10 Tips for Youth Hockey Tryouts
April 17, 2024
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Tryout season has begun in both the United States and Canada. Here are some tips for this year’s tryout season:
Tryout season has begun in both the United States and Canada. Here are some tips for this year’s tryout season:
How many players are in the NCAA Women’s DI Hockey transfer portal? Why do players enter the portal? What are the implications for potential recruits?
Introducing the Champs App Messaging tool! Champs App Messaging is the fast, easy way to send error-free messages to coaches.
Learn the details about how the Champs App Messaging tool works and how to get the most out of using it.
Part II of III analyzing the teams selected to the 2024 USA Hockey Tier I Girls National playoffs. This post focuses on the 16U team selections and seedings.
Part III of III analyzing the teams selected to the 2024 USA Hockey Tier I Girls National playoffs. This post focuses on the 19U team selections and seedings.
Part I of III analyzing the teams selected to the 2024 USA Hockey Tier I Girls National playoffs. This post focuses on the 14U team selections and seedings.
Did the 2024 DI Women’s College Hockey at-large bids make sense? How different is the level of competition between conferences?
As a parent, I have now gone through multiple “hockey recruiting” processes. I thought I would codify my Top 5 life skills kids can learn from the recruiting process.
Over the past three years, there has been a significant increase in female head coaches within NCAA DI women’s hockey. See the trends for NCAA and U Sports coaches from 2020 until now.
How could Canada lose a game that they so clearly dominated in terms of offensive opportunities?
How important is team experience to success on the ice in Women’s DI College Hockey? We compare the current rankings to the years of experience on each team.
While analyzing all of the DI Women’s Hockey Rosters, I had several different observations about the recruiting process that I thought were worth sharing.
This is the Q4 update which tracks the number of publicly announced commitments in DI women’s college hockey.
This is the third of 3 posts about where things stand for each position – Goalies, Forwards and Defense – for the incoming Division 1 classes of 2024 and 2025. Learn about how many defense spots are likely still open for incoming classes of 2024 and 2025
Here is a list of 2024 Girls Hockey Tournaments, Showcases, Development Camps and Summer Camps. Included in the list are events from Premier Ice Prospects, RUSH Hockey, College Hockey Showcases, OS Hockey, Showcase Hockey, The National Girls Hockey League and 200×85 Tournaments
This is the second of 3 posts about where things stand for each position – Goalies, Forwards and Defense – for the incoming Division 1 classes of 2024 and 2025. Learn about how many forward spots are likely still open for incoming classes of 2024 and 2025
This is the first of 3 posts about where things stand for each position – Goalies, Forwards and Defense – for the incoming Division 1 classes of 2024 and 2025. Learn about how many goalie spots are likely still open for incoming classes of 2024 and 2025
Over the course of the NIT Girls Hockey Tournament I had multiple conversations with several DI & DIII coaches and I thought I would share my observations as they relate to the recruiting process:
While MyHockeyRankings has many benefits, I’ve seen and heard enough parents use the site in a manner for which it was not intended. Instead of being used for good, it can be used for evil to the detriment of player development and their game.
Some thoughts on unlocking the hidden value of MyHockeyRankings. Part I on discussing the pros and cons of MHR.
This is an update in our series tracking the number of publicly announced commitments in women’s college hockey. For 2024, the commitment rate continues to lag all previous recruiting years.
If I was to do it all over again, what path would I recommend a young girl follow if she wanted to play college hockey?
I’ve spent a ton of time thinking about this topic trying to figure out why almost everyone I have spoken with is disappointed with the USA Hockey Girls National Camp selection and feedback process. And here is what I came up with…
I have a lot of passion about feedback when it comes to hockey player development, because I think it is probably the most important factor to improve player performance. At the USA Hockey 16/17 Girls Camp which took place in Oxford, OH this past June, feedback was highlighted in the parent meeting as a key component of the camp.
Last month, my 15-year old son was invited to the main camp of a NAHL team in Minnesota. Here are some details that I learned from the camp:
Go straight to the Instructions on How to Connect with College Exposure Showcase Coaches Why Create a Champs App Profile? (Video) How to Create a
This is the second analysis I have done about the selections for the USA Hockey Girls U18 Camp which took place last week.
I had the opportunity to ask a non-Top 10 DI Head Coach a bunch of Class of 2025 recruiting questions.
I thought it might be helpful to collect some analytical data and metrics to understand how top players performed at the camp.
More Thoughts on the 2023 USA Hockey 16/17 Girls Development Camp. Here are some additional thoughts that I compiled during my time in Oxford
Go straight to the Instructions on How to Connect with 617 PIP Showcase Coaches Why Create a Champs App Profile? (Video) How to Create a
Summer Hockey Development Plans – How I helped create a summer training plan for my kids
A Few Thoughts After the First Two Days of the 2023 USA Hockey Girls 16/17 Development Camp
Go straight to the Instructions on How to Connect with 585 PIP Showcase Coaches Why Create a Champs App Profile? (Video) How to Create a
Some Thoughts on the 2023 USA Hockey Pacific District Camp
June 10-11, 2023 – Newington, CT Go straight to: Instructions on How to Connect with Coaches Why Create a Champs App Profile? (Video) How to
Go straight to the Instructions on How to Connect with the CHS High Performance Camp Coaches Why Create a Champs App Profile? (Video) How to
A key ingredient in OSU’s ability to compete for a National Championship these last few years has been to add high-end, experienced talent from other schools via the transfer portal. We discuss this strategy and implications for potential high school recruits.
This is an update to a previous post from December, 2022 and is the Q1 2023 DI Women’s College Hockey Commitment Rate Update”.
This is a list of the NCAA College Hockey coaches working the NGHL NCAA EXPOSURE CAMP in May 2023
Here is a list of 2023 Girls Hockey Tournaments, Showcases, Development Camps and Summer Camps
How to Create a Beautiful Hockey Profile That Gets Noticed. Creating your Champs App athletic profile typically takes about 20 – 40 minutes
Champs App lets you create a free, beautiful hockey resume and helps players, parents and coaches connect to facilitate the hockey recruiting process.
A couple of weeks ago I attended my first USA Hockey National Championship. Here are a few things I learned while I was there – mostly from my time in Dallas.
Do you want a chance at playing at the USA Hockey National Championships? Did your team play AAA last year? If yes, what was your final ranking on MyHockeyRankings?
If your team wasn’t in the Top 50 teams for your age group, then this post is for you.
Over 50% of the 45 players invited to the USA Hockey NTDP Evaluation Camp were born in the first 3 months of 2007. Malcolm Gladwell would be proud.
So what does a player who is the best of the best look like?
Over the past couple of years I have watched many of the top teams and players on both sides of the border and have come up with a simple framework on the hierarchy of attributes that these top players possess.
You can’t depend solely on your team coach to make you a better hockey player.
The Current State of Recruiting for DI Women’s College Hockey Defense. THIS IS THE THIRD AND FINAL POST DETAILING THE CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR POTENTIAL FEMALE HOCKEY RECRUITS AT DI SCHOOLS
Creating Player Videos: Where to Post Your Recruiting Highlight Reels. This is the last post on creating recruiting videos and it focuses on where to upload your video to share with coaches
Here is a list of 2023 Girls Hockey Tournaments, Showcases, Development Camps and Summer Camps
Creating Player Videos: How to Edit Video for Recruiting Highlight Reels. This is the fourth post in a series on creating player videos college coaches want to see from potential recruits.
This is an update to a previous post from September, 2022 on “Q3 2022 DI Women’s College Hockey Commitment Rate Update”.
Now that you decided you want to create videos for your player the first step is to get raw game footage you can use to create the three different types of highlight reels coaches want to see.
This is the second Post diving into detail on the current opportunities for potential female Hockey recruits at DI Schools
This is the second post in a series about how to create hockey highlight videos to help with your player’s recruiting process.
Recently I compiled all the information from current DI women’s hockey team websites and combined them with the latest public women’s college hockey commitment data to try and makes sense of what and why it seems so tough for goalies right now.
This is the first post in a series about how to create hockey highlight videos to help with your player’s recruiting process.
One of my biggest frustrations over the last 18 months or so has been about providing feedback to players. Across many different playing environments I have been consistently disappointed in the lack of sophistication and priority on giving insightful, actionable feedback to players. This post discusses the good and bad of hockey coach feedback to players.
How to Pick a Hockey Academy
We went through this process last year with the schools most folks would consider the top three girls hockey academies in the U.S. Here are some of the key learnings from our experience and how our daughter made her decision on which one was right for her.
This is an update to a previous post from April, 2022 on “Q1 2022 Women’s College Hockey Commitment Rate Update”. The 2024 commits have started to be announced.
This is a list of the NCAA College Hockey coaches with Champs App profiles.
This past weekend I was in Las Vegas to watch my second USA Hockey Pacific Districts Camp. The general format was pretty much the same as last, with 3 practices and 3 games. However, there were a few subtle differences from the previous year that I wanted to share. Here are my notes:
I’ve been asked a few times recently about which showcases to attend in 2022. While I am not the expert on all showcases and which ones to attend, here are a variety of thoughts I have on the subject…
As of March 31st, 2022, only 97 commits have been made for DI programs compared to 163 (2021) and 139 (2022) at the equivalent time before starting for those grade years.
Last week, I started to explore new teams for my 14-year old son to play on next season. Here’s what I did to help him earn a tryout.
Here is a list of 2022 Girls Hockey Tournaments, Showcases, Development Camps and Summer Camps
This is an update to a previous post from October, 2021 on “How Does the Number of 2023 Women’s College Hockey Commits Compare to Previous
Last weekend I was asked by one of the DI women’s college hockey teams to share the Close the Gap graphic on our social media accounts. However, when it comes to this kind of stuff, I like to be educated on the topic.
I decided to analyze the commitment dates by DI college start year for those student-athletes starting in 2021 vs. 2022 and 2023.
This post serves as a general framework on defining the women’s college hockey athlete recruiting process. In addition, it attempts to provide context on tracking the process.
This is the third and final post focusing on the college recruiting process based on my experience as a parent at the USA Hockey Girls Camp that took place in St Cloud Minnesota from July 10-15, 2021.
This post is the second in a series about the USA Hockey Girls 15’s Camp I attended from July 10-15, 2021. For most girls, the ultimate goal of attending any of the girls camps (15,16/18 or U18), is to be invited to the Women’s National Festival which includes players from all age groups (National Team, U23 and U18) being considered for a national roster.
This post is the first in a three-part series on my experience as a parent at the 2021 USA Hockey 15’s Girls Select hockey camp. In this series, I will first cover the schedule and operational details about the event.
This past weekend my 2006 daughter and I attended our first showcase with Division I coaches participating and scouting the event. The 585 PIP Showcase – Roc City Style took place in Rochester, New York at the Bill Gray Iceplex from Friday June 18-20, 2021. Here is what I learned..
For this analysis we looked at how many commitments have already taken place by academic year, including this past 2020 academic year.
This past weekend I attended my first USA Hockey Girls District Camp in Las Vegas for the Pacific District with my daughter (2006 birth year). As someone who is new to this whole process, I wanted to share my learnings from the experience and conversations with the organizers & coaches in attendance.
What are the pros and cons of girls playing boys hockey? Based on the research, some additional information I have collected from podcast interviews & my parental experience, here are my thoughts on the key factors for girls playing boys hockey.
Here is a list of 2021 Girls Hockey Tournaments, Showcases, Development Camps and Summer Camps
Comparing U.S. and Canadian Female Hockey Participation – interesting insights between the U.S. and Canada and also between male vs. female hockey participation.
I loved Darryl Belfry’s book Belfry Hockey, but I don’t believe I was Darryl Belfry’s target audience, because I am neither a hockey coach nor a skills instructor. As I mentioned in my first post, I’m just a hockey dad. I do not profess to be a hockey expert…
College Commits Infographic: Download our infographic about Women’s College Hockey Commits Insights
In this final post about how to develop a great hockey player, we discuss grit. Grit is the ability for a player to demonstrate focus and determination to overcome the inevitable challenges that come with high-level hockey.
In this fifth post about how to develop a great hockey player, we discus how talent, natural gifts and luck play a key role in hockey development. While it is possible to consider these attributes out of a player’s or parent’s control, they can certainly be influenced.
In this fourth post about how to develop a great hockey player, the focus is on quality coaching. Let me be clear that I am not talking about what makes a great coach…
Why is ice time important? I think every parent and player intuitively believes the more time you spend training on ice the better a player you will be.
As a hockey parent I have always tried to figure out what the formula is on how to develop a great hockey player. And if there is one thing I have figured out, it is that to be great at hockey, just like anything else, you need to have a natural love of the game.
What does it take as a hockey parent to help your player become truly elite? This series of posts will discuss five different factors that in my opinion contribute to becoming an above average hockey player.
In May, 2019, the NCAA introduced new recruiting rules which restricted college recruiting to only allow verbal commitments to start August 1st of a player’s Junior year. This fundamentally changed the timeline for women’s college hockey recruits.
Which Division I colleges have the most women’s hockey commits? 3 Ivy League schools are at the top of the list.
If you want to know which girl’s hockey clubs or schools produce the most DI women’s college hockey commits, here is your answer:
What percent of D1 women’s college hockey commits come from Canada vs. the U.S. and why does it matter? Well, as I talk to my 14 year-old daughter about potentially playing Division I women’s college hockey, it’s important for her to understand who she is competing with.
This week I decided to analyze a list of about 750 women’s college hockey commits and came away with five key insights.
If you are going to listen to only one podcast as a youth hockey player or parent, The Hockey Think Tank is the one we would recommend.
Kelly Katorji is one of, if not ‘the’ most networked and knowledgeable people in women’s hockey. He has literally watched thousands of young girls develop in to college, pro and Olympic hockey players over his many years.
Richard Bercuson has been a hockey coach and teacher for decades and really knows more than just about anyone about youth hockey development. This podcast is the reboot of the TSN 1200 show
In Aaron Wilbur’s podcast series Glass and Out, he interviews many of the top NHL, college and junior coaches from North America and Europe.
This past weekend, my 14 year old daughter and I flew to Rochester, New York to attend the Premier Ice Prospects girls showcase event. It was the first time my daughter has attended this type of weekend and also her first time playing with girls.
Connor Carrick is a current New Jersey Devil defenseman who has some of the best guests from both inside and outside of hockey.
Kudos to multi-sport athlete Finley Frechette for creating this show about the Cornell Women’s Ice Hockey team. Starting a podcast is no simple task
Coach Pete Kamman and Coach Danny Heath have some excellent guests from all over the hockey world. The show has a strong focus on hockey development
As someone who has a daughter playing hockey in a non-traditional hockey market, it is great to hear about Lyndsey Fry’s journey from Arizona to Harvard to the U.S. Olympic team.
From The Point is a relatively new podcast focused on all things women’s hockey. Hockey coach Bob Deraney and Hank Morse started the show in late 2019
The Hockey Training podcast is one of the audio programs I have been listening to the longest. This podcast (plus their website, YouTube videos and training programs) provides hockey-specific training knowledge and exercises to help you “dominate on the ice”.
About 2 ½ years ago I went down the hockey podcast rabbit hole. Specifically seeking out the best podcasts for hockey parents of youth players.
Why we started Champs. Hi! I’m Ray and I’m a hockey dad. In addition, I am a below average hockey player with an above average love of the game. Both my kids play youth hockey here in northern California.