Allow me to define our situation a little.

Our association does not have a policy for play time for our Mite A (7-8yr olds) level kids. We do follow the guidance of USA Hockey but I don't see any information about our issue.

I have one coach who routinely plays 7 kids. The other five on his team get minimal playing time. The parent of one player said their player was getting only one shift per period.

Parents of the players with less playing time were told that their kids were not second year Mite A kids. Therefore, they had to, 'pay their dues.'

Of course this has divided the team amongst the parents and some of the players.

Should this Mite A team be playing everyone 'more equitable' or should they 'play to win?'

Any thoughts on how to resolve this?

7 and 8 year olds should all get equal playing time. Most associations have a policy that this happens. In the one I am in a buzzer goes to change the lines and they simplay rotate.

It is very common for mites to play all the positions as well.

We have over 80% of the kid's in North America quitting hockey by 14. That is when they start to express their independence. If I am a kid and my experience with hockey is that the coach is simply there to win games and therefore I sit most of the game I am going to sit in front of my WII at home where I get to play as much as I like and no one is there to watch and evaluate my every move.

In Finland and Sweden kid's are playing cross ice at 7 and 8 and getting equal ice time.

Question:
Do the players who get one shift a period pay a a pro rated scale i.e. only $200 for the ice time and the others pay $1000. I sure wouldn't want to be paying equal if my kid only gets 20% of the ice time.

My experience when coaching minor hockey was that by playing all of the kid's equally when the playoffs came many of the ones who started at the bottom were now top players. This would never happen if they never got to play.

Another question is why would you want to come to practice??? What are you practicing for? Sitting on the bench takes no practice.

In other words. What the coaches are doing is wrong on so many levels. I could go on and on but will leave that to other coaches on this board.

You must roll the lines in youth hockey. That is the only way the "less skilled" kids could prove themselves. Besides, youth hockey is more about skill development, not winning. Let the "less skilled" players play in all types of game situations. This is the only way for them to learn about the game and increase their skill level. If any of your coaches displays a win at all costs attitude, then they should be coaching Division 1 hockey.