We Are Devloping Playmakers
The one question we frequently get asked is “Can my child play in a higher division?” We flip everything around when thinking at Hybrid Hockey, so we would like to ask you, “Should we place your child in a division lower?” Which approach would yield a better outcome? We believe that depends upon what your child is trying to achieve. Well at Hybrid Hockey we are in the “business” (we had to put that in quotes because we don’t make any money!) of developing skilled hockey players. If skill is what we want your child to achieve, then skill is what we want your child to practice. So is your child going to be able to practice his skills better while trying to keep up with the older kids or is he going to be able to practice his skills better while skating around the younger kids? There is a very simple and objective way to settle all of our thoughts. At Hybrid Hockey, we believe the number of GOALS SCORED is the ultimate guide to whether a child is learning. It is that simple! The more goals your child is involved with scoring (whether he took the shot or made the pass), the more he is learning. Viewed in this simple and objective manner, we hope you understand that we always want children playing with their own age groups. They will score more goals in their own age group than in a higher division and that is what is best for their skill development! (And, Yes, moving down an age group would often help as well!)
Oh...and most importantly...all of this discussion ignores the main goal of Hybrid Hockey...to develop a love of hockey! We all know that your child is going to love scoring goals with his friends better than backchecking to try and catch his older brother. Isn’t that why we should all be coming to the rink? To create those ear-to-ear grins that only appear when your child says in the car on the way home, “Mommy, I almost got a hat trick”!
THE ONLY EXCEPTIONS WE MAKE ARE SECOND YEAR DIVISION 1 PLAYERS...THESE CHILDREN SHOULD SIGN UP FOR OUR SPRING AND SUMMER CAMPS BASED UPON THE HIGHER DIVISION WHICH THEY WILL BE PLAYING IN UPCOMING FALL HOCKEY.
NOTE THAT WE AUTOMATICALLY MOVE ANY CHILD WHO IS SIGNED UP FOR A HIGHER DIVISION BACK INTO HIS PROPER AGE GROUP AND YOU WILL NOT BE NOTIFIED OF THIS MOVE. WE DO NOT HAVE THE ADMINISTRATIVE CAPABILITY TO CONTINUOUSLY MONITOR SIGN-UPS FOR THE 500 CHILDREN WE COACH EACH YEAR, SO PLEASE HELP US BY ENSURING YOUR CHILD IS IN HIS OR HER PROPER DIVISION.