Hockey and College Recruitment

[Anonymous]

I know that hockey is becoming a very hot sport in our area. Is any of this prompted by the goal of college recruitment. From what I can tell, participation and interest in sports like lacrosse and crew can be prompted in part by the idea of getting recruited/admitted based on the sport. It seem not unrealistic for those sports. What about hockey?

[Anonymous]

We have friends whose kids play hockey, and from what they say the cost of elite youth hockey is not far off 4 years of college tuition. Much more extensive travel required than other sports. So I wouldn't pursue hockey with an aim of free college education. It could help with admission if the college your child happens to be interested in have hockey programs.

[Anonymous]

I tend to think that hockey's popularity over the past decade or so has been primarily because of the success and increased profile of the Caps. While there are individual exceptions, historically kids coming out of DC/MD/VA hockey programs are going to get crushed by kids coming from New England and Upper Midwest programs when competing for athletic scholarships. From everything that I have heard from people who know far more than I do, kids from this area who want to become elite hockey players tend to get shipped off to NE boarding schools. This area is a lacrosse, crew, and swimming powerhouse region, so area kids and parents looking for athletic scholarships will gravitate to those sports.

That having been said, my DD is a hockey player, and I pray to the ice gods every night that she'll get a full hockey scholarship to one of the top ranked Ivy teams .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tend to think that hockey's popularity over the past decade or so has been primarily because of the success and increased profile of the Caps. While there are individual exceptions, historically kids coming out of DC/MD/VA hockey programs are going to get crushed by kids coming from New England and Upper Midwest programs when competing for athletic scholarships. From everything that I have heard from people who know far more than I do, kids from this area who want to become elite hockey players tend to get shipped off to NE boarding schools. This area is a lacrosse, crew, and swimming powerhouse region, so area kids and parents looking for athletic scholarships will gravitate to those sports.

That having been said, my DD is a hockey player, and I pray to the ice gods every night that she'll get a full hockey scholarship to one of the top ranked Ivy teams .

Spot on. I have 2 DSs who play, one of whom is a very talented player. I keep trying to steer him to lacrosse for the reasons mentioned, where he also excels...but his heart belongs to hockey.

I'll add your DD to my prayers to the Ice Gods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tend to think that hockey's popularity over the past decade or so has been primarily because of the success and increased profile of the Caps. While there are individual exceptions, historically kids coming out of DC/MD/VA hockey programs are going to get crushed by kids coming from New England and Upper Midwest programs when competing for athletic scholarships. From everything that I have heard from people who know far more than I do, kids from this area who want to become elite hockey players tend to get shipped off to NE boarding schools. This area is a lacrosse, crew, and swimming powerhouse region, so area kids and parents looking for athletic scholarships will gravitate to those sports.

That having been said, my DD is a hockey player, and I pray to the ice gods every night that she'll get a full hockey scholarship to one of the top ranked Ivy teams .

The Ivies don't offer athletic scholarships.

[Anonymous]

Children I know who got ice hockey scholarships went to prep schools

There are MANY people I know who played sports at Ivies and received "merit" scholarships. Call it what you want - a B+ high school student at Penn playing basketball with a merit scholarship makes you think a little bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tend to think that hockey's popularity over the past decade or so has been primarily because of the success and increased profile of the Caps. While there are individual exceptions, historically kids coming out of DC/MD/VA hockey programs are going to get crushed by kids coming from New England and Upper Midwest programs when competing for athletic scholarships. From everything that I have heard from people who know far more than I do, kids from this area who want to become elite hockey players tend to get shipped off to NE boarding schools. This area is a lacrosse, crew, and swimming powerhouse region, so area kids and parents looking for athletic scholarships will gravitate to those sports.

That having been said, my DD is a hockey player, and I pray to the ice gods every night that she'll get a full hockey scholarship to one of the top ranked Ivy teams .

Spot on. I have 2 DSs who play, one of whom is a very talented player. I keep trying to steer him to lacrosse for the reasons mentioned, where he also excels...but his heart belongs to hockey.

I'll add your DD to my prayers to the Ice Gods.

Why can't your son play both lacrosse and hockey?

[Anonymous]

Playing both hockey and lacrosse would be tough, as both sports (if you want to have your child compete at the levels required for possible college play) have both become year round sports. To be good at hockey, you need to have your child put in numerous hours on the ice in addition to trying out for elite teams that require ridiculous amounts of travel. As to lacrosse, so many athletes are playing this sport year round, too--off season training, Sunday "scrimmages", fall club training, which are actually games, and then the spring season rolls into a summer club season. Further, both sports, are extremely physical and have a high level of concussion possibilities. I know many kids play both of these sports up until middle school, but the requirements for high school sports around here, private club team play, academics, etc. make playing one of these sports, as opposed to two, a wiser decision, I believe.

[Anonymous]

Most kids in this area wil not get a hockey scholarship or play NCAA hockey. The most talented kids may play juniors after high school and then play NCAA hockey but that is a long shot. Say a small percentage of the boys that play for the Washington Little Caps U18 team.

Some kids will play juniors after HS and still wind up on an NCAA D3 team or an ACHA team. If your son is interested in playing hockey after HS, there are options. My son plays for an ACHA D2 school which play a competitive 30 game schedule. They travel about half of the weekends and practice 3 times each week, so he gets his fill of hockey. He didnt play juniors but about half the team did either in HS or afterwards for a year.

Talented girls do have a much better chance of playing NCAA hockey and getting a scholarships. I think about half the girls from the Washington Pride wind up playing NCAA D1 womens hockey.

[Anonymous]

Most of the Ivy hockey recruits are still from Canada. (Don't take my word for it...click on "roster" of the respective ice hockey teams for whichever Ivy you want to explore). Having said that -- some American students do get recruited...the vast majority are from the Northeast and have done a post grad year at a prep school in the N.E.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Playing both hockey and lacrosse would be tough, as both sports (if you want to have your child compete at the levels required for possible college play) have both become year round sports. To be good at hockey, you need to have your child put in numerous hours on the ice in addition to trying out for elite teams that require ridiculous amounts of travel. As to lacrosse, so many athletes are playing this sport year round, too--off season training, Sunday "scrimmages", fall club training, which are actually games, and then the spring season rolls into a summer club season. Further, both sports, are extremely physical and have a high level of concussion possibilities. I know many kids play both of these sports up until middle school, but the requirements for high school sports around here, private club team play, academics, etc. make playing one of these sports, as opposed to two, a wiser decision, I believe.

Doesn't hockey have the same skill set as lacrosse? If so, why not try to steer to lacrosse with more realistic recruitment possibilities?

[Anonymous]

Skating is a much harder skill then lacrosse, as is using a stick on two thin metal blades. Similar but different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tend to think that hockey's popularity over the past decade or so has been primarily because of the success and increased profile of the Caps. While there are individual exceptions, historically kids coming out of DC/MD/VA hockey programs are going to get crushed by kids coming from New England and Upper Midwest programs when competing for athletic scholarships. From everything that I have heard from people who know far more than I do, kids from this area who want to become elite hockey players tend to get shipped off to NE boarding schools. This area is a lacrosse, crew, and swimming powerhouse region, so area kids and parents looking for athletic scholarships will gravitate to those sports.

That having been said, my DD is a hockey player, and I pray to the ice gods every night that she'll get a full hockey scholarship to one of the top ranked Ivy teams .

The Ivies don't offer athletic scholarships.

Thus, the prayers. Have you never prayed for a miracle?

[Anonymous]

My DS and DD both play travel at HS level. I'm not banking on any athletic sholarships, hoping they get into a decent college. I know a lot of parents are banking on it, they should look into crew or fencing as it is easier.

[Anonymous]

Your Daughter could get a hockey scholarship, especially if she plays for the Pride or a similar girls team.

Your son should focus on an academic scholarship. If he really wants to get a hockey scholarship he need to be one of the best in this area and quite possibly play and excel at Junior Hockey.

My son plays for an ACHA D2 team, no scholarship though each of the boys was captain, State Champion, ect of their local Team. They play 30 games a season, most of the time to crowds of 100 or less. Much smaller then he had in high school. The godo part is is school has a rink(they also have a D1 Men and Womens team), he practices 3 times a week and the team has their own locker room.