Multiplying by division
Making half-ice games mandatory for tyke players will increase hockey development
In Timbits tykes hockey, the ice surface isn’t exactly what you would call bite-sized.
That will all change following Hockey Canada’s decision to make cross-ice games — essentially, using just half the rink — mandatory for players six and younger.
As a result, players won’t be biting off more than they can chew.
Corey McNabb, director of hockey development programs at Hockey Canada, said while the half rink is mandatory, all the technical changes will be based on the discretion of league executives. One of the goals of the transition is to increase the speed of the game, so there will be no faceoffs after goals are scored, which is just the icing on the cake.
“We’re recommending that leagues don’t use the offside,” McNabb said. “We’d prefer to see them spend less time on faceoffs altogether.”
He said the change will bring about a quicker development process for players. Splitting the ice in half makes it possible for two games to be played at the same time. That means more ice time for players at an age when developing fundamentals needs to be the focus.
“We really just want the kids to have fun,” McNabb said. “That’s what is most important.”
The Niagara Falls Minor Hockey Association implemented crossice games in 2013, and the program has been a success. Tykes coach Brandon Boone said he has seen players progress from playing at the single A level to triple A in just four years.
“The first graduating class from the new program started in the tyke three loop (single A) and crushed everybody,” he said. “Then they moved up to the tyke one loop (triple A).”
With cross ice, you reduce the playing surface and generate more touches and make sure everybody stays in the game.” Niagara Falls Minor Hockey Association tykes coach Brandon Boone
A smaller ice surface, among other things, increases body contact, puck touches, shots on goal and passes. The speed of game increases and more players become engaged as a result.
“They put a bunch of hockey dads on a rink the size of a football field and they ask them to play a fullice game,” Boone said. “That’s the equivalent of asking a four-, five- or six-year-old to play a full-ice game on a standard sized rink.
“If you’ve ever watched a tyke’s full-ice game, each shift is dominated by two or three players. The other seven or eight are just skating around. With cross ice, you reduce the playing surface and generate more touches and make sure everybody stays in the game.”
Across the region, other minor hockey associations will be forced to follow suit.
Welland Minor Hockey Association president Hank Borgatti thinks the program should increase development and give players more of a competitive edge.
“We usually try not to play games until mid-December,” he said. “You get them on a big ice surface and they all crowd to the same area.
“The cross-ice games will give them more opportunities because you have a smaller ice area.”
Borgatti believes in a system that lets the tykes ease into the game. Practices are held twice a week in Welland until players feel comfortable on the ice. They are taught the basics of the game and then they begin implementation in the form of full-rink games.
The transition to cross-ice should be a crowd-pleaser all around.
“For most people, it’s going to be a new venture,” Borgatti said. “We’re still rolling this around, but we’ve got the summer to work on it.
“Last year we had four teams in tykes, with this here you could put all four teams on the ice at the same time.”
Another benefit of cross-ice play is the potential for more ice time. Borgatti said the ice could be split into two, maybe even three tiers and players could see their ice time increase to three hours a week.
That’s a huge step up from the single-hour practices conducted in years past. Combine that with more touches and better development and you’ve got a hat trick of reasons to get on board with crossice hockey.