U9

U9 Division Schedule

U9 Program Description

Purpose

GVMHA’s U9 Program is designed to develop a foundation of motor skills and coordination that will lead to an increase in physical literacy, fitness, and the basic skills required to play hockey.  U9 follows an internally developed modified playing surface program that fosters development for every athlete.     

Outcomes 

  • Develop strong foundation of the core hockey skills
  • Learn the basics of game play
  • To have FUN and develop a passion for the sport of hockey
  • To develop the foundation of teamwork
  • To develop the concepts of cooperation and fair play
  • Introduction to full ice game play

Age Group 

U9 is designed for players 7 and 8 years of age as of December 31 of the current season.   

U9 Coop
U9 Female

Program Schedule 

Two ice times per week

Players will have two assigned ice times per week.  One weekday ice time, and one weekend ice time.  U9 ice times are 60 minutes in length.  All U9 ice times are scheduled at the Okanagan Training Rink (OTR) 

U9 Games 

12-15 scheduled games per year 

1-3 Tournaments per year 

GVMHA will schedule 12-15 games season for the U9 teams.  Home Games will be scheduled in Vernon, and Away Games will be scheduled in the region (Revelstoke through West Kelowna).  Games will be played on modified ice as per Hockey Canada Guidelines. A transition to full ice games will take place in the final months of the season.  Home games may be scheduled in the traditional practice time slots in lieu of practice. 

Team Placement 

U9 is tiered into two divisions (A and B).  The A Division consists of two (2) teams, and the B division consists of 4-5 teams annually.  GVMHA also fields a U9 Female team, known as the Lakers.   

Players are assessed at the beginning of the season on the fundamental hockey skills (skating, stopping, puck handling) and ranked in order of ability.  The top 25-30 players in the U9 division are placed on the A Division teams, with the goal of balanced teams.  The remainder of the division are placed in the B division, with the goal of creating balanced teams.  

Program Development Philosophy  

The U9 program will have a development breakdown as follows: 

  • 75% individual technical skills
  • 15% individual tactical skills
  • 10% team tactics

The program will utilize the following skill development philosophies: 

  • Progression based skill development
  • Small area game play skill development
U9 Gunnar

U9 Skill Outcomes 

Balance and Agility 

  • Basic Stance 
  • Balance on one foot 
  • Gliding on two skates 
  • Gliding on one skate – forward and backward 
  • Lateral crossovers 

Edge Control 

  • Figure 8’s - forward –inside and outside edge 
  • Figure 8’s -backward – inside and outside edge 
  • Heel to heel  
  • 1 leg weaving – forward and backward 

Starts and Stops 

  • V Start 
  • Crossover start 
  • Backward c-cut start 
  • One o’clock-eleven o’clock stop 
  • Two foot parallel stop 
  • One leg backward stop 
  • Two leg backward stop 

Forward Skating 

  • C-cuts – left foot / right foot / alternating 
  • Crossunders 
  • T-push 
  • Forward stride 

Backwards Skating 

  • C-cuts – left foot / right foot 
  • Gliding on two skates – backward 
  • Gliding on one skate – backward 
  • Backward Striding 
  • 1 Crossover / Reach 

Turns and Crossovers 

  • Glide turns / Tight turns 
  • C-cuts – around circle – outside foot – forward & backward 
  • Crossovers – forward & backward 
  • Pivots – bwd to fwd & fwd to bwd 
  • Pivots – open & reverse 

Stationary Puck Control

  • Stance 
  • Narrow / Wide 
  • Side – front – side 
  • Toe drag – side/front 
  • Attack Triangle 

Moving Puck Control   

  • Narrow / Wide 
  • Open ice carry – forehand & backhand 
  • Weaving with puck 
  • Toe drag – front & side 
  • Attack the Triangle 

Stationary Passing and Receiving

  • Stationary forehand pass 
  • Stationary backhand pass 
  • Stationary bank pass 

Shooting

  • Forehand - wrist shot 
  • Backhand - sweep shot 
  • Forehand / backhand shots in motion 
  • Forehand - flip shot 
  • Backhand - flip shot 

Individual Offensive Tactics

  • Body fakes 
  • Stick fakes 
  • Dekes 
  • Moves in Combination 
  • Net Drives 

Individual Defensive Tactics

  • Angling 
  • Basic 1 on 1’s 
  • Escape moves 
  • Puck retrievals 

Team Play

  • Basic Positioning – all players should play all positions 

Game Play

  • Offside
  • Faceoff positioning
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Greater Vernon Minor Hockey Association

Community based organization that is focused on attracting family membership
through providing challenging and comprehensive hockey development programs
for our local youth. Our volunteers and employees alike will make every effort
to run our day to day program operations in a transparent, informative, fair and
inclusive manner.