No one covers minor hockey issues as well as the Toronto Star.
Here's a piece today about making the kids' game non-contact for reasons of safety and fun. It's true: Contact hockey is the realm of elite players on evenly matched teams with the best coaches, trainers and referees. Contact hockey in more loosely organized leagues is at best too discouraging for less gifted kids and at worst too dangerous where serious injuries can and do happen.
Yesterday, the Star published a piece about the cost of hockey and the dreams chased by families of kids on AAA teams, the highest level for tweens and teens in Canada.
The odds of having it pay off with an NHL career worth millions or even an NCAA scholarship worth thousands are long. More likely is a life-long disadvantage from missed school days, lack of sleep, or injuries from over-training or on-ice mishaps.
I've always thought the cream will rise naturally to the top, no matter how many expensive, time- consuming tournaments or personalized training a 14-year-old consumes. Fun, fitness and friends - not hotels, high-tech sticks and hockey hookey - should be the keywords for kids participating at any level.
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