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That’s very well said Chk Hrd. I agree, spending money on your kids sporting activities, doesn’t mean that you are trying to build an athlete that will someday get scholarship offers. It does happen, assume everyone involved in competitive athletics could name someone they feel is driven by that exact thing. I have spent A LOT of money on hockey, will spend a year worth of college this year alone for my daughter. More or less, depending on the school I guess.. I do it because my kids love it….and my wife and I love it. I get to go to Boston, DC, Vermont and Ontario twice this year to watch her play. That’s not even counting trips to Colorado and Idaho/Wyoming/Montana. They are GREAT family trips and we build lifetime memories. I look forward to each one, they are mini family vacations. There are worse ways to spend time and money, than traveling the country with your family watching kids play hockey. No scholarship needed. Son just finished 4 years playing for the University of Utah in the ACHA. Will have his masters in IT this fall and graduates with zero debt. Never touched his college fund for tuition, but did recently as a down payment on a house. If my daughter chooses to go to college, we will pay for it in entirety. Hopefully like her brother, that doesn’t include dipping into her college fund and she uses that as a springboard her post university life.

Here are my thoughts from experience. Yes, the extremely talented players, the ones that are far over and above all the others, will get found. The reality is that in today's world the more money that is put into the player the more exposure they get so it is easier for them to be scouted. But just because you dump a lot into a kid doesn't mean they will go any further than aging out of youth or Junior B (pay to play). I have seen a lot of money wasted because the parents didn't want to admit to themselves that their kid didn't have what it takes to play at a pro (NHL, AHL, ECHL. Europe, etc) level. My kid had some opportunities to play at a junior level. He realized that that would be as far as he could go. He opted to join the military and early enlisted. I never tried to discourage him about playing but was always honest with him and we talked a lot about the game on many long trips. When families don't look at the reality of things a lot of time can be wasted that will affect them later in life. Many don't get out of school or start a career path until they are in their mid twenties. My son is 24 has an incredible job with a good future and has been self supporting for quite awhile, which is more than I can say for many of the people he played with. I spent a ton of money for youth hockey. Not because I had delusions of my kid making it to the pros but because he loves the game. Every private lesson and camp was a life learning experience. Every trip was an opportunity to see a different place. Playing in the Pee-Wee International tournament in Quebec was a once in a lifetime experience. He learned more life lessons and about himself playing hockey. There is a reason that many jobs like fire fighters, police, military love hockey players; the team mentality, respect, personal conduct and responsibility you learn goes along way. When people ask about the money I spent my first reaction is "it was well worth it", my second is "it's cheaper than paying a lawyer if he got into trouble because of to much free time"

I wanted to post some thoughts about being a hockey parent and see what others’ perspectives were. My background is I played through high school then when I came back from college played some men’s league and started coaching high school and ACHA. I eventually stopped playing and focused on coaching and then when I went to grad school and my kids were born wasn’t doing anything hockey-related. My son is 7 now and started Learn to Play this past Feb, did a spring ADM, and over the summer we just do stick time every few weeks. He is doing a camp this week, just an hour a day but the beauty is there are only 4 kids signed up and two coaches. It is worth 5x the money I paid and the main coach is great with the kids. I am also a huge proponent of kids playing multiple sports (and multiple activities in general, not even just sports) and specializing as late as possible. I am basically a nerd and love reading up on the latest research on these topics as well. Even given that I actively try to think this way, the reality is that you have to continually check yourself and be honest about how you are approaching your kids with regards to sports. One of the best things I learned from the U8 USA Hockey module was that the average 8-year-old’s mental maturity is 8 +/- 4.5 years (or something very close)! I see this in baseball especially. I had one kid who was physically advanced, knew tons of situations, asked me why I had player X in the cleanup spot because he wasn’t a cleanup hitter, etc. Then my son wouldn’t be paying attention to the batter and play in the dirt. The crap I hear about from other parents is ridiculous. I just heard about a parent berating his kid as he came off the ice because he didn’t play well. This was 10U. Other kids are leaving orgs because they need to play against better competition with the Pens Elite. There is a summer full-ice U8 league. Etc. It is tempting to push your kid too hard, despite best intentions. I kept asking my son if he wanted to go “practice his stickhandling” in the driveway. Not a real strong response to that, as you could expect. He was usually done in 5 minutes. Then he made up a game where we had to walk around and stay on the lines between the individual concrete slabs, and could only pass after answering a math fact! WTH?!?!?! But I said ok and we played for like 15 minutes because he thought it was fun. Now I just ask him if he wants to play a little hockey, or he asks me. Perspective. Kids are going to progress as individuals. Literally, in the two hours he has been on the ice the last two days he has made these huge strides that he didn't make all spring. And I am learning a lot from watching this guy coach this age group (and stealing his drills/games!). But it takes some discipline even for the best-intentioned and informed parents to not get caught up in this race to create mini-professionals. Both when I am coaching and when I am talking to my son after he does something sports related, I make sure to mention fun first before asking about anything specific as far as the game or practice, and I have stopped even talking about anything he could have improved on. There is plenty of time to work on that stuff later and in a better context. Curious to hear your thoughts.

It hasn't launched yet, hence no information. Everything will be clearer when it launches, if not sooner as the date approaches.

I’m not sure what the standard operating procedure is anymore, however if you follow a certain Narch Pro player on instagram you can get a glimpse of the new skate I think. (hint: the pros last name rhymes with fostercamp)

Picked up my steel with a fresh Quad 0 last night, skating on them tonight. I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I was able to meet with Shayne from Pro Sharp and demo a few different profiles. The Quad 0 was the one that felt the most natural to me and my skating style. Curious to see how it translates to a game setting.

They have had a Mission booth every year I have gone to State Wars, I would expect that are going to coordinate the media and have them in St Louis, we will be there, and I will get some pics if they have it on display. Go Team Colorado! 2002 and 2003!!!

So now they are doing Scanned customs? Mmmmm who thought up that idea???

Measuring your foot via holder size is much easier when transitioning between brands. I know I'm a 280 holder size. Puts me on a 9 in almost every brand as a starting point.