Ice hockey experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

It's amazing to me how willing some families are to deal with traffic for hockey. There are many kids that mine have played with over the years, co-ed and girls, who are driving to Philly for hockey. We're not that hardcore, but are still coming from VA. On the 19 team (which ended up the year ranked 21 for national bound teams which is not bad) the team was split about half and half MD/VA, and the VA folks were driving from as far as Bentonville/Skyline and Dumfries. Definitely not for the faint of hear. The further drivers tend to be from VA as I think there are more options for kids who live in Baltimore, they could go south or north to Philly/NJ. Believe the club has explored splitting practices between MD and VA in the past, but could not get the ice time to make it work. Most VA rinks are pretty fully subscribed at this point.

Given the shortage of ice rinks in the DMV, I would recommend that kids choose a different sport. If you play hockey in a metropolitan area that has a lot of rinks, going to hockey practice is not a huge inconvenience. It is just a short drive.

So perhaps consider having your son/daughter play a field sport -- where practices are at normal times of day and there is more space.

(There is also a shortage of indoor pools in the DMV, relative to the population, and so I do not recommend swimming either.)

The players from areas with more/better facilities will usually be better than even a large metro area like the DMV, because we lack the facilities.

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever read. Discouraging people from playing hockey or swimming in the DMV? You realize that two of the best swimmers of all time (Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps) came from the DMV area?

You might as well tell people not to let their kids to play football or baseball since the kids in the south will be better - as they can play outside year round. How about you just STFU and let kids pick sports they enjoy?

The most idiotic thing I see on here is parents believing it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and resources to play AAA hockey. Folks are driving over an hour each way for practices at odd hours, and getting on a plane for 10+ tournaments a year, for what? To (hopefully) start college at 20 and play on a D3 or ACHA club team?

Here is the data on who makes the NHL (spoiler, it’s not kids from the DMV):
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=87dea755c0034d5593d0258408d253dc

Let your kid play any other sport.

Who says that every kid who plays hockey wants to go into the NHL? My husband is in finance and we have the financial means to allow our son to play hockey, a sport he has enjoyed playing since he was 4 years old. He maintains straight A's while in a AAA program (that he very much enjoys). Would he like to play in college? Absolutely - and I believe he will. Does he want to play in the NHL? Nope. He wants to go into finance, like his father.

Assuming every kid who plays AAA wants to play in the NHL is dumb. Telling people (who can easily afford AAA hockey) to choose a different sport is also dumb. Horseback riding is expensive. Motorcross is expensive. Boating is expensive. Even travel baseball/football/lacrosse is expensive. I know as a parent, I am happy to pay for something that my child truly enjoys if I have the means. I will never tell him to 'pick another sport'. You sound like a miserable parent. Why are you even in this thread? Just to troll?

You are lucky this message board is anonymous so you can sound like an idiot without 'outing' yourself.

And the wealthy people putting their kids in sports for fun is one of thre biggest problems for hockey and hockey costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

It's amazing to me how willing some families are to deal with traffic for hockey. There are many kids that mine have played with over the years, co-ed and girls, who are driving to Philly for hockey. We're not that hardcore, but are still coming from VA. On the 19 team (which ended up the year ranked 21 for national bound teams which is not bad) the team was split about half and half MD/VA, and the VA folks were driving from as far as Bentonville/Skyline and Dumfries. Definitely not for the faint of hear. The further drivers tend to be from VA as I think there are more options for kids who live in Baltimore, they could go south or north to Philly/NJ. Believe the club has explored splitting practices between MD and VA in the past, but could not get the ice time to make it work. Most VA rinks are pretty fully subscribed at this point.

Given the shortage of ice rinks in the DMV, I would recommend that kids choose a different sport. If you play hockey in a metropolitan area that has a lot of rinks, going to hockey practice is not a huge inconvenience. It is just a short drive.

So perhaps consider having your son/daughter play a field sport -- where practices are at normal times of day and there is more space.

(There is also a shortage of indoor pools in the DMV, relative to the population, and so I do not recommend swimming either.)

The players from areas with more/better facilities will usually be better than even a large metro area like the DMV, because we lack the facilities.

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever read. Discouraging people from playing hockey or swimming in the DMV? You realize that two of the best swimmers of all time (Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps) came from the DMV area?

You might as well tell people not to let their kids to play football or baseball since the kids in the south will be better - as they can play outside year round. How about you just STFU and let kids pick sports they enjoy?

The most idiotic thing I see on here is parents believing it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and resources to play AAA hockey. Folks are driving over an hour each way for practices at odd hours, and getting on a plane for 10+ tournaments a year, for what? To (hopefully) start college at 20 and play on a D3 or ACHA club team?

Here is the data on who makes the NHL (spoiler, it’s not kids from the DMV):
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=87dea755c0034d5593d0258408d253dc

Let your kid play any other sport.

Who says that every kid who plays hockey wants to go into the NHL? My husband is in finance and we have the financial means to allow our son to play hockey, a sport he has enjoyed playing since he was 4 years old. He maintains straight A's while in a AAA program (that he very much enjoys). Would he like to play in college? Absolutely - and I believe he will. Does he want to play in the NHL? Nope. He wants to go into finance, like his father.

Assuming every kid who plays AAA wants to play in the NHL is dumb. Telling people (who can easily afford AAA hockey) to choose a different sport is also dumb. Horseback riding is expensive. Motorcross is expensive. Boating is expensive. Even travel baseball/football/lacrosse is expensive. I know as a parent, I am happy to pay for something that my child truly enjoys if I have the means. I will never tell him to 'pick another sport'. You sound like a miserable parent. Why are you even in this thread? Just to troll?

You are lucky this message board is anonymous so you can sound like an idiot without 'outing' yourself.

And the wealthy people putting their kids in sports for fun is one of thre biggest problems for hockey and hockey costs.

The problem is not kids from wealthy families playing, but wealthy parents buying teams/leagues to push their kids forward. Now to be fair, the biggest beneficiary of this that I know of really did develop his game and ultimately, I think, was "worthy" of his spot on some very high level teams. He must have worked very hard, and it both showed and paid off. But having a parent buy the team so that you can play on it is not a good way for an organization to be run

[Anonymous]

And the wealthy people putting their kids in sports for fun is one of thre biggest problems for hockey and hockey costs.

Wrong. The program creates the fees, not the wealthy parents. If the programs made it more affordable, then maybe the teams would be more than just those who could afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

It's amazing to me how willing some families are to deal with traffic for hockey. There are many kids that mine have played with over the years, co-ed and girls, who are driving to Philly for hockey. We're not that hardcore, but are still coming from VA. On the 19 team (which ended up the year ranked 21 for national bound teams which is not bad) the team was split about half and half MD/VA, and the VA folks were driving from as far as Bentonville/Skyline and Dumfries. Definitely not for the faint of hear. The further drivers tend to be from VA as I think there are more options for kids who live in Baltimore, they could go south or north to Philly/NJ. Believe the club has explored splitting practices between MD and VA in the past, but could not get the ice time to make it work. Most VA rinks are pretty fully subscribed at this point.

Given the shortage of ice rinks in the DMV, I would recommend that kids choose a different sport. If you play hockey in a metropolitan area that has a lot of rinks, going to hockey practice is not a huge inconvenience. It is just a short drive.

So perhaps consider having your son/daughter play a field sport -- where practices are at normal times of day and there is more space.

(There is also a shortage of indoor pools in the DMV, relative to the population, and so I do not recommend swimming either.)

The players from areas with more/better facilities will usually be better than even a large metro area like the DMV, because we lack the facilities.

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever read. Discouraging people from playing hockey or swimming in the DMV? You realize that two of the best swimmers of all time (Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps) came from the DMV area?

You might as well tell people not to let their kids to play football or baseball since the kids in the south will be better - as they can play outside year round. How about you just STFU and let kids pick sports they enjoy?

The most idiotic thing I see on here is parents believing it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and resources to play AAA hockey. Folks are driving over an hour each way for practices at odd hours, and getting on a plane for 10+ tournaments a year, for what? To (hopefully) start college at 20 and play on a D3 or ACHA club team?

Here is the data on who makes the NHL (spoiler, it’s not kids from the DMV):
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=87dea755c0034d5593d0258408d253dc

Let your kid play any other sport.

Who says that every kid who plays hockey wants to go into the NHL? My husband is in finance and we have the financial means to allow our son to play hockey, a sport he has enjoyed playing since he was 4 years old. He maintains straight A's while in a AAA program (that he very much enjoys). Would he like to play in college? Absolutely - and I believe he will. Does he want to play in the NHL? Nope. He wants to go into finance, like his father.

Assuming every kid who plays AAA wants to play in the NHL is dumb. Telling people (who can easily afford AAA hockey) to choose a different sport is also dumb. Horseback riding is expensive. Motorcross is expensive. Boating is expensive. Even travel baseball/football/lacrosse is expensive. I know as a parent, I am happy to pay for something that my child truly enjoys if I have the means. I will never tell him to 'pick another sport'. You sound like a miserable parent. Why are you even in this thread? Just to troll?

You are lucky this message board is anonymous so you can sound like an idiot without 'outing' yourself.

You are totally out in left field - highly doubt your kid is playing AAA hockey above 8U. Exactly one kid from DMV is playing NCAA hockey in the 2024-2025 Freshman Class. If you have Elite Prospects Premium, you can use premium filters to get that information.
Also, the actual cost of AAA hockey is spending early mornings, late nights, and 10+ weekends away from the family per year in a freezing ice rink. It takes a toll on everyone: players, parents, and siblings. It's a losing bet unless you're from someone like Canada, Minnesota, Michigan, or Massachusetts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

It's amazing to me how willing some families are to deal with traffic for hockey. There are many kids that mine have played with over the years, co-ed and girls, who are driving to Philly for hockey. We're not that hardcore, but are still coming from VA. On the 19 team (which ended up the year ranked 21 for national bound teams which is not bad) the team was split about half and half MD/VA, and the VA folks were driving from as far as Bentonville/Skyline and Dumfries. Definitely not for the faint of hear. The further drivers tend to be from VA as I think there are more options for kids who live in Baltimore, they could go south or north to Philly/NJ. Believe the club has explored splitting practices between MD and VA in the past, but could not get the ice time to make it work. Most VA rinks are pretty fully subscribed at this point.

Given the shortage of ice rinks in the DMV, I would recommend that kids choose a different sport. If you play hockey in a metropolitan area that has a lot of rinks, going to hockey practice is not a huge inconvenience. It is just a short drive.

So perhaps consider having your son/daughter play a field sport -- where practices are at normal times of day and there is more space.

(There is also a shortage of indoor pools in the DMV, relative to the population, and so I do not recommend swimming either.)

The players from areas with more/better facilities will usually be better than even a large metro area like the DMV, because we lack the facilities.

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever read. Discouraging people from playing hockey or swimming in the DMV? You realize that two of the best swimmers of all time (Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps) came from the DMV area?

You might as well tell people not to let their kids to play football or baseball since the kids in the south will be better - as they can play outside year round. How about you just STFU and let kids pick sports they enjoy?

The most idiotic thing I see on here is parents believing it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and resources to play AAA hockey. Folks are driving over an hour each way for practices at odd hours, and getting on a plane for 10+ tournaments a year, for what? To (hopefully) start college at 20 and play on a D3 or ACHA club team?

Here is the data on who makes the NHL (spoiler, it’s not kids from the DMV):
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=87dea755c0034d5593d0258408d253dc

Let your kid play any other sport.

Who says that every kid who plays hockey wants to go into the NHL? My husband is in finance and we have the financial means to allow our son to play hockey, a sport he has enjoyed playing since he was 4 years old. He maintains straight A's while in a AAA program (that he very much enjoys). Would he like to play in college? Absolutely - and I believe he will. Does he want to play in the NHL? Nope. He wants to go into finance, like his father.

Assuming every kid who plays AAA wants to play in the NHL is dumb. Telling people (who can easily afford AAA hockey) to choose a different sport is also dumb. Horseback riding is expensive. Motorcross is expensive. Boating is expensive. Even travel baseball/football/lacrosse is expensive. I know as a parent, I am happy to pay for something that my child truly enjoys if I have the means. I will never tell him to 'pick another sport'. You sound like a miserable parent. Why are you even in this thread? Just to troll?

You are lucky this message board is anonymous so you can sound like an idiot without 'outing' yourself.

You are totally out in left field - highly doubt your kid is playing AAA hockey above 8U. Exactly one kid from DMV is playing NCAA hockey in the 2024-2025 Freshman Class. If you have Elite Prospects Premium, you can use premium filters to get that information.
Also, the actual cost of AAA hockey is spending early mornings, late nights, and 10+ weekends away from the family per year in a freezing ice rink. It takes a toll on everyone: players, parents, and siblings. It's a losing bet unless you're from someone like Canada, Minnesota, Michigan, or Massachusetts.

Where in the post did that person say NCAA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

It's amazing to me how willing some families are to deal with traffic for hockey. There are many kids that mine have played with over the years, co-ed and girls, who are driving to Philly for hockey. We're not that hardcore, but are still coming from VA. On the 19 team (which ended up the year ranked 21 for national bound teams which is not bad) the team was split about half and half MD/VA, and the VA folks were driving from as far as Bentonville/Skyline and Dumfries. Definitely not for the faint of hear. The further drivers tend to be from VA as I think there are more options for kids who live in Baltimore, they could go south or north to Philly/NJ. Believe the club has explored splitting practices between MD and VA in the past, but could not get the ice time to make it work. Most VA rinks are pretty fully subscribed at this point.

Given the shortage of ice rinks in the DMV, I would recommend that kids choose a different sport. If you play hockey in a metropolitan area that has a lot of rinks, going to hockey practice is not a huge inconvenience. It is just a short drive.

So perhaps consider having your son/daughter play a field sport -- where practices are at normal times of day and there is more space.

(There is also a shortage of indoor pools in the DMV, relative to the population, and so I do not recommend swimming either.)

The players from areas with more/better facilities will usually be better than even a large metro area like the DMV, because we lack the facilities.

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever read. Discouraging people from playing hockey or swimming in the DMV? You realize that two of the best swimmers of all time (Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps) came from the DMV area?

You might as well tell people not to let their kids to play football or baseball since the kids in the south will be better - as they can play outside year round. How about you just STFU and let kids pick sports they enjoy?

The most idiotic thing I see on here is parents believing it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and resources to play AAA hockey. Folks are driving over an hour each way for practices at odd hours, and getting on a plane for 10+ tournaments a year, for what? To (hopefully) start college at 20 and play on a D3 or ACHA club team?

Here is the data on who makes the NHL (spoiler, it’s not kids from the DMV):
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=87dea755c0034d5593d0258408d253dc

Let your kid play any other sport.

Do you think that most kids and parents only care because of college or pros? Sure I'm sure all of them would love that as an outcome but then play because they love it. If my kid loves it, I'll suck up the terrible drives just like my parents did for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

It's amazing to me how willing some families are to deal with traffic for hockey. There are many kids that mine have played with over the years, co-ed and girls, who are driving to Philly for hockey. We're not that hardcore, but are still coming from VA. On the 19 team (which ended up the year ranked 21 for national bound teams which is not bad) the team was split about half and half MD/VA, and the VA folks were driving from as far as Bentonville/Skyline and Dumfries. Definitely not for the faint of hear. The further drivers tend to be from VA as I think there are more options for kids who live in Baltimore, they could go south or north to Philly/NJ. Believe the club has explored splitting practices between MD and VA in the past, but could not get the ice time to make it work. Most VA rinks are pretty fully subscribed at this point.

Given the shortage of ice rinks in the DMV, I would recommend that kids choose a different sport. If you play hockey in a metropolitan area that has a lot of rinks, going to hockey practice is not a huge inconvenience. It is just a short drive.

So perhaps consider having your son/daughter play a field sport -- where practices are at normal times of day and there is more space.

(There is also a shortage of indoor pools in the DMV, relative to the population, and so I do not recommend swimming either.)

The players from areas with more/better facilities will usually be better than even a large metro area like the DMV, because we lack the facilities.

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever read. Discouraging people from playing hockey or swimming in the DMV? You realize that two of the best swimmers of all time (Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps) came from the DMV area?

You might as well tell people not to let their kids to play football or baseball since the kids in the south will be better - as they can play outside year round. How about you just STFU and let kids pick sports they enjoy?

The most idiotic thing I see on here is parents believing it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and resources to play AAA hockey. Folks are driving over an hour each way for practices at odd hours, and getting on a plane for 10+ tournaments a year, for what? To (hopefully) start college at 20 and play on a D3 or ACHA club team?

Here is the data on who makes the NHL (spoiler, it’s not kids from the DMV):
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=87dea755c0034d5593d0258408d253dc

Let your kid play any other sport.

Do you think that most kids and parents only care because of college or pros? Sure I'm sure all of them would love that as an outcome but then play because they love it. If my kid loves it, I'll suck up the terrible drives just like my parents did for me.

Being a hockey parent involves more than just long drives to games and practices. Instead of constantly flying back and forth to cities like Chicago, Boston, Minnesota, Toronto, and Pittsburgh, splitting up the family or dragging siblings along begrudgingly, consider planning some fantastic family trips that everyone can enjoy. You can also sign your kid up for local hockey, knowing that it’s not going anywhere. Maybe add in some lacrosse, as local kids tend to excel in it without the need for extensive travel. Or move to Minnesota or Boston if you must play competitive hockey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

It's amazing to me how willing some families are to deal with traffic for hockey. There are many kids that mine have played with over the years, co-ed and girls, who are driving to Philly for hockey. We're not that hardcore, but are still coming from VA. On the 19 team (which ended up the year ranked 21 for national bound teams which is not bad) the team was split about half and half MD/VA, and the VA folks were driving from as far as Bentonville/Skyline and Dumfries. Definitely not for the faint of hear. The further drivers tend to be from VA as I think there are more options for kids who live in Baltimore, they could go south or north to Philly/NJ. Believe the club has explored splitting practices between MD and VA in the past, but could not get the ice time to make it work. Most VA rinks are pretty fully subscribed at this point.

Given the shortage of ice rinks in the DMV, I would recommend that kids choose a different sport. If you play hockey in a metropolitan area that has a lot of rinks, going to hockey practice is not a huge inconvenience. It is just a short drive.

So perhaps consider having your son/daughter play a field sport -- where practices are at normal times of day and there is more space.

(There is also a shortage of indoor pools in the DMV, relative to the population, and so I do not recommend swimming either.)

The players from areas with more/better facilities will usually be better than even a large metro area like the DMV, because we lack the facilities.

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever read. Discouraging people from playing hockey or swimming in the DMV? You realize that two of the best swimmers of all time (Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps) came from the DMV area?

You might as well tell people not to let their kids to play football or baseball since the kids in the south will be better - as they can play outside year round. How about you just STFU and let kids pick sports they enjoy?

The most idiotic thing I see on here is parents believing it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and resources to play AAA hockey. Folks are driving over an hour each way for practices at odd hours, and getting on a plane for 10+ tournaments a year, for what? To (hopefully) start college at 20 and play on a D3 or ACHA club team?

Here is the data on who makes the NHL (spoiler, it’s not kids from the DMV):
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=87dea755c0034d5593d0258408d253dc

Let your kid play any other sport.

Truth

[Anonymous]

Talked to a soccer parent last night - $3k season and his kid goes through 3 pairs of $150 boots per season. Same amount of travel as cbhl/ahf hockey. Upper a hockey costs $3750 and my kid is in his third season of $700 skates. It’s all the same. They know how much parents can pay and charge it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talked to a soccer parent last night - $3k season and his kid goes through 3 pairs of $150 boots per season. Same amount of travel as cbhl/ahf hockey. Upper a hockey costs $3750 and my kid is in his third season of $700 skates. It’s all the same. They know how much parents can pay and charge it.

Playing upper-level AAA hockey it s sooooo much more expensive than upper-level soccer. The team dues alone typically cost over $7,000. While you have your skate costs about right (though some skates are more like $1,200 including w part of ra of blades) sticks can run about $300 each, and kids often break several each season. pads add another $500. Travel costs are where they rally get you, with plane trips averaging around $2,000 each, and there are usually many trips throughout the season. They play 50-60 games, mostly in travel tournaments. Add in ice time, privates, skate sharpening. The financial costs of AAA hockey is prob 3x ECNL soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

What rink is more central in the DMV than Rockville?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

What rink is more central in the DMV than Rockville?

I live in Montgomery County and find this rink hard to get to. It’s not close to the Beltway. It’s not close to 270. It’s not close to the ICC. I can’t imagine trying to get there for a weeknight practice from DC or NoVa. I find Reston to be easiest, followed by Cabin John.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

It's amazing to me how willing some families are to deal with traffic for hockey. There are many kids that mine have played with over the years, co-ed and girls, who are driving to Philly for hockey. We're not that hardcore, but are still coming from VA. On the 19 team (which ended up the year ranked 21 for national bound teams which is not bad) the team was split about half and half MD/VA, and the VA folks were driving from as far as Bentonville/Skyline and Dumfries. Definitely not for the faint of hear. The further drivers tend to be from VA as I think there are more options for kids who live in Baltimore, they could go south or north to Philly/NJ. Believe the club has explored splitting practices between MD and VA in the past, but could not get the ice time to make it work. Most VA rinks are pretty fully subscribed at this point.

Given the shortage of ice rinks in the DMV, I would recommend that kids choose a different sport. If you play hockey in a metropolitan area that has a lot of rinks, going to hockey practice is not a huge inconvenience. It is just a short drive.

So perhaps consider having your son/daughter play a field sport -- where practices are at normal times of day and there is more space.

(There is also a shortage of indoor pools in the DMV, relative to the population, and so I do not recommend swimming either.)

The players from areas with more/better facilities will usually be better than even a large metro area like the DMV, because we lack the facilities.

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever read. Discouraging people from playing hockey or swimming in the DMV? You realize that two of the best swimmers of all time (Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps) came from the DMV area?

You might as well tell people not to let their kids to play football or baseball since the kids in the south will be better - as they can play outside year round. How about you just STFU and let kids pick sports they enjoy?

The most idiotic thing I see on here is parents believing it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and resources to play AAA hockey. Folks are driving over an hour each way for practices at odd hours, and getting on a plane for 10+ tournaments a year, for what? To (hopefully) start college at 20 and play on a D3 or ACHA club team?

Here is the data on who makes the NHL (spoiler, it’s not kids from the DMV):
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=87dea755c0034d5593d0258408d253dc

Let your kid play any other sport.

This data is not particularly helpful and if anything quite misleading. On first glance, Ontario is an obvious NHL player factory but when you click on the data you see they have players there going back to 1918. Canada obviously has a significant head start on hockey over the US. In 1980, 82% of NHL players were Canadian and only 11% were American. Today, that gap has closed significantly with 40% being Canadian and 30% being American. That is a huge shift in 40 years and the trend is only moving in one direction. Hockey has grown a lot in the US and with our larger population it is not inconceivable that in 20 years more NHLers will be Americans than Canadians. It is crazy to think about and yet totally within reach. The DMV is certainly not a hockey factory but the game is growing here and will continue to. Making it to the NHL, or any major league in any sport is very, very difficult. But the opportunities for kids today in the DMV are much greater than they were 20 years ago and this will only continue to be the case over time. Here is what I know; there is a <1% of making it to the NHL if you play AAA hockey in the DMV area but there is a 0% chance you make it if you don't even bother exploring your potential. Kids play, first and foremost, for a love of the game. That is what matters most. At the end of the day, no matter where the stops are along the way, all roads lead to beer league. But if kids love the sport and want to see how far they can go with it, regardless to where they are born, who is anyone else to tell them not to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be amazing if they could find a central location for Pride, I feel like you'd end up with truly competitive AAA teams rather than teams that are probably equivalent to high-end Tier 2 teams. I feel like they miss out of so many talented players in our are who can't realistically get to Rockville. It ends up being more of a Team Maryland team.

It's amazing to me how willing some families are to deal with traffic for hockey. There are many kids that mine have played with over the years, co-ed and girls, who are driving to Philly for hockey. We're not that hardcore, but are still coming from VA. On the 19 team (which ended up the year ranked 21 for national bound teams which is not bad) the team was split about half and half MD/VA, and the VA folks were driving from as far as Bentonville/Skyline and Dumfries. Definitely not for the faint of hear. The further drivers tend to be from VA as I think there are more options for kids who live in Baltimore, they could go south or north to Philly/NJ. Believe the club has explored splitting practices between MD and VA in the past, but could not get the ice time to make it work. Most VA rinks are pretty fully subscribed at this point.

Given the shortage of ice rinks in the DMV, I would recommend that kids choose a different sport. If you play hockey in a metropolitan area that has a lot of rinks, going to hockey practice is not a huge inconvenience. It is just a short drive.

So perhaps consider having your son/daughter play a field sport -- where practices are at normal times of day and there is more space.

(There is also a shortage of indoor pools in the DMV, relative to the population, and so I do not recommend swimming either.)

The players from areas with more/better facilities will usually be better than even a large metro area like the DMV, because we lack the facilities.

This is the most idiotic thing I have ever read. Discouraging people from playing hockey or swimming in the DMV? You realize that two of the best swimmers of all time (Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps) came from the DMV area?

You might as well tell people not to let their kids to play football or baseball since the kids in the south will be better - as they can play outside year round. How about you just STFU and let kids pick sports they enjoy?

The most idiotic thing I see on here is parents believing it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and resources to play AAA hockey. Folks are driving over an hour each way for practices at odd hours, and getting on a plane for 10+ tournaments a year, for what? To (hopefully) start college at 20 and play on a D3 or ACHA club team?

Here is the data on who makes the NHL (spoiler, it’s not kids from the DMV):
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=87dea755c0034d5593d0258408d253dc

Let your kid play any other sport.

Here is what I know; there is a <1% of making it to the NHL if you play AAA hockey in the DMV area but there is a 0% chance you make it if you don't even bother exploring your potential. Kids play, first and foremost, for a love of the game. That is what matters most. At the end of the day, no matter where the stops are along the way, all roads lead to beer league. But if kids love the sport and want to see how far they can go with it, regardless to where they are born, who is anyone else to tell them not to?

This gets it exactly right. For almost everyone, in Canada, Russia, Minnesota, or the DMV, all roads lead to beer league (which is a fantastic place to end up). But the journey, wherever it goes, can be meaningful, and the game itself is great. I love that kids (and families) have different choices about which paths they choose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talked to a soccer parent last night - $3k season and his kid goes through 3 pairs of $150 boots per season. Same amount of travel as cbhl/ahf hockey. Upper a hockey costs $3750 and my kid is in his third season of $700 skates. It’s all the same. They know how much parents can pay and charge it.

Playing upper-level AAA hockey it s sooooo much more expensive than upper-level soccer. The team dues alone typically cost over $7,000. While you have your skate costs about right (though some skates are more like $1,200 including w part of ra of blades) sticks can run about $300 each, and kids often break several each season. pads add another $500. Travel costs are where they rally get you, with plane trips averaging around $2,000 each, and there are usually many trips throughout the season. They play 50-60 games, mostly in travel tournaments. Add in ice time, privates, skate sharpening. The financial costs of AAA hockey is prob 3x ECNL soccer.

I’m talking about aa. Congrats on your kid playing aaa.