Youth Hockey?

[Shibby]

What age do kids usually start playing ice hockey?

[mindstar]

4-6 but 6 for league

[gdbear65]

Wayne Gretzky started when he was 4.

[Shibby]

So would 4 be about the time kids are able to stay balanced on skates?

[mindstar]

with you there, kids can skate as soon as they can walk.

[gdbear65]

with you there, kids can skate as soon as they can walk.

the only limitation might be finding a pair of skates small enough, but until they are steady on their feet, trying to get him/her to to skate may not be a good idea. To be sure, perhaps it would be best to wait until he/she is able to ride a bicycle without trainers.

[hitmansb]

Get them into skates at 3, and into skating lessons. Initiation hockey starts at 4 or 5, depending on the region.

[hitmansb]

perhaps it would be best to wait until he/she is able to ride a bicycle without trainers.

Your kid would suck so bad compared to the other kids if you waited that long, there'd be no point.

[gdbear65]

Your kid would suck so bad compared to the other kids if you waited that long, there'd be no point.

I seriously doubt that - some kids don't start until later and they still do well - I didn't start skating until I was six or seven and believe me I was no worse than the other kids and in the mid nineties I was going to help coach a team of AAA 7 year olds - most of them couldn't skate well at all - had a hard time picking defensemen because none of them could skate backwards.

[NYCmitch25]

Get them into skates at 3, and into skating lessons. Initiation hockey starts at 4 or 5, depending on the region.

i was going to say 5, never thought as early as 3.

[hitmansb]

I seriously doubt that - some kids don't start until later and they still do well - I didn't start skating until I was six or seven and believe me I was no worse than the other kids and in the mid nineties I was going to help coach a team of AAA 7 year olds - most of them couldn't skate well at all - had a hard time picking defensemen because none of them could skate backwards.

Where are you located? I'm in Ontario, Canada...and around here the kids who play A are good skaters by 7. A buddy of mine has a kid who started hockey a year later than most of the kids he plays with (some kids have 2 years on him in that level) and it definately shows. And it's not like he didn't learn the skating basics earlier...but the jump from playing around on a pond to organized hockey is significant. It will take a whole summer of constant hockey camps to get him caught up (which, luckily, my buddy able willing to invest the time and money to do so).