Written by Brian van Vliet - December 1, 2008 (As Seen In Hockey Now)
Picture this…
You’ve been sold the dream. Your kid has what it takes. All he needs is some fine tuning at (insert camp name here) and he will be able to play at a higher level. Now you run out and put your money down. The amount can range anywhere from hundreds of dollars to thousands for so called “elite” programs.
At the first session of the camp there are more than enough coaches and there is lots of noise and intensity. Everyone is excited. By the time the second session rolls around, you can be sure one of the coaches can’t make it for some reason or another. This continues until eventually there is one coach for twenty kids and he is running them through drills by himself.
Sound all too familiar?
This is happening far too often in too many programs. There are too many kids on the ice and not enough coaches. Another common problem I have witnessed is a bunch of guys on the ice who look like coaches but only one or two of them are really qualified to teach at that particular level.
The most important factor when you enroll your kid in a program is to ensure that there is proper error detection and correction. This means if your son or daughter does something wrong in a drill, there is someone there who notices it, pulls him aside and corrects it. If this is not being done, then essentially your player is just running through drills. Some will preach that repetition is key. There is truth to that; however I would rather see a player do a drill two times correctly as opposed to twenty times incorrectly.
Corrective instruction must be firm and consistent throughout the run of the hockey school otherwise it is a waste of money and time.
The question that has to come to everyone’s mind is whether or not the hockey school is about truly developing kids or making money. A few ways you can tell if the camp is a “cash grab” is by the caliber of players that are attending. If you see two superstars and a few weak players, you know that the star players were invited to entice the weak players. This creates a “look how good we can make your kid” effect.
By no means am I suggesting that every hockey school or program is this way. In fact my kids have been fortunate enough to take part in some very good programs. Unfortunately, we have been on the short end of a few bad ones too.
It’s time to worry less about how much profit is being made and spend more time ensuring the ratio of players to qualified coaches is lower, the level of players is consistent throughout and that the school delivers on the promises it makes in their advertising brochures.
After all, the reason for attending a hockey school is to come out a better player than when you went in.
Agree or disagree, I’m off the goalpost.
