I don’t buy the equipment is too expensive baloney. It’s not like a kid needs pro equipment. Ice time is expensive but I can get on the ice where I live in the Northeast every week for about $10. The junior programs are expensive and are really a racket to make money in my opinion. They don’t promote the game. They just exploit parents dreams of having their kid play in the NHL.

Posted by kevin from boston on 08/01/08 at 07:28 AM ET

Sorry Kevin, I think you are a little off base here. For parents to put their kids in travel hockey, you are talking about a $10,000 commitment.  Even low end equipment will cost around 300-500 dollars.  That’s a lot of money anywhere.

Posted by moore00 from the Ohio State University on 08/01/08 at 07:45 AM ET

I used to live in Sarasota, which is considered South Florida.  There is one rink accessible to Sarasota and while it is a nice rink, it is like everything in Florida: you must drive a long way to get there.  I lived 50 miles from there so when you add up gas prices to the already high ice time costs, it is tough to play down there.

Now, the positive is that the open pickup sessions had about 40 people on the ice, so it could get a bit crowded.

Posted by drimo on 08/01/08 at 07:58 AM ET

Like I said..travel hockey is a racket. 99% of those kids are not playing in the NHL. $300 for equipment is not alot of money if you use the stuff for a couple years. Used equipment is even less dough......Yeah...hockey’s expensive compared to other sports but your kid can play it and you don’t have to mortgage the house if the parents are realistic about it.

Posted by kevin from conlin on 08/01/08 at 08:31 AM ET

Street hockey, road hockey, ball hockey, deck hockey, inline hockey, whatever you call it, you’ve gotta go with the best way to get hockey sticks in kids’ hands and smiles on their faces. 

I learned how to play goal with a baseball glove on one hand, a hockey glove serving as a “blocker” in the other, a pair of Mylec street hockey leg pads, and a log-heavy Victoriaville stick that I bought at a church garage sale for $5.  No chest protector, no helmet, no nothing, and a garage door as the net as my buddy Mike shot pucks at me with a shot that was eventually clocked at 86 mph, but I loved it.  I upgraded as I could, getting a helmet when I almost lost a tooth, a pair of shoulder pads to sub for a chest protector, a blocker, a better glove, a better stick, a better set of leg pads, and, eventually, a *real* chest protector, a *real* set of goalie pants, *real* leg pads, and roller hockey skates, but I started with an investment of under $100, and went from there. 

Give a kid a stick, a tennis ball, and something to shoot at, and see if he or she gets the hockey bug, Florida heat and humidity included.  That’s all it takes.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 08/01/08 at 08:43 AM ET

Yes, travel sports are a racket, but ...

A. How many parents fall for it, and ...
B. If there aren’t friends of the kid who already play hockey, if it isn’t part of the culture, how is he going to play?

Travel teams might be the only way some kids can find other kids to play with.

I also wonder how much used equipment is available if the sport isn’t played that much, so kids who do want to play it can’t find much available that is used.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 08/01/08 at 08:45 AM ET

@ George:

I agree with you, but how many parents are going to take a chance on their kids getting hurt if they don’t have proper equipment?  (And if they play on someone else’s property and get hurt, does the property owner have to worry about getting sued?  I know I would - people are so litigious it’s insane.)

The New York Times recently had an article about teenagers in Greenwich, CT who cleared a weedy, brushy vacant lot themselves and set up a wiffle ball field, and promptly got in trouble for erecting a structure without proper permits and for disturbing the peace of the neighborhood and possibly lowering property values.  One of the kids himself said that the adults looked at them as “some kind of cult” and were freaked out that they came up with an idea themselves that didn’t require grown-up supervision and guidance.

They were outside playing ball instead of inside playing video games, and this was seen as a problem by the community because they were making noise. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 08/01/08 at 08:52 AM ET

Yeah it’s impossible to play Hockey where i live. For one, it is a good 50 miles to the nearest ice rink. Second, all equipment must be bought new. Simply because there is no used stuff anywhere, because there is no one that plays hockey because there is no where to play hockey. Third, even the schools around that have High School teams make you pay for your own equipment. The football team doesn’t make you do that. The local colleges don’t even have real hockey teams. Slippery Rock University, where i go, has a hockey club. I joined it only to find that we practice on a basketball rink with roller blades. The “Lucky 7” that can fit into the college van can get a ride to the games. But of course the seven that get chosen to go aren’t always the best, just the only 7 that actually have equipment and enough money to pay for ice times.
I do know one kid who plays hockey. Needless to say he’s rich. I’ve even talked to his parents about it before.  They spend about 10,000 a year on his hockey between equipment, ice times, league fees, gas, and all that.

So unless you live in the rich suburbs of whatever city you live in, or unless you live in Canada. Good luck plalying hockey.

Posted by Kevin from Pittsburgh on 08/01/08 at 09:09 AM ET

We used to sneak into tennis courts, and there were the occasional uses of bolt-cutters to crack the chains thereof in the winter, especially by the gents I played most of my high school hockey with--the kids that were good enough to barely not make the varsity team.  I’ve probably seen much more ice time on a tennis court than I have on the ice, but I’m not ashamed of that.

It’s not easy by any means to find a place to play hockey, but there are deck hockey places that don’t charge all that much for kids to take part in a season at a beginner’s level, and they take care of the legalities thereof with the $100 fee. 

I guess that the best way I can put it is that kids find a way, and yeah, sometimes they get in trouble, but you get the bug and you’re willing to do what it takes to play, or you’re not and you move on to the next thing. 

That being said, I can’t imagine growing up today.  When I was a kid, “Go outside and stay outside today” was sound parenting, not, “Don’t invite the kid next door over to play ball hockey because we’re gonna get sued if you bean him in the head again.”

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 08/01/08 at 09:10 AM ET

George, that’s how I learned how to play goal, and it got started enough to eventually play college hockey.  Gotta start somewhere!

Posted by moore00 from the Ohio State University on 08/01/08 at 09:16 AM ET

That being said, I can’t imagine growing up today.  When I was a kid, “Go outside and stay outside today” was sound parenting, not, “Don’t invite the kid next door over to play ball hockey because we’re gonna get sued if you bean him in the head again.”

Me, either.  I biked everywhere without a helmet, and never cracked my skull wide open.  Although my Mom came from a large family, too, and figured if she raised her kids properly, we’d have enough sense not to get ourselves killed - and the normal bumps and bruises don’t cause lasting trauma.

My parents also didn’t believe in scheduling every single free minute for maximum productivity so it would look good on our college applications, either.  What a way to suck all the fun out of vacations.  :(

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 08/01/08 at 09:35 AM ET

I don’t buy the expense issue because these same parents have no second thoughts about forking over hundreds or thousands of dollars for equipment and camps for football, basketball, or baseball, so it’s a complete myth.

I *do* believe society does have something to do with it, and stated above.  I used to spend hours upon hours alone outside or with friend playing some form of ball or whatnot (football, baseball, basketball).  Nowadays… I’m admittedly not willing to let my kids go do those same things because too many adults are complete idiots.

Posted by Primis on 08/01/08 at 09:54 AM ET

Primis,

My brother played soccer in HS, I played hockey.

The yearly budget for his soccer (travel soccer) was around $500.  The yearly budget for travel hockey was near $7-10 grand, more as I moved up.

Cost for an hour of ice, $200-400.  Cost for an hour of gym time, $20-30. 

Goaltender equipment is easily $2000 for a low end set.  A set of cleats? $100 for an expensive pair. 

How isn’t that a barrier?

Posted by moore00 from the Ohio State University on 08/01/08 at 10:06 AM ET

I also wonder how much used equipment is available if the sport isn’t played that much, so kids who do want to play it can’t find much available that is used.

That’s a logical assumption, but the reality is you can find almost anything online today. Here’s just one item from Orlando’s Craig’s List. It’s pretty much everything you’d need for $120. And a search on eBay for “ice hockey” turned up 829 items.

So, the equipment is there these days for kids...if they want to play and if they can afford the ice time. I’d equate hockey to golf where kids are concerned. It’s not a “free” sport (like basketball can be). It’s for those who have a little money and at least a little desire to play.

It’s the latter that seems to be the most lacking in the southern states. Crazy, I know, because skating on ice is just such a natural thing to do when you live where it’s 70° in January.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 08/01/08 at 10:07 AM ET

All I know is I play hockey once a week for $10 against pretty good competition (i.e. juniors/prep school kids plus adults). There are kids leagues that run six months for $500 or so. That’s $100 a month.....I haven’t bought any new equipment in 3 years except for a stick or two.....If I was young and wanted to learn to skate I could go to the local rink and skate for a couple hours for $5....I don’t see how this is a huge expense UNLESS you want to go play in “elite” programs in hopes of making the pros. That isn’t what sports is about as far as I’m concerned.....On a side note...alot of kids I play with are fantastic players (ie played junior programs, etc). Many of the ones I talk to end up playing Div III hockey. I don’t even think they give scholarships at that level. It doesn’t seem like a worthwile investment if your paying $10,000 per year and your kid doen’t even get a free scholarship out of it.

Posted by kevin from boston on 08/01/08 at 01:18 PM ET

Primis, that is an idiotic statement.
To play soccer you need cleats and shin guards. You can get that at walmart for $30, or get good ones for about $100.
To play football you need cleats, they provide everything else.
To play baseball you need cleats and a glove, 20-100 dollars.
To play hockey you need skates, pads, sticks, not to mention its kinda hard to play hockey in your backyard or at the local park. The other mentioned sports can be played anywhere.

I don’t know anything about you and i’m not going to try and say i do. But I don’t know how well off your family is, but my parents never would have paid for me to play hockey. They were pissed off enough when i tried out and made a club soccer team without telling them. And that only cost them about $500 a year.
And its kinda hard to go pro by playing hockey at the local basketball rink with your friends.
Look at the players who have turned pro in the pittsburgh area. Malone obviously had his father, also a pro player, so he doesn’t really count.  RJ umberger was from Plum, a well off suburb who has a hockey team with their high school because they can collect a lot of money through property school taxes.

Hockey is an expensive game for the well to do people. Its that simple. Its not a rule obviously because there are exceptions, but if you don’t live in a big hockey area where it is just as easy to play hockey as it is anything else, than you have to be wealthy or have parents willing to take out a second mortgage just to play.

Posted by Kevin from Pittsburgh on 08/01/08 at 01:26 PM ET

Hockey’s definitely expensive, and it’s definitely a barrier to entry.  It’s hard to buy a pair of skates every three years for a child who’s still growing.  And it’s not even worth buying equipment in the first place, which is expensive and/or a hassle, unless you know your kid actually wants to play.  It’s hard to know that unless your kid has played before or watches people play.

At the grassroots level, all sports really need to start with pick-up games, neighbourhood games, schoolyard games, etc.  Even in Canada, as outdoor rinks disappear, that’s starting to die off, and it’ll hurt the game in the long run.  Road hockey needs to pick up the slack, but even that has barriers to entry--instead of one soccer ball, you need a pile of sticks (and ideally a set of goalie pads).  Or more serious issues, like how at my grade school, one student almost lost an eye (literally), and we weren’t allowed to play hockey again without a helmet and face shield.

And this isn’t really on topic, but it ground my gears a bit.  Travel hockey isn’t for parents who think their children will grow up to be NHLers.  It’s for children who want to play against people at their own level.  It’s not fun for anyone when there’s a large skill disparity.  It’s not some Little Miss Springfield pageant.  The vast majority of kids in rep leagues are there because they wanted to be there in the first place.

Posted by Ryan from Toronto on 08/01/08 at 02:10 PM ET

I don’t buy the equipment is too expensive baloney. It’s not like a kid needs pro equipment.

What if that’s all that’s available?  I have a bugger of a time finding $20-30 wooden sticks, even though that’s all I want/need, and I live in Canada, FFS.  I mean, sure, you can try to track down used stuff or “last year’s model” (God, that sounds so stupid), but it still costs a bloody mint these days to play hockey, because the equipment companies have turned it into a racket with performance everything.  There’s no basic $50 boot-blade-go model for skates that I’ve seen.

Posted by Doogie2K from Calgary, AB on 08/01/08 at 02:13 PM ET

I can’t speak for Florida but compared to 20-30 years ago...hockey is so much more accessable today. When I was a kid there was one rink in town and 5 towns used it. Getting ice time was pretty impossible. Finding equipment was next to impossible. Goalie equipment? Forgetaboutit....

Posted by kevin from boston on 08/01/08 at 02:57 PM ET

To play soccer you need cleats and shin guards. You can get that at walmart for $30, or get good ones for about $100.
To play football you need cleats, they provide everything else.
To play baseball you need cleats and a glove, 20-100 dollars.
To play hockey you need skates, pads, sticks, not to mention its kinda hard to play hockey in your backyard or at the local park. The other mentioned sports can be played anywhere.

Even playing sports in school is getting more difficult.  Budgets are being cut everywhere, and the first things to go are the perceived “frills” like art, drama, and music classes - right after that are sports, or kids can only participate if their parents can afford to pay.

And the first sports to go are the ones with less participation and less interest.

If it doesn’t increase test scores, it is seen as unimportant.  More grade schools are even cutting out recess because they don’t think they have time - or the risk of kids getting hurt by running around like headless chickens is making the schools nervous about upsetting the parents.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 08/01/08 at 03:02 PM ET