Minor hockey tryouts (was: How to motivate a novice (or any) player for tryouts?)

[Yukon Joe]

If this is the process in your area, would think that AA coach would have the sense to leave a few spots open for the AAA cuts. I get it, they may not get any to come down, but then you can try to bring someone back.

All I can say is they don't do this. Now part of it is because once you cut a kid they can go try out for another club, so the kids you want may not want to come back. But my kid lived through it last year - he was never in the running for AAA, was quickly assigned to the AA team, but there was a steady drip of players who having been cut from AAA would show up at AA, so then AA had to keep making cuts as their roster would fluctuate up and down.

But It's impossible to design a perfect system - everything is going to have trade-offs. You can do tryouts in the spring - but then you're missing out on any improvement kids can make over spring/summer, plus you're forcing kids to commit extra early. You can separate out AAA, then AA, then other tryouts - but that just extends the process when everyone just wants to start playing hockey.

 

[patnyrnyg]

All I can say is they don't do this. Now part of it is because once you cut a kid they can go try out for another club, so the kids you want may not want to come back. But my kid lived through it last year - he was never in the running for AAA, was quickly assigned to the AA team, but there was a steady drip of players who having been cut from AAA would show up at AA, so then AA had to keep making cuts as their roster would fluctuate up and down.

But It's impossible to design a perfect system - everything is going to have trade-offs. You can do tryouts in the spring - but then you're missing out on any improvement kids can make over spring/summer, plus you're forcing kids to commit extra early. You can separate out AAA, then AA, then other tryouts - but that just extends the process when everyone just wants to start playing hockey.

If they are going to wait until the fall, shorten the process. AAA in first 2 weeks of sept, AA in 2nd two weeks,

 

[Yukon Joe]

If they are going to wait until the fall, shorten the process. AAA in first 2 weeks of sept, AA in 2nd two weeks,

I guess the knock there is that you're now trying to evaluate kids based on just a handful of appearances. I mean this is still just minor hockey - nobody is going to be at the ice 7 days per week, any kid can have an off day or two.

 

[patnyrnyg]

I guess the knock there is that you're now trying to evaluate kids based on just a handful of appearances. I mean this is still just minor hockey - nobody is going to be at the ice 7 days per week, any kid can have an off day or two.

Just seems a bit excessive. Here tier 1 is 3 days and tier 2 is 2 weeks later for 3 days. Plus, can make changes to your roster until 12/31 each year, at least tier 2 you can. In most cases, the coaches already know many of the players trying out. They are really there to look at any new kids.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Just seems a bit excessive. Here tier 1 is 3 days and tier 2 is 2 weeks later for 3 days. Plus, can make changes to your roster until 12/31 each year, at least tier 2 you can. In most cases, the coaches already know many of the players trying out. They are really there to look at any new kids.

But see that kind of attitude (which certainly exists here too) kind of bugs me. You can get kids slotted into certain expectations early on and then they can kind of coast for years - it can be hard to see the kid who might be a late bloomer. It also means you can be judging kids based on what parents or siblings have done, not on the kid's own merit.

But I hear ya - I don't know that the AAA evaluations needed to necessarily go on for an entire month from first skate to last cut.

 

[oldunclehue]

But see that kind of attitude (which certainly exists here too) kind of bugs me. You can get kids slotted into certain expectations early on and then they can kind of coast for years - it can be hard to see the kid who might be a late bloomer. It also means you can be judging kids based on what parents or siblings have done, not on the kid's own merit.

But I hear ya - I don't know that the AAA evaluations needed to necessarily go on for an entire month from first skate to last cut.

Ya that seems really ridiculous, things are getting that way in my Province, a friend of mine has a kid in u13AA tryouts, which are going on to week 3....three weeks to pick a U13AA team...like what are we doing?

Our AAA tryouts usually start early September and then the next level (which is A hockey as no AA program) starts first week in October. So if the AAA team has a month to figure it out but usually takes 2 weeks.

I can't imagine why a program would need 3 weeks at u13AA to pick a team, but thats a lot of pressure to put on kids like your kid had to go through. Weeks on end of being a potential cut keeps everyone on edge.

Update: Our u15AAA team which my son was cut from and has tonnes of politics around played two exhibition games over the weekend against a double A (AA) team. And got throttled each game 12-2 and 10-3. Going to be a long year if an AA team beat them. Wish the kids the best but also I'm happy where my kid has ended up as I think an entire year of struggles will be tough on the kids mentally. Just hope they can find some positives.

 

[patnyrnyg]

But see that kind of attitude (which certainly exists here too) kind of bugs me. You can get kids slotted into certain expectations early on and then they can kind of coast for years - it can be hard to see the kid who might be a late bloomer. It also means you can be judging kids based on what parents or siblings have done, not on the kid's own merit.

But I hear ya - I don't know that the AAA evaluations needed to necessarily go on for an entire month from first skate to last cut.

Not necessarily. As I said, it is completely different here in that in tier 2, the organizations often have multiple teams at 12U and below. So, if you tryout, you are most likely making a team unless you just can't skate. For some, it becomes a matter of WHICH team. One org in our league has SIX 12U teams, and we only have 5 divisions. I know of another that has 5 and at least 1 more with 4.

Secondly, no kid is making a higher team because their older brother is a stud at a higher age level. On my team, we have 3 2nd year PW's. One is in travel for the first time. The other 2 were both on the A team as 2nd year squirts, and are now on the B team. Last year, my team was 10U, one of ours on the squirt B team is now on PW A as a first year PW.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Not necessarily. As I said, it is completely different here in that in tier 2, the organizations often have multiple teams at 12U and below. So, if you tryout, you are most likely making a team unless you just can't skate. For some, it becomes a matter of WHICH team. One org in our league has SIX 12U teams, and we only have 5 divisions. I know of another that has 5 and at least 1 more with 4.

Secondly, no kid is making a higher team because their older brother is a stud at a higher age level. On my team, we have 3 2nd year PW's. One is in travel for the first time. The other 2 were both on the A team as 2nd year squirts, and are now on the B team. Last year, my team was 10U, one of ours on the squirt B team is now on PW A as a first year PW.

So... at least at the ages of my kids, everyone is making a team. Nobody is going home unable to play hockey. My concern though was in making a team of the right level for their development - it's a huge difference between playing on U15AAA with paid coaches and 5-6 ice times per week, and playing community Tier 3 with a dad coach and 1-2 ice times per week.

And as for older brothers / dads - I feel like it's a "tie goes to the runner" kind of situation. I've seen younger brothers, or kids with "famous" last names, go further then I think they should have, or be bubble players that make it in the end. There's nothing outrageous - I don't care if a kid's last name is Gretzky if they can barely skate they're not making a AAA team, but if two kids are otherwise pretty close sometimes a family connection can be the difference.

 

[MarotteMarauder]

For those asking about conditioning, this book is excellent IMO

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