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[quote=Anonymous]There are lots of reasons why the DMV Tier 1 programs do not produce kids who can play juniors and progress to NCAA D3 and D1. It's a complex mix of a very thin talent pool among parent coaches compared to other cities (who inevitably are training the youngest players and giving them their start, from age 5 on), producing a very thin player pool at the young ages when regional/national competition begins (so DC is WAY behind to start), fragmented Tier 2 scene, lack of available ice time in the season (even if some sheets go down in the spring/summer), Tier 1 offerings for kids starting 2 years later than most other markets (putting DC even further behind), and a number of other factors.  There are some great professional coaches in DC, but unless the entire landscape is re-configured, this problem will not go away.

As someone who is knowledgeable about the youth hockey scene here in the DMV and elsewhere (from a major hockey market out west originally, with a high-level hockey background), I see all kinds of families.  I have lots of sympathy and understanding for the poster who has a kid that plays out of the city - there are talented players who simply are not served appropriately by the local programs if they reach a certain level, and if the kid is dialed-in and loves it, and the family is committed and knows what the are doing, playing away makes sense for that kid and family, college aspirations or not.

I also see parents who have no clue what they are talking about and move all over the country, home or online school, for a kid that would be better served being in a traditional school and making some friends at home, rather than home-online-schooling and being in a rink in a semi-random city all day.

Our family policy is to respect everyone's decisions and cast aspersions on no families' choices: we can't know everyone's circumstances, and in our experience, sometimes the strangest-seeming choices end up being those that make a ton of sense when you get to know the people -- and sometimes what seems like the most obvious set of choices make no sense whatsoever, with parents very obviously chasing the dream for their kids (or worse, being a hockey parent is the parents' primary activity, the kid being an afterthought).

It is just a fact that until the business of DC hockey is totally reorganized, this problem will persist. In the meantime, we hope that folks will all be respectful and understanding of others, who are inevitably trying to do what is best for their kid or family regardless of how misguided (or not) they may ultimately be.[/quote]

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