Hockey Canada - Long-Term Development Outline

Physical Literacy and Hockey Basics through a Broad Range of Sports

STAGE

GENDER

AGE

LEVEL OF COMPETITION

Discovery	Male & Female	0-4 years	Community

Acquire fundamental movement skills (running, gliding, jumping, kicking, catching) that lay the foundation for more complex movements; prepare children for a physically active lifestyle. Hockey Canada encourages children to begin skating at an early age through Discovery Hockey programs.

FUNdamentals 1	Male & Female	5-6 years	Community/Local

Development of physical literacy. Fundamental movement skills should be mastered and motor development emphasized; participation in many sports/activities is encouraged. Basic hockey skills of skating and puck control are introduced through the U7. FUN competitions introduced in a team environment.

FUNdamentals 2	Male & Female	7-8 years	Local

Continue to develop motor skills and coordination. Practices should be held twice a week during the season. Ongoing participation in compatible sports is strongly encouraged. U9 Skills Program is designed to promote the continued development of physical literacy, fitness, and the basic skills required to play hockey.

Learn to Play	Male & Female	9-10 years	Local/Provincial

Develop fine motor skills, on an individual technical skill basis, that lead to utilizing these skills in individual and team tactics later on. Prior to the beginning of the growth spurt, players have the best opportunity to learn and begin to master fine motor skills that can be used in combination with other skills. Players should be able to begin to transfer skills and concepts from practices to games.

Learn to Train	Male Female	11-12 years 10-11 years	Local/Provincial

Most significant period for development. Accelerated adaptation to motor coordination; group interaction, team building and social activities emphasized; reasonable balance of practices and games will foster the ongoing development and mastery of essential skills in hockey.

INCREASE HOCKEY SPECIFIC SKILLS

Train to Train	Male Female	12-16 years 11-15 years	Provincial

Build an aerobic base, develop speed and strength and further develop and consolidate sport specific technical skills with an increased emphasis on hockey and a reduction in the number of other sports played. Introduce and develop individual and group tactics; emphasize team-building, group interaction and social activities.

Train to Compete	Male Female	16-17 years 16-18 years	National

Position specific technical and tactical preparation; emphasis on fitness preparation and the development of position specific technical and tactical skills under competitive conditions; develop aerobic capacity, power, self-awareness and independence. International competitive experience may be added at the end of this stage.

Train to Win	Male Female	18-20 years 16-18 years	National

Physical, technical, tactical (including decision-making skills), mental, personal and lifestyle capacities are fully established; emphasis in training shifts to the maximization of performance. High performance sport specialist support is optimized, as is fitness and medical monitoring.

Excel	Male Female	21+ years 22+ years	International

All systems, including physical preparation, testing or monitoring and others which are supportive in nature, are fully maximized and refined to ensure excellence at the highest competitive levels (i.e., the Olympic Games and World Championships). Competition and training at the highest level with a focus on maintaining or improving technical, tactical, physical, and ancillary capacities.