Hockey families are often concerned with finding access to hockey after the winter season is over or leading up to the start of winter hockey. Below, we'll try to provide an overview of some of the local opportunities to continue playing hockey by age group. The age groups below aren't an exact science - you'll need to figure out if opportunities are available by birth year, a player's age on the first day of the program, etc. For more information on spring and summer hockey, please visit our Skills & Off-Season Training page in the "Player Resources" section of this website. For more information on the winter hockey programs that Middleton Youth Hockey offers, please visit Our Youth Hockey Levels page.

In our opinion, probably the most important part of off-season hockey is that we ensure that it is tons of fun for our hockey players. The competitive winter season is over, school work lightens a bit, and the camps, programs, and leagues available in the summer tend to focus on skill development and enjoying hockey. Yes, it's more ice time and the potential for player development; No - it shouldn't feel like a job to your youth hockey player. It's also tough to beat roller hockey for fun. It's a good opportunity to lace up with your kids and skate in a parking lot, driveway, or even garage.

There aren't a ton of off-season hockey options for kids this young. You might be able to find an introduction to skating program or even just a few open skates to get them used to stepping onto the ice with skates on. You might also introduce them to rollerblading with a pair of adjustably-sized skates (and helmet & pads).

Once early winter arrives, these kids will either attend Middleton's Initiation Program or a local learn-to-skate option. If they've already done Initiation and seem to be ready to play on a team and with a puck, we evaluate potentially moving them to a Cross-Ice (see below) team on a case-by-case basis.

Again, there aren't a lot of local summer hockey options for these kiddos. We encourage these kids to try another sport or play roller hockey. Hockey Factory offers a U6/U8 skills program from McFarland Community Ice Arena. There are a few local learn-to-skate options, like Madison Ice Skating School, that could provide more ice skating exposure.

In the early winter, these 5 & 6-year-old skaters who have completed Initiation or one season of Cross-Ice hockey will head to Cross-Ice.

Like a level younger, we encourage these kids to try another sport or play roller hockey. Hockey Factory hosts a 7-week summer development program in McFarland. Hockey Factory occasionally runs a program from Sun Prairie, too. Madison Ice Skating School could be a good option for a player this age that still needs some introductory skating instruction.

In the early winter, these skaters who have completed Cross-Ice or one season of RWB hockey will head to Red, White & Blue hockey. Red, White & Blue provides three developmental levels based upon experience and age. The 'red' group would be for the most experienced kids, 'white' is for the in-betweeners, and 'blue' is for the newest or youngest hockey players.

In the early winter, these players will head to a Squirt (U10) team. Player evaluation and sorting by approximate skill grouping will occur early in the season.