TJHN… this is a great article (Confessions Of A Junior Hockey Coach – Try Out Camps United States)and I agree with your premise that the tryout structure is completely backwards and no one is working to fix it. However, you are wrong as to the reason.
It has very little to do with these April tryout camps being money-makers. Teams and clubs can come up with all kinds of ways to make money in April and May; spring teams, tune-up camps, elite this, development that, etc. The reality is, regardless when camps are held, a certain pool of players will attend, whenever that camp is held and the team will generate revenue.
The main reason behind April tryouts is getting players to commit before they look at any other opportunity, whether its the USHL, NAHL, Prep School, Canadian Tier II, etc. Many rink operators that run Junior and Midget teams also claim that they need April tryouts because they need to know how many Midget and Junior teams they will field so they know how much ice is available for other programs.
That’s a flawed argument by rink owners and just as an example, Rink owners don’t force their Adult League teams to register 5 months ahead of the season and yet, somehow they manage those programs. The business of hockey must be sensible, but the rink owners need to give up some ground so that proper player development and advancement can be achieved.
Some team operators will make all kinds of claims that “Free Junior hockey” really isn’t free. Because when little Johnny leaves home, you have to pay billet fees (for NAHL), give him spending money, Mom & Dad will make four or five trips out, so when you add it all up, it really isn’t free, right?
I say that’s nonsense. Just look at Junior and Midget tuitions, and some of these travel budgets are completely out of control. Add in the fact that most of these organizations, especially the ones that claim they are “just as good as the USHL and NAHL” are running tryouts for two and three Junior teams. Sadly, some of these teams are letting top players play for free, recruited from all over the country for their top Junior team, while charging much inflated tuition prices for their 2nd and 3rd Junior team to local players, just so they can afford the freebies they hand out for the top team.
The structure needs to change; USHL camps first, then NAHL, then Tier III Junior, then Midget Tier I. This will only happen when the power-that-be, put player development and advancement first. As for really who’s the best; without question, the USHL has more players that are playing Division I College hockey that attribute a USHL team as their last Junior team.
All of the U.S. based hockey teams (NAHL, all Tier III, Midget, High school, Prep, combined, does not surpass the USHL’s accomplishment.
Here is the breakdown for Division I College hockey players; USHL: 36% (16 teams) 559 Players Canadian Tier II: 32% (150 teams) 497 Players NAHL Tier II: 12% (26 Teams) 191 Players Tier III: 10% (134 teams) 167 Players Prep /HS/ Midget: 8.4% (Over 1000) 131 Players Europe / transfers: 0.6% – 15 Players (Data derived from WWW.USCHO.COM)
The most important fact is this; from the top 50 scorers of NCAA Division I hockey, 32 players played in the USHL. From the top 15 goaltenders, 10 are from the USHL. The balance of players from these lists is a mix from all other leagues.
Glenn Hefferan 3-25-2013
