How to Introduce Kids to Ice Hockey

Starting a Match

All hockey matches are started with a push back from the centre spot. The two teams line up on their respective sides of the field, with the ball in one player’s possession at the centre of the field.

Thirteen-year-olds are not too young to start hockey, although most parents choose to get their kids on the ice before their 13th birthday. Most players and coaches share the view that it’s never too late to start playing hockey, although late-comers will have to work hard to catch up.

Hockey is a sport in which two teams play against each other by trying to manoeuvre a ball or a puck into the opponent’s goal using a hockey stick. There are many types of hockey such as bandy, field hockey, ice hockey and rink hockey.

Many associations require players to be five years old. Kids that start hockey before they are physically and mentally ready are more likely to have a negative experience. It is never too late to start playing hockey. Players have joined hockey programs at 12-13 years old and still made varsity hockey teams.

Six players from each team are on the ice at any one time. The line up being; netminder, two defencemen and three forwards. These players can be changed at any time as the game is played at such a speed. A team is usually made up of between 17 and 22 players.

The name hockey—as the organized game came to be known—has been attributed to the French word hoquet (shepherd’s stick). The term rink, referring to the designated area of play, was originally used in the game of curling in 18th-century Scotland.

The objective of hockey is simple: score more goals than the opposing team. Players are not allowed to kick the puck into the net or purposely direct it in with any part of their body. During regulation time, each team uses five skaters—three forwards and two defencemen—plus a goaltender.

Amateur ice hockey leagues began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion and later became the championship trophy of the NHL.

The modern game of hockey emerged in England in the mid-18th century and is largely attributed to the growth of public schools, such as Eton. The first Hockey Association was formed in the UK in 1876 and drew up the first formal set of rules.

Icing the puck

Icing is when a player on his team’s side of the red center line shoots the puck all the way down the ice and it crosses the red goal line at any point (other than the goal). Icing is not permitted when teams are at equal strength or on the power play.