Youth Leagues
Over the years, Tampa Bay has developed some great youth hockey programs. From popular in-house leagues, select tourney teams, all the way to travel hockey, there are excellent programs all over the area.
It can be hard to find information and even harder to decide what programs are best for your kids. You can find all the info you need to make the best decision for you and your child here at HockeyFLO. Learn about learn-to-play programs, training and development, local leagues all the way to travel. Find the closest rink(s) to you and learn about coaches in the area.
Look around and don’t forget to sign up to join our hockey family via email or our socials. We’ll keep you up to date with local youth hockey happenings and occasional promotions on gear and swag.
The Basics of Youth Hockey
Youth Hockey is where boys and girls learn and develop their skills. There are many paths to get kids involved in hockey, and we will show you the most common and successful avenues for your little one. Almost every program now adays has some sort of link to USA Hockey’s American Development Model. You can learn more about ADM by clicking the link above, however, the guiding principles are defined below.
The USA Hockey’s ADM is based upon certain guiding principles taken from research and best practices in youth sports, human development, coaching, and the sports sciences. They can be used to promote developmentally-appropriate athlete development, health and safety, and sustained physical activity throughout the lifespan.
While you can get started in hockey at any age, the typical progression is described below along with the age groups that kids will advance through. Those that start at an older age, still will most likely follow the first four steps before going into their appropriate age group. You must have some sort of proficiency in skating to begin playing hockey.
Age Levels and Progression of Youth Hockey
- Learn to Skate
- Learn to Play
- Hockey 101 and Hockey 201 classes (offered at most rinks)
- 6U (if offered at your rink) – Called Mini Mite. Ages 5-6
- 8U (includes 6U at some rinks) – Mite
- 10U – Squirt
- 12U – Peewee
- 14U – Bantam
- 16U – Midget (minor)
- 18U – Midget (major)
Potential Hockey Leagues in your area
There are many options out there for your little one to play in a league. We will provide a brief description of those out there to help determine what is right for your child. Every kid is different and there is no one perfect answer to what league is best for your child’s development. Feel free to reach out with specific questions and we’ll try to guide you in the right direction. Keep in mind that not all leagues are available at every rink. We do list which are available in our rinks tab.