Pops I don't know if the problem is with the national associations. At the youth conference in Heidelberg there were a few USA Hockey coaches speaking on how to use games in practice and there was a presentor from the German association talking about incoporating games.
I think it is more to do with the coaches who volunteer for a year or two but use the drills etc. that they were taught when they played and search for new drills.
Hockey Canada doesn't want youth teams to be playing games the first month or so of the season but to practice instead. My grandson's coach took this to mean that they weren't allowed to play games in practice so he spent the first 6 weeks doing drill circuits. Most coaches don't understand the importance of putting the skills into game situations during a practice. They still thing of games as a fun diversion for the players to be used as a reward if they do the REAL practice of drills.
So in my estimation the problem is "how do we educate the coaches to incoporate game situations as an integral (and most important) part of practice."
I know I have been trying to do this with this site and the original site for the last ten or so years. I do see cross ice games quite often now; so maybe it is working a little.
At the HS in the Czech Republic the coaches thought it was crazy that in NA we have little kid's under 9 play full ice. They play cross ice at that age. At the conference they cited research that showed players get 6x more touches in a cross ice game than full ice.
On another point there is an international hockey summit going on in Toronto now and yesterdays topic was when to introduce hitting. My opinion is that U11 they should play similar rules to women's hockey with angling and incidental contact battling for the puck with the right to stay on the dside. Next up to U15 there should be ONE STEP hitting strictly enforced which is basically bumping but not the maniacle charging around and smoking guys like I see in youth hockey. After that it should be 2 step hitting like the rule book says.
With my women's teams I always work on angling and rubbing out and blocking which is allowed and gives the fundamentals to full contact.
We have 80% of the players quitting our game by 14 in Canada. When they are adults many make their own leagues like my son in laws play in and have various rules. Some leagues allow hitting and slap shots. Most leagues under 40 have no hitting but allow slap shots and when you get to be ancient like me it is no hitting, no slapshots. Many also have a team limit on penalties. If the team goes over the limit they are out of the league, or a player he is out.
I play in a tournament Labour Day weekend with age groups 35 and over and the rule is no slap shots, no hitting and if you fight you are out of the tournament. One in a thousand makes the NHL and we can't blame the NHL on the violence because in that league players don't fly around hitting everything and everyone. It is a youth hockey problem.
'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'
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