My 5 year old daughter has been participating in a free to learn program and she’s enjoying it. The program is almost over and I’m considering letting her continue to learn, if she wants.

We’ve been given the opportunity to buy the gear they provided for a modest discount vs buying new. It’s mostly lightly used CCM Tacks gear. The savings isn’t great but they’re also providing four classes for free that are usually about $20. This doesn’t include skates but I’m ok renting for now.

I was curious about others experiences. It seems like I should expect to pay about $1k annually for league costs and gear.

I grew up playing AA-junior hockey.

I coached and trained. My son played AAA.

Hockey is the best sport to raise a child in. Girls/ Women's hockey offers them a ton of options.

Older leagues subsidize the younger leagues to keep the back fill coming in.

If she doesn't plan on trying to take it far, let the off season be the off season and encourage other sports.

Throw your wallet out, you're not going to need it anymore.

IDK if it was that expensive for me coming up in hockey. However, I never had the nicest newest gear. And, I have no idea what prices are looking like now. I think for me, leagues were about 4-5 hundred (middle school to high school club and Varsity).

1k, idk about that for gear. A lot of it you replace as you need, and grow out of. I never had new gear, I always bought used. My deal was that my parents would pay for the league, I'd buy all my own gear. So I hit up the used gear stores often.

I will say this - the one single biggest factor to her success will be getting her a good set of skates. I know she'll outgrow em fast - look on the used market. Rental skates are absolutely horrendous. When she has her own, she can find a grind that works best for her, and they fit her just right (baked to her foot).

She doesn't need a fancy stick. Or a fancy anything really. At 5, they're just not abusing gear like that yet.

But skates, man, I'd get your own ASAP.

I can’t share any experience about playing, but after seeing some games in person it looks like it would be lots of fun to play.  Nailing somebody’s ass to the wall at full speed looks like more fun than blindside blocks on kickoffs.

I thought youth hockey all the way up to HS at least only allows incident contact and no hard checking?

I can only imagine with growing kids that you need new gear sizes often. The ice and league fees are what I’d look the closest at as you can’t shop around or trade for used gear with other parents.

It certainly seems that way



I don’t mind buying used gear and I don’t care if it matches either. There is a Play It Again store within a reasonable distance that we can visit. Them growing out of things quickly makes it expensive but at least used equipment isn’t ragged.

I don’t mind investing in good skates if she’s interested. My fear is I’ll spend $500+ on gear and she becomes disinterested.

Grew up playing in Minnesota and played college hockey at Iowa State.  It's the best sport you can put your kids in but it requires ALOT of time / money.  Growing up in a team environment like a hockey team builds tremendous skills in terms of teamwork, sportsmanship, coachability, social skills, work ethic and just plain old fun.  It also is so time demanding that it helps keep kids out of trouble in my opinion.

In MN, traveling wasn't so bad growing up because there is so many rinks / teams that our entire conference was within a 30 mile radius.  In Colorado and alot of other states for that matter, it's much different as you have to travel all over the state every weekend during the season to play teams.  Its alot on the parents and very expensive when you start factoring in meals / hotels etc. but also very rewarding (I have 2 kids in youth hockey).

Hockey turned into a lifelong passion for me and I'm still playing beer league w/ the boys at 41 yrs of age and loving it.

Damned if you do damned if you don't I suppose. If she isn't progressing because of rented skates, she may lose interest. If you buy expensive skates and she loses interest anyways, you're out a couple hundred.

I can't advise on that that'll be my problem to hash out in a couple of years (my daughter is two). I want her to pursue motorsports, but seeing as she's terrified of her Strider bike, that may not be in the cards

best of luck to you dad. You're doin it right.

ETA I bought all my gear myself from PIA Sports, all the way up to high school Varsity. When I made that team, my dad pitched in so I wasn't wearing dumpy gear at state games

Once you get into it you meet all the other parents, hand me down's become a thing.  My parent network has alot of older siblings and all that equipment gets sent down to the next generation.  Alof of parents are very generous when it comes to this, at least where im at.

What part of Texas are you in? My oldest boy has been playing youth hockey in Austin for about 7 years.

dupe

Hockey is an elegant sport and requires an athlete to develop multiple skills. Keep her in it.


Play It Again Sports for your youth hockey needs.

Agreed for sure. It does seem to make a fairly well rounded athlete. My son plays roller hockey, soccer, and football in addition to the ice hockey which is his primary passion.


Here in Austin, there just isn't enough used hockey gear to make it to Play it Again. I understand up in Dallas there are many more options since the hockey programs there are much bigger.

The hockey leagues here do tend to keep a pile of loaner/used gear that can be purchased. Our parent network is also really good about hand-me-down gear swaps like another poster mentioned, I expect that would be the same in OPs area.
New skates are one of the costs we just suck up. Skates get abused pretty hard and if their skates are not comfortable, the kids get frustrated. We just plan on a new pair every 2 years (sometimes the growth spurts move that deadline up). Sticks are now my son's responsibility. If he wants the fancy carbon fiber stick, he can mow more lawns and save up for it.

Correct, our oldest is in the 14U age group now and they are just starting to have body contact practice sessions so they can learn to check properly to reduce the risk of injuring themselves or the other player.

My son has been playing hockey since 7th grade, he is now a junior in HS on the HS hockey team. Initially we got a lot of his gear from friends or used.

Skates and sticks are the biggest gear expense, kids grow fast and sticks break.

He played "house" hockey in 7th and 8th grade, probably costs around $800 to $1200 a season. HS hockey is a little more expensive, but it's nothing like the expense of playing on a travel team($8k - $15k).

Hockey at the house league level wasn't too dangerous, they do enforce contact at the younger ages. The contact ramps up in HS, as well as the speed at which things happen on the ice. My son got knocked out in 8th grade from hitting the boards head first, no ones fault he and the other kids just got tangled up, went down and plowed right into the boards as full speed. His other injury was far worse...During a 6am HS practice he and another kids made contact, both fell down. While falling down he caught a skate blade to the leg, right above the skates, where there is no protection. He ended up with a severed tendon and a fractured Tibia. Needless to say he wears the Kevlar socks now, which I would encourage anyone playing to do.

Overall I think youth hockey is one of the best sports. I grew up playing basketball, football and running track...hockey is better. The smell of the gear though....

Not to diminish any kids ability, but around 7th/8th grade the physical and aggressive differences between boys and girls really starts to show. I have seen some fantastic female goalies in HS, but for the most part they don't keep up with boys in the other positions.

I say go for it, hopefully your daughter loves the sport.

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Girls/Womens  hockey does not allow intentional checking at any level.

I was an official for many years.. spent a lot of time on the ice, but I got paid for it instead of paying for it.

I would imagine most rec leagues will be in the same ballpark cost-wise.
If she gets serious though, travel teams easily get into the $10k-$20k range per year.
Hell, my club soccer team was ~$3k-$4k a year not including travel expenses.

Make sure you get them good skates and not the cheapest pair. Preferably something that you can mold to their feet.

Well being on arfcom I assume you’re into guns and already hate money so hockey is the perfect sport for your kiddo.

I think we spent about $300 on gear for my kids first season. There isn’t much of a secondary market for hockey equipment in Florida. Not sure about TX. The youth winter season is wrapping up here and there are typically good deals for end of season sales.

Like another guy here I grew up playing and went on to play juniors and then in college.  

It is a great sport and it isn’t cheap but this sport opened a lot of doors for me in my life.  

Being that she is a female as well should really help her in the future with the possibility of scholarships.

2 of our 3 boys have played hockey (the other plays HS bball).  

The oldest played house until he was 15 and the youngest plays U14AA travel.   (I was up at 0400 to take him to morning skate).

The majority of people and kids involved are wonderful to be around and the experience has been great.  

I never played myself, but love watching the game (stupid Coyotes).

The gear will usually last you a year or two and there's always places to get used equipment.  Seasons usually sound expensive until you realize that they last from Sept to April usually.  

Attached File

My nephew is on a travel team.  Say goodbye to your personal life and free time if his experience has taught me anything about youth hockey.  That and $$$$$$$$$.  Parents regularly getting tossed out of the arena for harassing the refs is another perk you get to witness.

I have two sons who play AAA level (16U and 15U).

You are doing her a tremendous favor by starting her out at the age of 5.  Having her on skates at that age provides such a tremendous advantage over those who don't start until 9 or 10.

I would offer that the skates are the most important piece of equipment.  People who are not familiar with the game always balk at the cost of good skates, but these are things you are going to have 120 practices and 65 games a year in.  You wouldn't buy your kid a Walmart baseball glove if they were playing 65 softball games a year.  It would fall apart.

There are specially sized youth sticks for little kids too.  Don't buy a senior (adult sized) stick and just cut it down for her.

Both my sons play travel hockey. Squirt (10U) and bantam (14U).  Yes it cost a lot. Yes it can be stressful. Yes it is very fun. We have been to tournaments in Buffalo, Charleston, Pittsburgh, Clevland, Boston, Virginia and prob a couple other places. It is basically our vacations. Between the 2 of them, we are basically at the rink every night.  It is a year round sport. Spring is tournament team time.

If you do it, don't be one of those parents that chases the letters. Make sure your kid is on the team they should be on. I have seen kids that have been put on a higher team because of parent interference and many will quit after having a horrible year. Better to be one of the top kids at B vs the end of the bench at A. I know parents say it is better because the kid practices with better kids and will get better. Sure maybe. But the kid will also be made fun of and yelled at by the kids when they make a mistake. No one will pass them the puck because they will just turn it over. Can your kid handle that and still have fun? Well, no they can't. they will quit.

Both my kids play AA level on successful teams. An AAA coach asked me numerous times to let my younger play on his team. I declined. First off, his current coach is really good. Second his AA team will probably be better than this AAA team. Third, he is 9 and all his friends are on the team.


It is a game. Let the kids have fun. I have said, parents are the worst part of travel hockey. No one is going to the pros. They all will be playing beer league in 15 years

My 16 yr old just wrapped his travel season and let me know he won't be playing next season.  He started at 4 and played every year but 1 in that span due to concussion.  Other posters have mentioned that travel hockey is very expensive (over $10K last season w/ travel expenses) and requires vast amounts of time.  I'm not going to lie, there were times when I wish he wasn't playing due to cost and time.  Looking back, we shared some amazing memories on and off the rink at tournaments and practices.  I've watched my little boy learn how to be a man, how to be triumphant, how to be crushed by defeat, pain, how to work with asshole teammates and coaches and how to forge lifelong friendships with men you go to war with.  

For us, the game of hockey is but a small part of being a hockey player.  My son may be done with travel youth hockey but the experiences and lessons he learned over all those years will be with him his whole life.  I've played hockey for 30 years and still do at 55. I still love the game and hope my son has forged a lifelong appreciation for this great game!

USA Hockey rules will most likely be what you follow. No checking until 14U Co-Ed. 12U introduces body contact (think of it as rubbing). 10U and below it's mostly incidental.

Girls only is body contact at all levels.

Until 14U, really any gear is fine. Nothing fancy is needed. At the tail end of that age, two things happen. More contact so more protection needed and girls develop into women bodies so "men's" gear (esp pants and shoulder/chest pads) don't fit very well. Fortunately there is a large increase of women's specific apparel available now. I will echo the skates bit from above. I usually get whatever clearance gear I can find and hand-me-downs from one kid to another but skates are new from the store. Don't need to be the top-end but they do need to fit. Just be aware, they really sucker you in with inexpensive "youth and junior" skates which are reasonable, right until you get to Size 6, then they get real expensive.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more expensive sport. Between gear, team fees, travel team, tournaments, etc, I probably spend over $10K a year on two kids.

The Learn-to-play gear is really just that. About the bare minimum. Once you are done with LTP and start playing 8U (when she's 7 or a really awesome 6yo), get real gear.

I guarantee if you post here, plenty of members have shit paying around they would send you. I just got rid of a huge bag of old gear.

Whatever club you join will probably have an annual swap meet or something as a way to buy/sell old gear. And if you are really struggling, many will discount for families in need.

bantam (14u) allows body checking. You have to be playing the puck or attempting to play the puck. No "finishing the check". Below that age group allows body contact. If two kids are going after the puck, and your bodies collide, it is a good play. Now what really happens is that one kid is bigger so the little one falls down, the parents start screaming and the 17 year old hungover ref calls a penalty.

Some other thoughts..

End of season sales and swaps are a good place. Also hockeymonkey.com, totalhockey, etc for clearance stuff.

I have always bought our skates at Perani's warehouse sales. Get some $600.00+ skates that are 1 season old, still NIB, for around $200.00 =/-.

You don't have to worry about skate radius, stick flex, patterns, etc..until the basic fundamentals are conquered. When you no longer have to worry about your feet then you can work on improving your feet. When you don't have to worry about your shot or passing then you can work on improving your shooting and passing. Seen parents dump a ton money on the technical stuff when their kid can never stay on sides, can't catch a perfect sauce pass to save Mother Teresa or has a 6mph slap shot that never leaves the ice.

Don't skimp on helmet protection. Get a good helmet.

Also, be warry of parents who get their coaching card and jump right into wanting to coach travel..

Refereeing is part of the game, kids have to beat the team they are playing against and play better than horrible Refereeing . Until you get to tier level of playing, the ref orgs take anyone with a heartbeat and they have zero fucks to give about calling a good game. An easy way to spot shitbird ref's is watch how they ref the ending of the game you see while your kid is getting ready. Always looking at the ice time clock and waiving off icing when it was clearly icing.

Its best to stay in the corner, away from the stands and the rest of the parents. You usually end up meeting some far better parents when you're in a corner just watching your kid play. The stands in youth hockey are annoying and filled with parents that are perfect and are raising the next NHL'er. Your kid will appreciate a head nod and a fist before a faceoff or after a goal instead of you in the stands acing like jacktard.

Your kid belongs to the coach. They're the coach. They are in charge of development. IMHO, non playing coaches are the best for development and leadership. My sons BEST coach was in his late 60's had a bad knee and wouldn't stray more than 10 feet away from the boards during practice.. I never head coached a team my son was on, I wouldn't. I would help on the ice for defense practice drills and work the door. Only one time I had to finish coaching a game after our head coach got thrown out because the ref's were not controlling a game in Flint. It was bad.

ETA:

Practices shouldn't be filled with game play. Playing the game during practice is a reward. Its an easy out for coaches who lack the skill and the knowledge to run a good FULL practice. Sergi Federov wrote about that in the early 90's when he compared Russian practices to American practices.

Most of it has been covered already

love the game - my twins are U15 playing with the local team and a select team for the region. Heading down to Belgium this weekend and the UK in June for a couple post season tournaments.

My 11 year old just finished his last season  kinds of a bummer but he just wasn't loving the sport as much as he did when he was little.

My youngest is turning 9 this year, he's been having fun and is developing pretty well so far. He just played in his first tournament against other Dutch teams, Belgians, Germans and Welsh.

Gear is a simple hand me down to the younger brothers and then I donate to the club's learn to play program.

I played a bunch of beer league before moving over here but haven't played much myself. They take shit too seriously  practice? Traveling?  See above, I'm too busy. :(

My 7yo daughter and 6yo son have been playing 8u for 2 years now.  They love it.  My daughter started skating with the all-girls 10u and 12u teams and she loves it but still wants to play with the boys.

As far as the gear is concerned, at least in Colorado with the Avalanche, they run a program called Mile-High Mites.  They get 6 training sessions and a FULL set of brand new gear for $225.  Well worth it to get them into properly fitted gear (including skates).  Then places like play-it-again sports while they're growing.  It's true about your personal time.  It can be a time suck and at 5yo you'd want to be careful to not burn her out.  But if she's enjoying it and works hard/plays hard, it will be amazing to watch the grown you'll see in her in just a year or two.

Friendlies, jams, tournaments are great bonding time with their teammates as well.  

Would recommend.

Hockey is great, my son loves/lives it and the community is generally top-notch.

But that said...

Where in TX?  That matters for this question.

DFW area is the king of hockey in Texas and has the most options and a bunch of rinks.  The Dallas Stars org rules with an iron first, for better or worse.  (I *mostly* argue for worse as they have a $$$ driven strangle hold on it...)

Austin area, where we live and my son plays, is OK.  We only have 4-3/4 sheets (4 full size and one 3/4 pond size sheet) in the area, and not everyone gets along (AMHA vs CAHA orgs).  My son has played a couple years of house and will move to travel this coming season.  He's a goalie and we really struggle with goalie coaching here... there will be lots of traveling out of town and mostly out of state to camps and whatnot this summer. It's better for skaters around here.

Edit to add for your original question: just registration fees here are $1500 for rec/house and $5000 for travel.  That only includes a jersey so all actual gear is in addition to that.  Ain't a cheap sport by any stretch. But people are always selling off old gear.  Heck, we even donated our son's first set of goalie gear to a league in Houston trying to just get kids interested.

My son plays in the 14U AMHA house league at The Crossover. I’m sure we’ve crossed paths. We drive an hour each way from Buda for practice and games. Almost as close to drive to the ice in San Antonio but we’ve made too many friends with the Austin families.

My son is just wrapping up his youth career, may continue to play club in college.

If she likes it, do it. It is fantastic for the kids, and great for parents and families too.
In about 8 years your team will want to play in a tournament in Lake Placid NY, site of the 1980 Olympics. Send me a PM and I will drive up and buy you a beer!

More likely you'd cross paths with my wife as she spends much time time at the rink than I do.  Most likely you'd recognize my son.  Goalie like I said... played both 10u house and 12u house and has a thing for tigers...

Pretty similar story here. But, we never made the AAA jump. Only AA here. But it’s an amazing opportunity for growth for young people. I wouldn’t be what I am today without Hockey. My son played until they wanted masks on the ice…..he’s 19 now.


Yeah, house league will break the 1k mark…. At least here in Michigan. Our average ice bill was around 200/550 a month. Pads are not cheap. Sticks can become a second layer of burning money. My last 2 twigs were in the 400$ price range. And depending on how you play, you can bet on loosing 1/2 twigs (at least) a season when they get to teenagers.

Find him a college summer camp for kids playing hockey. A friends kid did it and it was probably the best thing he did as far as sports and it landed him 3 scholarship offers . It exposes the kid to college coaches and players in a small setting.

I have a 5yo that has been doing Pre-Hockey (skating with all the gear and preliminary stick handling0 that has just recently been "called up" and invited into league play that usually starts at 6yo.  It's a great sport for him to engage his motor skills and get 45 mins or so on the ice all to him and that little head of his.  It's been a really great outlet for him.  We're lucky and took advantage of free youth gear they offered when they get rid of the overstock.  They provide skates with the practices and now league cost so double bonus.  Also have had friends that had their kids in hockey so inherited quite a bit of "Littles" gear.  We've had to buy or replace things like stick, gloves (used are nasty), and other stuff, but it's been great seeing him improve his skills and come into something all of his own away from his brother.

Keep her going if you have the time and can.  I intend to bring my little guy unless he becomes absolutely adamant "NO MORE" one day.  So far, he's loving it.

It's the Indian, not the arrow.  The determination in the kids beats expensive gear.  Also, if you coach, eventually the parents will be a-holes.  If there's checking, there can be brutal unsportsmanlike hits; I've seen kids knocked unconscious as a strategy to take them out of the game.  

It's a good sport, and no sunburn danger or mosquito slapping required.  (Shot at soccer, no charge).

He's only turning 10 this summer, so we have a few years.  ;-)  But even at this age, he and my wife are gone around half the summer to be at hockey camps and play on invite tournament teams.

My dream would be for him to play hockey and get it to pay for (part of) college.  The kiddo of course wants to play NHL someday.

College ia fairley attainable.

The N? You and I have a better chance being picked up as walk-ons for a NFL team than someone in the states making it into the NHL.

Statistically, its the hardest league to get into.

The deck is stacked against him... I'm only 5' 10"... my wife's (who is 5'2") family is quite short on average except her grandfather was like 6'5"... given that any NHL goalie needs to be at last 6'3" anymore, it's a big ask... hence why *my* goal is college where he could play at 5'10" or so.  But he's not yet 10... so we'll let him keep his dream for now

The whole game is huge. Back in the day, big players were slow and clumsy. Now they're all monsters that can move, have hands, etc.

Goalies are freaks. That big and able to move how they do.

Game is gonna be crazy in 10 years. I can see some changes happening to the ice surface to open it up a bit.

Do you like travel and hate money?

Then youth hockey is for you.

My son was in it for five years.  It’s a time and money suck.  The parents are assholes.

The positive?  Lots of good friendships were created.

You won't find a tighter knit community. Have played hockey my whole life, and it's how I met my wife (also awesome player).  It can be expensive but I would look around Facebook marketplace and a few other online places for used gear in the earlier years. Just make sure it fits well, you will be burning through gear while they grow.  No need to buy anything expensive now it is the fundamentals and experience that matter.

If you need any insight PM me as I have played since I was 5 and managed a hockey shop for 12 years. Wifey has insights as well.

Go get it!

Ariana Grande looks like she's eight, tit-fucker. I'm giving the pre-school your plate numbers.

fuck you, Cory, your mom's twat's so swampy, not even Ducks Unlimited will touch her.

My parents purchased us used gear, then “sold it” when we out grew it. I learned years later they were selling at very steep discounts to family’s because they could from someone I played against routinely.

My brother and I did not get new or fancy gear until we were traveling and playing competively. We were 14 and 18 and the time.

Eagle Toys NHL Stars Etoiles game (ebay) 1960's - Toronto Maple Leafs vs Montreal Canadians

Our kids both ( Son and Daughter 4 years apart ) played hockey from age 5 or so through high school.  They were both successful and enjoyed the sport immensely.

It is an expensive sport though.  Every weekend is a road trip somewhere with hotel, meals and travel typically being several hundred per week.  You have zero free time during the season and then summer camps, prospect tryouts and then AA/AAA summer hockey traveling teams ruin the summer too.  

It's a sport that requires constant practice at a high level and exposure to college coaches and scouts if you want any chance of moving on.

Thankfully, our kids decided against chasing the big show and settled into STEM degrees in college.

I miss the excitement and friendship of the other families involved, but I have time to enjoy my own interests now.

It's a great experience, but you need to temper it to what your wallet and lifestyle can accommodate.

SRG

I'd be happy if my oldest played on a competitive ACHA team . We'll see what happens over the next few seasons. They'll be second year bantams next season. Not sure if we're headed back to VA after that or if I finagle a gig in Germany.