Earlier this week I received a message thru our Facebook page then exchanged a few emails with a parent who reached out as they were concerned that his sons U13 competitive stream (rep) coaches were running short bench game after game including having specialty teams like a power play, penalty kill.

It was not the first reach out I have received nor do I suspect it would be the last but the parent shared with me that he came across the blog that I had written about my son whose coach used the very same short bench tactic time after time, but for me really became personal when he did so a month after my mother passed away and he shared my son had dedicated the game in her memory

The wave of emotions that I experienced then is not as high now as I have really tried to focus on the half-full approach working with coaches and parents in recent years to highlight the good work that is being done by many youth sports organizations to bring the game back to the kids.

I have always been a believer in all the sports I coached to give every player an opportunity to contribute to the outcome, and even went to the extent to ensure that every player had opportunities to play positions that everyone wanted to, in baseball to play pitcher, shortstop or catcher, in hockey all positions including goalie until U13 (even then had to have players suit up when both our goalies got injured).

The reason?

 

 

In this day and age where more and more kids are pulling out of youth sports as Project Play highlighted last year where 62% “retire” by the age of 11 after an average 3 year “career,” one would think that youth sports organizations would be doing EVERYTHING possible to reverse these trends and not turning a blind eye to coaches that are missing what youth sports should be, a safe environment to develop not only the skills of the game but skills of life.

What life lesson does a 11-year-old kid learn when he does not get the opportunity to play when it is their time to go out?

Having talked to many kids that were victims of short benches going back to 7-8 years of age, all told me the reason they quit is the coach only played their favorites.

Here’s my take on the coaches that do so.

If you pick them, PLAY them.

The worst culprits in the youth sports space that run short benches to win games at all costs are the ones in the competitive stream or rep level, but even when I have had recreation stream coaches in clinics or workshops they have shared with me they have seen more than their fair share of coaches that run short benches to win games, some as early as the beginning of the game, many in the latter stages of a game when it is close.

In many sports, particularly the recreation level, youth sports organizations do have what is called fair play, equal play policies where coaches must play all players as equally as possible.

But entice those coaches with a tournament trophy, banner for league or playoffs, or just a feather in the cap as their team won against a rival association then it is like offering a bonus to a car sales rep for selling 20 cars in a month … it becomes the end all and be all, do whatever it takes even if you have to take shortcuts to do so.

The big issue I have when coaches do so is they picked the players for their teams either thru the tryout process (which painfully starts earlier and earlier every year) or a draft (usually started U9 age groups in many sports).

This means that they chose the players for their teams yet they think nothing of sitting a player and playing their favorites game after game in lieu of focusing on developing every player on their team so the team as a whole collectively gets better?

They also will have those very same favorite players on specialty teams which further deprives players of playing time and the opportunity to contribute to game outcomes.

Over the last few years, I have highlighted some examples of nations or sports organizations whose participation rates are not declining like many of those are in USA and Canada but are GROWING.

Perhaps youth sports orgs and their coaches (which I recognize many are volunteers) could learn something from those as they also have had many players reach high levels as a result of their development models.

 

SWEDEN

 

Hmmm .. maybe Sweden is on to something in terms of the player development model?

What makes the Swedish hockey model different?

#1 – All of their ice rinks are community-owned, unlike Canada and the USA where private multi-sheet facilities are almost on every street corner like a Tim Hortons is in Canada or Dunkin Donuts in the USA. Because they are community rinks and Sweden recognizing the importance of multi-sport participation they melt their ice on April 1^st every year.

This means NO SPRING HOCKEY.

A phenomenon that has exploded in Canada in the USA that both Hockey Canada and USA Hockey are not sanctioning as they don’t want kids to play hockey year-round.

#2 – Because of the Spring Hockey model, the youth sports coaches that coach in winter as volunteers may aspire to get a paid position coaching in the spring which means they have to win as many games as possible to apply for those spring hockey coaching gigs.

#3 – Unlike Canada and the USA, Sweden does not COMPETE until the kids are U15 age (13-14), there are no scoresheets, scorekeepers, standings or individual stats being kept

Why?

Because Sweden’s model emphasizes the importance of focusing on the core skills of hockey during the key motor skill acquisition years.

#4 – Practice to Game ratio is minimum 3:1 also, as Sweden recognizes that players develop in practices, not games and in some instances with the explosion of spring and travel teams, kids as young as 6 years old may play over 80 games in one year, equivalent to the NHL?

In terms of the practice to game ratio in Canada, this could be fixed very easily as most rep teams get 2 practices, 2 games a week, convert one of the game slots to a practice slot and alternate home and away weeks with other teams in your tier.

Voila – 3:1 Practice to game ratio.

Based on the fact that parents pushed back because their 6 year old super elite prospects would not be able to play full ice hockey when Hockey Canada rolled out cross-ice hockey a few years back (proven to optimal development) I suspect although a simple fix, the push back will be even worse.

The fixation with playing competitive games in Canada is too much, too early and we could learn from Sweden as well as another country that is setting the bar, Norway

 

 

NORWAY

Another country who has set the bar for reaching the highest level of competition is Norway, who won 39 Medals in the 2018 Winter Olympics made them the all-time winningest country since the inception of the Winter Games.

Like Sweden, they don’t promote competition in youth sports until the kids become teenagers (13) and focus on multi-sport athleticism so kids become the best athletes they can become.

They both focus on the importance of playing with their friends, playing for their communities (vs. travel teams) and having FUN.

As a result, both nation’s youth sports participation rates are over 90% vs. those in Canada and the USA seeing the attrition rates we are seeing.

They also DON’T have the issues attracting and retaining officials like we do where our rates are as high as 50% of young officials quit in their first year, 30% every year thereafter due to the abuse they are taking from those winning at all coaches and over the top parents.

Coaches, if you pick them, play them.  Focus on developing all players and winning will be the byproduct in lieu of the focus.

AND

If you do so, they will love the game more at the end of the season than the beginning and come back with big smiles on their faces next season in lieu of many of the players quitting a game they once loved.

Don’t be one of “those” coaches that thinks nothing of sitting a 10 year old kid to win a game when every player on your team should be given the opportunity to contribute to the outcome, win or loss.

In doing so, their confidence will remain intact and like all the players I coached their only questions after the game will be ….

1. What’s the Snack Coach?
2. When do we Play again?

If you are still playing a sport in your adulthood as still love the game as you did as a youth player ….

The first question you ask when you get in the dressing room?

Who has, how much is the beer?  THE SNACK

When do we play again?

Take the high road and if you pick them, PLAY them so they keep playing well into their adulthood.