Recently I was fortunate enough to spend some time at the College Hockey Coaches convention in Naples, Florida. It was great to spend some time away from a rink with coaches and get an insight into some of their thinking.
While talking with one of the very well known coaches from a major division one school about a possible recruit for their program, I heard him describe the player in a very unique way. He said to me, "yes we really like him a lot as a player but we are going to pass.....he needs a major Parentectomy....." It took me a very short time to realize that they were not going to offer him a scholarship because of the actions of his parents.....
It got me thinking quite a bit about the recruiting and scouting process of young players and how many different factors can affect the situation. I thought I would share this with everyone.
One of the most important factors that schools and junior programs do consider is what is the players' family like? Specifically what are the parents like?
I discussed it with our staff we decided to come up with five simple points of advice for parents. Specifically parents who have young players that are getting to that 14-15 year old age when the recruitment and scouting process starts to pick up and the game seems to change from just a game to a business opportunity for some.
This is only our opinion and advice we are offering. We are parents too and have made many mistakes just like everyone else so take from it what you will. We have seen many players get recruited successfully and there are some common traits. Hopefully it helps prevent any more Parentectomies....
If you want more input please feel free to contact us anytime.
The five suggestions for Parents are:
1. Take a step back.
Be suggestive and be supportive but allow your young athlete to research things and make their own decisions concerning where to play and which route to travel. Trust their instincts. You've done an amazing job getting them to this point. Let it go a bit now, step back and watch the results of your good parenting. Enjoy the product of all the countless hours you spent driving all over the country drinking bad coffee and sitting in cold arenas spending time with your child. Let them begin to make their own decisions. It will then be their responsibility to make it work and usually they do.
2. The coach/gm is always right.
Always, always, always, always......Even when you don't agree with them and know they are wrong. I know how hard this can be for some parents to hear or agree with but trust me. A coach who has had his feathers ruffled by a parent can do more harm to a player in a thirty second conversation with a scout than any bad game or tournament can do. Scouts and recruiters are going to talk to these people and listen to what the coach has to say over anyone else 98% of the time. They rarely will ever listen to what a parent has to say so stay away from them. The best thing you can ever do at this point is keep a great relationship with the coach.
3. Remember, there are more important things in life than hockey.
I know this is where we might lose some people, but it is very important. We try to encourage parents to remember, this is about what your student athlete is going to be like at age 19 and 20 not at 14. Their journey is not complete. It hss only just begun......help them become well rounded. Encourage other interests and challenges. Take good breaks from the game that will keep them hungry to play. Young players can burn and fizzle out from too much pressing and pushing. Also be aware that no matter how good they are, and I mean even if they are hall of fame caliber players, they will not be playing when they are forty years old.
4. Encourage them to work as hard away from the rink as they do at it.
Too much time, money and resources are wasted on showcases, tryouts and many things that rarely pay off. Invest in a good marketing plan for the player. Build a resume and bio that stand out from the rest. Make sure you have the right schooling and class requirements. Get powerful letters of reference from people that are not involved in hockey as well. Tell them to think of it like they are a lawyer. Tell them to build their case. They are going to trial and better be prepared. Remember these numbers. There are roughly 28,000 high school senior age boys registered to play hockey with USA Hockey. There are 59 Division I teams and 77 Division III teams. Each of those bring on average 6 new players a season to their rosters and about half of those are from the US… that means only 408 of the 28,000 registered players will get their chance to play in college. That represents roughly 1.5% of registered players. I'd say it's pretty competitive.
5. Enjoy the Process.
It should not be stressful. It goes very fast.....These are the last few seasons you will spend at the rink with your child. Be positive. It will be one of the last lessons you pass on to them. Positive, fun people get recruited way more!!!!! Think about it, who would you rather spend four years with......?
Kerry Huffman
Platinum Hockey Group
609-339-5156
khuffman5@gmail.com
www.platinumhockeygoup.us
Member of the NHL Alumni Association
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
All I Ever Needed to Know......
As the hockey season has relatively slowed down and everyone takes a 'very little' break from the game I thought I would take a break from just hockey talk and share and article I found written by Robert Fulghum titled, "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
My company does a lot of work with young hockey players trying to play College Hockey, so by no means is this intended to infer that they no longer pursue higher education. It is just a little something to get everyone thinking moving into the summer.
For all the graduates we worked with entering the 'real world', some great advice. Best of luck!
Enjoy!!!
My company does a lot of work with young hockey players trying to play College Hockey, so by no means is this intended to infer that they no longer pursue higher education. It is just a little something to get everyone thinking moving into the summer.
For all the graduates we worked with entering the 'real world', some great advice. Best of luck!
Enjoy!!!
"All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
"Most of what I really know about life, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but here in the sandbox at nursery school.
These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day.
Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup ~ they all die. So do we.
And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics and sane living.
Think of what a better world it would be if we all ~the whole world had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup ~ they all die. So do we.
And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics and sane living.
Think of what a better world it would be if we all ~the whole world had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
Kerry Huffman
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
39 turning 40
"Let your mind rest easy,
Sleep well my friend.
It's only our bodies that betray us in the end..."
Bruce Springsteen/We Are Alive
Wrecking Ball
It is both a great time of year in hockey as well as kind of a sad time. It recently hit me that I am turning forty again. Another season is coming to an end and a lot of teams are involved in playoffs or play downs depending on where you are from. Soon we will look to next season which will be my fortieth involved in hockey in some capacity. Hard for me to believe. So in light of this 'milestone' I am allowing myself to ramble and muse a bit about the game. Thoughts from an old defenceman. I hope I don't offend anyone. Remember, this game is about fun right?
I am lucky that my job has me watching a lot of hockey. Sometimes during the year it feels like too much hockey but then I realize it is never too much.....
The game is so different and yet in some ways still the same after all these seasons.....It is predictable and unpredictable all at once.
The Detroit Red Wings are still good and the Leafs will probably miss playoffs again....
The Florida Panthers will get in and The Washington Capitals may not.....yes all the experts picked that at the start of the season.
I hope my son has as much fun playing squirt hockey next season as he did playing these last two years of mite. I know it will be a challenge to equal the funny memories.....
The Toronto Marlboro Midget team is really good (again) .....and yet one of the best 97 birth year teams in North America is from Scranton, PA.....(with a bunch of Russian kids on it)?
Don Cherry is in a fight with Brian Burke. Not about European Hockey Players but about Ontario Hockey Players not playing for the Leafs....???
I watched my son break his wrist in a practice. Heal. Get over his fear of getting hurt again, and play again. My wife is not over her fear yet though.... That hasn't changed. Moms don't change.....:)
Hockey is everywhere. This year my company has taken on player profiles for kids from states including Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia......
There are players from 40 different states on USA College Hockey rosters.....
All that and I had a parent tell me the other day they had spent $37,500.00 on hockey related expenses this year. Forty years ago my Dad spent under $200.00 for the entire season, equipment and all.....!
In 1986 I played Jr. Hockey and got a $17.00 a week meal allowance. This week I heard about an Eastern Jr. League coach making $200,000 per season........
When I was a young player there was a team from Kitchener, Ontario sponsored by Bauer Hockey, we thought it was pretty cool.....now five of the elite youth programs in the States are sponsored by a Cable Company (Comcast), a Tire Company (Belle Tire), a Pizza Comany (Little Caesars), a Chocolate Company (Russell Stover) and a Ham Company (Honeybaked Ham).........
The game is fast and entertaining but at what cost? A the halfway point of the NHL season there were 548 man games lost to concussions.......forty years ago you only got your bell rung.
I was looking at hockey equipment in a store at the rink the other day and I picked up a pair of hockey pants that were lighter than some of my jeans.....
Forty years ago you were taught to move out of the goalies way so he could see a clean view of the shot. Today young players are taught to jump in front of everything and block every shot.....Ouch!
Forty years ago Bruce Springsteen was about to release his first album "Greetings from Asbury Park". This week he released "Wrecking Ball" his 17th studio album. (had to get a Bruce reference in!)
The game was awesome forty years ago and is still awesome today......just a little different.
Simply put it was still just another fantastic year being around the game.
So forty years from now I don't know but Detroit will probably still be good, the Leafs will be battling for a playoff spot, Moms will still be worried, hopefully concussions will not exist and the game will still be great!!!
(That and Bruce will have just released his 34th album.....:)
Sleep well my friend.
It's only our bodies that betray us in the end..."
Bruce Springsteen/We Are Alive
Wrecking Ball
It is both a great time of year in hockey as well as kind of a sad time. It recently hit me that I am turning forty again. Another season is coming to an end and a lot of teams are involved in playoffs or play downs depending on where you are from. Soon we will look to next season which will be my fortieth involved in hockey in some capacity. Hard for me to believe. So in light of this 'milestone' I am allowing myself to ramble and muse a bit about the game. Thoughts from an old defenceman. I hope I don't offend anyone. Remember, this game is about fun right?
I am lucky that my job has me watching a lot of hockey. Sometimes during the year it feels like too much hockey but then I realize it is never too much.....
The game is so different and yet in some ways still the same after all these seasons.....It is predictable and unpredictable all at once.
The Detroit Red Wings are still good and the Leafs will probably miss playoffs again....
The Florida Panthers will get in and The Washington Capitals may not.....yes all the experts picked that at the start of the season.
I hope my son has as much fun playing squirt hockey next season as he did playing these last two years of mite. I know it will be a challenge to equal the funny memories.....
The Toronto Marlboro Midget team is really good (again) .....and yet one of the best 97 birth year teams in North America is from Scranton, PA.....(with a bunch of Russian kids on it)?
Don Cherry is in a fight with Brian Burke. Not about European Hockey Players but about Ontario Hockey Players not playing for the Leafs....???
I watched my son break his wrist in a practice. Heal. Get over his fear of getting hurt again, and play again. My wife is not over her fear yet though.... That hasn't changed. Moms don't change.....:)
Hockey is everywhere. This year my company has taken on player profiles for kids from states including Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia......
There are players from 40 different states on USA College Hockey rosters.....
All that and I had a parent tell me the other day they had spent $37,500.00 on hockey related expenses this year. Forty years ago my Dad spent under $200.00 for the entire season, equipment and all.....!
In 1986 I played Jr. Hockey and got a $17.00 a week meal allowance. This week I heard about an Eastern Jr. League coach making $200,000 per season........
When I was a young player there was a team from Kitchener, Ontario sponsored by Bauer Hockey, we thought it was pretty cool.....now five of the elite youth programs in the States are sponsored by a Cable Company (Comcast), a Tire Company (Belle Tire), a Pizza Comany (Little Caesars), a Chocolate Company (Russell Stover) and a Ham Company (Honeybaked Ham).........
The game is fast and entertaining but at what cost? A the halfway point of the NHL season there were 548 man games lost to concussions.......forty years ago you only got your bell rung.
I was looking at hockey equipment in a store at the rink the other day and I picked up a pair of hockey pants that were lighter than some of my jeans.....
Forty years ago you were taught to move out of the goalies way so he could see a clean view of the shot. Today young players are taught to jump in front of everything and block every shot.....Ouch!
Forty years ago Bruce Springsteen was about to release his first album "Greetings from Asbury Park". This week he released "Wrecking Ball" his 17th studio album. (had to get a Bruce reference in!)
The game was awesome forty years ago and is still awesome today......just a little different.
Simply put it was still just another fantastic year being around the game.
So forty years from now I don't know but Detroit will probably still be good, the Leafs will be battling for a playoff spot, Moms will still be worried, hopefully concussions will not exist and the game will still be great!!!
(That and Bruce will have just released his 34th album.....:)
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