Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids played ice hockey (one boy one girl). It’s a great sport and the best to watch as a parent. Neither kid ever complained once about going to practice…ever…from 8u all the way 16u. In fact it’s the opposite, they got stir crazy when they were off the ice for a couple days.

My son topped out at the upper a level and my daughter played girls aa. Hockey is a weird sport in that if your kid is still living at home at age 16 they’re probably not playing ncaa d1/d3 hockey, but thats okay. The numbers lie a little bit in that most men’s college hockey players play junior first and most women’s bcaa players come from a few select programs and boarding schools. That said, I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been great character builders for both of them. Go for it.

I would change things - specifically, I would avoid travel hockey and invest in other sports. My kid played several years of AAA hockey, and we're now strongly encouraging (borderline bribing) him to fall back to AA and high school hockey. One year of AAA hockey cost us over $40,000 - including 12 out-of-state tournaments, many that required getting on planes (including some spring/summer trips, which most kids on the team do), equipment, clinics, skills lessons, and some time with a group trainer. Beyond the financial sacrifice, it consumed significant family time and limited our vacations.

It's easy to get sucked in when your kid shows potential and loves the sport, but I don't think it's worth it for most families. Our friend's son had a terrible billeting experience last year - inconsistent transportation to/from the rink, unreliable meals, and other basic needs not met. Without parental supervision, his grades suffered, too.

Sports are wonderful for character building, work ethic, and teamwork, but these benefits aren't exclusive to hockey. Lots of hockey players also enjoy football, baseball, and lacrosse - sports with far less demanding financial and time commitments, plus much better odds of playing in college.

Agreed. My daughter could’ve played aaa, but we were hearing horror stories about favoritism and poor coaching (dad coaches in aaa playing their daughters and her click…cmon) coming out of pride (and getting to Rockville was a nightmare for us) and sending her to boarding school was not on the table. At each age group there are one to two very competitive aa girls teams in the dmv, where 4-5 girls per team could play for pride, or did and walked away for a variety of reasons. From sneaking peeks at and following the boys teams…ashburn, Reston and Montgomery aa looks very high level. I’d say go for it.

I do think hockey is different than other sports for two reasons - the dedication to skating requirement, and the team nature of the game. 15 skaters per team and if one kid takes a lazy a** shift the team is giving up chances (football may come close in this regard). There are more life lessons taught in hockey, or maybe the same lessons are more intense.

Agreed, the cost of AAA hockey (both in terms of money and family time) does not make sense unless your kid is good enough to play in college/juniors. From the girls perspective, unfortunately, aspirations of playing college almost always require you to play AAA, you just don't get the exposure playing AA, and if you do, it's because you're paying for it in terms of showcases and camps during the off-season. It's not impossible, but there are very few girls in the area playing AA that go on to play NCAA hockey. My kids have been playing with Pride, and while there have been very good and not so good years, it was definitely the right choice for us. Last year they had 8 girls go on to NCAA, and this year 7. This is a pretty comparable to girls prep placement, but you're paying a heck of a lot less, and getting a few extra years with your kid. But again, if playing in the NCAA is not the goal, AA is absolutely the way to go.

I don’t think pride is comparable to prep placement. 7 girls going “ncaa” is a bit misleading. 6 are diii and DMV Aa girls are starting to go to these diii schools as well. one of the two d1 commits is a lower level team in a lower level conf and the other is…I don’t think the team has played d1 before…is it d1 acha?

It’s a bit tangential to the original discussion. Hockey is the best youth sport imo, but getting caught up in the tier 1 trap can sour it for some people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids played ice hockey (one boy one girl). It’s a great sport and the best to watch as a parent. Neither kid ever complained once about going to practice…ever…from 8u all the way 16u. In fact it’s the opposite, they got stir crazy when they were off the ice for a couple days.

My son topped out at the upper a level and my daughter played girls aa. Hockey is a weird sport in that if your kid is still living at home at age 16 they’re probably not playing ncaa d1/d3 hockey, but thats okay. The numbers lie a little bit in that most men’s college hockey players play junior first and most women’s bcaa players come from a few select programs and boarding schools. That said, I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been great character builders for both of them. Go for it.

I would change things - specifically, I would avoid travel hockey and invest in other sports. My kid played several years of AAA hockey, and we're now strongly encouraging (borderline bribing) him to fall back to AA and high school hockey. One year of AAA hockey cost us over $40,000 - including 12 out-of-state tournaments, many that required getting on planes (including some spring/summer trips, which most kids on the team do), equipment, clinics, skills lessons, and some time with a group trainer. Beyond the financial sacrifice, it consumed significant family time and limited our vacations.

It's easy to get sucked in when your kid shows potential and loves the sport, but I don't think it's worth it for most families. Our friend's son had a terrible billeting experience last year - inconsistent transportation to/from the rink, unreliable meals, and other basic needs not met. Without parental supervision, his grades suffered, too.

Sports are wonderful for character building, work ethic, and teamwork, but these benefits aren't exclusive to hockey. Lots of hockey players also enjoy football, baseball, and lacrosse - sports with far less demanding financial and time commitments, plus much better odds of playing in college.

Agreed. My daughter could’ve played aaa, but we were hearing horror stories about favoritism and poor coaching (dad coaches in aaa playing their daughters and her click…cmon) coming out of pride (and getting to Rockville was a nightmare for us) and sending her to boarding school was not on the table. At each age group there are one to two very competitive aa girls teams in the dmv, where 4-5 girls per team could play for pride, or did and walked away for a variety of reasons. From sneaking peeks at and following the boys teams…ashburn, Reston and Montgomery aa looks very high level. I’d say go for it.

I do think hockey is different than other sports for two reasons - the dedication to skating requirement, and the team nature of the game. 15 skaters per team and if one kid takes a lazy a** shift the team is giving up chances (football may come close in this regard). There are more life lessons taught in hockey, or maybe the same lessons are more intense.

Agreed, the cost of AAA hockey (both in terms of money and family time) does not make sense unless your kid is good enough to play in college/juniors. From the girls perspective, unfortunately, aspirations of playing college almost always require you to play AAA, you just don't get the exposure playing AA, and if you do, it's because you're paying for it in terms of showcases and camps during the off-season. It's not impossible, but there are very few girls in the area playing AA that go on to play NCAA hockey. My kids have been playing with Pride, and while there have been very good and not so good years, it was definitely the right choice for us. Last year they had 8 girls go on to NCAA, and this year 7. This is a pretty comparable to girls prep placement, but you're paying a heck of a lot less, and getting a few extra years with your kid. But again, if playing in the NCAA is not the goal, AA is absolutely the way to go.

I don’t think pride is comparable to prep placement. 7 girls going “ncaa” is a bit misleading. 6 are diii and DMV Aa girls are starting to go to these diii schools as well. one of the two d1 commits is a lower level team in a lower level conf and the other is…I don’t think the team has played d1 before…is it d1 acha?

It’s a bit tangential to the original discussion. Hockey is the best youth sport imo, but getting caught up in the tier 1 trap can sour it for some people.

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids played ice hockey (one boy one girl). It’s a great sport and the best to watch as a parent. Neither kid ever complained once about going to practice…ever…from 8u all the way 16u. In fact it’s the opposite, they got stir crazy when they were off the ice for a couple days.

My son topped out at the upper a level and my daughter played girls aa. Hockey is a weird sport in that if your kid is still living at home at age 16 they’re probably not playing ncaa d1/d3 hockey, but thats okay. The numbers lie a little bit in that most men’s college hockey players play junior first and most women’s bcaa players come from a few select programs and boarding schools. That said, I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been great character builders for both of them. Go for it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, for whomever is tracking the outcome of D3 kids starting college at 20, what do they do after college? How are the job prospects for former hockey players in the NESCAC, for example? Are they launching into promising professional careers, or do they become hockey coaches?

The best D3 players may play a limited amount of semi-pro hockey like the SPHL or Federal League, maybe getting a sniff at 3rd tier North American pro (ECHL) or pro leagues in non-traditional European countries (France, Netherlands, etc.). None of them are making hockey their long-term career.

Some will go into coaching at local youth programs, but I don't know that that pays more than $10k or so per year. If they really grind it out, coaching is probably their best chance to make a living if they get lucky.

99% are just getting a regular job after playing.

Good jobs, like the rest of the Nescac graduates? Or does hockey get in the way of school and job prospects?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids played ice hockey (one boy one girl). It’s a great sport and the best to watch as a parent. Neither kid ever complained once about going to practice…ever…from 8u all the way 16u. In fact it’s the opposite, they got stir crazy when they were off the ice for a couple days.

My son topped out at the upper a level and my daughter played girls aa. Hockey is a weird sport in that if your kid is still living at home at age 16 they’re probably not playing ncaa d1/d3 hockey, but thats okay. The numbers lie a little bit in that most men’s college hockey players play junior first and most women’s bcaa players come from a few select programs and boarding schools. That said, I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been great character builders for both of them. Go for it.

I would change things - specifically, I would avoid travel hockey and invest in other sports. My kid played several years of AAA hockey, and we're now strongly encouraging (borderline bribing) him to fall back to AA and high school hockey. One year of AAA hockey cost us over $40,000 - including 12 out-of-state tournaments, many that required getting on planes (including some spring/summer trips, which most kids on the team do), equipment, clinics, skills lessons, and some time with a group trainer. Beyond the financial sacrifice, it consumed significant family time and limited our vacations.

It's easy to get sucked in when your kid shows potential and loves the sport, but I don't think it's worth it for most families. Our friend's son had a terrible billeting experience last year - inconsistent transportation to/from the rink, unreliable meals, and other basic needs not met. Without parental supervision, his grades suffered, too.

Sports are wonderful for character building, work ethic, and teamwork, but these benefits aren't exclusive to hockey. Lots of hockey players also enjoy football, baseball, and lacrosse - sports with far less demanding financial and time commitments, plus much better odds of playing in college.

Agreed. My daughter could’ve played aaa, but we were hearing horror stories about favoritism and poor coaching (dad coaches in aaa playing their daughters and her click…cmon) coming out of pride (and getting to Rockville was a nightmare for us) and sending her to boarding school was not on the table. At each age group there are one to two very competitive aa girls teams in the dmv, where 4-5 girls per team could play for pride, or did and walked away for a variety of reasons. From sneaking peeks at and following the boys teams…ashburn, Reston and Montgomery aa looks very high level. I’d say go for it.

I do think hockey is different than other sports for two reasons - the dedication to skating requirement, and the team nature of the game. 15 skaters per team and if one kid takes a lazy a** shift the team is giving up chances (football may come close in this regard). There are more life lessons taught in hockey, or maybe the same lessons are more intense.

Agreed, the cost of AAA hockey (both in terms of money and family time) does not make sense unless your kid is good enough to play in college/juniors. From the girls perspective, unfortunately, aspirations of playing college almost always require you to play AAA, you just don't get the exposure playing AA, and if you do, it's because you're paying for it in terms of showcases and camps during the off-season. It's not impossible, but there are very few girls in the area playing AA that go on to play NCAA hockey. My kids have been playing with Pride, and while there have been very good and not so good years, it was definitely the right choice for us. Last year they had 8 girls go on to NCAA, and this year 7. This is a pretty comparable to girls prep placement, but you're paying a heck of a lot less, and getting a few extra years with your kid. But again, if playing in the NCAA is not the goal, AA is absolutely the way to go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids played ice hockey (one boy one girl). It’s a great sport and the best to watch as a parent. Neither kid ever complained once about going to practice…ever…from 8u all the way 16u. In fact it’s the opposite, they got stir crazy when they were off the ice for a couple days.

My son topped out at the upper a level and my daughter played girls aa. Hockey is a weird sport in that if your kid is still living at home at age 16 they’re probably not playing ncaa d1/d3 hockey, but thats okay. The numbers lie a little bit in that most men’s college hockey players play junior first and most women’s bcaa players come from a few select programs and boarding schools. That said, I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been great character builders for both of them. Go for it.

I would change things - specifically, I would avoid travel hockey and invest in other sports. My kid played several years of AAA hockey, and we're now strongly encouraging (borderline bribing) him to fall back to AA and high school hockey. One year of AAA hockey cost us over $40,000 - including 12 out-of-state tournaments, many that required getting on planes (including some spring/summer trips, which most kids on the team do), equipment, clinics, skills lessons, and some time with a group trainer. Beyond the financial sacrifice, it consumed significant family time and limited our vacations.

It's easy to get sucked in when your kid shows potential and loves the sport, but I don't think it's worth it for most families. Our friend's son had a terrible billeting experience last year - inconsistent transportation to/from the rink, unreliable meals, and other basic needs not met. Without parental supervision, his grades suffered, too.

Sports are wonderful for character building, work ethic, and teamwork, but these benefits aren't exclusive to hockey. Lots of hockey players also enjoy football, baseball, and lacrosse - sports with far less demanding financial and time commitments, plus much better odds of playing in college.

Agreed. My daughter could’ve played aaa, but we were hearing horror stories about favoritism and poor coaching (dad coaches in aaa playing their daughters and her click…cmon) coming out of pride (and getting to Rockville was a nightmare for us) and sending her to boarding school was not on the table. At each age group there are one to two very competitive aa girls teams in the dmv, where 4-5 girls per team could play for pride, or did and walked away for a variety of reasons. From sneaking peeks at and following the boys teams…ashburn, Reston and Montgomery aa looks very high level. I’d say go for it.

I do think hockey is different than other sports for two reasons - the dedication to skating requirement, and the team nature of the game. 15 skaters per team and if one kid takes a lazy a** shift the team is giving up chances (football may come close in this regard). There are more life lessons taught in hockey, or maybe the same lessons are more intense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids played ice hockey (one boy one girl). It’s a great sport and the best to watch as a parent. Neither kid ever complained once about going to practice…ever…from 8u all the way 16u. In fact it’s the opposite, they got stir crazy when they were off the ice for a couple days.

My son topped out at the upper a level and my daughter played girls aa. Hockey is a weird sport in that if your kid is still living at home at age 16 they’re probably not playing ncaa d1/d3 hockey, but thats okay. The numbers lie a little bit in that most men’s college hockey players play junior first and most women’s bcaa players come from a few select programs and boarding schools. That said, I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been great character builders for both of them. Go for it.

I would change things - specifically, I would avoid travel hockey and invest in other sports. My kid played several years of AAA hockey, and we're now strongly encouraging (borderline bribing) him to fall back to AA and high school hockey. One year of AAA hockey cost us over $40,000 - including 12 out-of-state tournaments, many that required getting on planes (including some spring/summer trips, which most kids on the team do), equipment, clinics, skills lessons, and some time with a group trainer. Beyond the financial sacrifice, it consumed significant family time and limited our vacations.

It's easy to get sucked in when your kid shows potential and loves the sport, but I don't think it's worth it for most families. Our friend's son had a terrible billeting experience last year - inconsistent transportation to/from the rink, unreliable meals, and other basic needs not met. Without parental supervision, his grades suffered, too.

Sports are wonderful for character building, work ethic, and teamwork, but these benefits aren't exclusive to hockey. Lots of hockey players also enjoy football, baseball, and lacrosse - sports with far less demanding financial and time commitments, plus much better odds of playing in college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t think people understand that unlike all the other NCAA sports, hockey does not flow from high school. It comes after years of “billeting“ i.e., living at another family’s home while getting paid in acorns for juniors. Do you remember how amazed everyone was that Simone Biles moved in with another family in order to do gymnastics — well, male hockey players at D1 schools do precisely that — as someone from the north, you should know that the semi pro leagues in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota feature kids from Estonia, Scandinavia, and lots of other places besides Canada. Even if you moved north - put a winter rink in your back yard - you are still up against kids from Edina, who have been coached to the teeth by the time your kid started hockey. It really is a world unto itself. And all roads and in beer league. That being said, if you’ve ever played hockey, you’ll know that the speed and the thrill is unlike any other sport. If you think watching hockey is fast, imagine how amazing it is to play it. Plain and simple, it’s a generational curse we give our children — and they love it so much they do it to their kids too.

Too busy at the rink to get the gymnast names correct. My bad. But I presume you still take my point.

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids played ice hockey (one boy one girl). It’s a great sport and the best to watch as a parent. Neither kid ever complained once about going to practice…ever…from 8u all the way 16u. In fact it’s the opposite, they got stir crazy when they were off the ice for a couple days.

My son topped out at the upper a level and my daughter played girls aa. Hockey is a weird sport in that if your kid is still living at home at age 16 they’re probably not playing ncaa d1/d3 hockey, but thats okay. The numbers lie a little bit in that most men’s college hockey players play junior first and most women’s bcaa players come from a few select programs and boarding schools. That said, I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been great character builders for both of them. Go for it.

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t think people understand that unlike all the other NCAA sports, hockey does not flow from high school. It comes after years of “billeting“ i.e., living at another family’s home while getting paid in acorns for juniors. Do you remember how amazed everyone was that Simone Biles moved in with another family in order to do gymnastics — well, male hockey players at D1 schools do precisely that — as someone from the north, you should know that the semi pro leagues in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota feature kids from Estonia, Scandinavia, and lots of other places besides Canada. Even if you moved north - put a winter rink in your back yard - you are still up against kids from Edina, who have been coached to the teeth by the time your kid started hockey. It really is a world unto itself. And all roads and in beer league. That being said, if you’ve ever played hockey, you’ll know that the speed and the thrill is unlike any other sport. If you think watching hockey is fast, imagine how amazing it is to play it. Plain and simple, it’s a generational curse we give our children — and they love it so much they do it to their kids too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, for whomever is tracking the outcome of D3 kids starting college at 20, what do they do after college? How are the job prospects for former hockey players in the NESCAC, for example? Are they launching into promising professional careers, or do they become hockey coaches?

The best D3 players may play a limited amount of semi-pro hockey like the SPHL or Federal League, maybe getting a sniff at 3rd tier North American pro (ECHL) or pro leagues in non-traditional European countries (France, Netherlands, etc.). None of them are making hockey their long-term career.

Some will go into coaching at local youth programs, but I don't know that that pays more than $10k or so per year. If they really grind it out, coaching is probably their best chance to make a living if they get lucky.

99% are just getting a regular job after playing.

Good jobs, like the rest of the Nescac graduates? Or does hockey get in the way of school and job prospects?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, for whomever is tracking the outcome of D3 kids starting college at 20, what do they do after college? How are the job prospects for former hockey players in the NESCAC, for example? Are they launching into promising professional careers, or do they become hockey coaches?

The best D3 players may play a limited amount of semi-pro hockey like the SPHL or Federal League, maybe getting a sniff at 3rd tier North American pro (ECHL) or pro leagues in non-traditional European countries (France, Netherlands, etc.). None of them are making hockey their long-term career.

Some will go into coaching at local youth programs, but I don't know that that pays more than $10k or so per year. If they really grind it out, coaching is probably their best chance to make a living if they get lucky.

99% are just getting a regular job after playing.