Forum > General Youth Hockey Info
Tier 1 too soon
hockeydad30:
I wanted to get some feedback/opinions about tier 1 versus 2 hockey. My son (2013) is a first year squirt playing tier 2 AA currently. There are not a lot of 2013s in our area so next year the team would be comprised of probably a lot of 2014s. For his progression and competition, would it be better to consider AAA (there are a few within a reasonable distance) next season? Is he going to play in the NHL? No. College? Possibly. We would rather next year not be a lost year developmentally if possible. Is it too soon too consider a tier 1 program?
Guest:
For my money it was not all that beneficial for my older son to go tier 1 at squirt over letting him play another year or two at AA. That's why for my second son we waited until bantam to make the jump to AAA. Only you know the coaches he has at AA and if it would be a good move. Our club had ok coaches with my older son and the coach was only slightly better at AAA. My younger son's AA coach was great so keeping him there with him until Bantam was wise, his AAA coach is also great. So, from my experience AAA at squirt wasn't worth it. I found with my second son that instead of AAA at squirt I took about half of the $2500+ difference in cost and put it towards specialized coaches and clinics. My older son is now a freshman playing D2 and my younger son is in his 1st yr at midget with 2 prep schools that came to watch him, 1 in Pa and 1 in NY. Good luck
justahockeydad:
Is it possible to talk to your organization for their honest opinion on your sons growth with the club? I know the club my son is at the coaches talk to the player and parents about how the organization took the player as far as they could and it was time to take the next step. I've seen it a few times over the years but never before Bantam. We were approached once by them but as a single parent I could not afford the cost of AAA or have enough PTO for the travel required for him to move on. Some will say it's best at that age to do private lessons or clinics instead of AAA. For my son what the club did was at Bantam AA he would practice with his team plus the u16 A National team, he went to 2 tournaments and a couple non league games with the u16 team. Maybe your club would allow your son to do the same, practice and play some games with a Peewee A team.
Guest:
No need to go Tier 1 prior to midget. Work on skating, skills and let him have fun. At an older age if the fundamentals and love of the game are there. The rest will fall in place. When my son was younger I always felt he would fall behind because I made him put his equipment away after evals and just be a kid. All his teammates were at camps, practices, and spring teams. Turns out it had zero affect on his development and he is playing at a higher level than 99% of them. No journey or path is the same, let him have fun and be a kid.
Guest:
The 2nd poster made some good points that I would add to. First, don't expect an honest assessment from most clubs. Their primary focus is getting the extra tuition from AAA over Tier 2. The coaching also may be subpar, despite it being AAA. Second, Expect $1000+ per weekend of travel if you drive to tournaments/games. You can likely expect to be pulling your child from school 1-2x a month for these travel weekends. Third, I agree it's better to play AA and get GOOD lessons. Not all clinics and coaches are worth the money. Finally, make sure your child is having fun and making friends.
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