Can't agree more with you. It really starts at Little Pens. I consistently see at the organization we are with at least 50% of the kids at each Little Pens season can't skate. Little Pens ends and the organization is pushing the parents to sign their child up for the ADM. It's all about the money and numbers. There are so many kids in the organization that should not be out there until they can proficiently skate, but isn't it great, we have 4 blue teams!
They need to start with educating parents how important skating is, then discuss youth hockey in general ( where to start, age groups, tiers, etc.) I consistently hear parents complaining that's there's no communication. It's appears coaches either don't want to be bothered or are scared to give parents feedback. A brief conversation with each players parent would go a long way.
I can't tell you how many parents with kids moving up to 10u this year were in the dark on what level team to sign up for tryouts.