The private school education of NHL All-Stars

[Eye Test]

Blyth has absolutely no hockey talent go to any of their campuses

Online classes... free high marks

 

[SwaggySpungo]

That’s all dependant on the person. Anyone with any outstanding debt or living pay check to pay check likely won’t be able to have a child join hockey.

For example, let’s assume your kid is joining even base level hockey. You’re looking at a minimum of $560 registration fee in my hometown. Add in 2-3 away tournaments, so now you e got hotel and travel costs. Now add in even the worst of new equipment which will be $500 absolute best case scenario.

An extra ~$1100 just to get the base level of organized hockey is a lot. Obviously this goes up exponentially if you want your child to succeed.

substantially more than other sports

And yet many of those same people will think nothing of dropping $1,800 on a new iPhone to replace the perfectly good one they already have.

Using your figures, it works out to less than $100 per month on a yearly basis (assuming every piece of equipment is replaced, which wasn’t my experience, as just about everything other than skates and shin pads was purchased 1 size up).

I’m not saying it’s cheap. But the whole cost aspect is overblown, in my opinion.

And I’m only talking about baseline participation for fun. If a kid is elite and plays AAA, I’m sure it does get far more expensive with travel, etc.

 

[solidaritypucks]

Out of new players entering the NHL, I would guess an extremely small percentage come from working class backgrounds. Another factor in why the game gets softer and softer each year.

 

[A4T1L6]

Online classes... free high marks

There are many way better hockey private school programs out there. Blyth is an option for OHLers to get an education as you said, but they have nothing to do with Blyths hockey program, which is very lack lustre

 

[kingsholygrail]

So.. What about the other 60%?

 

[DearDiary]

Yes, Hockey’s generally a rich White guy sport.

"I'm not racist but..."

 

[PlayersLtd]

Interesting story in the CBC this morning.

This has been talked about before but it is amazing the number of elite players that come from private schools.

“Of the 37 North American players named to this year's NHL All-Star game or filling in as replacements, 15 — or 40 per cent — attended private school. It's a statistic that reinforces the notion that hockey, particularly at its very highest levels, is increasingly a sport not just for those who can afford it, but for those in the highest tax brackets.”

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5437356

The author is misrepresenting stats in order to create a sensationalized headline. He reels off tuition fees (current day $$$ I would assume) then says it himself that CBC wasn't able to obtain scholarship figures. Of course these players got significant scholarships to play for these schools.

It's a wealthy persons sport due to cost of gear (obviously) but also because population density in most urban markets has increased significantly in the last, say, 20 years which drives up demand for ice and subsequently cost. Added to that, property value and maintenance costs are so high it's hard for municipalities to justify building more arenas.

So I'd say thank god wealthy families are out there able to perpetuate the sport in today's market...

 

[ItWasJustified]

It's a rich guys' sport. Period.

If you're to reach the elite level, most sports are ''rich guy'' sports. You don't go from the streets of Uganda straight to the English Premier League and you don't go from the streets of Compton straight to the NBA. On your way there you've either paid money or had someone else paid for you. it's that simple.

 

[DJJones]

I had a friend that was an okay WHL player. He got plenty of schooling offers.

Not really to suprised

 

[SupremeNachos]

This isn't exclusive to hockey, IMG Academy exists too, but yeah, it's an expensive sport to play at higher levels.

This 100%. AAU BB and IMG FB schools will go beyond what is legal a lot of times to sign a player to their team. I don't know if hockey is even in the same realm of controversy when it comes to poaching, but if your kid is a star, some people will do everything but play for them.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

The CBC is very left leaning and it's constantly trying to disenfranchise Canadian culture. So... no thanks. I'll continue to "hump" the source.

CBC is slightly left of center.

CBC only looks extreme left because USA media is batshit crazy.

 

[Eye Test]

There are many way better hockey private school programs out there. Blyth is an option for OHLers to get an education as you said, but they have nothing to do with Blyths hockey program, which is very lack lustre

Never said they did . Just said it’s called blyth . Numerous ohl friends did this

 

[Seanaconda]

Well i disagree with that assesment because that was the tone the article was supposed to hit even if failed at that. The tone of the article is "lets try to find a way to get more people involved in hockey so the sport is less niche or in Canadas case doesn't become niche" . If you want to do that you need to make sure the sport if available for little kids without their parents having to pay stupid amounts of money. It might not be a well written article but the assesment that there's a problem with how kids hockey programs are working is correct.

there is basically no way , equipment isnt terrible cuz you can get it used and have it basically brand new while they are growing other than sticks which will lose their whip.(good passing / recieving soft sticks availible lol) .

its the ice which will always cost money due to maintenance , energy costs and availability.

 

[Atas2000]

If you're to reach the elite level, most sports are ''rich guy'' sports. You don't go from the streets of Uganda straight to the English Premier League and you don't go from the streets of Compton straight to the NBA. On your way there you've either paid money or had someone else paid for you. it's that simple.

You mix up a lot of things. It's stricktly about hockey.

In other sports there are different problems and ways. The thing is with hockey restricted availability starts right at the very beginning when you need to buy your 4-5 y.o. a lot of equipment just to make the first step. And it cntinues on throughout.

 

[absolute garbage]

When I was a kid, we were constantly on the brink of homelessness, but there were so many programs that gave us access to free or very heavily discounted equipment/club fees. The biggest problem was that it was a really embarrassing process. We basically had to declare and then prove our poverty to our neighbours - the parents of my classmates. Everyone on my team knew I was a charity case. Stunningly, there was real resentment from the parents who'd had to pay their own kids' way. I had a ppg season as a minor peewee rookie with bad skating, but nobody minded reminding me or my single mom that we didn't belong there.

Economically, it doesn't have to be a rich kids' game, culturally, it totally is.

Sorry to hear that, but this is basically the case for universalism. If we are not in a situation where a large portion of people are benefiting from some directly aimed benefit (whether it's hockey equipment or something else like even housing), it would be better to help people who need help by just giving them a common currency (money) that everybody already uses. This way "the poors" could buy the equipment they need just like others, and they wouldn't get singled out which can cause a lot of societal problems like you experienced.

 

[Ctrain2k]

Like 99% of NFL players are college educated, now obviously they don’t all come from rich white familes.

 

[Voight]

Thats not shocking, a fair amount of kids end up going to schools like Shattuck St Marys, Notre Dame (Sask.), The Hill academy etc. Its good for their development and these schools want guys like them so if they make it to the NHL they can use it as free advertising and a selling point.

As others have said, some of them get scholarships.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Hockey is an expensive sport and difficult to pick up if your family isn't well situated . Thats not news. Is it a problem ? For the growth of the game yes because that means it will allways stay a niche sport in most countries. I love hockey but growing up there was no way i could've played it . My parent weren't going to drive me 100km to the nearest rink every day. So i did something else since i liked other stuff as well .

you lived 100kms away from a rink?

 

[Machinehead]

If they did get free rides that doesn't change the fact that hockey is a rich sport.

 

[Machinehead]

"I'm not racist but..."

That's not racist at all.

Here's a f***ing shocker: basketball is a black sport. Guess I'm a racist.

 

[Lenerdosy]

Hockey isn't cheap to grow up playing thats the problem. My parents probably could have put me in it but they didn't want the cost so I was put in school basketball and community soccer because they were much cheaper, they were never willing to fork out not only the money but also the time commitment to put me in hockey which is fine. Its not like basketball where you can get 10 guys to throw in $3 and you can buy a ball and find a court and play, do highschool basketball cheap and if you're good enough get a scholarship.

Its just the nature of the sport, parents who have money and time can get their kids in stuff like hockey, personally I highly doubt we will ever put my kid in hockey, he will do the same as me and do basketball/soccer because of cost and commitment.

 

[adsfan]

Sure . Just to start hockey so one of those expensive schools may scout you isn't exactly easy though. Hockey equipment for kids isn't exactly cheap compared to some other sports.

My daughter had $200 tennis rackets. You need at least 2 of them, if you break a string, you grab the other one out of your bag. You need at least 2 more with a different tension on the strings depending on the weather conditions. You need real tennis shoes, probably 2 pairs, if you break a lace, you just switch shoes. She went to the state tournament for her public high school 3 years running. They had some small college girls playing at the same time. She was better than 75% of those girls as a Junior.

Not that she would have tried to play NCAA tennis, but nobody was looking at her for that. As she once said, "If you are really good, you aren't playing tennis in high school" You would be at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, FL, which is now IMG. It is about $70K a year. You get coaching on nutrition and other things that you don't get from your local high school coach as well as living at the academy. It is a different world for elite athletes!

 

[serp]

you lived 100kms away from a rink?

Yes ?

 

[Frank Drebin]

Yes ?

There was no rink where you went to school?

 

[serp]

There was no rink where you went to school?

I'm not from canada ( or even north america or northern europe ) , so no .