Devils Community Outreach Paying Dividends

[William D'Aquila]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/sports/hockey/in-newark-a-youth-hockey-explosion-on-the-ice.html

[MadDog2020]

That's awesome. Good to see the sport growing in Newark, and good to see the Devils try and help contribute to it.

[RunninWithTheDevil]

the main problem is the equipment companies. They need to do more to make hockey equipment affordable.  You pay maybe $80 for cleats and a glove and you can play baseball, don't expect spending under $300 if your kid wants to play hockey.

[HellOnICE]

Sticks especially. Wooden sticks used to be cheap...now everything is like $100. 

Anyway, the new owners have done an amazing job.

[Chuck the Duck]

It's not just the new owners. The devils have been committed to the hockey in Newark program since moving to the Rock in 2007. It's a credit to the entire organization over the past 8 years.

The new owners have gone even farther and are expanding their reach into rinks throughout NJ which I haven't really seen before. Seems like I see ads on the boards in most northern NJ rinks nowadays as opposed to only a select few years ago. Very smart idea on their part.

[ATLL765]

Sticks especially. Wooden sticks used to be cheap...now everything is like $100. 

Anyway, the new owners have done an amazing job.

IMO, the benefit of the new composite/carbon fiber sticks is way overrated when it comes to little kids. Yes they're significantly lighter, but you can get wooden sticks that aren't too heavy. I have a Montreal wood stick that's real light that I have as a backup. It's a bit crazy the way some people buy top of the line stuff for their kids when they're only 5-10 years old. Once they're a bit older it starts to make a difference.

Only having to spend $30-50 on a stick instead of $150-200 is a big difference. You can probably go with cheaper stuff all around until your kid is older too. Having top of the line skates is a huge expense that is likely unnecessary until they're older as well. Getting those for ~$150 or less will save you a lot of money when a top of the line stick and pair of skates will run you $400+ even for a young kid.

[DJ Eco]

I'm always a proponent of getting the cheapest gear possible for your kids. Granted, I played soccer, not hockey.

 

It's like training with weights on, if you can excel (and love the sport) in less than perfect conditions/circumstances (or substandard gear), you'll be a much better player once you make that leap to the upgraded conditions/gear.

 

I never played on an organized team or travel team or anything in my entire life, just played with my dad in the park (awful grass/hilly pitch) and street. And when I showed up to high school tryouts (at a Prep school, so it was very competitive) on the first day, a ton of kids were complaining about the conditions of the grass. To me, it was a huge upgrade, and I proceeded to beat out a ton of kids for a spot on JV, kids who'd been playing organized sports since they were 5.

 

Kids don't need the best gear, they need to develop a love and passion for the game, and it will take them further than any overpriced gear can. Maybe not professional far, but to a high school/college level far if they're taught to harness that passion the right way.

 

I see my little cousin fussing over having brand-matching sweatbands, shoes, and socks, and the newest equipment in all 4-5 sports he plays over the course of the year, and I just don't think that's the right way to push your kids in sports. That's just me.

 

Hockey In Newark will thrive over the years if they can keep inspiring the kids to love the game and that's all they'll need, and 10-20 years from now, we may see some of these kids in the show.

Edited February 2, 2015 by DJ Eco

[DevsMan84]

IMO, the benefit of the new composite/carbon fiber sticks is way overrated when it comes to little kids. Yes they're significantly lighter, but you can get wooden sticks that aren't too heavy. I have a Montreal wood stick that's real light that I have as a backup. It's a bit crazy the way some people buy top of the line stuff for their kids when they're only 5-10 years old. Once they're a bit older it starts to make a difference.

Only having to spend $30-50 on a stick instead of $150-200 is a big difference. You can probably go with cheaper stuff all around until your kid is older too. Having top of the line skates is a huge expense that is likely unnecessary until they're older as well. Getting those for ~$150 or less will save you a lot of money when a top of the line stick and pair of skates will run you $400+ even for a young kid.

 

Not only that but kids in that age range are not shooting the puck that hard to really break the stick, even if they are made out of wood.  It's quite rare for a 5-10 year old to break a stick.

 

Hockey will never be a poor man's sport because even if you get the equipment dirt cheap, rink time is always going to cost some.  Also inner cities are not exactly known for having many ponds to play hockey on so it's not like they can go outside and play there.

 

With that said good on the Devils for helping out.  Any bit counts and everyone should get a chance to play the game.

[ATLL765]

Not only that but kids in that age range are not shooting the puck that hard to really break the stick, even if they are made out of wood.  It's quite rare for a 5-10 year old to break a stick.

 

Hockey will never be a poor man's sport because even if you get the equipment dirt cheap, rink time is always going to cost some.  Also inner cities are not exactly known for having many ponds to play hockey on so it's not like they can go outside and play there.

 

With that said good on the Devils for helping out.  Any bit counts and everyone should get a chance to play the game.

That's truly the biggest cost: Ice time. Even if you get away with buying all the equipment necessary for your kid with only $300-400, you're still going to need to drop 2-5x that much to get him into a decent hockey program. Then if you're serious you need to sign up for individual power skating lessons and with the way kids grow, you'll need to buy all new equipment at least every other year.

No matter what you do it's a sport that, in the US at least, will cost you a minimum of $1000/year to play. That assumes you managed to find an in house league that's dirt cheap too. If you want your kid to play at the highest level for his age group, it'll easily be $2500+/year. It'd be easy to spend closer to $5000+ once you factor in travel costs.

My 11 year old brother plays travel hockey and my Father must spend at least $5000/year between equipment and travel expenses. Depending on how many tournaments he plays in Canada, the cost for the year could creep up closer to $10k.

[mouse]

Also, unless you're elite, great sticks aren't worth it. They snap just as fast. I get their use if you have a good shot, but how many kids have a good enough shot for the stick to make a difference? For that matter, how many PLAYERS? When I played, we had like 5 guys on the whole team whose performance actually improved with expensive sticks. It's all about comfort, but a lot of sticks are half hype.

[ATLL765]

Also, unless you're elite, great sticks aren't worth it. They snap just as fast. I get their use if you have a good shot, but how many kids have a good enough shot for the stick to make a difference? For that matter, how many PLAYERS? When I played, we had like 5 guys on the whole team whose performance actually improved with expensive sticks. It's all about comfort, but a lot of sticks are half hype.

It's a lot of hype, but it's also an arms race type deal too where parents see other kids with top of the line stuff so they want their kids to have it too and kids always want to have the same stuff their teammates have so they feel like they fit in and whatnot.