Tournament Teams...exposed.

Yep, yet another post about tournament teams.

Easily the biggest waste of time and money. Just say no.

I realize this is like the pot calling the kettle black cause my older boys have participated in more of them than I wish to admit...and it might even contradict some of the things still up on this website that were written years ago.

But with experience comes wisdom.

My youngest son hasn't participated in them, and an argument could certainly be made that he's not anywhere near the calibre of hockey player my older boys are...and not participating in these types of things could be the reason.

Maybe.

Maybe he got shorted.

I'll accept the argument.

But even still, I can't think of a single spring or summer tournament team experience that really made my kids better hockey players. And, at this venture, I'm not certain that even the social piece or "added" exposure really benefitted them either.

Plenty of kids on their rosters that have probably never even heard of the "Brick".

I even mentioned something along those lines when I used to work in the AHL -- a majority of those guys, one rung down from the NHL, never played in the tournament.

I dunno...maybe I'm more frugal now.

Maybe I'm better at ignoring the fear of missing out.

Maybe it's a combination of things.

But doing the math...these summer tournaments "cost" you over $120 per game, on average.

Tournament fee, travel, food, hotel, uniforms if you need to buy them...we're talking about $700 weekend, minimum, and that's not even taking into account the days you likely have to take off from work too.

Most of these things have a 4-game minimum. Taking in these "extras", that's $175 per game.

And even for the big guys, they cram these things into two 24-minute periods.

One hour ice slots...for what amounts to pick-up hockey.

That's...expensive.

I think it was when my oldest was a squirt that I first did the math. One weekend during the offseason was setting me back over 15% of what his full season tuition was.

And, back then, I was screaming at anyone who would listen about how AFFORDABLE high-end hockey really was.

And, frankly, still is in the grand scheme of things.

I mean...it's still highway robbery...but when you divide it out by the number of hours they get on the ice, it comes back down to level ground.

It's these freakin' tournament teams that are the racket!

And it's all out in the open -- you can "register" a team for these things for like $1800...and then these guys charge each player like $350 for the weekend.

They bring in 18 guys...that's $6300... That easily covers the $1800 team entry fee. A couple coaches split the $4500 profit.

I don't know about your income...but from where I'm standing, that's a pretty sick weekend.

Now imagine...wait, you don't need to imagine...

The tournament has 5 divisions, these guys enter five teams, and now they're driving home on Sunday with an extra $22k in their bank account.

And plan to do it again in two weeks.

Do the math.

And then re-evaluate what your player gets out of it, realistically.

I've long said that private lessons are the smarter way to go.

That's where our money's been going.

That's what I credit my kids' success to.

I think this is why the older the kids get, the harder it is to fill rosters.

We parents know.

We've figured it out.

Now, we all know families that are into this simply because it's fun.

Hey, if you want to try to build a mini-vacation around midday ice times that aren't set in stone until the day before, have at it. I, personally, don't enjoy it.

If I'm going to the beach or the zoo...we're making a day out of it. I'm not going to let an 11:30am hockey game...that starts 45 minutes late...derail my vacation. It just doesn't work for my family.

And all of this said, there are some exceptions.

I've long said that you should only participate in things that move your player closer to their goal.

We did one tournament this Spring. One.

The World Selects Invitational. And the ONLY reason we did it was because it's something on a publicly displayed hockey resume that acts as an added accolade.

This summer, we're doing another one for my middle son.

It actually took place this past weekend...

A bunch of teams dropped out...or probably never even registered.

Just three in the age bracket...so we're playing one another over and over.

One of the teams wasn't even competitive.

Summer tournaments, am I right?

Now for the seedy part that few dare utter out loud.

In a lot of instances, I don't fault these programs or coaches for lining their pockets during the spring and summer.

The good coaches seldom get enough credit for how much they develop their players during the regular season. Like teachers, I'm certain most aren't getting paid what they're worth...so from that perspective, I actually feel good about "overpaying" for these sorts of things as an added "financial" thank you for what they've done for my kids.

But like with investing, there are pigs and there are hogs.

"Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered," -- the whole excessive greed thing.

There are a TON of summer programs that fall into the hog category...making bank off of inexperienced hockey parents every single weekend in these barely competitive tournaments. Once you've played in a few tournaments, you know how to spot them.

We crossed paths with one dude that basically travelled around the world -- THE WORLD?! -- on other people's dime...for half a dozen years.

He'd stand behind the bench of a bunch of 12-year-olds and utter maybe 4 words of nonsense -- good shift -- each weekend, hand out some cheap t-shirts in the locker room to the kids' delight, and then fly off to his next destination...many of which I'd classify as exotic.

These were like Wheel of Fortune style vacations...every weekend.

It was crazy.

Both his lifestyle...and how easy it was...

Since he never stuck around for more than a weekend, the post tournament negativity never stuck to him.

The following year, it'd be a whole new crop of peewee parents to take advantage of.

>Not that hockey and musical theater intersect very often...but it's kinda of like the Music Man (or Monorail episode of the Simpsons). New town every weekend with fresh unknowing "customers".

Dude was a con man. Plain and simple.

Those peewee years are brutal. Always be aware of when you're getting fleeced.

So, on that note, it was hardly surprising that the tournament this past weekend only has three teams participating in my son's bracket.

Experienced hockey parents, with players that are 16, 17 or 18 years old, don't fall for this stuff anymore.

But I had no issue with participating in this silly tournament.

I mean, from a hockey perspective, it was a little disappointing but, from our perspective, this low-end hockey weekend was more a "thank you" to the coaching staff that put the team together ... and who I'd credit for getting two of my kids to the level they are.

So, while this is absolutely not following my own mantra of only participating in things that help your player get to where they want to go...this is the asterisk where it's always good to "financially" thank the folks that got you where you already are.

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.