Is AAA all about the Money?

[danglez]

I've always had this concern about AAA hockey. Do some parents PAY their way into AAA giving their son/daughter a slight advantage? Some of the best hockey players my not be the most wealthy familys and my never get the oppurtunity to compete at the AAA level because of the financial status eventhough they may have been picked. I'm just wondering if anyone else thinks this....paying your way in. But dont get me wrong, I think AAA hockey is a blast and I loved it the 2 years I participated and would enjoy being selected again but I just had a concern that some of the prices may be keeping some families away. Just an opinion. Please post your thoughts. Thank you!

[jancze5]

Danglez,

First, you have to clarify what "AAA" you're talking about. There is USA Hockey Tier 1 AAA winter hockey, then there is AAA Minnesota hockey, then there are a slew of summer AAA programs throughout the US and Canada.

Without clearly defining which one you're talking about, there isn't a fair answer to your question.

If you're talking "just" summer Minnesota AAA (we'd all be better off if we called it AA hockey and just allowed the 3 or 4 AAA's instead of 22 or more)
then the cost is relative to

1-who your coach is and what they are doing to develop the players they have
2-who, if anyone, is making money off the deal
3-where are you trying to compete, in state or against the big dogs in Toronto, Chicago, etc..

If you're fair with your assessment of these questions, then you can reasonably make a decision. Are you getting what you conceive to be the product you are paying for.

[danglez]

I was talking about just the summer "AAA" sorry.

But where I used to play (Massachusetts) there was so many more programs it seemed like everyone was a AAA player. I dont find it much better than the A level here of the top...ehhh 25 teams? I was just wondering why do some players who are not as good as others make AAA.

[middle of nowhere hockey]

The thing i think i have figured out with a lot of the minnesota AAA teams, especially showcase AAA is that it is usually a coach with a kid that is able to start up or take over a team. he gets some of the teammates from his association team to play and then however many they are short they take from tryouts. basically they are just picking them to pay the bill. the coaches kid for showcase AAA gets a reduced rate and then they can develop kids from their association. i think the only bias is that they will take a kid from their own association that isn't as good as a kid from a random association.

[2 for cheating]

I've always had this concern about AAA hockey. Do some parents PAY their way into AAA giving their son/daughter a slight advantage? Some of the best hockey players my not be the most wealthy familys and my never get the oppurtunity to compete at the AAA level because of the financial status eventhough they may have been picked. I'm just wondering if anyone else thinks this....paying your way in.

Yes, this does happen. Have seen it first hand. Player A has no business being on AAA team. Parents have unlimited resources, agree to pay for two other kids that can't afford to play and will be the best players on the team. Player A gets her spot on the team.

AAA summer hockey is the same as the rest of life, buyer be ware!

There are fantastic programs and there are programs that are not so good. Kind of like our local charlatan, he can skate like an NHLer, but teaches way over the kids heads (if you can call it teaching).

Do your homework! And look out when this evolves into winter AAA hockey. There are folks licking their lips waiting to make all kinds of money off of the uninformed. Winter AAA will happen, just a matter of time. Can't unring the bell so to speak.

[dogeatdog1]

My two cents on AAA. If you are a great player there will be people willing to give you the break so you can play at the top level. If you are an average player there will be people willing to take your $ to let you play. If you are a below average player you can still play so called AAA but you have to form a team or pay to play on a watered down C-D squad team that was formed over the past couple of years to fund a bloomington or Maple Grove or Prior lake or St.TA, or Lakeville minirink (did I miss any)venture. There are limited # of kids and in this economy and Parents that are willing to put forth the $ to play medocre hockey and not get the developmental promise that these $ making ventures are promising. I'm not a great economist but even I can see that at some point the market will not bear all of these teams. So we will be left with lots of ice time to scoop up at discounted rates so our kids can play pond hockey and develop like they did in the old days... (wishful thinking.)

[JoeBoy]

My two cents on AAA. If you are a great player there will be people willing to give you the break so you can play at the top level. If you are an average player there will be people willing to take your $ to let you play. If you are a below average player you can still play so called AAA but you have to form a team or pay to play on a watered down C-D squad team that was formed over the past couple of years to fund a bloomington or Maple Grove or Prior lake or St.TA, or Lakeville minirink (did I miss any)venture. There are limited # of kids and in this economy and Parents that are willing to put forth the $ to play medocre hockey and not get the developmental promise that these $ making ventures are promising. I'm not a great economist but even I can see that at some point the market will not bear all of these teams. So we will be left with lots of ice time to scoop up at discounted rates so our kids can play pond hockey and develop like they did in the old days... (wishful thinking.)

Or perhaps people are just willing to pay so there kid can play a game of hockey and have fun ... funny how you can say they develop by just renting ice and letting them play pond hockey like the good old days but cant develop in AAA. Just tired of reading about development, development, development when almost all kids will not get to play HS let alone D1 or NHL ... let them play for what ever reason and get out of it what every they can or think they can.

[observer]

Remember, development is to develop skills that make for better hockey players in games. They need to play games to learn to play the game. It is the game after all that counts. I see skill dripping all over the metro but see skilled kids that are having trouble playing the game. There's so much more than skill. Teams that work hard, play as a team, are determined and have heart can beat teams with more skill. So much is between the ears no matter how many skill development clinics a player has attended. Obviously you need both but I like a hard working smart player more than a skilled player trying to do to much on their own.

Age is also part of this discussion as a Mite and Squirt clearly need a good skills foundation to succeed where as PeeWees and Bantams may have the skills and need more game experience to become complete players and have fun.

[dogeatdog1]

Joe Boy. I agree with you on the having fun but the fact is that people all over the cities are claiming to have the next greatest developmental tool or team that will get your kid to play at the next level. I have a hard time taking kids $ and not telling them the truth. If Daddy has dreams of making junior a NHLer then he deserves to be hit in the pocket book. The kids that are going to play at the next level i.e. some level of college will make it more on will than on the development of some skating instructor. The opportuntity to get ice time/ compete against someone to make them want to improve is more important than learning to crossover on some sort of spinning fake ice wheel. A good example is Paul Broten who was a mediocre skater all through his youth hockey but competed at every level cause he had two brothers making him compete. He wouldn't have ended up in the NHL if he didn't have the will.. Watch out for the C squirt that ends up taking a superstar squirt's spot on the highschool team.

[muckandgrind]

My two cents on AAA. If you are a great player there will be people willing to give you the break so you can play at the top level. If you are an average player there will be people willing to take your $ to let you play. If you are a below average player you can still play so called AAA but you have to form a team or pay to play on a watered down C-D squad team that was formed over the past couple of years to fund a bloomington or Maple Grove or Prior lake or St.TA, or Lakeville minirink (did I miss any)venture. There are limited # of kids and in this economy and Parents that are willing to put forth the $ to play medocre hockey and not get the developmental promise that these $ making ventures are promising. I'm not a great economist but even I can see that at some point the market will not bear all of these teams. So we will be left with lots of ice time to scoop up at discounted rates so our kids can play pond hockey and develop like they did in the old days... (wishful thinking.)

Or perhaps people are just willing to pay so there kid can play a game of hockey and have fun ... funny how you can say they develop by just renting ice and letting them play pond hockey like the good old days but cant develop in AAA. Just tired of reading about development, development, development when almost all kids will not get to play HS let alone D1 or NHL ... let them play for what ever reason and get out of it what every they can or think they can.

EXACTLY!!! I agree with you 100%. I'm so sick and tired of hearing the constant barrage of development, development, development. Things like "we need fewer games and more practices because kids develop more in practice". I say HOGWASH. Ultimately, hockey is a GAME and that's why the kids play. They don't sign up to practice all the time, they want to play games.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with letting kids play games in the summer (or winter, for that matter). If it's fun for the kids, then that's all that matters to me.

[JoeBoy]

Joe Boy. I agree with you on the having fun but the fact is that people all over the cities are claiming to have the next greatest developmental tool or team that will get your kid to play at the next level. I have a hard time taking kids $ and not telling them the truth. If Daddy has dreams of making junior a NHLer then he deserves to be hit in the pocket book. The kids that are going to play at the next level i.e. some level of college will make it more on will than on the development of some skating instructor. The opportuntity to get ice time/ compete against someone to make them want to improve is more important than learning to crossover on some sort of spinning fake ice wheel. A good example is Paul Broten who was a mediocre skater all through his youth hockey but competed at every level cause he had two brothers making him compete. He wouldn't have ended up in the NHL if he didn't have the will.. Watch out for the C squirt that ends up taking a superstar squirt's spot on the highschool team.

Not sure if your contradicting me or not. I'm just saying all I ever hear is development, development, development. Associations telling me the teams should play less games and more practice so they can develop. Telling me how I shouldn't push for more games ( I dont ) and I should think of the kids then tell me about how it was better in the old days with pond hockey and kids developed with pond hockey. Well, when I send my kid outside to play on the outdoor rinks he doesn't bring cones or challenge his friends to an edge drill. No they play hockey...a good old fashion game of pond hockey just like they used to. Why are organized games so bad and pond hockey so good ? seriously why ? is it because coaches restrict kids in organized games taking away all the good ? im seriously asking this cause im a non-hockey playing parent with a kid in hockey

[dogeatdog1]

Pond hockey will develop players. Reason. No parents or coaches yelling at them telling them to pass or skate or share with Johnny.. if they don't adapt on the pond they get left out. You need to compete to be part of the game or you sit on the sideline and watch or get bored and go home. My middle child was at the rink for 8 hours on Saturday with 8 of his teammates his older brother and another older kid. I checked on them 4 times during the day to see if they wanted to come home. Each time they said no way... Having too much fun. (this is the longest they have been together without tearing each other apart... Brothers) . In the pond game if a kid isn't passing you gang up on him and take the puck away.. if you can't get it away you get more people to help. This makes the kid that doesn't pass better and the kids trying to take the puck better too... in an organized practice there are 40 pucks to chose from so if you can't take it away you go find another puck. Get your kid to compete and he will have more fun and learn life skills..

[dogeatdog1]

One more note .. the organized games are not bad they are tough to teach the kids to compete at that high level when the Coach and Parents want to win win win... again too much instruction and not enough of the kid figuring it out on his own.