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My soon to be 9 year old is going to play for the only all girls travel/select organization in the Dallas area. The cost? $2900 + $250 jersey +$150 for training equipment. By the time all is said and done, I think we might spend $4000 this year.

My wife and I are going to bite the bullet, but in doing the math, assuming my daughter stays playing hockey (which she loves), we are looking at spending $60,000+ over the next 10 years for her to play at the highest level she can.

I am starting to wonder if the costs make it worth moving to Minnesota or another traditional hockey state with established programs for girls.

Just playing house hockey here costs $500 a season or more (Dallas Stars charge $900 at their rinks).

Not seeing travel in your budget. Since every game her team plays will include travel (or half the games) add $5000 for air, gas, rental cars, hotels, meals, etc. Depending on the level of play most people consider the cost to be between $10,000 and $20,000 per year. Teams play between 40 and 70 games in a winter season.

Minnesota probably has 20 solid 10U teams that would be a good match for your daughters team. Total cost is between $1000 and $2000 including travel.

Down here, the girls team plays 20 games - travel is only to other cities in Texas (Austin, San Antonio, Houston) plus 1 trip to Louisiana and 1 to Oklahoma City.

There are 2 tournaments they typically travel to -- 1 invitational tournament that varies by location (but is always in the Northern US) and the USA Hockey Tier I and II National Championships which are actually here in Dallas at our home rink.

AggieSpirit wrote:My soon to be 9 year old is going to play for the only all girls travel/select organization in the Dallas area. The cost? $2900 + $250 jersey +$150 for training equipment. By the time all is said and done, I think we might spend $4000 this year.

My wife and I are going to bite the bullet, but in doing the math, assuming my daughter stays playing hockey (which she loves), we are looking at spending $60,000+ over the next 10 years for her to play at the highest level she can.

I am starting to wonder if the costs make it worth moving to Minnesota or another traditional hockey state with established programs for girls.

Just playing house hockey here costs $500 a season or more (Dallas Stars charge $900 at their rinks).

Is that the cost for just the traditional hockey season, or year round?

In Minnesota, the cost for the "Regular Hockey Season" will vary a little depending on where you live. I would imagine that a typical traveling U10/Squirt program is $1200 - $2000 in the Twin Cities Metro area. The regular season for that age in Minnesota is October to March and includes a max of around 35 games.

There also a ton of options for "off-season" hockey: select teams, AAA teams, camps, clinics, etc. If your daughter wants to skate year round, add another $750 - $1500 or more per year.

There is one huge benefit that Minnesota hockey players have, and that is several months a year of free outdoor ice on the neighborhood rinks and ponds...

..

So the second question - if you were in my shoes, and already had a job lined up in Eden Prairie,but you also wanted to give your talented child the best opportunity to succeed in hockey, would you moved from Dallas to the Twin Cities area?

Could you leave your family, friends, and support network behind?

mn_Jr_NorthStars wrote:

AggieSpirit wrote:My soon to be 9 year old is going to play for the only all girls travel/select organization in the Dallas area. The cost? $2900 + $250 jersey +$150 for training equipment. By the time all is said and done, I think we might spend $4000 this year.

My wife and I are going to bite the bullet, but in doing the math, assuming my daughter stays playing hockey (which she loves), we are looking at spending $60,000+ over the next 10 years for her to play at the highest level she can.

I am starting to wonder if the costs make it worth moving to Minnesota or another traditional hockey state with established programs for girls.

Just playing house hockey here costs $500 a season or more (Dallas Stars charge $900 at their rinks).

Is that the cost for just the traditional hockey season, or year round?

In Minnesota, the cost for the "Regular Hockey Season" will vary a little depending on where you live. I would imagine that a typical traveling U10/Squirt program is $1200 - $2000 in the Twin Cities Metro area. The regular season for that age in Minnesota is October to March and includes a max of around 35 games.

There also a ton of options for "off-season" hockey: select teams, AAA teams, camps, clinics, etc. If your daughter wants to skate year round, add another $750 - $1500 or more per year.

There is one huge benefit that Minnesota hockey players have, and that is several months a year of free outdoor ice on the neighborhood rinks and ponds...

It works differently down here, largely because we don't have 100 years of hockey tradition and interest like MN does...

Traditional Hockey would be called 'House Hockey' down here. Ages run 7 to 16 and generally costs between $500 and $900 depending on the facility you are at. The Dallas Stars run 5 facilities, and their house teams all play each other - their league is also the most expensive at about $900. The remaining 5 independent/civic facilities with house teams play in their own league and they all run about $500.

Travel Select hockey is run by private non-prof associations specializing in travel (regional or national depending on the team) like Dallas Penguins, Dallas Stars Selects, Dallas Ice Jets, Texas Jr. Brahmas, and my daughter's association called Alliance. The prices for these vary by organization and age. On the low end you can get in one of these (if you are a boy) for $2400 + jerseys + hotel and travel costs. But there is only ONE girls select organization in Dallas, and that is Alliance Bulldogs. The cost is $2900 + jerseys + hotel and other travel costs.

For my daughter, it will be limited because we will only be traveling in our region (North and Central Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana). I also neglected that she will be playing on a Girls U12 squad that will play against Pee-Wee B teams.

I hope that explains some of what you asked.

AggieSpirit wrote:So the second question - if you were in my shoes, and already had a job lined up in Eden Prairie,but you also wanted to give your talented child the best opportunity to succeed in hockey, would you moved from Dallas to the Twin Cities area?

Could you leave your family, friends, and support network behind?

Interesting post. Not sure anyone but you can balance these two questions.

I'll take the 2nd question first. Could I leave my family, friends, and network behind so my 9 year old daughter could play hockey for maybe a third of what it costs in Dallas??? No. Has your wife asked if you're insane, or has she already left you???

Now the first question: If I wanted to give my daughter the best hockey experience (and just happened to have a job lined up in Eden Prairie), would I move? Of course. No brainer. But I'm a life-long Minnesotan, and you couldn't pay me enough to endure a Texas summer. Ours are bad enough.

Humor aside, some perspectives from a Minnesota hockey dad...

First, the sane response. At age 9, I think you'd need to seriously think about how passionate she is about hockey. Maybe you've already seen shades of Natalie Darwitz. If so, that's great. 9-year-old stars sometimes blossom into Olympians. Sometimes they fade into third-liners by the time high school rolls around. Or they quit hockey because they're burned out or they get tired of coaches who yell at them. Hard to predict. Short of moving, consider enjoying the benefits of rec-league hockey in Texas. Also consider that multi-sport athletes develop a broader athletic base and suffer less burnout. You could benefit from Minnesota Hockey without having to move here -- just take a week or two summer vacation in the north country, and enroll your daughter in a residential hockey camp. There are great ones all over Minnesota (not to mention Canada, Lake Placid, Colorado, etc.). Intense week of hockey skill development, and I'm sure she'd have a blast. Your hockey bill would certainly go up, but it would be more of a hockey vacation than a commitment to travel all over Texas and Oklahoma to play "elite" club teams. I think long road trips for 17 minutes of ice time in a club game are anti-developmental. She'd develop more playing roller hockey in the driveway.

Now, if you're going to base your family's fortunes on your 9-year-old daughter's love of hockey -- as noted above, most would question your sanity. But we all do crazy things in life, and there are some great advantages to hockey in Minnesota compared to most other states. First, our winter youth hockey is community based. Kids play in the school district they attend school, unless there is not an option for your kid at a certain age, gender, and ability level (then they can waive out to another association). This is a great system, and makes hockey development available to any kid who wants to play -- you don't have to be a superstar at age 9 to "make the team" in the town you live in. Lot of club options in the off-season for the kids that can't get enough hockey, but community based hockey is a great strength of Minnesota's hockey culture.

Girls hockey is also a varsity sport in high school -- again community based!!! For a few hundred bucks a year (typical activity & booster club fees), your daughter can have a great high school hockey experience, without having to fly all over to play "elite" club teams nationally. I think our high school bills are about half what our youth hockey bills were--for the actual varsity stuff. All the other camps and summer leagues my daughter plays in of course cost more, but that's our choice.

If you truly have a little Natalie Darwitz or Winny Brodt on your hands, we have some fine collegiate hockey opportunities here too. 5 D-1 schools in Minnesota, and one each in neighboring ND and WI. Plus many D-3 women's programs. So, "community based" really extends up into the colleges, for those athletes truly passionate about the game (and good enough).

Jr_NorthStars mentioned pond hockey. Agreed! From about Christmas break until Valentines day, most winters we have suitable conditions for outdoor ice. It goes by too fast, and some winters, is isn't too reliable. But for the truly hockey passionate, there's nothing better than pick-up hockey games at the local park or pond--provided your local hockey association doesn't overschedule the kids to the point where they have no time or enthusiasm for pond hockey. Pond hockey is GREAT for the development of hockey players. If this is a major selling point, then you might consider Thief River Falls or Warroad. It's frozen tundra up there 9 months out of the year. Long commute to Eden Prairie, though.

If you locate in Eden Prairie, you aren't going to have to drive far to have great community-based and high school varsity hockey. EP would be a fine place to work, live, and raise a young hockey player; neighboring Chaska/Chanhassen, Minnetonka, Hopkins, and Edina are also ok school districts, and not bad places to live.

Good luck with your family's decision.

She'd develop more playing roller hockey in the driveway.

True.