Is Shortening the Bench a Good Thing?
It can be super exciting for a child to play in a crucial situation, but can also be devastating to be held off in favour of your teammate. Are you okay with coaches “shortening the bench”? Tell us your thoughts on Twitter! Original story posted here. It was the playoffs. The game was tight and […]
March Break Camps!
Are you the parent of a hockey player in a panic because March Break is next week and you don’t know what to do with your child all week? Worry no longer. Hockey camps are the way to go! There are several benefits to enrolling your child in a week-long hockey camp. Your child gets […]
Travel for Tournaments!
If you’re the coach or parent of a child on a minor hockey team, do everything in your power to make an out-of-town tournament happen. It’ll be worth it every time. Some of the best memories we at iPlayHockey have from our childhoods are the weekends spent in nearby towns and cities, exploring and competing […]
Team of the Month – Cowichan Thunderbirds!
Congratulations to iPlayHockey’s Team of the Month for February 2019 – the Cowichan Secondary Ice Hockey Thunderbirds! This is a group of players from across central Vancouver Island working hard to draw new female athletes to the game by building a high school league for them to play in! The highlight of their season so far was […]
Making it Easier for Kids to Multi-Sport Specialize
Original story posted here. The world of youth sports is full of seemingly obvious choices backed up by years of study and research. But doing the right thing is not always so straightforward. Take the idea of being a multi-sport athlete. Countless studies and development models tell us that it is better for young athletes […]
Support Your Child’s Dreams!
Support your child’s dreams in hockey. Always. Growing up in Canada, every young child playing hockey’s dream is the same. To someday play in the National Hockey League (NHL). They sit on the couch on a Saturday night tuned into Hockey Night in Canada, watching Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid shock the world, hoping to […]
Learn to Skate First
When getting their youngsters into hockey, most parents just throw them right into the fire. They register them for whatever age group they fall under, head to Canadian Tire to grab them a set of equipment, and bring them to the rink to hope that they’re able to figure it all out. They have limited […]
13-Year-Old Quits Hockey After Being Bullied
This is a sad, sad story. Hopefully the league or these parents step in and do something, because this is not the Canada we strive to be. Original story posted here. A 13-year-old B.C. hockey player has penned a “resignation letter” from his Abbotsford minor hockey team, saying he was bullied by teammates. The father […]
The Benefits of Smaller Ice
When it was initially announced that young kids were to begin playing cross-ice hockey rather than utilizing the full ice, there was a lot of push back. Concerns about changing the way the game was invented, not allowing kids to use open ice to their advantage, not learning hockey the way they would eventually come […]
Team of the Month – Belle River Canadians
Congratulations to iPlayHockey’s Team of the Month for January 2019 – the Belle River Canadians Atom Major AA! These boys were chosen as one of the teams to host the OHF’s this year for their age division and the boys have been busy along with parents planning for this event. They have gone to town council meetings, […]
Bell Let’s Talk
Today, let’s talk! For every text message, phone call, Bell Let’s Talk Day video view on social media, tweet using #BellLetsTalk, use of the Bell Let’s Talk Facebook frame or Snapchat filter, Bell will donate 5¢ to Canadian mental health initiatives. It’s an effort to create a stigma-free Canada where people can openly discussing their mental health […]
Kids on Ice Stay Out of Hot Water
Original story posted here. The Biddeford Youth Hockey Association give kids a chance to stay active in the winter by breaking barriers and offering low-cost hockey opportunities in southern Maine. “There’s a lot of opportunity for kids to play hockey in southern Maine. At BYHA, we believe wholeheartedly that kids on ice stay out of […]