there's one called, "going to the beach".

Kids love it.

LOL

militia great program ? too funny. do you guys not hear the rumors or just refuse to believe them?

That's a great program. We did some stuff with them a few years back.

What year is your kid?

Hes a 2012. Needs to work on skills all summer or hes not gonna make it.

Babe Ruth or Cal Ripkin should have a league in your area if you are looking for something new that will actually help him.

and don't base last summers tropics teams on an actual tropic team. Last summer they let a lot of the knights/giants/BA/AI teams (Elite and AAA) play as Tropics teams. So it was not the selected kids like it had been previously.

You could play on one team one weekend and the same age group team teh following weekend and it would be a world of difference with all different kids, unless he played on one of the teams that stayed together for the whole summer just to play in tourneys.

Thanks Joe!

Why is the mere mention of Spring/Summer hockey automatic licence for the know-it-alls?

Worry about your own kid. We actually are smart enough to figure out what's best for our kids. You aren't.

Militia is good to look into, coaches are great and owners are awesome guys great spring/summer program.

Thanks Tom

i always laugh when TW emails. he's young enough to play yet is behind a bench because hes not good enough. interesting dynamic.

Check out the New England Freezers program... Up and coming spring/summer program. Cheaper then any other program in the area and great coaches as well!!! My son played for them the last two years and Owner helped him to get into a prep-school.

www.newenglandfreezers.com

Thats debateable, your track record speaks for itself.

The Future Stars program is worth looking into - low key, one practice and one game a week all summer/spring for the price of a couple of tournaments. Decent competition and depending on the year and the turnout it can be good competition. League is extremely well run and travel is very limited. You would probably practice at the closest FMC rink to your house and have half of your games there as well. Low pressure, fun summer hockey without the money grab.

Sounds fun driving around to rinks twice per week all summer.

Yeah, be in a rink 10 Sundays in the summer mid day. It is the worst.

Plus, if your kid plays reasonably good club hockey, you will find the competition to be mostly terrible. There are usually two or three good teams at each age level, then the rest is bad town players.

What a ballsack - the OP asked about Spring/Summer programs and I recommended checking out a Spring/Summer program. The OP clearly wants to drive to the rink over the Spring/Summer and I'm guessing he would like to keep the driving part to a minimum so STFU and post your twink Mickey Mouse sticker somewhere else

For whatever reason, the mention of summer hockey brings the "ballsacks" out. It comes down to parents that support their kids, and parents that don't. At a certain age, kids will need to take advantage of the off season to improve, because the kids they're competing with are. What age that is depends on the kid.

Odds are, the parent of the kid that wants to get better but has parents that aren't willing to provide that opportunity, eventually, end up among the 75% that give up the sport by the middle of their HS years. Then they sit on the couch playing video games instead, and Mom and Dad don't have to worry any more about driving to the rink.

Unless the kid gets a job in the snack bar.

Oh, please!

So, playing in a low pressure summer hockey league is the difference maker between kids who "make it" and those who don't?

Many of these spring/summer leagues have talent of all levels that prevent any real improvement of skills. The select kids show off and the town kids try to keep up. What you're not "getting" is that most of us have tried these leagues and don't see them as being that big of a difference maker. If the kid really wants to play then fine but there are more than a few that are basically made to go by overbearing parents who think they have it all figured out.

I can guarantee you in the 75% who quit there are ones driven out by moms and dads who turned hockey into a 12-month sport when the kid wanted to do other activities in the warm weather.

Skills twice per week during the week, keep your weekends open. Pick a tournament or two if your kid gets the itch to play some games, but be selective. They'll be better off in August when the grind starts back up again. $1500-$2000 all in unless you travel to a tournament, keeps the kid on the ice and the parents sane.

For the record, I agree with you 100% but the guy asked for Spring/Summer programs not life and development advice. If there is a program worth recommending great, if not keep the wisdom under lock and key so others don't benefit from our superior understanding of their choices

I didn't say ANY of that. I said that at some point kids have to start to use the off season to improve their skills. That includes strength training. It should also include other sports. But, the "old school" thinking of keeping a kid off the ice for ten weeks during the critical development years is going to cause the kid to fall behind. It's just the way it is now. Hockey players didn't used to lift weights. Now they lift after every game in the NHL. The game is different.

I also didn't say that playing solely on a tournament team - regardless of level of play - is going to develop a kid. Game play is an important part of the equation - but only a part. A small part. Less than 10%, if I had to assign a number.

If the OP had asked for the best summer skills program, I would have said Dynamic's MAX Hockey. But he seemed to want recommendations on tournament teams.

Tournament teams are a chance for a kid to try the things he's learning at speed. In fact, at different speeds. My kid has played for some top area teams each summer, he has played for some average teams. What he is able to work on in the slower games is different from what he works on at the elite level.

Plus, they're fun. Except for the refereeing, which pretty uniformly sucks in the summer. I forget that each year.

ALL the players on my kid's team, and all the kids he competes against, play on summer teams and do summer skills. The kids on his teams in the past that didn't play in the summer, or didn't play much are, pretty much, all out of the game. Think that's coincidence?

And, you can guarantee nothing. It's arrogant for you to even say it. It implies that you are smarter than everyone in the world, which I "guarantee" you isn't the case.

You have an opinion. That, and a buck, will get you a cup of coffee. You don't know my kid, I don't know yours. Don't think for a second you know what's best for my kid. I "guarantee" I don't know what's best for yours.

This comment is much better thought out than your initial one where you referred to people who disagree with your take on Summer hockey as, "ballsacks".

No, I certainly don't know what's best for your kid nor would I ever imply that I did. Also, I will stand by my "guarantee" in this particular case because I've seen it happen a few times. It doesn't mean I'm smarter than anyone else but there are kids who get tired of trying to live their parents dream and decide to do something else. It happens. Certainly not to every kid but none of us know how long our children will decide to play hockey or any other activity. Kids change. Circumstances change.

If I misread your initial comment than I apologize but I took it as a swipe at those who don't share your view on what kids should do in the off-season.

You didn't misread anything. I was building off of the reference the prior poster made, which I absolutely agree with. So, yes, I am going to be openly critical of people that spout off about how kids shouldn't play summer hockey in EVERY SINGLE THREAD asking about good summer hockey and skills. It's like a guy posting to a Corvette message board that all Corvette owners are compensating.

Like that poster said said, if you have a recommendation, make it, otherwise keep your personal philosophy to yourself. Or, better yet, start a thread on the detriments of summer hockey, so that your rants are on topic.

First of all if you read my posts you would notice I never said kids shouldn't play summer hockey. I just disagree with the premise it's absolutely necessary to be successful in youth hockey.

Second if you're getting your knickers in that much of a twist because people aren't following the rules you think should be in place maybe you should start your own thread on an invite-only basis. This is the dboard for pete's sake.

How bout summer skills north of Boston , any recomendations?

Dynamic's Max Hockey, absolutely the best around. All the top players - right up through the likes of Jack Eichel - attend these programs.

Book early, though, they sell out fast. Like, by February fast.

And, be warned, they aren't "fun." Some kids find it tedious, because it's all about edgework and puck control. As in, the most important skills a player can have.

Then I wasn't referring to you, so STFU. You're the one that picked my post to completely "twist" out of context.

Oh, I see. Unless someone has express permission they not allowed to comment on one of your posts.

Have a nice day.

keep going, you two are cute...

Right, you guys remind of the two kids fighting over a spot in line at the start of a drill. It doesn't matter what who was first and the coach wants to cut both of you !