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I will still disagree, hockey is NO different than any other sport when it comes to starting at age 9 or 15.
In the large associations that I listed, all I ask is for you to produce one MN boys hockey player that laced up for the 1st time at age 15 that became competitive. Put your opinion to work and google away.
If you like, I can supply a dozen names of 15 year old's that tried track for the 1st time and were competitive. Add in cross country, Lacrosse, Volleyball,football, etc. In a year or two in those sports they can be superstars. If I can produce names in the sports that I listed and you cannot in hockey, it would then seem to me that there IS a difference.
I'm only looking for one name and I will be convinced.
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal
I will still disagree, hockey is NO different than any other sport when it comes to staring at age 9 or 15. If a child has the natural talent to play in at the DI level or the pros, starting at age 4 vs 15 will have NO effect on that. For a less talented player, it might mean the difference between getting to play on the junior high team or not. If you don't have the talent you aren't going to play no matter when you start, period. This is true for hockey, football, track, whatever. The skills will come if a very talented player starts in 8th grade or at age 4, they just come faster to the talented 14 year old. The difference with MN hockey is that the PARENTS think otherwise that is all.
I don't agree with you, Golfgal.
A heavily team-oriented sport like hockey is far more complex (in terms of the mental reflexes and ingrained attitudes required) than something like track, where an athlete can focus mainly on individual physical and mental conditioning and do fairly well.
Elite hockey lines in youth hockey often play together for 10 years or more, and one of the reasons that certain lines play so well together is because those guys know intuitively where their linemates will be at a given moment in time. Ask the folks from the big schools why some of the teams from the Range are so hard to deal with, and intimate/intuitive coordination will be part of the answer. Some of that is pure talent, sure, but some of it is the result of hundreds of games spent with the very same people on the same shifts from the pond through peewees and sometimes all the way through high school.
Joey Mullen is the best example I can think of. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen, New York and with his brother Brian played roller hockey in the streets. He didn't start playing organized ice hockey until he was 16 and then he joined Boston College a year later.
SOURCE-http://www.hockeyplayer.com/paid/publish…
Mullen ended up in the NHL and scored over 500 goals and 1000 points. He should be an inspiration to late starters everywhere.
Same site lists Cam Johnson as staring around age 10
Ed Jovanovski didnt start playing until he was 15 and was drafted 1st overall 3 years later.
Owen Nolan did start skating until he was 9, which is pretty late
jovo was 12
Those are all cut/pastes from google...
Every sport has a skill set. Hockey isn't any more or less complicated than any other sport out there in that regard. Heck, look at the casual joggers in your area and how bad their running form is--for something that would seem natural, but it isn't.
Joey Mullen is the best example I can think of. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen, New York and with his brother Brian played roller hockey in the streets. He didn't start playing organized ice hockey until he was 16 and then he joined Boston College a year later.
"When not playing roller hockey, Mullen and his three brothers were often at the Garden, where their father, Tom, has worked on the ice and maintenance staffs for 22 years. "
It seems that Mullen was on the ice at an early age. So he laced up YEARS earlier.
"Jovanovski was born in Windsor, Ontario, to Kostadin and Lilja Jovanovski.[2] [2] Jovanovski followed after his father and played organized soccer growing up.[1] He did not start playing hockey until age 11, when his older brother, Denny, joined a team.[1]"
I'm still looking for a person who started / laced up for the 1st time at age 15 from MN. Would you like me to site some 1st time 15 year old Varsity CC, track, Volleyball, Football, stars?? Because you won't find them in hockey. So it seems there is a different skill set.
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
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There are exceptions to everything, of course, but I grew up around a lot of hockey people, and I've known a lot of folks who grew into the game and were very very good despite not necessarily having an overflowing fountain of natural talent.
Not saying you're wrong, but we'll have to disagree.
That said ... 9 years old isn't too late. He's missed something, perhaps, but if he has the natural talent, the desire, and if he meshes well with the folks he plays with, then he might still have ten years of playing ahead of him. Or more.
Besides, some kids are late bloomers, and that probably applies to hockey as well as anything else.
You guys are just spitting hairs. Like RCSTEINER said, there exceptions to everything. To answer he OP's question - No, it's not too late. Too late in this case is the point at which a youth is too old to start a very technical sport that is saturated with children who have been skating for a much more significant amount of time and unable to sustain any type of significant success during that time period.
If you start your child at age 9 with no ice experience, you had better get him/her on the ice as much as possible. Staying late and coming early to practice will help that. Weekends, after school, summer time, all are great "extra" time to get extra legitimacy to their game. Of course this is assuming you want your child to be successful. To be the leader, the captain, the star. If not, then why waste your or their time. Like others have said -- Minnesota is a very competitive area for hockey, especially in the suburbs.
I am an avid sports enthusiast. I am no longer an athlete, however I played organized basketball from age 11 - 16. (couldn't make Varsity). I played organized baseball from age 4 - 23 (teen travelling teams, varsity, college, town teams). Organized football age 10 - 15 (started too late). Stopped playing hockey at age 11 after it became too competitive. For me, I was successful in the sport I played early and often. The others, not so much.
I often see great pro athletes and their success story of them starting playing at very early age - Kobe Bryant - age 3. Tiger Woods - age 1, 2? Sidney Crosby - age 2. Novak Djokavic - age 4. I also often hear stories of pro athletes who had started in high school. NFLer Antonio Gates didn't even play college football. Nick Hardwick didn't start football til late in high school. Walter Payton didn't start football til age 16. As for hockey - there's been a few. Brendan Shanahan didn't start until age 10. Dominic Hasek - age 13. But hockey is so technical. Not only do they have to worry about being hit, making passes and trying to put a chunk of rubber past a guy padded head to toe, they are on a sheet of ice with a 1/4 inch piece of metal
You guys are just spitting hairs. Like RCSTEINER said, there exceptions to everything. To answer he OP's question - No, it's not too late. Too late in this case is the point at which a youth is too old to start a very technical sport that is saturated with children who have been skating for a much more significant amount of time and unable to sustain any type of significant success during that time period.
If you start your child at age 9 with no ice experience, you had better get him/her on the ice as much as possible. Staying late and coming early to practice will help that. Weekends, after school, summer time, all are great "extra" time to get extra legitimacy to their game. Of course this is assuming you want your child to be successful. To be the leader, the captain, the star. If not, then why waste your or their time. Like others have said -- Minnesota is a very competitive area for hockey, especially in the suburbs.
I am an avid sports enthusiast. I am no longer an athlete, however I played organized basketball from age 11 - 16. (couldn't make Varsity). I played organized baseball from age 4 - 23 (teen travelling teams, varsity, college, town teams). Organized football age 10 - 15 (started too late). Stopped playing hockey at age 11 after it became too competitive. For me, I was successful in the sport I played early and often. The others, not so much.
I often see great pro athletes and their success story of them starting playing at very early age - Kobe Bryant - age 3. Tiger Woods - age 1, 2? Sidney Crosby - age 2. Novak Djokavic - age 4. I also often hear stories of pro athletes who had started in high school. NFLer Antonio Gates didn't even play college football. Nick Hardwick didn't start football til late in high school. Walter Payton didn't start football til age 16. As for hockey - there's been a few. Brendan Shanahan didn't start until age 10. Dominic Hasek - age 13. But hockey is so technical. Not only do they have to worry about being hit, making passes and trying to put a chunk of rubber past a guy padded head to toe, they are on a sheet of ice with a 1/4 inch piece of metal
Correction: Dominic Hasek started at age 6 not 13. He played with Kid's three years older than he was and he became a pro at age 16. See Dominik Ha
While there are usually exceptions to everything, you surely cannot start lacing-up for the 1st time at age 15 as golfgal suggested; rollerblades or not. While late attempts at age 15 WILL work for football, Volleyball, Lacrosse, golf, CC, and track, it just will NOT work with boys hockey in MN. As I have said all along, in many MN associations, you can easily start at age 9 or 10 and be competitive but not in the large associations. Because you are given a chance, a 9 or 10 year old can definitely go pro if the association is smaller and he plays against quality teams. If my Kid (who is play high school hockey as a Senior) played in Wayzata, he would have been cut at age 9 even with 2 years of skating experience. He was on the B2 Squirts with only 70 Kid's trying out; Wayzata cuts 180 Kid's. Therefore he would not be playing high school hockey today; no doubt about it! He would have been cut and skating for fun at the local rink. That's the reality of these mega associations. You HAVE to be good by age 9 or the odds are heavily stacked against you.
The horse has been beaten.
Last edited by MN-Born-n-Raised; 02-01-2012 at 04:01 AM..
Had the pleasure to watch one of those rare natural athletes last night, Tyus Jones from Apple Valley, basketball player. WOW!! Now there is a prime example of a person that it doesn't matter if he started at 4 or 9, he is just THAT good. He has skills you just can't teach, no matter how good of a coach you are. If you get a chance, he is worth going to see. He already holds several school records, has "offers" from pretty much every major college powerhouse around the nation...and he is only a sophomore. Classy player, not a showboat at all. He is considered one of the top players in the nation.
Now, back to the 9 year old debate---odds are NOT stacked against you in "mega" programs. They are LARGE programs and have opportunities for many, many kids. No matter what the politics are, if you develop into a top player between the ages of 9 and 14, you WILL play. At age 9, you are not going to be on the A team, but then again, there are 200 kids that started playing at age 4 that are not on the A team in that same program too....It holds true for ANY sport, including hockey, if you are a similarly gifted athletes--good or bad, if you start at 4 or start at 9 it will make ZERO difference by the time you play in high school. If you have the natural ability to be a top player and start at age 9, you will be a top player. If you don't have the natural ability to be a top player it won't matter if you start at 2 months old or 15, you aren't going to be a top player, period.
Correction: Dominic Hasek started at age 6 not 13. He played with Kid's three years older than he was and he became a pro at age 16. See Dominik Ha
While there are usually exceptions to everything, you surely cannot start lacing-up for the 1st time at age 15 as golfgal suggested; rollerblades or not. While late attempts at age 15 WILL work for football, Volleyball, Lacrosse, golf, CC, and track, it just will NOT work with boys hockey in MN. As I have said all along, in many MN associations, you can easily start at age 9 or 10 and be competitive but not in the large associations. Because you are given a chance, a 9 or 10 year old can definitely go pro if the association is smaller and he plays against quality teams. If my Kid (who is play high school hockey as a Senior) played in Wayzata, he would have been cut at age 9 even with 2 years of skating experience. He was on the B2 Squirts with only 70 Kid's trying out; Wayzata cuts 180 Kid's. Therefore he would not be playing high school hockey today; no doubt about it! He would have been cut and skating for fun at the local rink. That's the reality of these mega associations. You HAVE to be good by age 9 or the odds are heavily stacked against you.
The horse has been beaten.
You do realize that the age span between 6-16 is about the same as 9-19 right. Again, the skill set in hockey is NO harder to learn than it is in any other sport.
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While late attempts at age 15 WILL work for football, Volleyball, Lacrosse, golf, CC, and track, it just will NOT work with boys hockey in MN. As I have said all along, in many MN associations, you can easily start at age 9 or 10 and be competitive but not in the large associations. Because you are given a chance, a 9 or 10 year old can definitely go pro if the association is smaller and he plays against quality teams. If my Kid (who is play high school hockey as a Senior) played in Wayzata, he would have been cut at age 9 even with 2 years of skating experience. He was on the B2 Squirts with only 70 Kid's trying out; Wayzata cuts 180 Kid's. Therefore he would not be playing high school hockey today; no doubt about it! He would have been cut and skating for fun at the local rink. That's the reality of these mega associations. You HAVE to be good by age 9 or the odds are heavily stacked against you.
