Is It Still Fun?

If you were to observe kids walking into rinks all across the country, what would you see? Smiling faces or kids just going through the motions or monotony of the process.

Have you really looked around the rinks lately, what do you see? Is it still fun to play the game of hockey?

Does anyone still have fun playing the sport or has it turned into a job or just another activity? Obviously, everyone has their own definition of what fun is, but when it comes to going to the rink, do players of any age still find it entertaining or enjoyable? For some “fun” means winning?

What percentage of kids are still having fun playing the game?

Obviously, that’s a difficult question to answer these days with so many other variables in play, but shouldn’t that be the most meaningful variable of them all? As kids climb the ladder within the game of hockey it would appear the seriousness and intensity of the situation clearly takes on entirely new meaning.

Winning becomes all-encompassing and in some cases the “fun” gets benched. Losing isn’t fun, nothing about the game seems very fun when you’re on the losing side of the battle every night getting the shit the kicked out you. That isn’t fun at all, and many of us have experienced that a time or two.

Every kid is different, they all have their own definition of “fun”. Perhaps some parents and coaches alike have the blinders on, thinking that the kids are having fun because the game is fun to play.

There’s a preconceived notion out there that they understand what the kid is thinking at all times. Unfortunately, what adults think might be fun just because, isn’t that appealing to the kids. Parents and coaches should be checking in with players a lot especially in younger levels of the game and there should be a concerted effort to keep things fun.

Has the game become boring for them? Is practice fun? What’s that element of game or experience like? Are kids being challenging to get better and is that fun for players? or has the game turned into the job?

Why are they still playing if they aren’t having any fun?

When is the fun getting sucked out of them? If so, why and what’s causing that?

Is it a coach? Is it the overbearing hockey parents? or Have they just had enough?

Really can’t stress enough that hockey parents need to check in with their kids on a regular basis, but the first question should always be; “Are you still having fun?”

Wouldn’t it be great if every kid playing the game right now was having fun?

Sadly, that’s not the case.

Unfortunately, it would also appear that in some cases as kids move up hockey’s hierarchical stages that the game gets less and less enjoyable. No one wants to look or accept the declining numbers within the game, the game itself has become so elitist that it’s not accessible to the masses anymore. The game costs so much that there’s definitely a trickledown effect when it comes to the seriousness of the situation. You want to see kids have fun playing the game in the purest sense of the word, go to an outdoor rink or on a street in your community and just watch, I bet you will see more smiles there than anywhere else.

Are we missing the mark when it comes to the sport and the game of hockey?

Time will tell, we can all hope that every young kid that laces them up will find some aspect of the game that they still enjoy and that no one has stolen their passion or love of the game.

To all the parents and coaches out there, let’s try something different, let’s vary the practice plans, let’s have some more fun. The game and team systems can be all taken seriously, but it can still be fun. Let’s check in with the kids and see what they want out of the game.

Perhaps let’s take a moment and think about how many months a year kids play the game, maybe they just need to take a break and then perhaps maybe the fun might return?

See you at the rink, hopefully with a smile on your face.