Hockey, like any other sport, is constantly evolving and
changing. One of the major changes that has been rocking the hockey world in
recent years is the increased focus on development of hockey related programs
and improving the game itself, both in terms of the way it is played and in
terms of its safety. For example, in 2009, the National Hockey League allotted
funds to new USA hockey programs for these very purposes.
The people who benefited the most from these funds- and who
still continue to benefit- were youth players. After all, these are the players
of tomorrow, the players of the future, so it makes sense that the NHL would
want to invest in its future players.
It was in this same year- 2009- that the
American Development Model was created. The model is essentially a
comprehensive plan for ways in which the sport can be improved. It focuses on
developing athletes over a long period of time, from youth into early
adulthood. It is also geared more toward learning new skills than it is toward
competition, a fact that will likely mean that youth hockey will get to be less
and less about competition as time goes on.
In fact, that change is already becoming more
and more evident in leagues around the globe. Today’s young players are being
honed to be more technically developed and skilled than the players of the
past, who were mostly just preened to be “winners.”
That’s not to say that there hasn’t been some
opposition to these changes. Many are sticklers for the old way of doing things
and are holding out, refusing to move to the new methods. Eventually, though,
as affiliated programs are required to follow more and more stringent rules,
modern hockey players (and coaches!) will have no choice but to get with the
program.
Regardless of how one feels about the playing
regulations and new training focuses, there are some definite positives to
these new methods. For example, hockey, thanks to its new, softer focus, which
prohibits body checking until a mature age, is becoming more parent-friendly
and player-friendly. Young players and their parents will be less worried about
injury or other problems, prompting more players to sign up. In fact, these
projected results are already occurring. From 2008 to 2009, for example, the
number of children age 8 and under enrolling in hockey jumped from 90,000 to
107,387.
Experts are also predicting an increased focus
on recruiting new players under the age of 8. These players will not be privy
to the “old way” of doing things, and, in most cases, neither will their
parents. That should mean less objection to the new rules and an easier time
creating the players of tomorrow that hockey wants.
As enrollment in youth hockey increases and as
more focus is put on retaining players, more rinks will likely crop up as well.
So, as you can see, the future of hockey looks different but bright.
