640 km (400 miles) for one practice

Chimpradamus

Registered User
Feb 16, 2006
16,634
5,249
Northern Sweden
http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/sport/story/0,2789,964964,00.html

The father got tired of driving - bought an airplane: an incredible story.
SPORT-31s00kan_438.jpg

When Team Canada and the best goalie in JWC Carey Price wanted to start playing hockey as a ten year old, closest team was 320 km (200 miles) away. So father Jerry put himself in the car - and drove 640 km (400 miles) on each return trip to the practices three times a week. When he got tired of it he bought an airplane.

It sounds incredible.
- But it's actually true, says Carey Price when we meet him after Team Canada's third straight win in JWC.
- An incredible story. It can only happen in Canada, says Team Sweden's coach Torgny Bendelin.
But in a country where hockey is the national sport neither parents nor children see boundaries.
- No, I grew up in Anahim Lake, a small fishing village located at the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia. There was no organized hockey. Closest town and team was in Williams Lake and it's 200 miles away, says Carey Price.
It's like driving from Stockholm, pass Malmö and stop somwhere on the Öresund bridge. Three times a week.
All Swedish hockey parents know the incredible amount of time spent on driving kids and equipment to practices and games.

Bought plane for 80.000 SEK (roughly $11.500 US)
But no one living in Stockholm would come up with the thought to let the kids play for HV71 and drive them to practices. That is exactly what Jerry Price did translated to Swedish standards.
- But it was alright. I did my homework in the back seat.
But in Sweden it's considered too late to start playing hockey when you're ten? What did you do before then?
- I played hockey on the backyard with some friends.
When the car trips were finished and took its toll, father Jerry bought an airplane - an old, one motor Piper Cherokee, that costed approximately 80.000 SEK.
But it served its purpose and Jerry himself absolutely didn't want to sound like some crazed hockey parent. He was himself a promising goalie once and drafted by Philadelphia. But the career ended after a series of serious knee injuries.
- The long car trips can sound a little bit odd, but we got to spend alot of time together.
The reward came in the draft 2005.
Carey Price was picked as number five in the first round (Montreal), which is extremely high for a goalie. But it drowned in the first pick of the draft - Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

Own notes: Now that's dedication. Crazy Canadians. :D
 

Mr. Hab

Registered User
Nov 17, 2004
6,704
0
Montreal
http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/sport/story/0,2789,964964,00.html

The father got tired of driving - bought an airplane: an incredible story.
SPORT-31s00kan_438.jpg

When Team Canada and the best goalie in JWC Carey Price wanted to start playing hockey as a ten year old, closest team was 320 km (200 miles) away. So father Jerry put himself in the car - and drove 640 km (400 miles) on each return trip to the practices three times a week. When he got tired of it he bought an airplane.

It sounds incredible.
- But it's actually true, says Carey Price when we meet him after Team Canada's third straight win in JWC.
- An incredible story. It can only happen in Canada, says Team Sweden's coach Torgny Bendelin.
But in a country where hockey is the national sport neither parents nor children see boundaries.
- No, I grew up in Anahim Lake, a small fishing village located at the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia. There was no organized hockey. Closest town and team was in Williams Lake and it's 200 miles away, says Carey Price.
It's like driving from Stockholm, pass Malmö and stop somwhere on the Öresund bridge. Three times a week.
All Swedish hockey parents know the incredible amount of time spent on driving kids and equipment to practices and games.

Bought plane for 80.000 SEK (roughly $11.500 US)
But no one living in Stockholm would come up with the thought to let the kids play for HV71 and drive them to practices. That is exactly what Jerry Price did translated to Swedish standards.
- But it was alright. I did my homework in the back seat.
But in Sweden it's considered too late to start playing hockey when you're ten? What did you do before then?
- I played hockey on the backyard with some friends.
When the car trips were finished and took its toll, father Jerry bought an airplane - an old, one motor Piper Cherokee, that costed approximately 80.000 SEK.
But it served its purpose and Jerry himself absolutely didn't want to sound like some crazed hockey parent. He was himself a promising goalie once and drafted by Philadelphia. But the career ended after a series of serious knee injuries.
- The long car trips can sound a little bit odd, but we got to spend alot of time together.
The reward came in the draft 2005.
Carey Price was picked as number five in the first round (Montreal), which is extremely high for a goalie. But it drowned in the first pick of the draft - Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

Own notes: Now that's dedication. Crazy Canadians. :D

Pure dedication, eh!

Since Jerry was a goalie, too, once in NHL (short career due to injury)...maybe Mr. Price wanted to give every chance to his son, Carey, and for now...it looks like it's paying dividends (drafted 5th overall by Montreal Canadiens/Habs).

I have one silly question, though...couldn't they have just moved? Maybe it's too simple a question! The Price family had their home (built a life there, I guess) but it was just far from practices...

Anyways...great article...very original (did you get it from TSN.ca ?).

Dedicated Canadians, eh;) :D ?!! (when it comes to hockey:) :amazed: ).
 

sticknrink

Registered User
Aug 17, 2006
7,773
26
London
This story isn't great. It's stupid.

For starters it's incredibly, incredibly wasteful and inefficient to drive somebody that incredible distance each time (then fly him). Wasteful regarding resources and money.

Not only that but you spoil the child into thinking that whatever he wants he can have. He wants to play hockey come hell or high water.

This is just ridiculous.
 

leaflover

Stanley Cup 2022
Mar 3, 2002
15,239
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This story isn't great. It's stupid.

For starters it's incredibly, incredibly wasteful and inefficient to drive somebody that incredible distance each time (then fly him). Wasteful regarding resources and money.

Not only that but you spoil the child into thinking that whatever he wants he can have. He wants to play hockey come hell or high water.

This is just ridiculous.
Relax pal.
Nothing wrong with providing a kid you've located in a desolate location like Anahim Lake with the opportunity to partake in something 99% of other canadian kids have access to.
 

KRM

Registered User
Jun 9, 2005
11,239
86
Gothenburg
Read it on text tv, wow, I thought it was difficult to get to my practice in the neighbouring municipality.
 

Mike8

Registered User
Jun 24, 2002
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Visit site
This story isn't great. It's stupid.

For starters it's incredibly, incredibly wasteful and inefficient to drive somebody that incredible distance each time (then fly him). Wasteful regarding resources and money.

Not only that but you spoil the child into thinking that whatever he wants he can have. He wants to play hockey come hell or high water.

This is just ridiculous.

What a dumb post.
 

Gwyddbwyll

Registered User
Dec 24, 2002
11,252
469
I have one silly question, though...couldn't they have just moved? Maybe it's too simple a question! The Price family had their home (built a life there, I guess) but it was just far from practices...

Did you read the TSN article? I think it mentioned in there his mother is the chief of some native indian nation there..
 

Ti-girl

Registered User
Jan 29, 2005
7,913
1
Merida, Mexico
That's awesome. I read it on TSN.CA. I know lots of kids who have had to drive places for practice. I drove 2.5 hours one way for practice and one of my athletes now has to drive 4. But hey, if you love it and it gets you somewhere...
 

loudi94

Master of my Domain
Jul 8, 2003
8,507
1,533
Alberta
That's awesome. I read it on TSN.CA. I know lots of kids who have had to drive places for practice. I drove 2.5 hours one way for practice and one of my athletes now has to drive 4. But hey, if you love it and it gets you somewhere...

I talked to a buddy of mine who taught him a few years back. There were tremendous sacrifices made by the whole family. He was destined to play and his parents put their lives on hold for him. He'll pay them back in spades soon enough.
 

Ti-girl

Registered User
Jan 29, 2005
7,913
1
Merida, Mexico
I talked to a buddy of mine who taught him a few years back. There were tremendous sacrifices made by the whole family. He was destined to play and his parents put their lives on hold for him. He'll pay them back in spades soon enough.

Well mine wasn't for hockey, but it's the same deal. Too bad I got hit by a serious injury. My parents put a lot of time and money into our sports. 5am practices, 8 week long training camps, the whole shebang.
 

ChemiseBleuHonnete

Registered User
Oct 28, 2002
9,674
0
This story isn't great. It's stupid.

For starters it's incredibly, incredibly wasteful and inefficient to drive somebody that incredible distance each time (then fly him). Wasteful regarding resources and money.

Not only that but you spoil the child into thinking that whatever he wants he can have. He wants to play hockey come hell or high water.

This is just ridiculous.

:whaaa?:
 

le_sean

Registered User
Oct 21, 2006
39,551
38,961
bought an airplane?
it must be nice tro have that thing called MONEY

Well you know what, that's going to be peanuts compared to the $850,000 rookie contract he'll be getting soon and then the millions of dollars afterwards when he is a #1 goalie. Like any investment it's a risky one since the probability of becoming an NHL player is low, but it paid off. Plus he made his kid happy, I'm sure we would all make sacrifices to do so as well.
 

MeHateHe

Registered User
Dec 24, 2006
2,405
2,729
They also rented a condo in Williams Lake for a few winters. I suspect the Price family was not poor. I doubt they were exactly rich, (nobody is rich in Anahim Lake) but they weren't struggling to put food on the table either.

I'd say they made a pretty wise investment in the kid, though. Assuming he doesn't blow his knee out, that investment is looking like it will pay off. It would be interesting to compare how much money the Price family spent on hockey with how much another family put into private education.
 

Chimpradamus

Registered User
Feb 16, 2006
16,634
5,249
Northern Sweden
I think we can pretty much agree the father didn't do it for the investment though. I think it was more the "hell yes my son should be able to play hockey if he wants to!" mentality. Love for the son, love for the game.
 

guinness

Not Ingrid for now
Mar 11, 2002
14,521
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Missoula, Montana
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I know playing hockey is expensive, but that's a lot of time/money to shell out, and the chances of him panning out were slim. Even being a starting goalie in the NHL isn't a sure thing either at this point in his career.

I admire the dedication though.
 

Bear of Bad News

Your Third or Fourth Favorite HFBoards Admin
Sep 27, 2005
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- No, I grew up in Anahim Lake, a small fishing village located at the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia. There was no organized hockey. Closest town and team was in Williams Lake and it's 200 miles away, says Carey Price.

Here's a problem I have with the story - Anahim Lake is only 100 kilometers west of Williams Village.
 

MeHateHe

Registered User
Dec 24, 2006
2,405
2,729
Google Maps is often unreliable, surprisingly enough. I've found Mapquest to be a better resource.

The point marked by Google Maps seems to be Alexis Creek, incidentally. (I live in BC, incidentally. There's no question that Google Maps is wrong and Mapquest is closer to accurate.)
 

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