Missing school for travel hockey

[Anonymous]

So sad these hockey parents

[Anonymous]

Lots of kids in various sports miss school for sports not just hockey. There seems to be a lot of hate toward hockey on this forum.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand why the hockey hating parents event click on these threads.

My son is in high school now and missed school a bit during his youth hockey years (about 15 days a year, minus his pee wee major year when he was at tournament in Quebec for 2 straight weeks).

First, we always were upfront with all of his teachers and principal at the beginning of the year about his hockey schedule. We told them approximately how many days he would miss. We also discussed that school was a priority and if he wasn't keeping up in school, that the absences for hockey would cease. His school/teachers were extremely supportive and helped him schedule and organize his work accordingly. He kept up with straight A's in middle school and it was enough for him to be recruited to study and play at a top prep school in the northeast.

He is now into his high school years and his coach believes he likely will get recruited to play D1 at a top university, with a high likelihood of going ivy league.

Missing school for hockey isn't always detrimental - as long as you set the standard with your child and communicate efficiently with the school/teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So sad these hockey parents

Promise you that we (and our kids) are far from sad. But, thank you for your concern and attention. We're thriving!

[Anonymous]

We try to minimize days off for games, 2 kids playing travel hockey for years. Maybe 3 days off per year on average for each. In high school, kid would occasional miss the Friday game because of school, and would travel Friday night for the remainder of the games. Really depends on the kid and their ability to keep up with homework and class demands, depends on the amount of travel required for the team, and how understanding the school is as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much does your upper ES and middle school kid miss school due to travel for hockey and how much does it matter?

You value hockey over education?

Elementary school hell no

What’s wrong with you ?

AAA hockey is so expensive that it creates a selection bias toward wealthier families. Many MC and even UMC parents simply can't afford the high costs or take the time off work that AAA hockey demands. Despite the time away from school, our kids are mostly excelling academically. We communicate with their teachers in advance of absences to stay on track. For those who show talent, we get them out of the DMV and send them to New England prep schools, where they get recruited to play in the NESCAC and eventually land jobs in fields like investment banking. We are necessarily a privileged group and don't need to stress about missing elementary school.

[Anonymous]

My kid plays AAA. He missed 5 days of school last season. Significantly less than some kids who don't even play any sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow.. knowing that your child is one injury away from ending his/her hockey career.. you guys are too committed to kids hockey!

That’s what insurance is for

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hockey first then everything else.

These kids understand the commitment and tend to do well in school and know they have to keep up the grades.

The interesting thing about hockey is that so many of them are smart and well educated. Look at the top hockey schools.

That’s ridiculous. Hockey players are no smarter or well educated than anyone else. The ones I know, probably about 30, from D1, D3 and pro or drafted are pretty average. They are or were just excellent hockey players.

[Anonymous]

12 UA and 14U UA. 7th grader is going to miss 4 school days for hockey. 9th grader is going to miss 2 school days. It is nice to see less travel after they start high school and add high school hockey to their busy schedules.

[Anonymous]

Same as others, 4-6 days. 14u UA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So sad these hockey parents

Hockey is a great sport. You need a lot of talent to play well enough to be on a team. Skating requires cardio endurance, speed, agility, all that equipment they wear while chasing the tiny puck.

It’s tough on the parents but it’s one of the toughest team sports there is so their kids get a lot out of it.

[Anonymous]

DS played AAA hockey and honestly didn’t miss that much school. We also really worked to not miss school. For example, we would fly when sometimes others would drive, etc. Other than the year for Quebec which is 1000% worth it, he would only miss a couple days a year. DS is also a strong student and keep up with school work was a prerequisite for playing hockey in our house.