Are girls moving from figure skating to hockey?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

I think that if your future relationship with your young adults kids hinges on whether or not you allowed them to participate in expensive and time consuming travel sports, or the most expensive and time consuming ballet/figure skating/theatre/culinary arts (insert kid activity), then there are many many things wrong with your parent child dynamics, most of which have very little to do with what activity your kid does, how much money you spent on it, and whther or not they did travel sports.

Having kids who are heading off to college and life, I see far more resentment from kids who did all these expensive travel sports and activities, because the parents become more invested in the travel sport than the kids. There is much more resentment due to parents pushing back, fighting against or constantly guilt tripping the kid into continuing with the expensive travel sport when the kid wants to quit or drop down in intensity and try other things, than resentment from kids who didn't do travel sports/high level dance competition/theater audition circuit/etc.

The parents often become more invested in the travel sport than the kid. They often put too much constant pressure on the kid. Or tgey decide the kid is "too talented" to quit and is going to get that college sports scholarship. Often they start defining their relationship as being a "soccer family" or "we do baseball family" or "you are a theatre kid" because the parents have dumped soooo much money and time in the travel sport to the point that their own parent and social identity is tied to the travel sport, even after the kid's interest has waned.

Being on the back end of this stuff with young adult and teen kids, there is far more resentment from young adults over their parents being too immersed in the travel sports culture, than there are young adults severing family ties because their parents did not let them spend tens of thousands of dollars each year and every weekend of their childhood on travel sports.

Not to mention, any kid severing ties with their parents likely had many other parent and/or child issues that had zero to do with sports or any activity.

[Anonymous]

Well this thread took a turn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

First, hockey is the worst money grab among youth sports, especially in non-traditional markets like the DMV. Not to mention, ice times can be as early as 6 am or as late as 11 pm. If you think it is going anywhere, it's not. No matter how much money you spend and how many weekends you travel all over the country and how many weeks you send your kid to summer camp at Shattuck St Mary's, they are not going to play D1 hockey coming from here, now more than ever, with rule changes allowing more Canadians to play NCAA hockey. If you are a young mom or dad just getting into the sport, you need to take a parent of an 18U or high school kid who played hockey at the highest level available here out to lunch to talk about their journey, and actually listen to them. No amount of time or money that you spend trying to make your kid a hockey star in the DMV is going to get them to the NHL or even NCAA hockey, and NCAA D3 hockey is like a 1% chance for a boy, and they will not start college anymore playing D3 hockey until they are 20 or 21 after maxing out their juniors years.

So, if your kid wants to play hockey, let them play rec hockey. It's fun. It leaves time for other sports. You'll have time and money for family vacations where you can all have fun together.

If you want to sign your kid up for AAA or some lower level of travel hockey (which is definitely a dead end), and then get on here and preach about how great it is, why don't you report back when your kid is 20 and let us know how that went for them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

First, hockey is the worst money grab among youth sports, especially in non-traditional markets like the DMV. Not to mention, ice times can be as early as 6 am or as late as 11 pm. If you think it is going anywhere, it's not. No matter how much money you spend and how many weekends you travel all over the country and how many weeks you send your kid to summer camp at Shattuck St Mary's, they are not going to play D1 hockey coming from here, now more than ever, with rule changes allowing more Canadians to play NCAA hockey. If you are a young mom or dad just getting into the sport, you need to take a parent of an 18U or high school kid who played hockey at the highest level available here out to lunch to talk about their journey, and actually listen to them. No amount of time or money that you spend trying to make your kid a hockey star in the DMV is going to get them to the NHL or even NCAA hockey, and NCAA D3 hockey is like a 1% chance for a boy, and they will not start college anymore playing D3 hockey until they are 20 or 21 after maxing out their juniors years.

So, if your kid wants to play hockey, let them play rec hockey. It's fun. It leaves time for other sports. You'll have time and money for family vacations where you can all have fun together.

If you want to sign your kid up for AAA or some lower level of travel hockey (which is definitely a dead end), and then get on here and preach about how great it is, why don't you report back when your kid is 20 and let us know how that went for them?

Most parents I know realize their kid isn’t playing college. But, regardless, as a family they enjoy the travel hockey experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

First, hockey is the worst money grab among youth sports, especially in non-traditional markets like the DMV. Not to mention, ice times can be as early as 6 am or as late as 11 pm. If you think it is going anywhere, it's not. No matter how much money you spend and how many weekends you travel all over the country and how many weeks you send your kid to summer camp at Shattuck St Mary's, they are not going to play D1 hockey coming from here, now more than ever, with rule changes allowing more Canadians to play NCAA hockey. If you are a young mom or dad just getting into the sport, you need to take a parent of an 18U or high school kid who played hockey at the highest level available here out to lunch to talk about their journey, and actually listen to them. No amount of time or money that you spend trying to make your kid a hockey star in the DMV is going to get them to the NHL or even NCAA hockey, and NCAA D3 hockey is like a 1% chance for a boy, and they will not start college anymore playing D3 hockey until they are 20 or 21 after maxing out their juniors years.

So, if your kid wants to play hockey, let them play rec hockey. It's fun. It leaves time for other sports. You'll have time and money for family vacations where you can all have fun together.

If you want to sign your kid up for AAA or some lower level of travel hockey (which is definitely a dead end), and then get on here and preach about how great it is, why don't you report back when your kid is 20 and let us know how that went for them?

Most parents I know realize their kid isn’t playing college. But, regardless, as a family they enjoy the travel hockey experience.

Siblings don't enjoy the travel hockey experience. What's to enjoy about staying in crappy pay-to-play hotels in crappy parts of town to go sit in an ice rink on the weekends? Or you can divide and conquer, which is what most people do, but that's a lot of family weekends out the window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

First, hockey is the worst money grab among youth sports, especially in non-traditional markets like the DMV. Not to mention, ice times can be as early as 6 am or as late as 11 pm. If you think it is going anywhere, it's not. No matter how much money you spend and how many weekends you travel all over the country and how many weeks you send your kid to summer camp at Shattuck St Mary's, they are not going to play D1 hockey coming from here, now more than ever, with rule changes allowing more Canadians to play NCAA hockey. If you are a young mom or dad just getting into the sport, you need to take a parent of an 18U or high school kid who played hockey at the highest level available here out to lunch to talk about their journey, and actually listen to them. No amount of time or money that you spend trying to make your kid a hockey star in the DMV is going to get them to the NHL or even NCAA hockey, and NCAA D3 hockey is like a 1% chance for a boy, and they will not start college anymore playing D3 hockey until they are 20 or 21 after maxing out their juniors years.

So, if your kid wants to play hockey, let them play rec hockey. It's fun. It leaves time for other sports. You'll have time and money for family vacations where you can all have fun together.

If you want to sign your kid up for AAA or some lower level of travel hockey (which is definitely a dead end), and then get on here and preach about how great it is, why don't you report back when your kid is 20 and let us know how that went for them?

Most parents I know realize their kid isn’t playing college. But, regardless, as a family they enjoy the travel hockey experience.

Is that true? I specifically never let my kid go anywhere near hockey because I knew several parents who hated just about everything about it. What's worse, even if your kid is really good, that just means you get to pay for them to go to Boarding school for two years before they even seem to have a shot at playing in college (putting aside there will be phenoms who are the top 0.1% of the top 1% in every sport like Sidney Crosby who are so good they go to the NHL at like 17/18).

I mean, it's one thing if you live in MN or Canada where lakes freeze over and kids play pick-up games (and I gather there are probably more robust Rec leagues) and they develop a more organic love of the game. At least in the DMV, unless you actually live out in Ashburn or somewhere reasonably close to an ice rink...it sounds absolutely awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

First, hockey is the worst money grab among youth sports, especially in non-traditional markets like the DMV. Not to mention, ice times can be as early as 6 am or as late as 11 pm. If you think it is going anywhere, it's not. No matter how much money you spend and how many weekends you travel all over the country and how many weeks you send your kid to summer camp at Shattuck St Mary's, they are not going to play D1 hockey coming from here, now more than ever, with rule changes allowing more Canadians to play NCAA hockey. If you are a young mom or dad just getting into the sport, you need to take a parent of an 18U or high school kid who played hockey at the highest level available here out to lunch to talk about their journey, and actually listen to them. No amount of time or money that you spend trying to make your kid a hockey star in the DMV is going to get them to the NHL or even NCAA hockey, and NCAA D3 hockey is like a 1% chance for a boy, and they will not start college anymore playing D3 hockey until they are 20 or 21 after maxing out their juniors years.

So, if your kid wants to play hockey, let them play rec hockey. It's fun. It leaves time for other sports. You'll have time and money for family vacations where you can all have fun together.

If you want to sign your kid up for AAA or some lower level of travel hockey (which is definitely a dead end), and then get on here and preach about how great it is, why don't you report back when your kid is 20 and let us know how that went for them?

This is weird. You don’t just “sign up” for aaa hockey. My oldest just finished senior year high school and played aa travel hockey throughout. The second one stopped after 14u to focus on high school sports.

None (that I know) of the kids still playing travel hockey in high school are doing it because their parents are making them. Those kids normally bow oit after second year 14u or first year 16u. It’s too much of a time and money commitment for the parents if the kid doesn’t love it. None of the parents we encountered thought their kids were going to play in the nhl. You’re speaking in stereotypes and cliches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

First, hockey is the worst money grab among youth sports, especially in non-traditional markets like the DMV. Not to mention, ice times can be as early as 6 am or as late as 11 pm. If you think it is going anywhere, it's not. No matter how much money you spend and how many weekends you travel all over the country and how many weeks you send your kid to summer camp at Shattuck St Mary's, they are not going to play D1 hockey coming from here, now more than ever, with rule changes allowing more Canadians to play NCAA hockey. If you are a young mom or dad just getting into the sport, you need to take a parent of an 18U or high school kid who played hockey at the highest level available here out to lunch to talk about their journey, and actually listen to them. No amount of time or money that you spend trying to make your kid a hockey star in the DMV is going to get them to the NHL or even NCAA hockey, and NCAA D3 hockey is like a 1% chance for a boy, and they will not start college anymore playing D3 hockey until they are 20 or 21 after maxing out their juniors years.

So, if your kid wants to play hockey, let them play rec hockey. It's fun. It leaves time for other sports. You'll have time and money for family vacations where you can all have fun together.

If you want to sign your kid up for AAA or some lower level of travel hockey (which is definitely a dead end), and then get on here and preach about how great it is, why don't you report back when your kid is 20 and let us know how that went for them?

Most parents I know realize their kid isn’t playing college. But, regardless, as a family they enjoy the travel hockey experience.

Siblings don't enjoy the travel hockey experience. What's to enjoy about staying in crappy pay-to-play hotels in crappy parts of town to go sit in an ice rink on the weekends? Or you can divide and conquer, which is what most people do, but that's a lot of family weekends out the window.

It works well for us, sorry that it didn’t for your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

First, hockey is the worst money grab among youth sports, especially in non-traditional markets like the DMV. Not to mention, ice times can be as early as 6 am or as late as 11 pm. If you think it is going anywhere, it's not. No matter how much money you spend and how many weekends you travel all over the country and how many weeks you send your kid to summer camp at Shattuck St Mary's, they are not going to play D1 hockey coming from here, now more than ever, with rule changes allowing more Canadians to play NCAA hockey. If you are a young mom or dad just getting into the sport, you need to take a parent of an 18U or high school kid who played hockey at the highest level available here out to lunch to talk about their journey, and actually listen to them. No amount of time or money that you spend trying to make your kid a hockey star in the DMV is going to get them to the NHL or even NCAA hockey, and NCAA D3 hockey is like a 1% chance for a boy, and they will not start college anymore playing D3 hockey until they are 20 or 21 after maxing out their juniors years.

So, if your kid wants to play hockey, let them play rec hockey. It's fun. It leaves time for other sports. You'll have time and money for family vacations where you can all have fun together.

If you want to sign your kid up for AAA or some lower level of travel hockey (which is definitely a dead end), and then get on here and preach about how great it is, why don't you report back when your kid is 20 and let us know how that went for them?

Most parents I know realize their kid isn’t playing college. But, regardless, as a family they enjoy the travel hockey experience.

Is that true? I specifically never let my kid go anywhere near hockey because I knew several parents who hated just about everything about it. What's worse, even if your kid is really good, that just means you get to pay for them to go to Boarding school for two years before they even seem to have a shot at playing in college (putting aside there will be phenoms who are the top 0.1% of the top 1% in every sport like Sidney Crosby who are so good they go to the NHL at like 17/18).

I mean, it's one thing if you live in MN or Canada where lakes freeze over and kids play pick-up games (and I gather there are probably more robust Rec leagues) and they develop a more organic love of the game. At least in the DMV, unless you actually live out in Ashburn or somewhere reasonably close to an ice rink...it sounds absolutely awful.

💯

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

First, hockey is the worst money grab among youth sports, especially in non-traditional markets like the DMV. Not to mention, ice times can be as early as 6 am or as late as 11 pm. If you think it is going anywhere, it's not. No matter how much money you spend and how many weekends you travel all over the country and how many weeks you send your kid to summer camp at Shattuck St Mary's, they are not going to play D1 hockey coming from here, now more than ever, with rule changes allowing more Canadians to play NCAA hockey. If you are a young mom or dad just getting into the sport, you need to take a parent of an 18U or high school kid who played hockey at the highest level available here out to lunch to talk about their journey, and actually listen to them. No amount of time or money that you spend trying to make your kid a hockey star in the DMV is going to get them to the NHL or even NCAA hockey, and NCAA D3 hockey is like a 1% chance for a boy, and they will not start college anymore playing D3 hockey until they are 20 or 21 after maxing out their juniors years.

So, if your kid wants to play hockey, let them play rec hockey. It's fun. It leaves time for other sports. You'll have time and money for family vacations where you can all have fun together.

If you want to sign your kid up for AAA or some lower level of travel hockey (which is definitely a dead end), and then get on here and preach about how great it is, why don't you report back when your kid is 20 and let us know how that went for them?

This is weird. You don’t just “sign up” for aaa hockey. My oldest just finished senior year high school and played aa travel hockey throughout. The second one stopped after 14u to focus on high school sports.

None (that I know) of the kids still playing travel hockey in high school are doing it because their parents are making them. Those kids normally bow oit after second year 14u or first year 16u. It’s too much of a time and money commitment for the parents if the kid doesn’t love it. None of the parents we encountered thought their kids were going to play in the nhl. You’re speaking in stereotypes and cliches.

I speak as someone with experience on the AAA hockey circuit. What happens is you think you're finally ready to leave the circus, then your kid shows a little more potential, and you think, "let's give it one more year of $30k+ fees and cazy travel commitments, plus 4 weeks of summer camp and privates, or, let's send our teenager to billet with another family instead of living at home with their parents, or let's let them defer college for 2 years and see where it goes." I've been around long enough to see how it has played out for the older kids, and my advice is to just play rec hockey. If you really want to play a sport at a high level, play something that makes sense from the DMV, like lacrosse.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a figure skater with 2 hockey player kids, this is a stupid post. You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Other than the fact that you have blades on your feet ( which are completely different ) the two spirts are completely different and attract completely different athletes. It’s accurate to say that ice hockey now attracts more girls but little chance those athletes were ever going to figure skate.

I have a girl who does both. She's been far the best skater on her co-ed hockey team. She's still young and they keep trying to recruit her to tryout for a travel team - hard no. She's our baby and we’re done with that circus. Figure skating is nice because you can pick and choose competitions. Same with golf. I am done traveling for team sports.

Isn't it supposed to be about you daughter??? If she really wants to play travel hockey, or travel anything, shouldn't you support it. It's about your kid and not about you. Encouraging and supporting your child by spending your time and money is called parenting. It's nauseating hearing selfish parents bloviate on this message board endlessly about what they won't do for their DC even though they have the wherewithal to do so. Stop being so selfish, grow up, put your child's interest ahead of yours. They'll be out of the house and off to college before you know it.

Different poster

Hard no on the "if your kid wants to do travel sports you must just smile and write the checks"

Why feed the money grab?

So don't feed the "money grab" for something you can afford and YOUR CHILD wants to do and is committed to. Instead you will freely spend money on your [insert luxury brand car] because YOU want to, but sure overspending on something like that is certainly not a money grab. Right, ok, deprive your child of any personal interest they may desire UNLESS it aligns with YOUR interests. That works out well if your child loves skiing in Vail as much as you do, but if your kid dreams of being a ballet dancer at Juilliard and you just think ballet is so boring then you can enjoy your distant relationship with YOUR CHILD once they graduate and move out for the rest of YOUR LIFE.

The point is people like you seem to only do what they want and must run a household that is militant in THEIR beliefs only. Children sometimes have different personalities and interest than their parents. DC is generally an affluent area and most people can afford to support at least a couple if their children's interest$ whether it be travel sports, the arts, travel, culinary arts, etc. Of course you can't do everything, but instead of only doing what you want sometimes it's good parenting to spend your time investing in what they want regardless of your interest.

First, hockey is the worst money grab among youth sports, especially in non-traditional markets like the DMV. Not to mention, ice times can be as early as 6 am or as late as 11 pm. If you think it is going anywhere, it's not. No matter how much money you spend and how many weekends you travel all over the country and how many weeks you send your kid to summer camp at Shattuck St Mary's, they are not going to play D1 hockey coming from here, now more than ever, with rule changes allowing more Canadians to play NCAA hockey. If you are a young mom or dad just getting into the sport, you need to take a parent of an 18U or high school kid who played hockey at the highest level available here out to lunch to talk about their journey, and actually listen to them. No amount of time or money that you spend trying to make your kid a hockey star in the DMV is going to get them to the NHL or even NCAA hockey, and NCAA D3 hockey is like a 1% chance for a boy, and they will not start college anymore playing D3 hockey until they are 20 or 21 after maxing out their juniors years.

So, if your kid wants to play hockey, let them play rec hockey. It's fun. It leaves time for other sports. You'll have time and money for family vacations where you can all have fun together.

If you want to sign your kid up for AAA or some lower level of travel hockey (which is definitely a dead end), and then get on here and preach about how great it is, why don't you report back when your kid is 20 and let us know how that went for them?

This is weird. You don’t just “sign up” for aaa hockey. My oldest just finished senior year high school and played aa travel hockey throughout. The second one stopped after 14u to focus on high school sports.

None (that I know) of the kids still playing travel hockey in high school are doing it because their parents are making them. Those kids normally bow oit after second year 14u or first year 16u. It’s too much of a time and money commitment for the parents if the kid doesn’t love it. None of the parents we encountered thought their kids were going to play in the nhl. You’re speaking in stereotypes and cliches.

I speak as someone with experience on the AAA hockey circuit. What happens is you think you're finally ready to leave the circus, then your kid shows a little more potential, and you think, "let's give it one more year of $30k+ fees and cazy travel commitments, plus 4 weeks of summer camp and privates, or, let's send our teenager to billet with another family instead of living at home with their parents, or let's let them defer college for 2 years and see where it goes." I've been around long enough to see how it has played out for the older kids, and my advice is to just play rec hockey. If you really want to play a sport at a high level, play something that makes sense from the DMV, like lacrosse.

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.

[Anonymous]

I meant ( “and either would he”)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

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).