Do younger girls usually play for both boys and girls teams until they make the switch to girls only teams when they are older?

It depends on the girl, the parents, and what teams are available in your area. I switched my daughter to a girl's team when she was 7. I had gotten tired of the snide comments because she was one of better players on the team. The parents of the boys pressured the coach until he put her on defense when she was playing mites with the boys. We got information about competitive girls teams & had her try out even though it meant she would be playing with & against girls 2 to 5 years older than her (the 10 & under team frequently played up) It has been mostly a positive experience (there are always drawbacks) & this is her 7th year with this organization. Prep schools are looking at her something that would be difficult for her if she was on a boys team. (High school hockey in high school is limited at best in my state) I think you need to talk with your daughter & see what she wants. I read a post by you under a different topic & it gave me the impression that your daughter was passed over even though she has the skills because she was a girl. Check into the girls teams available in your area contact the coaches & have your daughter go to a game (Our team lets prospects sit on the bench during a game so they can hear what the coaches are saying to the team during the course of the game) See if the organization will let your daughter go to a practice because you want the coach to be a good fit for your child. Good luck

I tried to be neutral in my other post because I did not want gender to play a part in the answers I got. At this point it has not been an issue for her. She has been fine with the boys and is able to play better than most on her team. She is friendly with the boys on her team and that has not been an issue. I have gotten the funny comments from parents as well in regards to her moving to a girls team, maybe it would be better for her etc. That seems to be more about them, than her. She has skated with a girls team and likes that as well. Developmentally however I keep hearing that she should stay with the boys. At this point, she has not been passed over which is why I asked about the style of play. I noticed that she plays well, but very positional, rather than skating from one end to the other with the puck. The ones who do that, if they scores gets glorified and those who are left covering (not just my daughter but a boy I know did get looked over)don't seem to get a lot of credit.
In any case I am impressed that your daughter seems to be doing quite well. It is nice to read. I keep hearing about burnout with kids and am trying to look at this as something that evolves over time and with her continued enjoyment of the game. thanks for your advice.

Keeping to her position at this age is very typical for girls this age, they listen & follow instructions better & its not a hockey thing look at your daughter's classroom & her teacher will tell you the same thing. As far as hockey development, as long as she's okay skating with the boys & she has friends on the team the thing I would caution you about is watching her as she performs new drills, if she does it incorrectly repeatedly & no one corrects her its time to move especially when you see the coaches correcting the boys. There are many camps in the summer that have girls only session just make sure it's not below her ability or she'll be bored. At her age now there's no checking but in PeeWee there is & while my daughter loves nothing better than taking out a boys bigger than her she knows the risks involved, also you get into issues of changing facilities, you either bring her to the rink in everything but her skates or she changes in the girls bathroom. Does she do any other sports or dancing? Hockey all year will burn any child out fast. My daughter danced for five years while playing hockey, it improved her balance & muscle strength & has played softball for years, it slows her down so she's not at a frantic pace 12 months of the year. As far as your daughter getting the recognition she deserves you'll have to provide it. Don't try to coach her in the car congradulate her on her play, ask her if there was something she should have done better or different, her what she has to say, please do not tell her that she did something wrong, she probablly knows it already. When my daughter's getting ready to take the ice for a game the only thing I tell her is to have fun. In my book if she's not having fun it's not worth it.

Yes my daughter enjoys other sports and I purposefully made her take a break from hockey last spring even though she had been asked to do a spring league and clinic. Even though she would have liked to skate we decided to let her do other sports, which she really enjoyed. It is funny that you say to notice if she is not being corrected during drills compared to boys. That has not been an issue with her coaches thus far but did notice that during a camp she attended she seemed invisible to those running it, even though she was clearly well matched to the boys out there. They never picked her for a demonstration or knew her name like they did the boys. I had never thought that it was because she is a girl but I guess I naively assumed she would be treated the same?? Interesting. Something to keep an eye out for. As for the coaching thing, I try to avoid it since I don't know anything about hockey and like you I tell her to have fun. I can't say I don't think about her future or I wouldn't be asking but I do try to keep things into perspective. Hopefully that doesn't change but something tells me the more you get into this, the more you learn.

Perspective, that's the hardest thing to maintain, this is your daughter. If she really wants to skate in the summer does your area rink offer drop in? Then you can keep it informal & still keep her skills fresh without a committment or one year I sent my dughter to a roller hockey camp. When do they have try outs for your area? Down here the girls try out for thre commpetitive teams in the spring just after nationals. You can try her out with a team for a small fee, $50.00 is reasonable, and see where she compares with girls her age & if you & she decide its not a good fit she can still try out with lower level teams in the fall or when ever try outs are held. And please don't think I mean lower level as a negative. Sometimes a big fish in a small pond is a great thing. A good coach will recognize your daughters skills regardless of her gender. Let me know how her season progresses & yes this is a learn as you go sport. When my daughter started skating I checked out a book from the library & I still go on the USA hockey web site. There is a fair amount of info regarding rules & what skills should be taught & accomplished at each division.

Tryouts in our area are in the spring. I checked into some local girls teams. From what I heard they tend to take a lot of girls so there is a wide variety of skills, mostly because they are trying to build the higher level teams. I didn't know if this was common among girls teams in other areas. I also heard that some of these private teams can be for profit rather than improving skills or teams. I wonder if that is true as well. I certainly understand making a living but it seems to me that there is a lot of money to be made on hockey parents. I wonder if not playing on a private team will hurt a player in the long run because they don't get as developed as those other kids do.

I'm not certain what area of New Hampshire you live in, but if you opt for the club route look for a team that is registered as a not for profit, most your fees will go towards tournament entry fees, ice time for games & practice, what ever is left over goes to improve the program, such as a development clinic for younger girls, power skate programs, etc. Several New Hampshire teams, Avalanche, Concord & Lady Monarchs play in the NEGHL, you'll find info about this league on the Assabet web site. You really will need to do your homework to find a team in your area that fits your dughter's needs & your expectations. If you can go to their practices, talk with the parents there. If they're rabid, run. Look at the team web sites, see how many times the girls practice each week, how many games they play, how many tournament s they go to. Ask if tournaments are an extra charge. My $1700.00 pays for 1-3 practices, 1-3games each week, a tournament in June, October, November, December, February & the state tournament, & if applicable the regional & national tournaments & the season runs from September to early April, so my added expenses are equipment, travel, food & lodging. Some of my daughter's friends parents, who's daughters play on other teams, complain about the extra expenses they have to pay for tournaments, travel is part of the game to get a level of competition. As far as hurting player development by not playing on a club team, it depends on how strong the programs are in the town programs, I believe the Concord team that plays in the NEGHL is a town based team, I may be wrong, so there is obviously stress on player development to compete at a Tier I level