1. Time to reform minor hockey!

Both Russia and the West Internet “hammered” the criticism of children’s hockey. The press goes a long controversy about its goals and objectives. For example, the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), its purpose is to “support the popular game for half a million children each year to play hockey every year to save the future of their enthusiasm for an adult recreational hockey”. “The goal of Hockey Canada is not preparing the players in the NHL, and providing constructive development of the popularity of this game.” (from www.hockeycanada.ca)

Mr. Murray Costello, former president of the CHA, says: “If you manage to become a professional player, it’s your bonus, it’s not our goal. We must not break with mainstream children’s participation”. These official statements I give to parents so that they understand that “the rescue of drowning, the handiwork of drowning!”

Let us give the word to “objective reality”. For over 100 years, the hockey game is not having universal rules for the development and evaluation of individual athletic, technical and cognitive skills for players. Selection of young talents by scouts and agents in elite junior and professional hockey are “subjective and private”.

Many trainers use young players for their own purposes. The players are being sacrificed for the sake of team’s winning results. At the same time, many young hockey players and their parents still dream to be seen by scouts from universities or agents of the professional leagues. Before this, they must overcome adolescence.

“Hockey Tree” consists of two age periods: the “hidden and open”. Hidden, it is kid’s game and the open – junior and adult hockey. For children’s hockey, I propose my Hockey Agility Development Pyramid System of many working years with an emphasis on athleticism, high-speed agility, precision, creativity and thinking speed of the game.

Children are not young men and the emphasis on physical strength and victory in competition, from my point of view is, “nonsense” against children’s physical and psychological development.