Development and Placement Is Individual For Athletes
I traveled to Tier 2 Nationals in Burlington VT and attending the Mass Hockey tryouts recently. It was a great experience and I saw players that I had not seen in a couple of years. I noticed that more and more girls are playing and as more players are in the mix it struck me that how they develop is critical to their path of leveraging their athletics to arrive at the best college for them. Development and placement is all personal process. Some players want only to play at a certain level and don't care if they sit the bench. Some want only the best academic experience, some want only what they can afford, and some just want to play whether it is AHCA Club or Division 3. So you might see the theme here--IT IS ALL INDIVIDUAL. The experience is about the needs of the student-athlete.
Every player and their family situation is different. Therefore every student needs an individual plan that suits them and expert guidance can help to navigate the waters of the college recruiting process. It has been my experience that everyone has a story, an opinion, what they think a player should do. "I know Judy Smith who got a full ride at XYZ school. You daughter can definitely play there ". It is based on their own experiences or learned from someone they know. An athlete should always ask themselves what is right for me, for my situation, for my academics, for what my future holds, for my development. Parents should hold true to these questions and insert "my child" for the word "me"or "my". It is NOT about the school's program, or the team coach,, it should be about your child, the student athlete.
This approach may seem counter intuitive to team play. It may seem selfish and God knows we don't need any more selfish people on this earth ;) However, one MUST approach how to navigate the recruiting process from this perspective because if you don't you will not get the needs of your student athlete met.
Many athletes play for club program that promise the path to college. They will develop you and help you gain access to coaches and proper training and exposure. You will find that sometimes it is difficult for the club to satisfy all of the needs of the players. And as a result the athlete's experience can be compromised at times especially if that athlete is NOT one of the best players on the team. THE Club PROGRAM and its coach will become more important and decide where your child (SA) will go to college to play. Here is an example: say a team has three great players who all want to go to Harvard, the program advocates and decides who they support. The coach interacts with the college coach and what that club coach says determines where your student goes-not the family and the student. After all we can't have all 3 players go to Harvard and your kid is the third best (but the most qualified to be at Harvard). Thus the program may find itself in a pickle and will chose to advocate for the top athlete NOT the top academically qualified. THE COACH will become the more important decision maker. This can happen as HE chooses where he thinks the athlete best fits and this could close off doors to other schools that the athlete truly wishes to go to.
Same goes for how the club program develops the athlete. The program or coach can pigeon hole the athlete a "role player" or a third line grinder. They can describe the athlete as a specialty penalty killer, a superstar, a power player or 6v5 absolute MUST win money player! These examples are how some programs view their own athletes. This is how they coach their kids.
I believe that there is a better way to do this. The aforementioned method of coaching and program decision making has one thing in mind and it is NOT winning necessarily it is putting the PROGRAM needs above the PEOPLE in the program.
All athletes u19 and younger deserve to be developed and coached in a teaching environment. An environment that stresses equal ice time and learning. After all, you are paying customers. I contend that with a good athlete development plan and strategy that the players will develop more, get more options, and WIN more! This approach, however takes teaching, patience, role modeling, time, energy, planning, effort and above all caring about the families and players. Now most programs when you come down to it do care, they are doing what they think is best for your student athlete. The students are getting opportunities but are they getting the right opportunity? Many blame the club program-it's not really their fault-- it really isn't...it is collective problem of what sport has become. It is less about teaching and more about results. Programs, coaches, parents, and players need training about managing the educational and sports opportunities around them. How you do this is up to you and the program that you pick for your athlete. I know one thing though parents MUST advocate and get the information to make the best decision for their child. If you do this you will be in the drivers seat to make the best INDIVIDUAL decision for the athlete.
