Spring Hockey

[Guest]

I have a 2012 player. I have spoken to multiple coaches, directors & scouts about Spring Hockey. We skipped Brick Tryouts because a lot of people said Brick is worthless, individual/hot dog hockey played in a mall. I was also told Brick is kind of useless as a gauge for what a player may become because so many kids flame out after puberty hits. I was also told way more kids that play Quebec go on to play College or Pro than players who played Brick.

Any way, question I have is is Spring Hockey worth it? Lot of differing opinions on this. Rink directors and coaches love Spring Hockey but I suspect this is for money-grab reasons. Scouts and College coaches I know say Spring Teams/Tournaments are a waste. They say paying for privates or clinics is a better bang for your buck and more productive. They also said after mid-June get your kid off this ice, play other sports, do off-ice training and allow your kid to have fun and recover. I am asking this as I was approached about joining
a Spring team for tourneys. i am not sure what to do as my kid wants to play, but as the adult I tend to follow advice from experts. And by experts I mean College coaches and Scouts. Thoughts?

[Guest]

Every youth is different.  Some kids can play all year round and more importantly they want to play and are not coerced to play.  Some should not play all year round.  Try to avoid the burn out sadly happens to so many.  What you heard is the same that we all have heard.  Off ice is huge as it time off for younger years.  Playing multiple sports is also beneficial for many reasons.  Skill development is the key but they can skate all they want for $80 an hour in the long run they don’t have the drive to compete what is the point.   Again every youth is different.  If you have the type of kid who REALLY wants to keep playing and is having fun why hold him back.  Good luck.

[Guest]

Every youth is different.  Some kids can play all year round and more importantly they want to play and are not coerced to play.  Some should not play all year round.  Try to avoid the burn out sadly happens to so many.  What you heard is the same that we all have heard.  Off ice is huge as it time off for younger years.  Playing multiple sports is also beneficial for many reasons.  Skill development is the key but they can skate all they want for $80 an hour in the long run they don’t have the drive to compete what is the point.   Again every youth is different.  If you have the type of kid who REALLY wants to keep playing and is having fun why hold him back.  Good luck.

No kid should be on the ice year round and no kid should just play hockey. Get off the ice and play other sports. 70% of kids will burn out around 13-15. There is a 98% chance if your kid plays in PA orNJ they wont play beyond HS. If your kid loves it let him have fun and play. My post is for the crazy "my kid is great" parent. Invest in a 529B instead! Parents are delusional!