We were told when he deferred that he could not take any classes for credit without checking with them first. We were also told that since he may have to reapply if they want him to play a second year of junior he shouldn't take any classes because it could affect his application/grades from prep school.

We haven't looked into it further than that yet, we're still trying to determine whether he's playing north or south of the border. If he wants to take classes I'm fine with it being not-for-credit, maybe like test prep courses, writing courses, something that keeps his brain sharp but doesn't count as a "college course."

In the USHL for example, once a player nears the age of 21, they have to start taking classes. Also, if a player leaves a college and goes back to the USHL for example, they have to resume classes while playing JR's

I guess it’s hard as a teacher to wrap my head around a player graduating High School and not continuing their education while playing Jr Hockey for a year or 2 and then getting back into it. I support the hockey decision 100% and education 100%. Going to be an interesting decision.

Not sure about you, but I worked for six years before going back to B School. Didn't miss a beat.

Many of us did, but we were working not playing hockey for those years.

Many of us did, but we were working not playing hockey for those years.

Players in juniors can and frequently do take college courses for credit before enrolling in college. The issue is that they cannot take a full course load because that will burn a year of their 5 years of athletic eligibility to play 4 years in college. The reason the above posters were mentioning discussions with the players’ colleges is because each college determines what a full load is and whether the credits are transferable.

Here are some of the basics: http://collegehockeyinc.com/articles/2014/09/taking-college-classes-juniors.php

Thanks for the link. It lines up with what were were told by the school he accepted.

And, the corollary to "prospective student-athletes may improve their grade in one of their 16 core courses from high school in the first year after graduation" is that some prospective students could see their academic standing (and therefore their academic scholarship) decline, not just through a lower grade but also from it being online or from a lesser institution. An "A" from a community college may not be viewed as strongly as a "B" from a NE Prep school.

My point was we were not full-time or even part-time students, but when it came time to transition back, it wasn't difficult.

Every kid is different. One kid could lose interest, another could benefit from the break from the academic routine.

I'm sure we both used our brain at work a lot more than these kids do at hockey. That was my point. Professional world back to school is an easier transition than hockey back to school.