What’s the most extreme thing you’ve done to support your kid in their sport?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went with my tween DD into the mountains for 8 days, hiking about 12 miles a day, staying in a tent at night, through drizzle, rain, pouring rain, hail, and...sun.

I have never camped before, never been in a tent...in fact I got a too-small tent so we had to sleep on top of our gear. I didn't know what a fly was so we had to use clothespins or something like that to put our rain ponchos over the tent. I'm also a person who has to pee at night, so there was that cold experience...

I kept thinking, "get it together, (mom). You will not die in a week; you can do this..."

She loved it. That was sort of the time when she just got so much more athletic than me, that I had to start outsourcing. She's currently in Minnesota learning to dog sled. I'm at home with the non-working dog and we are quite content to sit in front of the TV

This is awesome. You and your daughter rock!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do travel and spend money for hockey at levels I never would have thought possible 10 years ago. What I've learned though, is that no matter what we do, there is always someone out there willing to do more. Kid has a teammate who, for the past three years, drives 180 miles each way for practice three times a week! Such a great kid and great family, but I can't imagine doing that.

Very similar. We are easily spending $25k per year between private lessons, travel to tournaments, team dues, camps, clinics and equipment, in that order, for a 10-year old who's good enough to be in the running to play D1 hockey someday (and yes, I am very aware that a million things could alter the current course, etc. etc.). There are plenty of folks who take a more passive approach for perfectly valid reasons, many of whom think their kid will still have a chance to play college hockey someday and everything will workout, but from talking to parents who have kids that played juniors then college hockey, I think it is close to impossible to do it any other way. I am planning to send my kid to prep school at 15 or 16 if he continues to love hockey as much as he does today, work hard and excel because there is no path to college hockey from where we live (no longer in the DC area). It's a little insane, but we're too far down the path now to do it any differently. Also, every time I start to think I'm making crazy time and financial situations, I meet another family at a spring or summer AAA tournament and realize that there really is always someone out there doing more.

You must not live in the DMV; there are no 10 year olds identified to be D1 material at that age here. Well, there was one who was possibly at that level, but he moved away already for hockey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do travel and spend money for hockey at levels I never would have thought possible 10 years ago. What I've learned though, is that no matter what we do, there is always someone out there willing to do more. Kid has a teammate who, for the past three years, drives 180 miles each way for practice three times a week! Such a great kid and great family, but I can't imagine doing that.

Very similar. We are easily spending $25k per year between private lessons, travel to tournaments, team dues, camps, clinics and equipment, in that order, for a 10-year old who's good enough to be in the running to play D1 hockey someday (and yes, I am very aware that a million things could alter the current course, etc. etc.). There are plenty of folks who take a more passive approach for perfectly valid reasons, many of whom think their kid will still have a chance to play college hockey someday and everything will workout, but from talking to parents who have kids that played juniors then college hockey, I think it is close to impossible to do it any other way. I am planning to send my kid to prep school at 15 or 16 if he continues to love hockey as much as he does today, work hard and excel because there is no path to college hockey from where we live (no longer in the DC area). It's a little insane, but we're too far down the path now to do it any differently. Also, every time I start to think I'm making crazy time and financial situations, I meet another family at a spring or summer AAA tournament and realize that there really is always someone out there doing more.

You must not live in the DMV; there are no 10 year olds identified to be D1 material at that age here. Well, there was one who was possibly at that level, but he moved away already for hockey.

Correct. I don't live in the DMV and am not claiming that my 10yo has been identified as D1 material. He's just a good player on the top travel team in our state, so he has a fighting chance to go somewhere with hockey and we're following the course that the kids from our city took who did make it to college hockey. He may quit tomorrow for all I know, but for now we're following the course that worked for other players in our market, and it is expensive and time consuming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do travel and spend money for hockey at levels I never would have thought possible 10 years ago. What I've learned though, is that no matter what we do, there is always someone out there willing to do more. Kid has a teammate who, for the past three years, drives 180 miles each way for practice three times a week! Such a great kid and great family, but I can't imagine doing that.

Very similar. We are easily spending $25k per year between private lessons, travel to tournaments, team dues, camps, clinics and equipment, in that order, for a 10-year old who's good enough to be in the running to play D1 hockey someday (and yes, I am very aware that a million things could alter the current course, etc. etc.). There are plenty of folks who take a more passive approach for perfectly valid reasons, many of whom think their kid will still have a chance to play college hockey someday and everything will workout, but from talking to parents who have kids that played juniors then college hockey, I think it is close to impossible to do it any other way. I am planning to send my kid to prep school at 15 or 16 if he continues to love hockey as much as he does today, work hard and excel because there is no path to college hockey from where we live (no longer in the DC area). It's a little insane, but we're too far down the path now to do it any differently. Also, every time I start to think I'm making crazy time and financial situations, I meet another family at a spring or summer AAA tournament and realize that there really is always someone out there doing more.

You must not live in the DMV; there are no 10 year olds identified to be D1 material at that age here. Well, there was one who was possibly at that level, but he moved away already for hockey.

Correct. I don't live in the DMV and am not claiming that my 10yo has been identified as D1 material. He's just a good player on the top travel team in our state, so he has a fighting chance to go somewhere with hockey and we're following the course that the kids from our city took who did make it to college hockey. He may quit tomorrow for all I know, but for now we're following the course that worked for other players in our market, and it is expensive and time consuming.

I am PP. To follow up, my spouse and I both played sports in college and have zero expectation or need for a college scholarship, but in supporting our kid, we have been educating ourselves about the path to college hockey, since hockey is unlike any other college sport. Our kid is a multisport athlete and we are not hockey fans - we'd have much preferred he played one of our sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do travel and spend money for hockey at levels I never would have thought possible 10 years ago. What I've learned though, is that no matter what we do, there is always someone out there willing to do more. Kid has a teammate who, for the past three years, drives 180 miles each way for practice three times a week! Such a great kid and great family, but I can't imagine doing that.

Very similar. We are easily spending $25k per year between private lessons, travel to tournaments, team dues, camps, clinics and equipment, in that order, for a 10-year old who's good enough to be in the running to play D1 hockey someday (and yes, I am very aware that a million things could alter the current course, etc. etc.). There are plenty of folks who take a more passive approach for perfectly valid reasons, many of whom think their kid will still have a chance to play college hockey someday and everything will workout, but from talking to parents who have kids that played juniors then college hockey, I think it is close to impossible to do it any other way. I am planning to send my kid to prep school at 15 or 16 if he continues to love hockey as much as he does today, work hard and excel because there is no path to college hockey from where we live (no longer in the DC area). It's a little insane, but we're too far down the path now to do it any differently. Also, every time I start to think I'm making crazy time and financial situations, I meet another family at a spring or summer AAA tournament and realize that there really is always someone out there doing more.

You must not live in the DMV; there are no 10 year olds identified to be D1 material at that age here. Well, there was one who was possibly at that level, but he moved away already for hockey.

There are no 10 years olds anywhere that D1 coaches are even remotely thinking about. D-1 will start paying attention to kids at u15 or so, but won't start talking to them until later, most kids have to figure out Jrs before they ever talk to any colleges. The main path for exposure now seems to be playing for a program that is National Bound, Shattuck, Mount, Pens Elite are the top, BK is good. If you go prep you are going to have to play split season. When Mount played Shattuck two months ago every NHL team, USHL team, NAHL, BCHL had scouts in attendance. More scouts than parents. Many D-1 schools were also there. Not going to get that going traditional prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do travel and spend money for hockey at levels I never would have thought possible 10 years ago. What I've learned though, is that no matter what we do, there is always someone out there willing to do more. Kid has a teammate who, for the past three years, drives 180 miles each way for practice three times a week! Such a great kid and great family, but I can't imagine doing that.

Very similar. We are easily spending $25k per year between private lessons, travel to tournaments, team dues, camps, clinics and equipment, in that order, for a 10-year old who's good enough to be in the running to play D1 hockey someday (and yes, I am very aware that a million things could alter the current course, etc. etc.). There are plenty of folks who take a more passive approach for perfectly valid reasons, many of whom think their kid will still have a chance to play college hockey someday and everything will workout, but from talking to parents who have kids that played juniors then college hockey, I think it is close to impossible to do it any other way. I am planning to send my kid to prep school at 15 or 16 if he continues to love hockey as much as he does today, work hard and excel because there is no path to college hockey from where we live (no longer in the DC area). It's a little insane, but we're too far down the path now to do it any differently. Also, every time I start to think I'm making crazy time and financial situations, I meet another family at a spring or summer AAA tournament and realize that there really is always someone out there doing more.

You must not live in the DMV; there are no 10 year olds identified to be D1 material at that age here. Well, there was one who was possibly at that level, but he moved away already for hockey.

There are no 10 years olds anywhere that D1 coaches are even remotely thinking about. D-1 will start paying attention to kids at u15 or so, but won't start talking to them until later, most kids have to figure out Jrs before they ever talk to any colleges. The main path for exposure now seems to be playing for a program that is National Bound, Shattuck, Mount, Pens Elite are the top, BK is good. If you go prep you are going to have to play split season. When Mount played Shattuck two months ago every NHL team, USHL team, NAHL, BCHL had scouts in attendance. More scouts than parents. Many D-1 schools were also there. Not going to get that going traditional prep.

Thanks. I'm the PP. We are NOT doing any of this for exposure at 10 years old. We're only doing it for skill development and to keep him on the path forward that worked for the few kids from our market that have made it to juniors then college hockey. They played at Shattuck, Avon and a few other schools, then played juniors, then played college hockey at good schools. We're from a non-traditional hockey market and so far, the kids who made it to college hockey from our state (and even a couple of NHL players) all left home at 15-16. Our kid may decide to quit in a few years and focus on a different sport for all I know, but right now, he lives and breathes hockey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do travel and spend money for hockey at levels I never would have thought possible 10 years ago. What I've learned though, is that no matter what we do, there is always someone out there willing to do more. Kid has a teammate who, for the past three years, drives 180 miles each way for practice three times a week! Such a great kid and great family, but I can't imagine doing that.

Very similar. We are easily spending $25k per year between private lessons, travel to tournaments, team dues, camps, clinics and equipment, in that order, for a 10-year old who's good enough to be in the running to play D1 hockey someday (and yes, I am very aware that a million things could alter the current course, etc. etc.). There are plenty of folks who take a more passive approach for perfectly valid reasons, many of whom think their kid will still have a chance to play college hockey someday and everything will workout, but from talking to parents who have kids that played juniors then college hockey, I think it is close to impossible to do it any other way. I am planning to send my kid to prep school at 15 or 16 if he continues to love hockey as much as he does today, work hard and excel because there is no path to college hockey from where we live (no longer in the DC area). It's a little insane, but we're too far down the path now to do it any differently. Also, every time I start to think I'm making crazy time and financial situations, I meet another family at a spring or summer AAA tournament and realize that there really is always someone out there doing more.

You must not live in the DMV; there are no 10 year olds identified to be D1 material at that age here. Well, there was one who was possibly at that level, but he moved away already for hockey.

Correct. I don't live in the DMV and am not claiming that my 10yo has been identified as D1 material. He's just a good player on the top travel team in our state, so he has a fighting chance to go somewhere with hockey and we're following the course that the kids from our city took who did make it to college hockey. He may quit tomorrow for all I know, but for now we're following the course that worked for other players in our market, and it is expensive and time consuming.

I wrote the above response about the Prep School vs National bound. You seem to have a good perspective. My son started playing hockey at Mite and we did tons and tons of travel all over the US and Canada, He was invited to the World Selects events that everyone used to make a big deal about, we just decided that was too much. My advice, coming from a parent that now has a U18 and will play Jrs and most likely D1, is enjoy the ride and enjoy the path. I also have a younger son that has seen how much his brother has had to give up and has a more realistic approach to sports, he is a very good player at the Tier 2 level and could be a Tier 1 player if he wanted to do the extra work, he doesn't, he puts his energy into other things he likes to do. It is a grind for these kids, they have to give up a lot if this is really a dream they hope to achieve. If the expense is hindering other parts of your families life, it is not worth it, if it is not and this is your sons dream, there is no better way you can develop him as a person who is learning that hard work pays off, IMO.

[Anonymous]

To my eternal shame I attacked a profane and jet type coach from a team in West Virginia as he was getting into his car. My wife was driving our son since I had come straight from work. No one ever identified me and for a year I was expecting a visit from the police. It’s been nine years and it’s something I’ll regret forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To my eternal shame I attacked a profane and jet type coach from a team in West Virginia as he was getting into his car. My wife was driving our son since I had come straight from work. No one ever identified me and for a year I was expecting a visit from the police. It’s been nine years and it’s something I’ll regret forever.

What does "jet type" mean?
Was this sport soccer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bought a horse.

If it makes you feel better, I bought a horse across the country and had it shipped and let her switch to a high end trainer that we fly to every weekend (the horse lives with the trainer). Yes. I’m insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bought a horse.

If it makes you feel better, I bought a horse across the country and had it shipped and let her switch to a high end trainer that we fly to every weekend (the horse lives with the trainer). Yes. I’m insane.

Oh, and there is some talk that we need a “practice horse” at home or with the high end trainer or something. In addition to her own horse, The trainer had my kid riding some $400,000 Grand Prix horse they have for sale. I really think they may be thinking we might buy it. Uh, no. Insane sport! My kid was talking to the trainer about whether the trainer thought my kid could ever get to the Olympics. The trainer basically said not unless your parents are billionaires.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello, fellow swim parents.

- Planning our August travel possibilities now

This is literally every sport these days. NOT just swimming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello, fellow swim parents.

- Planning our August travel possibilities now

This is literally every sport these days. NOT just swimming.

Are most sports on hiatus in August? Sincere question. Swim is 11 months with August being the off month. I assumed most other sports were different in the scheduling.

[Anonymous]

My swimmer broke his wrist and wanted to swim in his summer league, I took him to three different orthos before I found one that would do a waterproof cast, and I paid out of pocket for it. It was after a year of no swimming - dumb covid - and he was devastated. Plust he wanted to be able to be in the water with his friends.

I would do it again too.

[Anonymous]

I peed in a bottle on the side of the road so that my kid could get to the championship tournament a little less late than call time. That's about it. And he won, lol.