Making Plays vs. Playing It Safe

Safe hockey—a method of playing the game focused on giving youth teams better chances at winning—sounds like a good thing, right? Unfortunately, what safe hockey amounts to is simply playing it safe. In this “game of territory,” coaches discourage players from making hockey plays for fear of losing the puck and potentially getting scored against. Instead, players are encouraged to dump the puck in the offensive zone as opposed to trying to make a play on the initial rush. As a professional coach and player, I believe it is the biggest inhibitor of development that exists in youth hockey.

“Get It Out!” and “Go Deep!” are phrases that indicate safe hockey is in play. Again, these seem like good things, but in fact can stifle players:

• We have to allow kids the opportunity to try to make plays rather than always taking the safest route.


• We have to allow the game to become the teacher.


• Kids will learn through the playing experience how to make proper decisions with and without the puck.

I ask myself the question, “What would the player do if he or she were playing on the pond away from the watchful eye of coaches and parents?” I know that coaches are well intentioned when trying to teach the game of hockey to kids. I believe, however, that we have to be conscious of the safe hockey phenomenon and try to allow the kids every opportunity to develop the necessary puck skills that will give them a chance to succeed at the higher levels.

Make plays, don’t play it safe—but do keep your head up and keep your body safe. It’s a great day for hockey!

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Mike Sullivan for this story. Sullivan is a professional hockey player and coach who co-founded flexxCOACH, which provides coaching education programs.

How to Prevent Tetanus & Bacterial Meningitis

Get cut by an ice skate blade and the first thing you'll hear is "When was your last tetanus shot?" No matter how careful you are, players, coaches, parents and siblings can be vulnerable to skate cuts -- particularly when you spend a lot of time in crowded locker rooms. While scheduling physicals for back-to-school and/or back-to-hockey, find out if you and your kids need tetanus shot boosters. Kids generally receive tetanus immunization with the DTaP vaccine at 4 to 6 years and 11 to 12 years. Tetanus shots require a booster every 10 years. For more information, visit the Children's Medical Center.

Hockey players 11 and older -- particularly adults -- should consider the MCV4 vaccination to prevent bacterial meningitis. This deadly disease affected adult players in Fort Collins, Colorado, this year, possibly from sharing water bottles or shaking hands after removing their mouthguards. According to KidsHealth.org "Children who have not had the vaccine and are over 11 years old should also be immunized, particularly if they're going to college, boarding school, camp, or other settings where they are going to be living in close quarters with others."

Editor's Note: Thank you to Kelly Anton for this story.

Glossary: The Plus/Minus

In school, did you want to see a B+ or B– on your report card? You probably wanted a B+ and so did your parents—because everyone knows getting a “plus” is better than getting a “minus.” The same goes for hockey. Much like academic grades, the plus/minus system in hockey is a basic way to rate each individual player’s performance. When an even-strength or shorthanded goal is scored, every player on the ice for the scoring team is rewarded a “plus.” Every player on the ice for the team scored against is given a “minus.” A player’s overall total is calculated by subtracting the minuses from the pluses. (Note that power play goals -- during which one team is shorthanded -- do not count toward either team's plus/minus.)

Example: In Michael’s first game of the season, he was on the ice for 3 of his teams goals. He was also on the ice when 2 goals were scored by the other team. He received +3 points and –2 points, so for the game’s total he was +1.

This system is mainly used to measure defenders and forwards who play a defensive role on the ice. Offensive forwards are better measured by their scoring statistics. In theory, the higher the plus/minus score, the better the player. However, it is not the most accurate of systems with players getting off and on the ice constantly. With this being the case, some coaches and players have adapted their own plus/minus system to more accurately portray what every player does on the ice and to measure their progress. Following are some examples of what teams may want to track:

Plus (+)

• Player scores


• Player gets an assist


• Player makes a great shot


• Player makes a great pass for a scoring opportunity


• Player makes a big legal hit that helps their team

Minus (–)

• Player makes a bad change


• Player doesn’t tie up his or her mark and the opposing player gets a good shot off


• Player doesn’t backcheck


• Player takes a bad penalty

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Kristin Carlson, member of Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota, for this article.

Breaking (Up) the Ice

Playing hockey on a cross-ice or half-size “rink” seems to make sense for the 8 and under crowd. All other youth sports—football, basketball, baseball, soccer—reduce the size of the playing area. But since this spring, when USA Hockey announced it as the official new norm for all 8 and under players, you can't go to a rink without overhearing plenty of chatter, questions and complaints on this topic. We asked a USA Hockey representative for help with parents’ biggest concerns.

Benefits: Get in the Game
First, let’s take a quick look at the potential benefits of playing cross-ice of half-ice hockey as proscribed in USA Hockey’s American Development Model (ADM).

• Every player should get to touch the puck more.
• Every player should have the chance to score.
• Goalies should face more shots.
• Average players get in the game.
• Higher-level players face more of a challenge than just taking advantage of breakaways.

I’ve actually seen the benefits of playing cross-ice in action as I have one son who learned before the ADM was in place (and played on full ice from age 5), and one who is learning now. But I overhear tons of talk about the smaller playing area and realize that it’s a concern for other parents. So I jotted down some of the most common questions and brought them to Joe Doyle, a USA Hockey Manager for the American Development Model.

Q: What if my kid—who is extra special—is ready for full ice?
A: USA Hockey’s position is that no 8 and Under players are “ready” to play full ice games. “Ready” is in no way a knock on the players’ skill level or skating ability. It is merely the fact that the smaller surface is age appropriate, and it is in the best interest of any 7- or 8-year-old—developmentally and fun wise.

Think of it this way: Could an 8-year-old run 90 feet down the first base path? Yes, but what would his stride look like the last 30 feet? That is why Little League baseball diamonds have 60 foot base paths—not to mention a shorter distance from the mound to home plate, 210 foot fences instead of 400 feet fences, etc. Soccer, basketball and football all shrink their playing surface and ball because it’s in the KIDS best interest in learning that particular sport’s fundamental skills.

Q: Is my super star being held back to benefit the average kids?
A: The “super star” is, in fact, put in a more challenging environment due to having less time and space with the puck—an environment that will more readily put her on the path to super stardom! At cross-ice and half-ice, he is required to play around and through players, learning real puck protection skills.

For Mites, full-ice hockey is commonly called “breakaway hockey” for good reason. The better player picks up the puck in his end, makes maybe one move, and then skates three-quarters of the length of the ice on a breakaway. That is not real hockey. The number of pivots, shots on goal, saves and true hockey plays that occur increase exponentially in cross-ice and half-ice games.

Q: How will my player get fit enough to skate full ice when the time comes?
A: This is exactly why they NEED to play cross-ice/half-ice at ages 8 and under—their bodies aren’t ready muscularly, physically, etc., to skate 200 feet and then have the energy to make a play once they get there. As their bodies grow and develop, they will become more physically able to play on the same surface that 6’4” men play on.

Q: How will they learn off-sides for when they become Squirts?
A: They’ll learn off-sides at the time they need to learn off sides—when they are Squirts. And it will likely take less than one practice or game for most of them to learn, especially for the kids who watch hockey on TV or who have older siblings who play.

For more explanation of the philosophy behind and benefits of playing cross-ice/half-ice at ages 8 and under, watch this video:



Also, check out the 10 Myths About the American Development Model here.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Kelly Kordes Anton with help from Joe Doyle for this story.