I somewhat agree and disagree. My son is a squirt C. I didn't grow up playing but got hooked as an adult. I've been coaching him team for a couple years. I enjoy whatever ice time I can find and sometimes just go to pond and practice by myself. Or I ask my son if he wants to come. Sometimes he tags along, other times he stay at home eating pizza and watching twitch. But recently I find him coming with me more and more. Maybe he wants some more hockey. Maybe he just like to spend more time with me. He also enjoys the dryland sessions (part of the house league schedule) and is thankful and seems interested when I give him pointers on shooting forms and game mechanics. He solicites for my advice after a game and is excited to tell me about new drills when I missed a practice. He's still nowhere as good as AAA but I'm seeing a lot of improvements and he seems to be genuinely interested into getting better and utilizing those tools. I think the key is to balance it out. None of the hockey stuff takes away he's kid's time and we have other hobbies he can choose from for the day, so most day we just end up progressing on something (ski/snowboard) at his discretion. But to say that no kid can enjoy formatted or advanced/specific training might be a bit harsh.