ADM: What About Squirts?… It’s Not All About Mites

By Jim Clare, AHAI ADM Chairman

As I have stated several times in previous articles about the ADM, it is not all about the mites! The ADM is a full ladder of development for all ages and skill levels. The basic premise of the ADM is that we as adults impose adult competition and skill on our young athletes. These KIDS vastly under-train and over-compete, and we as coaches are more concerned about immediate outcomes (the win) rather than optimal training for our skaters. The ADM is a comprehensive plan of development that is centered on the participant and focuses on age-appropriate training. Part of what a coach should do well beyond the skater’s mite years is develop the long term athlete by better understanding the windows of trainability that exist and maximizing the development opportunity during those key times.

At the Squirt age group the kids should begin the process of learning how to train, this includes learning the fundamental sports skills needed to move to the next step in the development ladder. It is the period of accelerated learning of coordination and motor skills as well as the development of hockey specific skills.

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Categories: ADM, Illinois Hockey, USA Hockey News

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