ice hockey there are those for it and those who think it's just not real hockey. As well, there is so much focus on playing games and going to tournaments that I sometimes wonder if the sport is for the kids or the parents. While this relates to hockey, you could insert many of our major team sports in here.
The Auston Mathews story describes how nearly all of his early hockey experience was gained playing 3 on 3 on a small ice surface. This is said to be largely responsible for his incredible puck handling ability. Working in tight quarters he had to think quick and keep the puck close.
Auston also spent an inordinate amount of time with a skating coach, but it seems very little time in the early years with a hockey coach. In fact, for two years, Auston didn't play competitive hockey, he just played locally and practiced. How does this match up with the predominant thinking of Canada's typical hockey parent? Travel and play, travel and pay, spring hockey, summer hockey, hockey camps......
So I ask, does a player need this level of organization to be the next 'Great One?' Given the Mathews story, the answer would seem to be a resounding NO, at least at the younger ages. Would parents and kids be better off if we returned the days of the past where kids spent hours and hours just playing small sided games and playing around on the ice? Unfortunately, many kids these days don't take the opportunity to get out and experience free play so maybe this will not work. However, at the very least, I would suggest that parents would be much better off spending a fraction of the money they do on travelling to tournaments and channeling some of it into ice time and encouraging free play.
It's so easy to get caught up in playing games or going to competitions. I recall travelling to 9 speed skating competitions in one season, 6 of them weekend affairs outside of Fredericton. It likely cost around $3,000 just for travel. Those competitive experiences were valuable, but how much competition is enough competition. Competition is a test and following the test you need time to improve before being tested again. You can't do that if you are going from game to game or meet to meet. It is so easy to fall into line with the norm.
The Sport for Life model www.canadiansportforlife.ca promotes competition for development and asks sports to take a serious look at their competition schedules. We need to ask questions about what level of competition is appropriate and when. How can we limit travel and costs? At what age should sports have provincial championships and when should it be a jamboree? What are the implications for having provincials for very young athletes?
If we could reduce the cost and commitment for parents, more kids could afford to play and there would be more local competition and fewer travel demands at the younger ages. The more kids playing, the more kids there are bin the competitive stream later. As Kiwi rugby coach says in the video featured on the Sport for Life page"it takes a lot of milk to make cream".
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