Jr. hockey and accademics

Creativero

Registered User
Jul 17, 2015
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30
Hi,

My 16 year old brother has been invited to some Jr. prospect tournaments this summer and told he can most probably play on the tier II jr level if he wants to. He's always played for bad AA teams (only team in our area) but he is often the best player on the ice for either team and has never really received any professional coaching. He's going to be a Sr. next year and has straight A's to this point in HS (he's completed calc BC, AP bio/chm/physics/ect. in 11th grade) and is probably going to be in position to get an academic scholarship to a good school if he can keep it up academically . Would it be a big risk for him to play Jr. hockey next year in a league like the WSHL or would he likely be able to maintain the academic success he's had so far? If anyone suggest a good hockey option for someone looking to keep developing as a hockey player without suffering academically?
 
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A4T1L6

Registered User
Feb 10, 2015
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1,213
Private schools like SAC is a great option if you have the money
 

Creativero

Registered User
Jul 17, 2015
895
30
Private schools like SAC is a great option if you have the money
Hey thanks for the response. That really is probably the best option for him. Honestly, the main reason I'm asking is he's kind of chosen to have what I imagine is a boarding school lifestyle on his without too much encouragement. He plays baseball in the summer hockey in the winter and lacrosse in the spring and goes to a charter school the emphasizes math and science. He basically wakes up, goes to school, comes home and does homework then goes to practice/gym and goes to bed. Pretty much all his time is booked with school or sports and he seems to like it that way (I'm not like that at all). I'm a little worried him changing his lifestyle too much right now when it he's doing so well in school. That said, the sports available locally have really deteriorated as a lot of the better players his age have moved to continue with sports. He's going to a tournament called the Northern Exposure in Minnesota this summer that I would think is attended by some prep school scouts so maybe they will give him some advice.
 
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A4T1L6

Registered User
Feb 10, 2015
2,850
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Hey thanks for the response. That really is probably the best option for him. Honestly, the main reason I'm asking is he's kind of chosen to have what I imagine is a boarding school lifestyle on his without too much encouragement. He plays baseball in the summer hockey in the winter and lacrosse in the spring and goes to a charter school the emphasizes math and science. He basically wakes up, goes to school, comes home and does homework then goes to practice/gym and goes to bed. Pretty much all his time is booked with school or sports and he seems to like it that way (I'm not like that at all). I'm a little worried him changing his lifestyle too much right now when it he's doing so well in school. That said, the sports available locally have really deteriorated as a lot of the better players his age have moved to continue with sports. He's going to a tournament called the Northern Exposure in Minnesota this summer that I would think is attended by some prep school scouts so maybe they will give him some advise.

Yeah as someone who went through the prep/boarding school lifestyle, it's definitely an experience that has so many positives that come with it, as well as opens many doors academically and in sport.
 

kij

Registered User
Jan 31, 2016
269
130
See if you can get him on a local AAA or junior team this year and apply to colleges and scholarships while home. Then after he graduates let him take a year off to play juniors somewhere. If he is a straight A student a school will allow him to defer a scholarship for a year to play junior hockey (one of my teammates deferred a full ride for 2 years).

Many junior teams that take out of town high schoolers work with an online school for those kids but the schools are nothing like the school you go to in person.
 

Davegarri

Much Doge, Wow Moon
Jan 8, 2014
5,637
3,446
NJ
If he goes the Juniors route, he will have the opportunity to finish his high school education. Most likely will be online, but the team will sometimes provide the team with tutors. When I worked for the NJ Titans we had a tutoring center in our rink that the kids could get tutored at and help with their high school classes or studying for SAT's. Will he get a better education than a private school? No. Will he get a better education than he would at his current public school? No.

However, he would get a great opportunity to prove himself as a great hockey player and also get a great shot at earning a college scholarship to play hockey. He will also get some valuable community service experience, communication skills, and relationships with people with very valuable connections.
 

Blue Liner

Registered User
Dec 12, 2009
10,332
3,608
Chicago
See if you can get him on a local AAA or junior team this year and apply to colleges and scholarships while home. Then after he graduates let him take a year off to play juniors somewhere. If he is a straight A student a school will allow him to defer a scholarship for a year to play junior hockey (one of my teammates deferred a full ride for 2 years).

Many junior teams that take out of town high schoolers work with an online school for those kids but the schools are nothing like the school you go to in person.

This would also be my advice. Junior would be something to consider at his age and grade level in school if it were Tier II Junior A or higher; essentially anything that is NON-pay to play. Especially given where he is scholastically, I would not recommend playing in junior league that's going to cost $8, $9, $10,000 per year, which is the going rate often in a league like the WSHL. It's just not worth it for him to do that.

Check into some AAA clubs or more local junior clubs if there are any in your area. Get into some Junior A camps and showcases. Write letters/emails to Tier II Junior A clubs. Get the info out there, but don't go running off to a junior program that's going to run you thousands to play, not necessarily be a good quality of hockey or do anything for recruitment possibilities, and potentially disrupt his studies. It just isn't worth it in his position, in my opinion.

You don't have to give names, but who has told you/him he is capable of playing Tier II Junior A. Not questioning or denying it, just curious who has told you that.
 

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