You Cleary do not know what youre talking about. I have 2 kids, 1 plays top 40 AAA and one plays AA. 1 year apart. I spent $11,372 more on the tier 1 kid this year. That even takes into account the coaches AA stipend for travel/hotels.
There were multiple flights for AAA that had i bought ahead of time could have saved me another grand but to compare the two is ridiculous.
Also, discounts do exist. You just need leverage and to read a situation. If the AAA team is desperate because kids are leaving you can save up to 50%. They will just take a lesser kid and make him pay full tuition to offset, its why they now allow tier 1 rosters to have 20+2 skaters.
$11K more? How much travel did your top 40 team have? How old is your Tier 1 kid? The older the more expensive. I got a discount for my Tier 1 kid, 60% off and paid about $8k in travel. So we were all in for Tier 1 at about $12k. My AA kid we did not get a discount and with travel we were at about $12k. Tier 1 got more practice slots, weekly- gym, skills and video and 4 tournaments showcases plus free Spring ice.
