Can anyone on this forum justify this

[WB6162]

Absolutely ridiculous behavior by these parents.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/230597801.html

[DrGaf]

Absolutely ridiculous behavior by these parents.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/230597801.html

This is exactly how the Russians ended up with the best teams back in good old USSR days. It's been proven that it works. All it takes is ... uuuhhhhh ... wait ... we beat the commies. Never mind, bad argument.

Friggin parents.

99.2% of our kids are not going pro. (mine of course the exception)

Take a breath ffs.

[jg2112]

Absolutely ridiculous behavior by these parents.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/230597801.html

I think the argument is legitimate, but it's focused on the structured activities this kid is taking part in.

You can see the arguments in this piece about driving the child to AAA practice, to the Miracle Gold Futures, to 1st Athlete. These parents must have gotten a hold of Let's Play Hockey at the Parade Ice Center and applied to all the companies placing ads. At a point it's certainly overkill.

But look at it this way - my daughter does AAA hockey, she does take skating lessons as well. She loves it. But in the winter, instead of a skating treadmill, she goes to the Oval and finds frozen ponds and plays shinny hockey for hours.

Is the article's author against my daughter spending hours upon hours on the ice with her friends, or is the author against my daughter spending hours of hours of structured, program-based time on the ice?

I think I know the answer to this question, and I think it shows what the author is truly railing against.

"How much structured activity is too much" is the focus of the article, not "how much sports is too much."

[InigoMontoya]

She certainly isn't the only kid playing association mites and choice mites.

[goaliedad31]

I wonder if the reaction to this article would be different if it were little Johnny instead of little Jane. Seems to me there are many more examples of boys doing this sort of thing without getting a newspaper article written about them. Not trying to defend it, just pointing out that it seems the distain is much more than if this were an article about little Johnny.

[puckbreath]

I wonder if the reaction to this article would be different if it were little Johnny instead of little Jane. Seems to me there are many more examples of boys doing this sort of thing without getting a newspaper article written about them. Not trying to defend it, just pointing out that it seems the distain is much more than if this were an article about little Johnny.

Silly and pathetic behavior either way.

[jg2112]

I wonder if the reaction to this article would be different if it were little Johnny instead of little Jane. Seems to me there are many more examples of boys doing this sort of thing without getting a newspaper article written about them. Not trying to defend it, just pointing out that it seems the distain is much more than if this were an article about little Johnny.

I think this is a fair sentiment. If the article was about one of the hundreds of girls in this area who pay $150 a month for gymnastics 4 nights a week at age 7, would that move the needle?

If the article was about one of the many Squirt level players profiled at YHH who are traveling the nation playing hockey, enrolled in Northern Educate (how long before that girl is there?) and also playing association hockey, oh wait, that article was already written without the "concerns" about overuse injuries.

[InigoMontoya]

Off the top of my head I can think of a handful of girls that were rostered tournament players on one AAA team, rostered practice players on another AAA team, were picked up for tournament games with one or two other AAA teams, played a couple selects tournaments, were part of an early morning meal type stickhandling club, did a skating clinic, and spent a week at SSM.

[Hard water fan]

If I were Mom and Dad I would hire Marv Marinovich to create a strength program for their daughter that the NHL would eventually pick up as part of their base-line strength testing. Little Suzy could, and would become robo-forward. If it worked for Todd...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_614bgMWe0

[Nevertoomuchhockey]

Off the top of my head I can think of a handful of girls that were rostered tournament players on one AAA team, rostered practice players on another AAA team, were picked up for tournament games with one or two other AAA teams, played a couple selects tournaments, were part of an early morning meal type stickhandling club, did a skating clinic, and spent a week at SSM.

But not at age 7!
I'm all for getting as much ice as possible, but in my experience its the girls who are the best SKATERS who are the ones excelling anywhere below 10u. We put skates on our kids at every opportunity from a very early age, but organized hockey training... Much later.
I also think cross - training, be it soccer, dance, gymnastics, track, whatever... To get the work ethic and athleticism elite hockey requires does not require this elite hockey training program at age 7!
HOWEVER, and this is a big however... That's not my child! I can only speak to the success and failure of my family and what I've seen in this crazy sport (which I love!) and becomes political way too young.
I could start my own hockey school with the $ from the reality show I create based on the lives of the posters in this forum!
I hope that girl doesn't burn out or become injured. I also hope stories like that don't scare off other families who will think 7 is too late to get their kid into the game!

[sinbin]

And I thought that the issue most readers had was with the family's plan to move to Edina!

[Nevertoomuchhockey]

And I thought that the issue most readers had was with the family's plan to move to Edina!

[Marty2013]

This story and little girl have been put through the "forum Ringer" to be honest who are we to say what one family does with their kids. we maynot agree with it, but its not our choice. to me the bigquestion here is Why is this even Article writting Material. What point are they trying to prove in the article? a 7 year olds dedication? or youth sports parents gone wild? I'm sure when the article was written some thought it would be Cute. they are new to all of this - I'm sure they did not expect this. just rememebr its all a fun game / activity. enjoy it.

[Deep Breath]

Marty, you are correct in that it really isn't anyone else's place to tell a family what they should or should not be doing with their kid, espeically if it doesn't have a direct impact on somebody else's life. But when the "story" is broadcast out there, especially about this topic, you know the reaction is going to be swift and you know it is going to be pretty much negative across the board. That said, having been around the youth hockey culture for the past 7 years with my two kids, especially with the summer hockey, what this particular family is doing is nothing out of the ordinary for many others. In fact, there are others that are doing a lot more with kids this same age.

[legalbeagle05]

I know the family and what the Star Tribune editors so carefully decided to leave out was that their daughter takes a lot of breaks - long breaks in the summer and winter, also plays tennis and swims, and now wants to learn golf. They also decided to pick the busiest week of the four months they had followed them - imagine that. Anything to stir up controversy.

The parents - who aren't nuts at all, very nice, laid back folks - were told the article was going to be on finances in youth sports, and were referred by a friend who works at the paper. Then it came out and it was all about "how much is too much" and over-training. Now they are getting slammed and their kid is getting made fun of.

And "the icing on the cake"? That was said in reference to their new possible home that is only a half mile from the training place their daughter goes to - which isn't even a sure thing. NOT the "Edina hockey system."

Really nice people and incredible backlash.