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I think 4-on-4 half-ice hockey at 10U is a brilliant opportunity. It’s something I’ve been waiting for because it gives us a chance to put the focus where I believe it belongs: helping kids understand how to play the game. As Hockey Director at Stowe Youth Hockey, I see this as much more than a change in rink size or the number of players. It’s an opportunity to be intentional about what we teach, how we teach it, and how those lessons follow a player through our program. The

We use the term "hockey IQ" constantly. But what are we actually talking about? Hockey IQ is a player's ability to recognize a situation early enough to make a good decision before the opportunity disappears. And I don't believe that's simply something a player either has or doesn't have. We can develop it. HOW? STRUCTURE → REPETITION → RECOGNITION → ANTICIPATION → DECISION STRUCTURE First, give players a framework for understanding the situation. If we recover the puck in o

More teams and more games are not always the answer. In today’s youth hockey world, it’s easy to feel pressure to constantly do more. More teams.More tournaments.More travel.More ice time.More exposure. Parents naturally want to help their child succeed, and hockey culture often sends the message that if you are not constantly adding games and opportunities, you are falling behind. But after years of coaching and studying player development closely, one thing becomes very cle