And that is your own experience, so you shouldn't have played in that level and seriousness, but that doesn't mean it is bad, as many many kids "love" that level and thrive on it, so let them have that pleasure.
Excuse me? You can't claim not to sound arrogant,I really resent being called arrogant, as that word
doesn't fit my personality in any way whatsoever.
and then tell me what I should or should not have done 10 years ago, especially since I had already said that I enjoyed it on several levels.That's good
That's exactly the kind of mentality that is shaping youth sports today, and it sounds really contradictory to what you say later on:Well, I don't know, hard following you, I just always think
kids should play, if they want to, at what level they want to, (if they can), and have fun, when
the fun is gone, move on and do something else.
I'm glad you enjoyed it when you did, and got out when you had had enough, that was fine and I
don't really know what you have your knickers n a twist about, as we both seem to be in favour of
the right things for kids. I'm not judging what you did at all, I don't even know you, and I don't
judge people, I just give my opinion, based on my experiences.
Kids have to go their own way, and if they want to strive to be the best, that is their call, as long as they are not hurting themselves, and that is when the parents have to step in.
So I made my choice, but it was, according to you, apparently wrong;
Don't understand why your choice was wrong, I'm not really concerned with what you did, we are
talking about kids in general I thought, and I only mentioned you, cause you mentioned you.
but, I have to be an independent thinker, yet I should listen to those others to choose whether or not I should compete in certain levels if I so desire, and I am able to do so? Which is it?
Kids should definitely be independent thinkers, but families should make decisions together, and at
the end of the day, (providing the money is available), the player has to decide where he wants to
play, simple, not hard at all, even though a kid is an independent thinker, (which is good), he is
also a kid, so he can't make decisions for himself, apart from what is best for the family & him.
I doubt you told your grandson he shouldn't have played at whatever levels he played at,
We didn't tell him anything, (not our job), we are supporters, cheerers, drivers, helpers.
since it was clear he had lost passion and interest in 'rep hockey'.
He loved rep hockey, he only left it, cause his golf was taking up lots of time, and he loved golf more,so he had to make a choice, as his rep hockey playoffs overlapped the beginning of the golf season,so, the choice was his, and he made it. It was the house hockey he didn't like as much as rep, so he only played that for one year, he will probably play pick-up hockey sometimes, when he and his
friends get together.
Was he blocking someone from realizing their dream? Unlikely.
I haven't a clue what that means, how could he block someone from realizing their dreams, don't
understand that statement at all. He was only 13 yrs old when he went from rep to house, what
does that have to do with the above.
You are going off on a tangent that I don't understand, this conversation isn't that dramatic.
Hockey can still remain competitive for those who wish to excel, even if it is heavily decentralized from the current model. It certainly hasn't stopped the thousands who made it to the world's highest levels of hockey competition before the transformation of the youth leagues into 'personal parent conduits'.
A few years ago, a group of parents from the lower mainland, (we knew some of them) bought a
house, all together, in an area where they wanted their little "rep" sons to play, they were all the
same age, and they then registered all the kids in the same rep club, to be on the same team,
they had a plan for that team to be "so good" that they would beat everyone, and attract so much
attention that their sons would go on to get drafted into NHL. They ended up in quite a pickle over
that stupid move, and the whole idea went right down the toilet, but goes to show you the lengths
some people will go to "get what they want", but happily it didn't work.
The fact that corporations are sponsoring many league teams to the point where they are monopolies and companies run within themselves,
I'm not familiar with anything like that in "minor" sports, any companies who sponsored any of the
teams in our organization were very generous and helpful, as we needed the money to buy uniforms
etc, beyond that, I haven't had any negative experiences with sponsors, re: extra favours, etc, not
really sure what you mean, unless you are talking about older players, Junior, maybe.
as well as the amount of money and time devoted by the children and their parents in these ventures is nothing short of sickening.
What parents decide to do within their own families, is none of our business, but when it begins to
hurt "teams" or "other players" on their teams, or become a venture that is negative to the sports
organization, then it becomes the business of that organization to do something about it.
Yes, I again agree with you on this, but it isn't "all" bad, there are very good organizations, and we
should recognize those, and give them their credit, I am on the west coast, so I can't speak for
any clubs in the east, not familiar with them, only ours her in B.C.
What I'm trying to say is that youth league hockey is an extra-curricular activity, much like a chess club or a bird-watching society; however, those who are active in it are finding that it consumes much of their lives, muchso more than before, and in ridiculous proportion to other extra-curricular activities.
Yeah, guess that is because hockey is our Canadian sport, and so huge in this country, so I imagine
it rubs off, and gets in the blood of many, who dream of making the NHL.
Every hockey family I know spends every weekend travelling in and competing in out-of-town tournaments,
Yeah, we did that for years, and our family still talks about the great memories, fun times, good
games, places we have been, it was great, we were with our kids all the time, and some kids who
came with us, cause they loved to play, never ever had a parent with them, some had to work, and
some didn't care, were glad to get rid of their kids, and many parents travelled with us.
while three times a week little Timmy comes home from school, eats some garbage fast-food - You don't have a clue what they eat.
-then has to commute to the arena, where they do drills until 8pm-they usually have only one hr. of ice at a time, sometimes a little more, most of the time not,as there is many other teams and
also figure skaters who also have ice times.
or they're singled out and either benched or played based on the undeveloped skill levels of a 10-year old.
In our B.C. organizations, players can't be "benched", but it is obvious with some kids, that they don't
belong on the rep team, and that has to be dealt with at some point, if kid is unhappy, or he just
stays on team, and probably next year won't make rep team, but maybe he will, who knows.
They come home from hockey, and exhausted, having not spent one moment on school-work. Even worse, the parents force, You don't know what parents force and which ones don't
them to stay up half the night doing the work, and the children lack sleep and energy
You are right for some, but don't include all, as there are many families very well organized, who
don't allow those kind of bad habits to "creep" into their lives, even with filled up schedules.
- to speak nothing of those 'extra' practices and the numerous fundraising drives that are needed to fund such an expensive and complex organization. You find me another extra-curricular activity that consumes that much of a person's life, and ask a 10-year old, already overworked with the new Ontario curriculum (these kids are doing work we did in grade 10 in grade 6) to try and not only take it all in stride, but actually enjoy it.
Yes, there is lots of extra time consuming fund raising, etc., but if all those kids you speak of, did
none of this extra curricular activity, where would they be, are you assuming they would be doing
very responsible things, like homework, right amount of sleep,helping around the house, maybe
some would, but many wouldn't, and from what I have witnessed, the parents are just glad they
are "off the street" and doing something constructive. You and I can't decide what parents should
decide for their families.
I'm sure the organizations are, as you say they are, but parents have to be responsible for their children,
and they have to bare the brunt of "whatever" isn't working, and fix it, there are many bad parents,
and many very good parents, and irrespective of "what" they do as extra curricular activities, if
they make bad decisions for their kids, it is not the fault of the "organization".
Darn you though, as you kinda took the sting out of my argument with a really nice conclusion to your last post; well-said points on the kids and their need for independent thinking
We have been involved with ice hockey and soft ball for years, (not now, we are retired), and for
the most part everyone "running/coaching/etc are great people, the one's who have been the
problem "mostly" over the years are parents, as some of them just don't have a clue, how to behave
and do what is best for their own kid, and the rest of the team as well. I have many stories, but
won't go into any of those, as I'm sure you know exactly what I am talking about.
Before you say I am contradicting myself again, I will add that those are the parents who are
creating problems for the teams/other players/and general good balance of the team their
kid plays on.