Starting next hockey season, all Novice players in Airdrie Minor Hockey will get the opportunity to play and experience being in the goaltender position.

Stacey Carefoot, the General Manager of Airdrie Minor Hockey, says they're trying to follow Hockey Canada's development model more closely.  "In the Hockey Canada development model, it prefers to see the children at the younger divisions experiencing every position and not being pigeon holed into a specific position throughout the season to enable everyone to experience all of the three positions in hockey and to enable the aspiring goaltenders to also not be in goal for more than 50 per cent of their games."

Carefoot says they're noticing a low development of goaltender skating skills and other hockey IQ since goaltenders haven't experienced the game within the other positions.

Carefoot realizes the new update might meet frowns from some hockey parents.  "They've purchased goalie equipment, little Johnny's wanted to be a goalie since birth.  We get all of that but at the same time we do what's best for all players and that is to allow them to experience all positions."

Carefoot says they saw too many seven or eight year olds who were put in goal for a couple of years and realized it wasn't for them.  "They don't really want to be in goal anymore and they've got to the point where they can't really experience hockey at a faster pace being out because their skills are so far behind their peers.  So by doing this we're going to keep everybody's skill level up, which at the Novice level just means being able to literally do the basic skating techniques, basic puck handling, little team tactics and being able to understand the game."

The update states that the opportunity to play goal will be provided on a regular rotation with each team member taking his or her turn in the rotation.  At the Novice level, all players will be evaluated or tryout as a "player" and no one player will be designated in a position.

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