Eight year-old hockey player. Four years on the ice. Trượt băng và puck-hvàling skills.

The little guy has been skating for nearly four years now. Most of that time has been spent with North American Hockey Systems, a small hockey training facility in upstate New York run by father and son teaching skating and puck handling skills to kids of all ages. They have a very systematic approach to teaching hockey - they build players by solidifying the fundamentals (flexibility of the legs and feet, balance, edges - especially outside edges, basic puck control, etc.) before moving on to more complex skills that depend on mastery of the fundamentals. The training process is longer because steps are never skipped or glanced over. My son's skills are pretty typical of children regularly attending their sessions. As a dad, I wish I could take more credit for his progress, but hey.... I'm very happy with where he is regardless of who got him there!