“Add in the money grabs that are private coaches/travel teams in various sports. Everyone thinks their kid is going D1. Here’s a simple test. If your kid is the greatest athlete in your town, in that sport, in a generation, then maybe they go D1.”
So many parents of hockey players I coached over the years came to me and in hushed tones said I needed to give their kid more ice time because D1 schools are looking at them. That’s how every conversation started and I usually ended it with, “(Insert name here), your 13 year old is playing club hockey in South Texas and he can barely keep up with that.”
Then I throw in the kicker which I start the season with. “To even think about becoming a professional hockey player, your child will need to practice 3 hours a day, 6 days a week for 15 years. This doesn’t include outside activities like weight and cardio training.”
My son shot 500 pucks a day, when he wasn’t ice skating he was roller blading, when he wasn’t stick handling a puck on the ice, he was stick handling a ball in the house. He built a slide so he can practice his skating and when he was in front of the TV he would practice his stride for hours on end. In addition, he spent every summer since he was 11 at a camp in Canada and after camp ended he stayed on an additional 3 weeks to teach.
Despite all of that, the best he could do was play single “A” hockey in Dallas. He did get his reffing certification and turned into a great referee, working games for USA hockey to pick players for the national team. He now refs in the Northeast with the goal of working D1 games next year. He just turned 21.
My kid is a pretty good lacrosse player and is bombarded with "prospect camps" and "showcases" etc...
Always good for a few chuckles