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Importance of Size for a Hockey Player

A question from KS:

Son cut from high school hockey team because of size. Coach in indirect words said it was because of size. He is a 5'3", 107 lb. junior who has been diagnosed with delayed puberty. Has every other component to be on the team but size. Do we have any recourse? Is it a legitimate concern. We don't see it as he has always competed against players that have been bigger than him. Can a coach cut because of size? Have it down in writing from the coach.

Thank you for your time.

Answer: In my humble opinion at the high school level there are attributes other than size that I would consider far more important - speed, skating ability, stick handling ability, conditioning, coachability just to name a few.

Some coaches (and your son's coach seems to be one) might get hung up on size but I would think those coaches are in the minority - however he is the coach and he is the person who ultimately decides who will be on the team.

Obviously as the level of play increases size can be a consideration because hockey is a very physical sport but even then I believe there can still be a place for the good, aggressive small player - the NHL is full of them.

Unfortunately, I doubt that you have any recourse at this time.

I assume your son played in a youth program in the past and he may still be able to play in such a program. If so it would be good to encourage him continue to play outside of school. He may experience  a growth spurt in the next year or so and if he continues to hone his skills he may have another opportunity to impress the coach. In any event he will  be able to play and enjoy the game.