The Financial Committment, is it Worth It?

People outside my youth hockey circle think I'm nuts when they catch a glimpse of much I have on my schedule and then learn what it all entails and costs.

Currently, we have three kids who are juggling 6 overlapping hockey team schedules.

Double rostering -- would NOT recommend.

So, I'm at a rink (or two or three) 7 days per week for at least 8 months of the year. My wife is at a rink at least five nights per week.

So, yeah, every single night of the week, straight from work to pick up one (or more) of the kids from school, or home, and right back out to a practice or off-ice session somewhere.

Primary training rink is maybe 20 minutes from home. Not too bad.

The rinks my older two boys play out of are both a solid hour away.

Three kids in three different buildings.

It's not unusual for us to be pulling back into the driveway at 11pm.

Toss in the extra-curriculars the kids participate in at school -- band related and before school, mostly -- and they're starting their days before the sun comes up...regardless of daylight savings.

Long days.

Really long days -- for all five of us.

Glossing over the gas, equipment, extra tournaments, hotels, and private lesson expenses and just adding up the regular season tuitions -- we're in over five figures per season and have been for nearly a decade now.

100% hockey related.

That's a lot of money...and, before it's all said and done, I'd bet I'll have spent well over $200k on hockey alone before my youngest ages out.

First world problems, right there, I know.

If you asked me right now if I had $20k to spend on hockey next year, I'd say no.

Yet, somehow, we make it happen.

But is it a good investment?

For me? I say yes.

I mean, my kids aren't going to get full rides to a D1 University based on their hockey prowess (which, even then, still wouldn't make it a sound investment) but that was never my goal.

For me, so far, it has been worth it, though...and I'll continue believing (or convincing myself) that it's worth it too.

One important thing comes to mind.

Like, when you watch your kids start to grow up -- like, really grow up -- where they're growing facial hair, have deeper voices than you do, and suddenly one morning, they're taller than you -- it's like a kick in the slats.

They're not kids any more and your time to parent is rapidly coming to an end.

It's like a reality check -- you're old and rapidly progressing into that next stage of life.

In my head, my kids are toddlers.

But, in reality, I've got a couple of grown ass men I'm driving around.

And that's what makes it worth it.

The teams they play for, like I said, are a solid hour drive.

I get two hours, one-on-one, with each of my oldest a few times per week.

Sure, sometimes they're buried in their phones with earpods in for the entire ride but if it weren't for these car rides to hockey -- hockey being something they enjoy as a being part of their identity -- they'd be in a different room from me more often than not.

Acquaintances, essentially, that we'd be responsible for feeding.

I'd gladly spent five figures to spend more time with my kids...and for the amount of time I'm spending with them, it's actually a bargain.

Fast forward 15 years, I'd bet my wife and I will be spending in excess of five-figures just to visit all of them, wherever they may be, for a few days each year.

When you think about it like that -- is it really so crazy to spend so much?

So thankful I've found a way to afford it for this long.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know -- I love the feedback from all angles!

Chris Rutsch

Hockey Dad

Year round, I spend a significant amount of time and money transporting my three boys to and from freezing cold ice rinks. Not because I expect them to make it to the NHL but because I know the rigorous youth hockey experience will serve them well in the future.