U11 Pathway Overview
This season we will be continuing to follow the Hockey Canada U11 Pathway.
About the Player Pathway
Development is at the core of U11 hockey, with the focus on refining skills so players will experience success in practices and games. Looking at how children learn, and the number of repetitions of specific skills and situations that occur in practice versus a game, practice is where players have a chance to develop the most.
The U11 Pathway is a progressive, learn to play teaching curriculum that is age-appropriate and skill-specific for 9-10 year-olds. It is a continuous opportunity for young players to develop and refine fundamental movement skills (skating, turning, acceleration), manipulation skills (shooting, puck control, passing) and overall motor skills (balance, coordination, agility) in a fun and safe environment, promoting skill development through self-confidence.
This pathway is an important component in the transition from the U9 Pathway and serves as preparation into the U13 Pathway.
The U11 Pathway consists of four (4) phases of instruction, designed to accommodate both players graduating from U9 hockey, as well as entry level hockey players who may start playing hockey at this age level.
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- Preparation/Evaluation Phase
- Development Phase
- Regular Season Phase
- Playoff/Tournament Phase
The U11 Pathway curriculum introduces, develops and refines the skills of skating, passing, puck control and shooting in a progressive, step by step manner.
What to expect?
- Player evaluation/selection/tryouts will not be scheduled prior to the start of the school year.
- Practices and/or skill sessions will be held prior to formal player evaluation/selection/tryouts.
- Player evaluation/selection/tryouts must be a minimum of three formal sessions. Recommendation is one skills session, one small-area games session and one game.
- Development time following team selection and prior to the start of the regular season.
- Playoffs must be tournament-style format versus elimination rounds.
What about teams?
- Balanced teams in C - teams will be balanced across the C teams
- Tiered teams in A - PCAHA continues to support the existing tiering of A1, A2, A3, etc.
How do we get started?
First - there will be Pathway Skates offered for both the C and A groups - designed to shake off the rust for the second year kids, and prepare for the move from U9 to U11 for the first year kids.
Second - we will run Evaluations to get the players into their teams.
More information:
https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/hockey-programs/coaching/under-11/parents/introduction