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This discussion in the last few posts about not having a shot at college hockey is true for boys, but this is a thread about girls hockey. There are plenty of girls from this area playing D3 hockey. There are a far smaller number of girls playing D1 hockey. Most of those girls did go away to Prep/Academy, but not all.
If you like hockey, and your kid likes hockey, and they are good at hockey, let them play hockey. Similarly, I hate baseball/softball. I find them mind numbing and who wants to sit outside in the blazing sun for a doubleheader? I am sure there are lots of people who enjoy that, and I'm happy for them. I'm not going to try and talk them out of putting their kid in those sports. Their decision whether it is family based, child based, etc. is their decision, just as our family's decision to play hockey is our decision. |
Valid. Girls' hockey is much less competitive than boys' hockey, and to go back to the beginning of the thread, I know of one figure skater graduating this year who is committed to playing D3 hockey. She's not from this area; I just know her mom. She started playing hockey as a freshman in high school. She made a girls' travel team her first year out and improved every year, and before she picked up hockey, she had most of her triples and her golds in skating skills, freestyle, and ice dancing in figure skating, and she had played a fair amount of lacrosse, so she had good hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. |
My kid played AAA hockey for 5 years because he loved it not because he thinks he’s going to play college hockey. He’s going away to prep to keep playing hockey. Why? Because he loves it, outgrew the teams here and wants to have a fun high school experience playing a level of hockey that you can’t get in the DMV after about 15 U. It’s stupid to force your kid to play something else that they have no interest in just because the prospects are better in the DMV. He has tried many other sports but always comes back to hockey. So you’re saying we shouldn’t let him play hockey at the highest level he can because his prospects of playing in college are slim? We’re letting him play hockey because he loves it and we can afford to do it. It’s that simple. And our weekends away and on the road were some of our best childhood memories. I wouldn’t trade that to stand on the sidelines of a soccer or lax field here in DC (and either would be) but I’m biased. lol. |
| I meant ( “and either would he”) |
Nearly anyone can play a D3 sport in college as long as you literally don't care which D3 college you attend. Perhaps, you mean playing for a top D3 academic program which often have strong D3 teams. I assume any girl who can stay on her skates and swing a stick can play for King's or Hilbert with their 1-24 records (and you are correct...I have never heard of either and have no clue where they are located). |
That is not true of men's hockey. Look up the rosters of even the worst D3 hockey teams, and you'll see Canadians, Europeans, and AAA players who then played 2 years of juniors and started college at 21. |
| A bit of an exaggeration, but yes, those teams are definitely primarily made up of AA girls vs AAA girls. At the end of the day, hockey, like any extracurricular can help you get into college. If the coach wants you, you can skip the whole application process for the most part. Most kids know by January of senior year, and many much earlier than that, where they are going, complete with the financial packages being offered to them. Yes, it can help you get into a good school, and if you're getting to do something you love, and the school and not your parents are paying for all your equipment/travel, win win. |
If you can afford prep school, then you're in the minority of parents who can actually afford AAA hockey. We had teammates whose parents put all the travel on credit cards and then worked forever to pay them off, plus interest. We had teammates whose parents weren't saving for college because they actually believed their kid would get a hockey scholarship. In this country, it's a sport for really rich people who know their kid has almost no chance of playing in college, or Minnesotans. Also, aside from the costs, it does take up all your time. 4 practices a week at really weird times, some of them are a total of 3 hours with dryland, plus a minimum of 10 out of state tournaments, not including spring or summer hockey or camps. |
What parent would allow their kid to attend Hiram College (again, who knows what that is) just to play last place hockey at 1-21? The roster is like 90% US with 10% Canadian. Don't see any Europeans, but maybe they have a US/Canadian address. |
Hockey kids let their kids keep going with bad junior teams and start college at 21 just to end up playing ACHA hockey, because hockey parents are kinda nuts. |
The level of play has to be not good...to put it kindly. |
There are quite a few kids who go from AAA to juniors who just end up playing ACHA hockey. Looks like Minot State is ranked number one - here is their roster: https://www.achahockey.org/stats/roster/17/68?division=16&league=1 It's mostly Canadians. Can the middle-of-the-pack American AAA kids not even make an ACHA D1 team anymore? |
I was referring to playing for Hiram College, the dead last D3 men's hockey team. I assume Minot State is a lot better than Hiram College. |
Here's a cheat sheet for the rosters for ACHA D1 teams: https://www.achahockey.org/m1-national-rosters Maybe some ACHA D1 teams are better than NCAA D3 teams? In either case, you're not getting any hockey money. But by and large, if you can last that long in hockey, you are rich and don't need any money in college. |
It's probably the equivalent of the D1 football teams. You have the FBS teams that include all the Power 4 conferences and then you have the FCS teams like the Ivy League and schools like Montana State who seem to win the FCS championship all the time. I don't think any D3 football team could beat any FCS team...maybe the best D3 team could beat the worst FCS team. |