Hal Tearse

Boys, girls and locker rooms

Details: Last Updated on Friday, 04 January 2013 16:58

As more girls are earning spots on Squirt and PeeWee teams, the issue of locker room protocols is starting to rise to the surface. USA Hockey has recommended protocols, Minnesota Hockey has a slightly different take on the issue and one District Director in Minnesota has issued a different approach. The major sticking points are the definition of “undress” and when both genders can be in the locker room together.

Under ideal conditions every arena would have a supervised locker room designated for girls only so that they could get geared up before the coach addresses the team prior to games or practices. Unfortunately most arenas do not have enough locker rooms to accommodate this changing situation and often times, girls are sent to bathrooms to dress. Besides normally not being very clean, the bathrooms are not secure for the kids like the locker rooms are supposed to be.

Parents are responsible for team success

Details: Last Updated on Thursday, 15 November 2012 17:39

By Hal Tearse
Coach in Chief, Minnesota Hockey
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In today’s world of youth sports, parents are interwoven into the fabric of the teams on which their kids play. This is quite a change from 20 years ago when the kids were dropped off at the rink and picked up a couple hours later.

Because parents are so much more involved in the teams, they also have a significant role in the season outcome. By understanding their roles, parents can help their kids have a great season and achieve more than their kids anticipated.

Dad, I do not want to play any more

Details: Last Updated on Monday, 29 October 2012 14:49

By Hal Tearse
Coach in Chief, Minnesota Hockey
Boys Varsity Coach, Providence Academy

Each year, nearly 10,000 kids across the country who are moving from PeeWees to Bantams announce that they no longer want to play hockey. Many of those kids are right here in Minnesota and many of these situations are unnecessary.

There are several reasons kids quit. Some find other sports they prefer; many want to do other activities and travel hockey does not allow for such things; some have not grown yet and are physically intimidated by the bigger players; and some just have decided that it is no longer fun because they do not get to play in the games very much.

Learning to love or hate the game

Details: Last Updated on Thursday, 01 November 2012 15:39

By Hal Tearse

Hockey can be the greatest game on Earth and those of us with passion for the game would argue late into the night with anybody who disagreed. Parents and coaches are very passionate and ambitious when it comes to hockey.

There are, however, many who are not yet as passionate as the adults – the players. In our haste to develop future hockey scholarship children, we deny them the opportunity to develop a passion for the game. It is time now at the beginning of the season to take a hard look at this important issue and start to ease off the accelerator a bit.

As adults, those of us who played hockey from a young age know the excitement of the games and the fun we had with our friends while growing up and playing hockey. We played with our teams a few times a week and played rink rat hockey with our friends the rest of time. We learned by watching and playing with the older kids.

Cold, dry hands: The short bench

Details: Last Updated on Friday, 07 September 2012 15:38

By Hal Tearse
Minnesota Hockey Coach-In-Chief

Hockey is a team game and youth hockey is for the enjoyment and development of all the players. At the college and professional ranks, teams play three lines regularly and often times use the fourth line. In youth hockey, the holy grail of “winning” is too often used to relegate the third line to the bench in many games.

When I coached Bantam teams, our opponents regularly shortened their bench early in the game. We beat a better team in the regional playoffs one year because our opponent only played two of their three lines. We changed our three lines every 30 seconds in the third period and wore them out. When we went through the post-game handshake, there were five cold, dry hands. The last game of the season for them and the third line did not skate a shift.