12 & Under Nationals decision

Press Release

To coincide with the principles of the American Development Model, which focuses on age-appropriate training based on long-term athlete development, USA Hockey’s Board of Directors voted to discontinue the 12 & Under National Championships at the Tier I and II levels starting with the 2012-13 season.

* USA Hockey promotes a broad base of development – the goal is to support a world-leading, age-specific, long-term athlete development model.
* The current system encourages players and parents to seek out super teams at 11 years old in order to win a national championship – this short-term model causes peaking too early and burnout.
* USA Hockey increased the number of teams from 12 to 48 in the older youth and girls’ national championship categories to provide additional opportunities for players when the event is developmentally appropriate.

“USA Hockey is committed to providing our member players with the very best age-appropriate, competitive developmental situations. While the 12 & Under National Championships have been successful, the process and structure that leads up to the tournaments actually contradicts what is important for the competitive development of our nation’s most promising young players.”
–Ken Martel, Director, American Development Model

“As we continue to learn more and more about the development of our athletes, we find it to be beneficial for kids to wait until they are further matured before delving into a national competition. I’ve spent a lot of time at rinks, talking with and listening to athletes and various coaches and trying to understand all sides of this issue. After all of that, I came to the decision that for our athletes’ development, this is the right thing.”
–Dave Klasnick, USA Hockey Vice President/Youth Council Chairperson

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)