Not just AAA, Elite teams too. Dad coaches naturally just there for their own kid but sad to say just their kid. Can't have 10 Daddy's on the bench so you better play nice and be buddies with that Dad or your kids tossed.
Select hockey mostly friends a family. You have to be. You spend so much time together. Also there are so many backstabbers out there that call owners and directors and chirp in thier ears you need people who have your back.
I leave the bench after a loss and I see a bunch of facial expressions expressing different degrees of dissatisfaction, disappointment or even anger. do you have to ask this question. Even if I win 30 games but lose 20 I don't have any tolerance seeing some joker giving me a look 20 times during the season. I will take a buddy of mine who I can have a few drinks with because at the end of the day we know that these kids aren't going pro. I wish the parents understood this.
Thats the problem. My kid is going pro and is buying me a new house. I don't need him playing for a coach that is happy for all the kids to get a participation medal. Off point, I'd love to get hammered with you and then beat your face in while you stumble back to your car.
I only asked the question because I though club hockey was a higher level of play. Apparently I am wrong and select hockey is in fact no different than town.
Not to mention paying 3500 for a season vs half of that to stay in town! Parents can all have issues with coaching and move on if they choose. However, for the money we are paying the clubs should deliver a higher level of play. This means 5-6 roster spots should not be occupied by assistant coaches kids that would not make a town 2 team!
For instance I know a very well respected organization that the elite team won their league last year and they cut several kids the next year, of the cuts both assistant coaches sons were cut.. then this year I know of a AAA team in the same organization that was "re-tooling" and they cut about 1/2 the team but kept all of the coach's and their friends kids. The kids that were cut were same level as and in some cases better than the kids they kept and no was not due to disciplinary reasons.