Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1086392
By Pat Evans T he ne w y e a r i s a t i me for f r e s h starts. It's also a time for breaking old habits. At an early January youth hock- ey jamboree in Las Vegas, coach- e s a nd p a r ent s t o ok p a r t i n a n ex per i ment t h at broug ht a bout eye-opening results. It involved the Vegas Jr. Golden Knights and A rizona Titans 10 & Under teams alternating between f u l l - i c e a n d h a l f- i c e g a m e s t o showcase the benefits of playing on smaller ice surfaces at a pivotal time in a young play- er's formative years. "It's a lot better for development," said Dell Traux, director of coaching with the Jr. Golden Knights. "[In 4-on-4 games] every kid gets to be part of the game. When you play 5-on-5 on 200-foot ice, sometimes kids get lost." To drive home the point, Traux had par- ents track their son's and daughter's activity with the USA Hockey Mobile Coaching App to compare and contrast the differences in puck touches for players in both full-ice and half-ice. USA Hockey uses the activity tracker on its mobile coaching app to evaluate the devel- opmental opportunities for players. W hen a na ly zing the dif ference in act ua l player activity such as passes, shots on goal and puck touches, it's been proven that station-based practices / small-area games create far more developmental opportunities compared to full-ice games and practices. A quick tabulation showed that some play- ers in the 42-minute f u ll-ice ga me ra rely touched the puck, while half-ice games gave all players more opportunity to be involved in the action. Ha l f-ice ga mes at t he 10 & Under level are a grow ing trend in youth hockey orga- nizations in Washing ton State a long w ith Portland, Ore., and Alaska. Likewise, inter- national organizations in Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany have long embraced the practice. T hose who h ave seen a nd ex per ienced the half-ice game at the 10 & Under level say there's much to be said for its benefits. " Ba sed on huma n g row th a nd develop- ment, other sports such as baseball, soccer, tennis a nd golf have shr unk their play ing surfaces to accommodate young athletes," said Joe Bonnett, an American Development Model regional manager. "If you close your eyes a nd listen, it sounds like a f ull-sheet Seeing Believing Las Vegas Parents Learn That Less Is More During Half-Ice Games PHOTOS BY Issac Brekken is Players play more, goalies play more, and this enables more development. 26 // MARCH 2019 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM