The American Development Model, developed by USA Hockey in conjunction with the NHL, isn’t going away. It will continue to evolve into exactly what the letters stand for, the development model for producing hockey players in the United States.
MARKINGS ON THE STUDIO RINK - USED FOR GOALIES - ANGLES - SMALL GAMES AND ROYAL ROAD CONCEPTS | GO TO THIS SWAY
MAY TOPICS: ADM SUGGESTED PHYSICAL DISTANCING PRACTICE – COVID-19 RETURN TO THE ICE • NCYS RETURN TO SPORT RECOMMENDATIONS • SHAUN HATHAWAY NAMED CAHA-ADM COORDINATOR • COLORADO AND FIHA PARTNER UP • HOCKEY DIRECTOR JOB OPENING – ARIZONA MADE • HOCKEY CANADA RETURN TO PLAY FRAMEWORK • WORLD HOCKEY LAB PRESENTS: 2017-18 NHL INTERACTIVE SCORING HOLES STUDY • SHORT ADM INTERVIEW ON ALTITUDE SPORTS • RETURN TO PLAY. DOCUMENTS FROM US RINK ASSOCIATION, USAH, ASPEN SPORTS INSTITUTE, SWEDISH ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION, LA JR. KINGS & MINNESOTA.
PHYSICAL LITERACY BABY !!
WHAT IS PHYSICAL LITERACY? WHY DO WE WANT OUR HOCKEY PLAYERS TO BE PHYSICALLY LITERATE?
FROM THE ACTIVE FOR LIFE WEBSITE:
1. PHYSICAL LITERACY IS SIMPLE
The term “physical literacy” may sound intimidating, but it is actually a simple concept.
Physical literacy is merely about developing the fundamental movement skills that all children need, such as running, hopping, throwing, catching and jumping. These movement skills in turn give kids the confidence to participate in different physical activities, sports, and games.
In the same way a child learns to speak by interacting with her parents from an early age, the same is true of learning to move with confidence.
It doesn’t require special equipment or training, just a bit of knowledge and the simple and natural desire to give your kid the right building blocks from the start.
2. PHYSICAL LITERACY IS FUN (AND NOT MORE WORK FOR PARENTS)
My wife and I have always wanted to help our two children develop their physical literacy. And we did not have to do anything more than what most parents want to do anyway: spend a bit of time with our children doing activities they enjoy.
We especially enjoyed being there as our kids celebrated everyday milestones like zipping across the monkey bars, throwing a Frisbee clear across a field, or kicking a ball over a fence.
Now that they are 10 and 12, our reward has been witnessing our kids grow their movement skills, their confidence, and their love of being active. The bonus is that we don’t need to send them outside to play; they go on their own.
And by the way, they are also pretty good at playing video games. But that’s not the only thing they do.
3. PHYSICAL LITERACY IS ESSENTIAL IN TODAY’S WORLD
In the past, kids developed physical literacy through school PE classes and regular active play. But we know that both of these things have declined in recent years. As a result, many kids aren’t getting the chance to develop their physical literacy. This is why we need to help make it happen as parents.
The reality is that kids today are exactly like we were. They like to do the things they are good at. The difference is that some of us became experts at outdoor games like “kick the can”, “cops and robbers”, and “scrub baseball”, while kids today tend to become masters of things like Facebook and video games such as Minecraft.
Physical literacy is essential today because the outdoor games and activities that filled our childhood and helped us develop movement skills have been replaced by more screen time and inactivity in general.
4. PHYSICAL LITERACY MEANS YOUR KIDS WILL BE MORE ACTIVE
Activities and games are to physical literacy what nursery rhymes are to language: a fun and simple way for your child to develop the skills they need.
Children who are physically literate will be more confident to play games, and they will have more fun playing because they know how to run, jump, throw, and all the rest.
Unstructured play is still critically important in the whole process of developing physical literacy, because it gives kids a chance to enjoy and practice all of the movement skills they’ve learned.
5. WHAT YOU CAN DO
For starters, try to carve out some time each day to play with your kids. It’s just like reading with them: reading to your kids develops their love of books, and playing with your kids develops their love of movement and play. Physical literacy is no different.
If your kids learn to make movement and play a part of their day when they are young, it will become a natural part of their lives as they get older. And don’t worry if you don’t know exactly how to get started – that’s where we come in.
Active for Life has activities, games, articles, and more to help you get started on developing physical literacy with your children.
The most important thing is that you have fun! This isn’t meant to be another chore on a never-ending to-do list. There are many ways to work physical literacy into a busy or overwhelming schedule without it feeling like a burden.
This video shows 14 year old AAA USA players doing somersaults.
This video shows 14 year old district finnish players doing somersaults.
THE ADM GOALIE PLAN
How to Integrate a Successful Goalie Training Program into your ADM Practices
The first few years that we put the American Development Model into place in our programs we found the outcome was very positive. Our players were improving by leaps and bounds, we were able to sustain their attention while out on the ice for the duration of the practice and they were doubling and tripling the number of puck touches they got in comparison to traditional practices. At the end of the seasons when we evaluated what we needed to improve upon we were staring at an enormous hole in our program. We hadn’t included goalie training. Our squirt players were ill prepared to be goalies, because we hadn’t even introduced them to the position at mite. We headed into full ice squirt games with total novices between the pipes and we were at a risk of turning off or injuring our interested participants.
This season we took advantage of the TAHA goalie gear matching program and bought two sets of new goalie gear for our 8 and under players. After sending in our receipts to TAHA we were able to purchase two more sets of the same gear, totaling four brand new sets of 8 and under goalie gear for our players. We collected goalie gear donations from parents of players and were able to come up with four more sets for our 10 and under age group.
We sent communication out to parents that any players interested in putting on the pads needed to contact me and we set up a goalie training rotation. We assigned a few of our coaches for both age groups to become our “goalie training coaches” and handed them the USA Hockey Level 1 and 2 goalie coaching material and they designed a lesson plan. We then integrated the goalie station into our ADM stations for practice. We assigned players to a two-week, four ice time goalie assignment. We outfitted them on the first day and showed them how to put on the gear and how to pack and carry it and they then adopted that gear as their own for the two week rotation. They did one practice for each game they played so they could get not only a “taste of what it is like” but also become introduced to elementary skills, so that they could find success in their endeavor. After their two week rotation if they enjoyed the position, they could get cycled back through the list of goalies later in the season.
During the practices themselves the goalies would be integrated into the stations that the coaches were running if they involved shooting and one-two goalies would be working with the goalie coach (depending on the lesson plan). When the whistle blew to change stations, the goalies would move through to the next station in their rotation. Every goalie got individualized attention as well as live shots from players.
We are entering the last month of the 2012-13 season and I am ecstatic about the enthusiasm we see now for the goaltending position among our 10 and under players. We have had a total of 35 kids try the position and we now have five- 8 and under players and four- 10 and under skaters who do a regular game rotation as goalie.
I implore Associations to round up the volunteers, get the gear bought and to invest in your players goaltending development as much as their skater development. By providing a positive and safe introduction to the position, you have an opportunity to start shaping the next generation of goalies, one pad at a time.
Angie Vaught
ADM Coordinator TAHA
