As we are coming to the close of the hockey season, parents are beginning to evaluate their options for next year. For some players, the House program is just fine. Others may play House Select, while others may try out for Tier 2, Tier 1, A, AA or AAA. A few may be looking at Prep Schools, Junior, A, B or C. As a parent this is an alphabet soup of possibilities and problems.
For older players, 11 and up, the talent and ability of the player may determine the level of play. This column is not about them. For this column, HockeyCat will take a look at Travel for children 10 and under.
Your Kid Should Play Travel
Chances are that if your son or daughter scores a lot of goals, is a fast skater or bigger than the other 8 year olds, the Squirt Travel coach will approach you about playing travel hockey.
The pitch to parents is that they will get more ice time, play with better players and against better competition. Presumably, this will make them a better player in the future.
In the old days, about 3 years ago, this pitch was probably made by your club or another non-profit club in the area or in your region. In some states, districts define who can recruit whom, so playing for the "right" program might have involved moving to a different part of a city. In established areas, steps have been taken to limit this type of activity.
Choices
In the Southeastern region, it seems that every rink has its own House program or there is a regional House program of some sort. Usually, there are several within driving distance, so parents have some choice.
In many ways choice is a very good thing, because parents could put their children in programs that suited their needs rather than being locked into this or that program. For most people this was enough.
The Rise of Travel Programs
This is where things start to get interesting. HockeyCat's focus is on hockey, but the same principles apply to baseball, soccer, lacrosse and basketball. Let's face it. We all think that if our son or daughter is given enough opportunity they are going to be the next great athlete.
If little Morgan or Hunter gets cut from the local team, we feel as hurt as they do. In the old days, you dealt with the disappointment. If it was political, mom and dad may have spent a little time fighting it. However, part of what you learn in youth athletics is that life is not always fair. Your child may be better than the coach's kid, but there isn't a whole lot you can do about it. Except maybe start your own team.
The other reason for the rise in travel programs used to be that a group of parents did not feel that their local association could provide the quality of instruction their child needed. They wanted to find something more competitive. So they would find like-minded folks and form their own group.
Regardless of how you feel about these scenarios, they have one noble, yes noble, thing in common. Parents are simply trying to do the best they can for their children by offering them an opportunity they cannot get elsewhere.
In some cases, it may be justified. Other cases may be silly, but it is very hard for anyone to fault parents for setting up a non-profit association to do what they think is right for their child.
For-Profit Travel Programs
The rise youth athletics has led to one interesting development, For-Profit Programs. These are the logical off-shoots of the camps that come to town for a week of training and then move to the next town.
Unlike the non-profit associations, these programs are run by a corporate entity with the desire to maximize profit.
Truthfully, so are all of those Hockey Camps. So there is nothing inherently wrong with this as a paradigm. Parents don't mind paying for a good camp and hope that the camp is profitable enough to return the next year. Why should this be any different for these for-profit travel programs?
The good programs should be given just as much respect as a good camp. In many cases, the lack of parental involvement will allow for your child to be evaluated less on how much a Board Member likes or dislikes you and more on their own ability.
Bad programs that use incompetent, poorly-trained coaches and officials to milk more profit out of the program should be shut down by sanctioning bodies. But that is another column.
HockeyCat's Paw Print
As parent's and players (at the higher levels), deciding to play Travel Hockey is a big commitment of time and money. Parents and players should take the time to look beyond the claims on an organization, beyond records and talk to parents and players. Once you have committed for a year, it is very difficult to change your mind.
While better competition may be important to your young player's development. Remember that even the NHL will "season" it's top players in Junior and the Minors to avoid crushing their confidence. Maybe these hockey people know something about player development. Perhaps, this even applies to children. Think about that before you make your final decision.
Click here for part II
