14 to 18

There is a growing crisis in youth and high school hockey, with the the word "team" being replaced by the word "me."  Players and parents of the "Me Generation" are too quick these days to criticize teammates, coaches and others for not recognizing individual talent.  When players arrive at this rink with this type of attitude, the coach has no chance at all unless he or she can somehow change it. 

How many opportunities do you get to play sports in high school?  Parents, looking back during your day, how much fun did sports bring to your high school experience?   Sports can bring a tremendous amount of fun and school spirit and this can happen both as a player and or as a spectator.    

Many adults I spoke with at the Wanderlust Festival this summer in Stratton, Vermont were athletes growing up. When I asked them how their lives would have been different had they practiced yoga as children, they all agreed that they would likely have discovered their strengths as athletes and as individuals in a more gentle and less competitive way.

In today’s world of youth organized sports, much of the focus is on winning, moving fast and being the best. Many of these goals come from outside pressures of parents, coaches and society. Yoga dissolves the external pressures to perform at a fast pace, allowing participants to slow down and realize that they are perfect exactly where and how they are, in the moment.

The 2012 London Summer Olympic Games are now but a memory, but the accomplishments of the most notable and visible athletes, such as Alex Morgan, Gabby Douglas, Allyson Felix, Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Usain Bolt, are clearly going to have a long-lasting impact on youth athletes with similar aspirations of glory.

Playing the game of ice hockey within the rules would seem like a simple concept.  Yet all efforts to accomplish this objective have thus far proven elusive, from the NHL all the way down to the youngest levels.  In a previous post I reported that Minnesota Hockey has retained the much harsher penalties for two of the three most dangerous plays in the game. In fact, Minnesota has the toughest rules in youth and high school hockey in the country. The question is, will this be enough to change the culture of the sport?