New team U14 AA or established A

[NickelCity 2]

Hello: looking for advice I can pass along to my 14 y/o son.

he started hockey late (played lacrosse and football) but is a very good overall athlete, so he has learned the game quickly. 

He tried out locally for travel hockey this spring and has two offers from his two tryouts.

 

one is for a non-tier Bantam A team, they are established and last year won the state championship for their league. 

 

The other offer is for a Bantam AA tier 2 team. The rub is that this is their first season and clearly at tryouts the kids there were not as good as the ones we have seen trying out for other Bantam AA teams in our area.

 

the AA team has 4 practices and most are full ice, and a very good HC and power skating coach. 

 

The A team has three half ice and one full ice practice, and seems to play a “slower game” but the coaches are solid.

 

so the way I see it is he can play AA hockey this year on a team that may struggle to win games but has good coaching and focuses on development. 

 

OR he can play For a non tier A team that will compete and win games, but play at an overall less Competitive level and face slower skaters. 

 

His is goal is to make it to AAA if possible, but certainly AA next year if not this season. 

 

What would you advise if you were in my shoes? Really want to help this kid make the right call. He’s got such a good attitude and work ethic. Really appreciate any feedback I can pass along.

 

thanks a million!

 

 

 

[marka 526]

Howdy,

Sounds like worst case (i.e. the AA team can't compete despite the good coaching) it will boil down to how well he'll do if his team is getting its ass kicked all season.  If that will end up either not bothering him or motivating him, then I would say in general you're always better off playing "up" for faster development.  That's especially true if he's going to have better practices / coaches in the upper league.

Mark

[NickelCity 2]

Hi Mark:

Thanks for the insight. He has always been the kind of kid that plays his best and with a smile no matter the score, so I think he can handle that (though he won’t like losing all the time). I think what you said about playing up is what I’m most focused on. It will be better for his overall development to play against faster /more experienced kids, and force him to elevate his effort.

 

thanks a lot for the reply. 

 

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

Why does he want to play AAA? If he is committed to getting better, AA makes sense. Unless you are super-talented, moving up will take fun out of the game for someone who doesn't want to put in the time. Its more of a business the more '"A's" you add.

[NickelCity 2]

Appreciate that feedback 215, already seeing business side in action for certain.

[Vet88 674]

19 hours ago, NickelCity said:

OR he can play For a non tier A team that will compete and win games, but play at an overall less Competitive level and face slower skaters. 

Given his late start, do this. Let him gain confidence, improve his game and become a force in this league. This will carry thru in the coming years as he steps up to the higher leagues. I have seen it so many times, talented kids pushed into higher leagues and the innate skills and instincts they develop when playing against lesser players just don't get learnt (or learnt much slower) when you are chasing the puck all day at higher levels. That's not to say your kid could survive at a higher level, some do and even thrive in this situation but they are few and far between and are usually kids who were born on skates. You should be able to make a good call on this, ask yourself how competitive was he at the tryouts? How big was the gulf in skills between him and the other kids? Would he be a 1st liner or a 4th?

[NickelCity 2]

Thanks Vet88.

The largest gap between him and the best AA kids he’s faced in tryouts has been edge control and skating. His late start of course has him behind in power skating compared to kids who’ve been on skates since 4 yrs old

 

He’s a good athlete, good shot  and good hockey sense. His biggest advantage right now is probably size/strength as he is taller and stockier than almost all the kids he has seen/skated with against. 

Honestly- on some of the AA teams he’d face, he’d be a third line guy.

 On the AA team he’s been offered, maybe first maybe second line, because they’re new and are starting without a core of players from previous seasons.

on the A /non-tiered team, from watching video of their previous seasons I think he’d be able to dominate and I know that’s good for confidence and development compared to chasing pucks as you say vs better skaters in higher tiers.

 

I was mentally breaking it down by practice sessions and where he’d get the most development in practices. The AA team has more full ice practices, and a great power skating coach.

the A team has more half ice sessions during the week, one full ice. New coach this year don’t know much about him. Their organization has been around a long time though and has a good history.

Thanks again for the insight

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

8 hours ago, NickelCity said:

Appreciate that feedback 215, already seeing business side in action for certain.

No problem. As long as you and your son are aware of that, I say go for it. Money was the main reason why my dad never put us at the AAA level when we were younger. He had 3 boys so can you blame him ha? 

[NickelCity 2]

Can’t blame him-Not at all. I Ran into a dad last night with a 16 yr  old in AAA  and he told me the yearly  hockey spending for their family. More than some folks make in a year. 

 

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

Yep yep. And you can see why when AAA games are going on, the parking lot is full luxury vehicles and the entitlement to boot. Lots of rich folk that involved in Tier I hockey and if you can afford, you get the best youth hockey has to offer. I think the problem with most AAA players is that they think they are God's gift to mankind yet the majority of them will pique at ACHA club hockey. As long as you and your son just want to expose him to the best hockey, do it. Want your son to play a NCAA sport? Go play lacrosse or soccer. Much cheaper and more opportunity to get reward for the all that he (and you) put in, investment-wise that is.

[NickelCity 2]

Yeah the only thing is cost and the economic divide is hitting all sports in similar ways. I know people paying 5,000 a year for club soccer or baseball plus private coaching and travel. The prime difference is they don’t often travel out of state as hockey does. When they do it is oftenfor regional/national end of year tourneys that they fundraiser heavily for.

Sucks because especially hockey’s roots are blue collar all the way. 

Thanks again to you guys for the advice. My son will be skating today with both teams for some 4 on 4 action, then he will have to make a call. I guess in the end if he works harder than everyone else out there he should get to where he wants to be.

 

[2nhockey 21]

If it were me... there's not a scenario I could think of that would have me send my bantam age kid to a weaker coach. At age 16, 17...? Probably a different story. But bantams? I'd go coaching first. Good luck whichever you decide. 

[Vet88 674]

On 5/19/2018 at 3:55 AM, NickelCity said:

The A team has three half ice and one full ice practice

I also want to add that you shouldn't exclude this because of the half ice practices. I read a study last year by US Hockey and it reported that kids who learnt on smaller areas (1/3 and 1/2 ice) were better skilled and skated better in most aspects than their compatriots who practiced on full rinks. No room, no time, you have to think quicker, react quicker, turn tighter, accelerate harder etc etc. 

[NickelCity 2]

Thanks a lot Vet88, that is helpful to know. Appreciate the advice you’ve given

[EJB 488]

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[chk hrd 164]

Ask your son which he would rather play. AA and traveling take a lot of money and commitment and there is always politics involved. As a parent you will have little to say when it comes anything in AA. If you don't like the coaching, ice time, practices etc. The way my son's coach always told the parents; coaches coach, players play and parents watch. In my experience AA will have better coaching and support. The coaches usually played at a high level and know more about the game in real world applications (like how to take a defensive zone face off). There is nothing wrong with being a 3rd or 4th line player as long as you have a good coach who plays them and treats them the same in practice. Your grinders are what helps win games. I have seen bad coaches do drills with the 1st and 2nd lines 10 times and then run the 3rd and 4th through twice. Then when it's game time he sits them because they didn't execute everything properly (this cost us a trip to nationals one year). Being a dominant player isn't always good. Yes it can build confidence but if they go to the next level and get walked all over it can break them down. I always think you get better by playing against better people. That is where you start understanding why things are done or why a player did what they did. You also get advice from the better players. 

I agree to some extent about what Vet88 said about 1/2 ice practices. There is a lot that can be learned but a lot that can't be done without a full sheet. Full breakout drills and full speed entry into the O zones need full ice. Even when I had full ice I always preferred to split the team into O & D for part of the practice to work on position specifics and then use the full ice to practice game situations and scrimmage. 

Being in Las Vegas the majority of our play was out of state and into Canada. I spent a lot of money to the point I didn't even keep track of it because I knew it would make me crazy. That said, we got to see a lot of the country, meet a lot of people and have a lot of family time together. I've always said the money I spent on hockey was well worth it.

[NickelCity 2]

thanks Chk hrd, and everyone who offered advice.

my son elected to sign with the AA team. At the end of the day He wanted to be In a more competitive division. I like his decision.

Hes worked out with the team for some power skating and 4 on 4. I really believe he made the right call.  

The coaches are strong willed no-nonsense guys, with loads of experience. My son always has done the best with a strong no BS coach and I think that’s exaclty what he’s got. 

Thanks again!

 

[EJB 488]

Good for him!  I am a firm believer in letting the pups make the decisions.  I hope he works hard, has a great season and his season goals are reached.  

[NickelCity 2]

Thanks EJB! hoping for the same