Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure who is still doing privates, but 7 is on the late side to start (but absolutely not too late). I recommend getting her in private skating lessons twice a week and just keep it going throughout the year.

Seven is not on the late side to start and starting at seven or even eight will have no bearing on any kid’s chances of playing competitive hockey after age 18. Participation numbers roughly triple in local orgs from 6U to 8U, with an even bigger jump among girls.

The skating advice is dead on though. She has to be able to skate. If she does private lessons and practices 2-3 times a week in the fall she would be ready to join a hockey program mid-season this year.

For programs, MYHA is far and away the best option for girls because they have a lot of girls in the program. Most of what she’ll do at that age is co-ed and that has its benefits but I think it can get pretty lonely for most girls if there’s only one on the team. MYHA has enough girls to sustain a girls only teams from 8U and up.

First paragraph is probably true for girls hockey. I don't have experience there yet. However, 7 is on the late side for boys hockey and if you don't make an effort to catch up, you may think your kid just isn't a "natural" or a "gifted athlete" when in fact, many of the 7 year olds have been skating since they were 3, including in lessons, and playing on spring and summer teams. If you take skating lessons for 2-3 days a week for a year starting at 7, that is enough to catch up, at least with the skating, in my opinion.

This is true for maybe 10 percent of the boys and the same proportion of girls. It’s a hard sport with a steep learning curve but kids can start start at 7 and have a lot of fun playing through at least age 12. The average NHL player started after age 4. Hockey people do participation a great disservice by claiming kids can’t enjoy the sport unless they start skating while they’re in diapers. Similarly, kids don’t need to be on spring or summer teams at that age, though it is good to be skating throughout the year.

Laurel has a strong LTP but Tri-City’s 8U program has gotten really small. I don’t know what happened there.

We live near you and did the learn to play hockey, House, travel progression at Gardens Ice House in Laurel (Tri City Eagles) for our daughter. It will be the easiest commute to a good program for you, I believe.

If she stays interested, then you can tryout for a couple programs maybe at 10u to see what makes sense.

I agree the Rockville girls program is the strongest, but the head of the program doesn't coach all the girls teams. Also, there are benefits to playing co Ed at a younger age.

That being said, if your daughter gets hooked, it probably does make sense to head to Rockville - tons of girls who are really good. While the 8u program is co Ed, they do girls only tournaments.

7 of course isn't too late to start hockey, but you'll want to get her on the ice, in clinics, etc as much as possible if she's serious about it.