If you look as the NESCAC recruiting reports in the last few years you'll see that they are trending taking fewer boys from prep schools in favor of kids who have taken gap years playing juniors. The end goal for kids in this area should be for fun. There are precious few who will make it to competitive collegiate programs. It's not a realistic expectation, even for the kids who are "the best" in their age group around here.

The path for collegiate girls hockey is a little different than for boys. Seems like the answers so far have been focused on boys hockey and not on girls. For girls, while still challenging, the path to collegiate hockey seems to be more direct.

Anonymous wrote:I would also just focus on what your child enjoys now and not what it will get them in the future. All three of my kids played sports and then two at the collegiate level (one hockey D3 NESCAC school) and they loved it. It wasn’t an investment, it was for their happiness and health. They learned a lot from being on a team too. However, I do know that these sports cost a lot of money so if it stretches your budget too much and you are looking for a payout, I supposed I’d quit.

I agree with this poster. My son loves hockey. He's playing on a 16u Lower A team, his high school team, and a house/rec team. He enjoys it. We are not doing it for the "payback" but as a way to keep him exercising, off his screen (which he is still on plenty), as a confidence builder because he struggles in school, and because he has a great clan of friends on the rinks that he loves bumping into, playing with, and bringing home.

In our case, the money is not a hardship. But I can appreciate that if it were, I would either look into scholarships and/or look for another sport.

My understanding is that with Title IX, many many schools are spending a lot of their athletic budget on the mens side on football and basketball. Hockey scholarships do happen, but I would not hold my breath for this.

My son started playing ice hockey ate the age of 5. He outgrew the local AAA programs in MD/VA and had to start playing on teams in the PA/NJ area for better development. He was recruited to play at a top boarding school with competitive hockey and is on track to play D1 hockey for college.

Unfortunately with hockey, it all depends on how much time/effort/money you put into it. We have invested a lot into hockey for our son to help him achieve his goals of playing Ivy League D1- which is a good possibility for him at this point based on his current path.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the future of current 10 and under hockey players? Just wondering if all this travel and tournaments will payoff in some way? Or is my kid going to get injured and unable to play? Do all colleges have hockey teams?

Not really sure how to answer this. The road to college (and pro hockey) is long, and there are many routes you can take. If you are looking for a guarantee that the travel and money you are spending on your 10-year old is going to result in a college scholarship (or even a roster spot), you are not going to get that. In general, if your kid really wants to play in college, he (or she) has a good chance of being able to find an ACHA (club) team that they can play on, though it might not be a college he or she would otherwise want to attend.

Good chance of ACHA is harder than you think, especially depending on the school. Lot of good AA players won't make ACHA D2 teams. Even AAA players may not regularly dress. Other clubs are just looking for bodies. Has to play because he likes it, that's it. High School hockey is ton of fun and that's the payoff.

You quoted my response, and I think we're in agreement (my answer may not have been entirely clear). Making an ACHA D2 team is not a given at many schools. But if you want to find a spot on an ACHA D3, or D2 team, you can probably find a school where you can do that. Agree that HS hockey is fun, and is its own reward

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the future of current 10 and under hockey players? Just wondering if all this travel and tournaments will payoff in some way? Or is my kid going to get injured and unable to play? Do all colleges have hockey teams?

Not really sure how to answer this. The road to college (and pro hockey) is long, and there are many routes you can take. If you are looking for a guarantee that the travel and money you are spending on your 10-year old is going to result in a college scholarship (or even a roster spot), you are not going to get that. In general, if your kid really wants to play in college, he (or she) has a good chance of being able to find an ACHA (club) team that they can play on, though it might not be a college he or she would otherwise want to attend.

Good chance of ACHA is harder than you think, especially depending on the school. Lot of good AA players won't make ACHA D2 teams. Even AAA players may not regularly dress. Other clubs are just looking for bodies. Has to play because he likes it, that's it. High School hockey is ton of fun and that's the payoff.

Anonymous wrote:D3 recruits heavily from the prep schools. My child stayed in town at a private high school here. They did play Club too so we travelled for tournaments and they could be seen there. They then started contacting coaches and were asked to come for some hockey visits. New England boarding schools would be much better exposure to the NESCAC coaches and that is where the majority of the team comes from. But we did not get any money from the school (if that’s what you are looking for).

Thank you for responding. No, we're not looking for money. We're just looking for a way to help our kid play college hockey that doesn't involve shipping him off to somewhere like North Dakota to live with another family and do online school. We are mentally preparing ourselves for boarding school, hopefully not for all four years if it can be avoided, as it would delay our retirement plans, and also trying to encourage more lacrosse in the spring and summer as another option as the path to college lacrosse is much more realistic and affordable.

D3 recruits heavily from the prep schools. My child stayed in town at a private high school here. They did play Club too so we travelled for tournaments and they could be seen there. They then started contacting coaches and were asked to come for some hockey visits. New England boarding schools would be much better exposure to the NESCAC coaches and that is where the majority of the team comes from. But we did not get any money from the school (if that’s what you are looking for).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would also just focus on what your child enjoys now and not what it will get them in the future. All three of my kids played sports and then two at the collegiate level (one hockey D3 NESCAC school) and they loved it. It wasn’t an investment, it was for their happiness and health. They learned a lot from being on a team too. However, I do know that these sports cost a lot of money so if it stretches your budget too much and you are looking for a payout, I supposed I’d quit.

What was the path of the one playing DC at a NESCAC school? This would be the best outcome for my 12-year-old playing AAA. Looking at the rosters of D1 schools, I doubt he has a chance. We're thinking of prep school, as I don't like sending him away to billet with a family I don't know and possibly getting a poor education. For purposes of playing a sport in college, I wasn't sure if we had nudged him toward ANY sport other than hockey.

*I wish we had nudged him toward any other sport. We both played college sports; the kid is a good athlete and could've been good at anything. We are not hockey people and had no idea what the path to college hockey entails as we let him get more and more invested over the years. Moving away from home at 15 or 16, juniors until 20, not graduating until 24? If we let him delay college for two years, there is a good chance that he would not even make an NCAA team because he'd be competing against so many good international players.

Rat hole to dump major $$ in.

Anonymous wrote:I would also just focus on what your child enjoys now and not what it will get them in the future. All three of my kids played sports and then two at the collegiate level (one hockey D3 NESCAC school) and they loved it. It wasn’t an investment, it was for their happiness and health. They learned a lot from being on a team too. However, I do know that these sports cost a lot of money so if it stretches your budget too much and you are looking for a payout, I supposed I’d quit.

What was the path of the one playing DC at a NESCAC school? This would be the best outcome for my 12-year-old playing AAA. Looking at the rosters of D1 schools, I doubt he has a chance. We're thinking of prep school, as I don't like sending him away to billet with a family I don't know and possibly getting a poor education. For purposes of playing a sport in college, I wasn't sure if we had nudged him toward ANY sport other than hockey.

I would also just focus on what your child enjoys now and not what it will get them in the future. All three of my kids played sports and then two at the collegiate level (one hockey D3 NESCAC school) and they loved it. It wasn’t an investment, it was for their happiness and health. They learned a lot from being on a team too. However, I do know that these sports cost a lot of money so if it stretches your budget too much and you are looking for a payout, I supposed I’d quit.

If your kid enjoys playing and is developing, you can afford it, and the schedule works for your family, great. If not, don't chase a handful of college scholarships, which are very unlikely for a kid in the DMV. At some point you may need to make a decision about playing other sports as teams increasingly go year round, but that doesn't usually happen until 12/13 for hockey.

Anonymous wrote:What is the future of current 10 and under hockey players? Just wondering if all this travel and tournaments will payoff in some way? Or is my kid going to get injured and unable to play? Do all colleges have hockey teams?

Not really sure how to answer this. The road to college (and pro hockey) is long, and there are many routes you can take. If you are looking for a guarantee that the travel and money you are spending on your 10-year old is going to result in a college scholarship (or even a roster spot), you are not going to get that. In general, if your kid really wants to play in college, he (or she) has a good chance of being able to find an ACHA (club) team that they can play on, though it might not be a college he or she would otherwise want to attend.

Let me consult my crystal ball.

The only thing I can say definitely is more than 150 four-year colleges and universities have ice hockey teams and 6 junior colleges do. I know this because I used a tool called “Google” on the internet.

What is the future of current 10 and under hockey players? Just wondering if all this travel and tournaments will payoff in some way? Or is my kid going to get injured and unable to play? Do all colleges have hockey teams?