It's a fair point - just look at the Q for evidence. BJE, MMF and MFF are always competitive. IHC also belongs in this group. Do you think they can compete in the best tournaments in the world consistently if they don't develop their players.
Original poster probably plays for Bandits, Breakers or one of the other consistently bad teams.
My advice, don't listen to the **** owners/coaches peddle this time of year when they are trying to keep you. You are trying to convince yourself that staying is the right choice but you know it isn't!
Last night I had to listen to 4 dip sh** dads arguing this question. Couldn't get it out of my head, So I posted to the pros for opinions. My kids Won't be in the bean pot, but get better each year and have fun. Don't know anything about the Q. But in Chicago and Buffalo parents were insane. Hate to lose, but I would hate more to think back on my time with my kids at the rink and being more concerned on winning and what others are saying doing.
It's a fair point - just look at the Q for evidence. BJE, MMF and MFF are always competitive. IHC also belongs in this group. Do you think they can compete in the best tournaments in the world consistently if they don't develop their players.
Original poster probably plays for Bandits, Breakers or one of the other consistently bad teams.
My advice, don't listen to the **** owners/coaches peddle this time of year when they are trying to keep you. You are trying to convince yourself that staying is the right choice but you know it isn't!
Kids at that level develop in extra skills sessions or with a private coach. The team often has little to do with it, especially with so much focus on system play and winning.
This makes me think of the recent ADM hockey article that made the rounds on FB a month or so ago... about kids who were “discovered” or targeted early as being “advanced” hockey players ... how they, rightly or wrongly were picked for the better teams and therefore given access to the better coaches, better ice time, etc... and how that compared to the players who were initially overlooked, who were late bloomers, but far surpassed those early stars in terms of skill, but given that the others had the early advantage, they were put on the right track early on... what I’m trying to say is that outside development does matter, those extra clinics, skating coaches, etc can help but in the end you have to have your kid in the right organization, the right track, to drive their skills to the next level
What would you rather, you kid on a team that is 500, but your kid is developing. Or kid plays on a winning team but not developing. Both teams play against each other and ranked top 25 T1.
Important question that does not have straightforward answer. First you always go for development but where is the best place to develop is the question. It really depends how old the player is and the teams/organizations in question. If the player is younger (peewee or younger) then you really need to look at the practice structure, coaching, and skills sessions offered by the organizations. A few organizations offer really good skills/skating instruction by someone other than the coaches. If someone has a good recommendation for this please advise. You should really focus on this aspect of the overall decision. If the player is average and on an average team but in a strong program (coaching/skills) then best to stay put.
The kids I’ve seen develop the most play on good teams with strong skills programs and strong coaching. They also tend to play in stronger tournaments so I wouldn’t worry about being a top team in a league. Add 3-4 top tier tournaments and you’ve got a strong base for development.
What would you rather, you kid on a team that is 500, but your kid is developing. Or kid plays on a winning team but not developing. Both teams play against each other and ranked top 25 T1.
Development should always be the goal. However development and winning are not mutually exclusive. All depends on the organization, skills, coaching...etc.
development should always be the #1 goal until they are midgets or in high school. And then it still should be the #1 goal for the few looking to advance past the HS level.
When push comes to shove; With development comes winning.
However, this raises the other conundrum created in every level of youth hockey in this day and age. What happens when the development environment creates an issue with a team winning too much? Why do parents then say that the league is not good enough? They become league obsessed and leave a good development environment because the team is winning too much, so the team must be holding their kid back.
Was development and winning not the goal of these parents to begin with?