One son, after leading his team in scoring, decided to quit after the squirt level. He was 11. The other played one year of peewee and would probably have played another, but his mother made him quit because she was so upset at what was allowed in games. She feared for his safety. He was 12.
Hockey is a great sport, perhaps one of the most difficult there is to learn.
A good athlete can walk onto a basketball court or a football or soccer field and do reasonably well in a short period of time. Not so with hockey. It requires putting together some very complex skills and takes years to perfect. The passing, the skating, the shooting are all beautiful to watch and fun to play. However, I find the bashing, hitting, and fighting totally unnecessary, detrimental to the quality of the sport, and dangerous for our young athletes.