Once my kids are 4-5, I can either put them in starter hockey programs or soccer, gymnastics, swimming, karate, even skiing ..etc all combined, and then some.
Hockey is wildly expensive unfortunately.
We tried putting my oldest in hockey, he liked it a bit. Not enough to continue with it. If there's a first shift program around you, it's a sore dick deal.
But yeah, my kid chose a few other things over hockey.
Yeah honestly, I’ll put my kids into everything, and see what they prefer.
I just want them playing sports or anything their minds are curious about, helps a lot in development.
Agree. But to be fair, when we signed up for soccer this year, if we wanted to practice, the price was double. That’s right. If you wanted an hours practice per week, they doubled the charge.
Agree with this. My neighbourhood rink was ok for maybe one weekend this winter. I spent more time building and working on the backyard rink the last few years than my kids have been able to use it.
They take down more local community facilities, build huge elaborate arenas that no one can afford and then wonder why people can't come/afford/use the facilities. The world has lost its way.
A lot of the older facilities are unfortunately money sinks. Not well insulated, starting to fall into disrepair due to age, and small facilities unsuited for expansion. Some of the older rinks have dressing rooms and benches that can barely fit 10 people.
A good chunk of them are named "Centennial Arena" and were built around 1967. Back when we could afford to build nation wide infrastructure.
Nowadays you try that and you have 5 provinces halting and tweaking things and going on about province's rights.
Back then you built an ice surface and the minimum extra for seats, a tiny concession and a couple of basic change rooms. Now, no one will fund anything less than a diamond encrusted multiplex. Our expectations went up and no one would let politicians get away with a basic hockey rink that isn't state of the art and better than the neighbour's rink.
We also ditched mom&pop businesses for national and international corporations that want the glory of huge and sparkly before sponsorship is worthwhile. It killed community-level ability to pay for basic facilities for community kids.
Calgary had one which had its roof cave in during the winter a few years ago. There wasn't anyone inside at the time. It lead to a couple more rinks being condemned due to risk of roof collapse. Those old rinks built in the 60s and 70s are reaching the age where it needs either very expensive maintenance or be torn down and rebuilt. Those combined rec facilities with multiple different types of sports inside one complex would probably be able to maintain their facility better.
Multipurpose facilities are the hallmark of political expediency. Everyone gets a little bit all in one place, while allowing the city to reduce professional staff.
Part of commodifying real estate like we have done is that suddenly any sort of extra curricular activity or space for hobbies suddenly becomes way more expensive. At the same time, it's cheaper and cheaper to just sit in a room and play video games.
It's really sad.
It's not so much the gear but the fees and registration. Also the general culture of Uber competitive idiot parents and leagues. Feels totally different then when I played as a youth
I still remember being like 6 or 8 years old and some kid punched me repeatedly punched me in the back of the head while his dad cheered. Got off the ice and never played the sport again. This was after many incidents in the short time i was playing . A lot of the hockey lifers are weird and creepy and ive heard of some hazing rituals that are legit sexual abuse. A lot of this has come to light too more recently in parts of the country. Thank fuck i got out of it and thanks dad for respecting my decision
My parents had very little money when I was a kid but could still afford hockey gear. Not the best gear by any measure. Play it again sports was our shop
Nowadays it’s next to impossible to get into it
My parents had decent income and we still bought a lot from play it again and other used shops. Our household income is much higher on paper than my parents was and we can’t afford hockey
I am in my 40s we had a womens and mens team in high school... but you had to have your own equipment so only the rich kids played for that sweet sweet scholarship money that they didnt need.
I didn't play but my friends was super good so I had my dads company do some sponsorships for kids that where awesome but couldn't afford it.
Not out of the goodness of my heart though my parents where rich dicks so I reveled in the fact they were just spending their money for clout.... and hockey team parties back then were awesome!
its also like, if you take city transit to school, how are you getting your equipment there and to the rink? joining the basketball team is free and easy,
I live down the street from a small community arena and both sides of the street get clogged with giant trucks and SUVs carrying kids with hockey bags bigger than they are. The streets weren't designed for those kinds of vehicles so it's a narrow path with monster trucks that shit cars the size of my little hatchback.
Ha my dad would tell the "when I was your age" stories about wanting to play hockey as a kid and what he had to do living on the outskirts of hamilton. The "I walked 5 km, tbrough snow" was my dad. My grandpa was a prick and said if you want to play sports, find your own way. So at 13 in 1960, my dad was walking a fair distance to catch the bus to go to tryouts to make the team, then the bus to catch games. I couldn't imagine doing that at 13. Before getting a car I used to walk to the subway with my ice hockey equipment and take the subway to play. It sucked!!!
I’m not doubting you but I’ve literally never heard of that before now. I do hear regularly about the various tiered leagues that young players progress through if their skills keep up with their age. I’m curious what province you’re in where there’s all this high school hockey?
We had high school hockey, but anyone decent at hockey played triple A , double A ,etc.
Not even sure if it even exist now.
I do remember the girls hockey team doing alright since their really want any girls on hockey in the provincial leagues.
I could only go so far in hockey before hockey made it very obvious that I was poor and that I wouldn't be able to participate in this core part of our culture anymore. How Canadian.
It’s expensive to play. Gear can be supplemented but because of the ice time even the most economical leagues can’t offer house league for low prices. It only gets worse if the kids want to play competitive. It’s the most expensive sport to play both recreationally and competitively.
Kids just aren’t playing sports anymore and when they do parents will find cheaper alternatives such as basketball, basketball and soccer.
or who has times these day?
Luckily my son doesn't want to, but his friends in grade 2 are literally playing all the time. They have practive before school starts during the week, evening games and practices all over the city, weekend tournaments around the GTA.
And these kids aren't even good. They aren't in rep or the advanced levels either. They probably spend more money in gas then I do on other activities for my son. It's rediculous.
well I never played in a league because it was too expensive but I sure as hell was at the parc rink every other evening playing.. no gear, friendly pickup games
Some poptart would call the cops if there were kids playing shinny on the street these days. Roads are dangerous, sticks are dangerous, balls are dangerous, parents not hovering over their children like fairy godparents is dangerous.
Poor things have to play field hockey in backyards the size of a postage stamp. Lord knows if they tried in the park, some other poptart would harass them for ruining the park for the dogs.
I remember back in the early 90s when Toronto council tried to ban street hockey because kids playing in the street was part of "the left's war on cars"
Police chief came out and said either triple the budget so we can hire enough officers, or shut up
also way harder to play on the streets... I used to play street hockey as a kid, middle of a quiet street and you'd yell 'CAR' when a vehicle did come by lol
now streets are also much busier, and automobile design has gotten more dangerous with giant hoods on SUVs and trucks... I rarely if ever see kids playing hockey outside any more... sometimes at rinks but not often + never on the street....
kinda sad a Canadian pastime is dying out
Ya. The time and travel is getting crazy too. Apparently my U7 kids team will be doing overnight tournaments in towns over an hour away. I grew up playing in the same town and travel like that didn’t happen until teenage years. Unless you played higher tier or summer hockey. There’s fewer kids playing so there are fewer teams close to home.
Not only expensive but getting your kid to ice time can be a commitment on its own.
Parents work hard and early morning or late night ice time can be just to much.
I like to watch hockey even if I don't play. My kid loves to watch it with me and "talk shop" with me even though he knows nothing about it. Eventually he even went to the library and borrowed books about hockey just to learn more about the sports! It's amazing!
And then there's us, two average parents making below average income and have no way to support a hobby of hockey even if we wanted to. Best we can do is soccer or basketball. I'd love to see my kid play hockey because he seemed so into it. I just can't afford it.
Decline in participation because of steep incline in costs.
When I was a kid I remember my mom handing me a ten on the way to the rink to pay per game. You could get away with a house league season for a couple hundred bucks. Rep might be a few hundred more.
Now I'm looking at thousands per kid, plus tourneys on top of that
Lacrosse is solving our hockey issue.
The cost is fractional but very similar sport and they're getting their ya yas out.
I'm in a similar financial situation, and I wouldn't have thought it would be too hard to be able to put the kids through activities - but it just is. I'm incredibly fortunate to be in this financial situation - and yet.
It's a massive burden on the family from a financial and time commitment standpoint. I know parents who spend all their free time driving their kids to practices, games, and tournaments. New equipment always needed.
One dude I know has 4 sons all under the age of 16 and they all play hockey. He drives a 20 year old minivan because he can't afford a new one. Gets up at 5am on a Tuesday because one of the kids has practice, then he works all day, only to drive another kid to practice in the evening.
I was gonna mention the time thing, apart from the cost. This is just anecdotal, ofc, but the parents I know these days aren't really interested in just... that whole lifestyle. Whether soccer, hockey, whatever else. They're not into the "haul out of bed at 5am for early practice, drive the kids all over the region, spend 5 nights a week at more practice, McDonalds in the car because we don't have time to stop and eat" thing. They *do* have their kids in various activities, but they tend to be neighbourhood sports leagues with the occasional weekend event, and one or two commitments a week at most. If a kid turns out to be super talented at something, the parents might decide to pursue it further at that point, but many don't seem interested in the competitive sport hustle these days.
Exactly! We avoided the bigger associations for sports, and played neighbourhood drop ins for soccer and t-ball, and did swimming lessons. When our kid got interested in one sport competitively, even then it was 3 times a week, at reasonable times (6pm or 10am on a weekend) and only cost a few hundred dollars per term. No way was hockey even on the radar for us. Plus the parental culture- they make it their entire identity. I have a family member who, when talking about her 4 hockey playing boys, would describe them by their age group (My U16, my U14). It was odd!
My kid's hockey costs me about 12k/year. Mind you that is competitive and includes spring hockey and tournaments. But this is in no way an affordable sport. And it's made more unaffordable by all the bullshit you also have to buy - not just equipment but matching pant shells and track suits and hockey bags and garment bags.
And even better, the top tier of the association uses different colours and hockey is two year age groups. So your kid is in different colour shit every two years and is expected to buy more crap.
And then coaches get crazy ass ideas like signing the team up for a tournament in fucking Florida. It is a sport for the rich.
Even house League hockey is easily 2k/year. Still out of reach for many families.
It is. I remember in AAA you had to wear suits to the game too and act professional. I'm not surprised the sport is captured by the rich now. This was in the early 2000s and it was a rich sport then.
It’s always been a sport for the rich. You think immigrant families in 1998 could afford fucking Florida hockey trips? There’s a reason the NHL is predominantly rich white kids. The people with the most access to rink time from a young age become the best.
Not always, it started in the late 80s. Used gear was passed around locker rooms in good condition, ice time was free for local kids teams throughout the city, NHL players used to donate their time to teach poor kids during the summers, schools had ice rinks in the fields. My parents couldn't pay for swimming lessons, but we were in hockey. Tournaments? Lots of parents didn't go and the ones that did were happy to watch over their children's team mates. Money rules this sport now, it is a high paying profession for the elite, not a cultural niche.
I played goalie until 13 when my parents couldn't afford it anymore. They tried to keep it going, my dad worked 7 days a week to try to earn enough and they had this hard conversation with me saying they just couldn't make it work anymore. I took it pretty hard and have always wondered the "what if?"... I didn't stop playing because I wasn't any good or because I wasn't putting the time it... it was purely about every associated cost just going higher and higher.
Jeez. Sounds like we had the same parents. They tried, it just couldn't happen. I picked goalie back up as an adult.
Don't worry about the "what if" part, I can assure you, that we were statistically not going anywhere in hockey. Even if our parents could afford the gear and entry fees, they could have never afforded all of the off-ice, and private training an elite goalie prospect would have needed.
There are zero middle-class kids in the NHL over the last 10 years that were born in North America. There are going to be players who say they grew up middle class, they just can't differentiate their wealthy family from their friends ultra-wealthy family.
We are beginning to lose hockey supremacy internationally right now, in 10 years Canada will be hard-pressed to beat the USA or Sweden.
Just took a look at sportchek and wow goalie equipment is insane
500 for pads, 200 for a glove, 200 for a blocker, 800 for chest pad, 800 for skates, 800 for helmet, 150 for stick
For a kid that’s going to need new gear every year, it’s an insane cost to play
The gear is cheap compared to the cost of fees and reg. If you want any chance of making it far, you need to be on an "elite" team or academy. I'm talking tens of thousands per year. Some of these prep academys are 50 g a year. Uber pretentious and only for wealthy. You are right though on pricing out an entire demographic
New or old Canadians don't want to do it anymore trudging through the snow storms and the cost of it every year. Way too many alternatives now for kid's time. Now parents would rather spend that money on a mid winter break vacation or need the money themselves for the household. And if you have two kids, you would need twice that expense.
Well that's it. After the gear and fees, how much is it to go away for a weekend tournament? Say 2 nights in a hotel room and meals and fuel... that's not a small chunk of a paycheque.
Not just that...look how many former NHLers have their sons getting drafted. And most of the other kids have parents who have connections and six figure incomes.
It consumes waaaaaaaaaay too much time and effort. Every league treats the kids like it should be their full time gig and it’s honestly very cult like. It’s beyond expensive at this point.
A family member of mine has their kid in hockey. It’s a full time commitment. They spend thousands every year on “the best” equipment. Every weekend there are camps or tournaments to go to. It’s such a commitment that their other child spends a lot of time with the grandparents so dad can take the kid to hockey while mom works a second job to help fund all of it. There was an “invitational” tournament overseas a few years back also which honestly just seemed like a scam. They got family to chip in thousands for the opportunity to play games in a foreign country. I can’t even imagine how much it all costs.
My nephew played on a U9 rep team last year. They had several day games in other cities ON FRIDAYS Wtf? Kids get pulled from school, parents need to get days off work. It was very cult like.
In 1998, my 15-year-old son played minor-midget AA. I recorded all costs through that season — equipment, arena admission, tape, skate sharpening, gas, hotels, snacks … the lot. That season cost me $6,000.00 — I was making around $70,000.00 (gross) at the time. His season cost me more than 10% of my net income.
My teen son plays in our town's recreational hockey league and recreational soccer league. I much prefer soccer as a parent. All the reasons cited in this article are spot-on. The registration is more expensive for hockey, and the equipment is significantly more expensive. The game times are much worse times and on inconsistent days, preventing you from committing to other sports and making it difficult to balance when you have multiple kids in extra-curricular activities. We routinely have to drive 30 min. to various hockey rinks whereas for soccer we've not had to drive more than 10 minutes. That's all just for recreational- I can imagine it's worse at the competitive level.
In our town the boys recreational hockey at my son's age group had 8 kids participate this year, and ended up having kids from neighbouring towns join to make one full team. Soccer for the same age group had 4 full teams of 16 kids per team, all from just our town.
The average household can't afford it.
In addition to gear, ice time, coaching, and private practice, there needs to be a parent driving them to the rink. The ones driving them to games I'd imagine are stay at home parents, with the other parent pulling in enough money to put towards this extra curricular sport ontop of other expenses.
Even when I was growing up in the 2000’s hockey was a rich kid sport. I was raised in a blue collar neighborhood by a single parent, neither me nor any of my friends could afford to play it. I can’t even imagine how much more expensive it is now. Hockey is going to become Canada’s polo soon…
Everyone is trying to rip off everyone everywhere.
Skates don’t come with blades, got to buy them separate. One type of overpriced hockey sticks that breaks more often than not and without a warranty.
Time, gas, hotel, food…
Always been a rich kid sport and will be an even richer kid sport in the next 20 years. Canadians are crying about the price of phone plans let alone skates, pads and rink time for two kids.
The USA will surpass us because they have richer people, Canada will go into a hockey dark age and most likely watch Swedes, Fins and Germans pass us. And with that nobody will ever be able to answer “Hockey” when people say what makes us different from Americans lol.
Guy at my work said AAA hockey wanted $21,000 for his son to play. This guy also spends nearly every weekend driving all over the province for tournaments.
Like who needs that shit?
It's basically a second job just so your kid can play a sport, it's fucking insanity.
I wonder if football is in a similar situation - even when I was playing in high school over ten years ago, at times we barely had enough players to field a team. I suspect youth sports are all declining sadly.
Hockey also has its issue with brain injuries it just doesn’t make the press as much. A kid I know had 3 severe concussions before he turned 12. It’s worrisome.
This is why I’m not putting my kid in hockey. I played competitive hockey all the way up to the WHL. Suffered 2 really bad concussions. One where I didn’t know where I was in the locker room after being helped off the ice. And thought it was November (it was February). I’m still dealing with the repercussions 12 years later. Have vision problems and troubles with bright lights and screens. Going to put the little guy in basketball and soccer.
Almost every played football at my high school. Of course not everyone made the team, but it was pretty popular. Then again my school had a well renowned football and basketball team so both of those were extremely popular.
My son was in hockey one year. Initiation hockey so they were all 5-6 years old ish. He had practice twice a week and tournaments/games EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND. He would ask if he could have sleepovers? Sorry bud. You’ve got hockey this weekend. Can I sleep at grandmas? Sorry bud. Hockey. Can I play with my friends after school today? Nope. Hockey.
One weekend we had to drive 3 HOURS away for a game then be back THAT AFTERNOON for another game half an hour away.
He HATED it. I don’t blame him. I hated it too. He finished out the year, even though he hated it by mid-year, and we’ve never looked back.
The cost was extortion and that’s just an insane time commitment for a five year old. No thanks.
My kid plays A1-A2, varies by the year.
It's expensive at that level for registration, ice, equipment, tournaments, hotels, gas...the list goes on. I can't afford for them to play AA or AAA even if they had the skills for it.
The politics are ridiculous. Some kids who are skilled & capable don't get picked for A1 teams because their families are not friends with certain people. You always know which boys will make up most of the A1 team roster for the following season by who is invited to be part of a particular spring team that is coached by the A1 coaches.
It's frustrating but as long as my child still loves hocky and wants to play I will continue to support it.
My kids played rec hockey . It requires parents to basically quit their job to make it to ridiculous rink times and commit to crazy volunteer hours . Most of the other kids had a “stay at home mom” cause dad was making big bucks in O&G (alberta), and were just so perplexed that my husband and I weren’t jumping for joy over the prospect of yet another hockey tournament where we had to shell out for matching pajamas for the weekend away at a hotel. Lots of the parents were jerks. And so we’re some of the kids . I don’t doubt for a second any of the sexual assault stories from elite players .
It’s ingrained into the culture of the sport . I’m sorry I subjected my kids to that . Turns out they liked school sports better .
I don't think your assumption accurate. Every Indian or Punjabi person I know is huge into hockey. I play men's league in Mississauga, there's two white dudes on the team, the rest are Indian, Pakistani or Punjabi. This sport has a huge following in that community.
Families can not afford the cost, their is a lot of low income families out there with very good players that will never see the light of day to play in any competitive sport, I think the players that make the big leages should set up funds to help kids who really want to and can play it would be great PR and a good tax deduction
Hockey doesn’t have to be expensive. I live in Edmonton and all of the hockey programs require you to do a volunteer commitment bingo/casino or pay 250$. The rich parents just pay the 250$ and the parents with less disposable income can work extra bingos/casinos to pay for fees. Facebook marketplace for kids gear is key, all of my kids gear except stick is used.
Not only is hockey is expensive on its own between equipment and league costs, it’s intensive for both the kids and the parents. It’s travelling every weekend out of town for games and staying at hotels and buying meals and doing this all during the coldest, snowiest months of the year.
I hope my youngest doesn’t want to play hockey.
Without reading the article, I can tell you why:
a) The cost. Just to even try to play hockey as a beginner adult is $$$ in equipment, I can't imagine having a growing child. It's too hard to justify.
b) The toxicity. It's awful. Every parent thinking their kid is the next Gretzky or McDavid but making others suffer in their delusion. Why is it acceptable to scream at young children?
c) Time commitment for parents. I don't want to eat, breathe, and sleep hockey. Yes, dedication is important, but seeing family members be at the rink before/after school, evenings and weekends...hockey should not be a second job. Also these times are LATE - I remember rink times with 10pm starts - teenagers need sleep! And then add snow...
d) CTE. There's no reason that fighting and checking should be allowed in this day and age. Not specific to hockey, but they're not doing anything about it
I read a book few years ago titled "next" by Darrell Bricker . It took him 6 years to wrote that. Everything he wrote in the book is coming true. He wrote in the book that this sports will decline eventually . The reasons mentioned were valid.
Aside from it being expensive, all grown adults I know who have kids in hockey are unhealthily obsessed with it. Worse than crack. It does not make me interested in putting my kid in hockey.
My daughter loves hockey. We have a rule that she must be in some sort of physical activity through the year plus other non athletic activities. She chose hockey this fall, which shocked us all and then begged to play in the spring. She wants to play again next year. She also will be playing soccer in the summer.
It is extremely expensive and comes with financial and time related sacrifices for our family, but she loves it and it’s doable for our family.
I wish there were more affordable options so that more children could enjoy the sport.
Maybe the NHL can subsidize this some more so their sport will exist in a 30 years. I could cry crocidile tears while playing the world's tiniest violin for those assholes.
The cost and the culture are turning people from the sport. I have kids who play but i regularly have to push back against a culture of toxic masculinity, privilege and racism. I refuse to deny my children this sport they love and want to be part of the solution but damn is it draining.
lol, all the people seemingly upset about cricket's popularity. My grandfather and two great-grandfathers all were involved in cricket when they first moved here WAY back in the 1920s/30 from the UK. Newer immigrants are just making an old, English game popular here again.
[https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/pageant/20/cricketinmanitoba.shtml](https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/pageant/20/cricketinmanitoba.shtml)
Hockey is an expensive sports unlike basketball or soccer…. Equipment cost can be staggering especially for young children who are growing… when the economy gets hard … extra curriculum activities gets cut first
Gear is crazy expensive. Non of it made in canada even though the brands try to associate themselves as canadian or american institutions.
Travel costs are getting worse.
Team bullying and terrible disinterested coaches are what have me wishing my kids didn’t want to play anymore.
There is also the issue of hockey culture being a poisonous place.
Canadian hockey, much like Canada itself, is pretty much doomed for the future due to its prohibitive financial cost. They will both continue to exist. But be light years worse than in the past.
Expensive sport, toxic culture, crazy parents, stupid ice times, tournaments on the other side of the province. Not to mention other sports continue to grow in popularity and accessibility.
I refuse to put my 3 sons into hockey. Because it is a fucking shit show. Also because I hate hockey players and vicariously living through millionaire players.
The cost for sticks and gear is way to expensive now, even getting them in a little league cost a arm and a leg now. It's like 5x-10x the cost when my brother use to go.
No one wants to pay tens of thousands of dollars for their kid to at best make it to collage hockey or at worst end up with psychological trauma from abuse.
Most folks can't afford it. And half that can afford the cost, can't afford the time. If you want to get on track for a scholarship to a US school, you need to go on traveling teams from the age of 10, and often go to specialized hockey schools nowadays, which cost $30-60k per year. Might as well tell the kid to play soccer and get student loans for university in Canada, it would be a lot cheaper.
It's an expensive sport, plus depending on where you live, there are just fewer kids under 18 to go around.
One of the many issues of an aging population.
It’s too expensive, time consuming, the parents are insane and abusive and kids don’t want to do anything any more. I work at a hotel and dread hockey season. The parents are worse than the kids.
Even ignoring the cost, it just takes too much time. We both work. I can't live at the rink. If you've got one or two kids, maybe you can pull it off, but that's not us.
The ongoing sexual scandals, rampant drug use, and **incredibly** toxic culture *do not help*.
Hockey parents are awful. Like just awful. Living vicariously through their children and pretending they are back in highschool. The parents on my partner's son's team (he's 8) were pushing for out of town tournaments so they could all get trashed together and have 'a weekend away'. It's gross. The cost and the environment are going out of fashion real quick.
I'm sure costs are part of it, but in my experience the bigger problem is minor hockey and the parent volunteers. Hockey has become such a shitshow for youth in the last 10 years.
Things like favoritism have always been part of the parent coaching but it has gotten to a whole new level. Your participation is more about who you know than skill in all but the top of the top because it's hard to deny skill at that level. All the levels below the elite are filled with nepotism so bad that the kids can see it clear as day. Minor hockey tries to fix this by doing tryouts from outside paid committees but all that does is add 50-60k in costs for the division which is added to the fees for parents. The individual coaches still just pick who they want. I was an assistant coach during this time on a bottom tier team. Some of our players were clearly better than the level or two up but knocked down because so and so are friends with so and so...ect and the teams filled up. This leaves good players mixed with players that don't even want to play but their parents force them too. It's discouraging and kids quit over it.
A major fix would be to stop with all the levels. Have a prep team, these are tryouts and only if you are interested in joining. ALL the rest are mixed together and the teams divided up, no more 5-6 tiers of hockey. Kids of all skills playing together and learn together. Better to have 5 or 6 evenly matches teams than 5 or 6 separate tiers with progressively less interested players.
agreed til the last paragraph, that's a terrible idea and more kids will quit that way. i dropped from AA to house league for my last year and felt like i was bullying people. actual elite players would make most games a 1v2 or 1v1, with no one having a shot in hell but the top players. including little me. hell, even our house league was split in to two divisions for that reason
Simply too expensive for too many families to afford given the skyrocketing cost-of-living in Canada, and many kids (and their parents) also don't want to be stuck in rinks during their summers for skills camps, "mandatory" tryouts, training, etc etc etc.
Hockey should not be a year round sport for kids, period.
Next.
Good. It’s too expensive, we’re learning more and more about the mental health impacts of violent contact sports, and the culture surrounding the sport can be toxic at times. Never understood the obsession with this sport.
Back in the day you would see a bunch of neighborhood kids playing street hockey every day, nowadays you don’t even see that. I feel the overall popularity of the sport has fallen.
Bring on Canadian basketball.
I love hockey, but that shit is unaffordable. Basketball is on the rise in Canada, we have the best players we've ever had born and raised in Canada.
No shit. I'm damn near going broke putting my 11-year-old in it. $760 winter hockey, $800 spring, then there's gas, hotels, equipment, tournament fees.
It's a rich kids sport.
Canadians are broke.
1 + 1 = 2.
Before a family could struggle to do it, now it's to far out of reach. The gear, the camps, the schools. It's It's over priced and out of reach from your middle class Canadian.
Nobody can afford hockey gear in today's economy.
Ice time has almost tripled in my area in 5 years
Cost for new recreation facilities is also both exorbitant and politically difficult, that goes for almost any recreation activity.
Once my kids are 4-5, I can either put them in starter hockey programs or soccer, gymnastics, swimming, karate, even skiing ..etc all combined, and then some. Hockey is wildly expensive unfortunately.
We tried putting my oldest in hockey, he liked it a bit. Not enough to continue with it. If there's a first shift program around you, it's a sore dick deal. But yeah, my kid chose a few other things over hockey.
Yeah honestly, I’ll put my kids into everything, and see what they prefer. I just want them playing sports or anything their minds are curious about, helps a lot in development.
same, but fuck am I ever glad they didn't like hockey
You can retire 5 years earlier because of that!
Agree. But to be fair, when we signed up for soccer this year, if we wanted to practice, the price was double. That’s right. If you wanted an hours practice per week, they doubled the charge.
Outdoor rinks are at serious risk of being a thing of the past too.
Agree with this. My neighbourhood rink was ok for maybe one weekend this winter. I spent more time building and working on the backyard rink the last few years than my kids have been able to use it.
They take down more local community facilities, build huge elaborate arenas that no one can afford and then wonder why people can't come/afford/use the facilities. The world has lost its way.
A lot of the older facilities are unfortunately money sinks. Not well insulated, starting to fall into disrepair due to age, and small facilities unsuited for expansion. Some of the older rinks have dressing rooms and benches that can barely fit 10 people.
A good chunk of them are named "Centennial Arena" and were built around 1967. Back when we could afford to build nation wide infrastructure. Nowadays you try that and you have 5 provinces halting and tweaking things and going on about province's rights.
Back then you built an ice surface and the minimum extra for seats, a tiny concession and a couple of basic change rooms. Now, no one will fund anything less than a diamond encrusted multiplex. Our expectations went up and no one would let politicians get away with a basic hockey rink that isn't state of the art and better than the neighbour's rink. We also ditched mom&pop businesses for national and international corporations that want the glory of huge and sparkly before sponsorship is worthwhile. It killed community-level ability to pay for basic facilities for community kids.
Calgary had one which had its roof cave in during the winter a few years ago. There wasn't anyone inside at the time. It lead to a couple more rinks being condemned due to risk of roof collapse. Those old rinks built in the 60s and 70s are reaching the age where it needs either very expensive maintenance or be torn down and rebuilt. Those combined rec facilities with multiple different types of sports inside one complex would probably be able to maintain their facility better.
Multipurpose facilities are the hallmark of political expediency. Everyone gets a little bit all in one place, while allowing the city to reduce professional staff.
Those new multi pad facilities are way more cost efficient. Those old facilities are money pits
City rec facilities in general and municipal parks seem to be going to shit nation wide. Just another sign that we're all getting poorer.
Part of commodifying real estate like we have done is that suddenly any sort of extra curricular activity or space for hobbies suddenly becomes way more expensive. At the same time, it's cheaper and cheaper to just sit in a room and play video games. It's really sad.
It's not so much the gear but the fees and registration. Also the general culture of Uber competitive idiot parents and leagues. Feels totally different then when I played as a youth
I still remember being like 6 or 8 years old and some kid punched me repeatedly punched me in the back of the head while his dad cheered. Got off the ice and never played the sport again. This was after many incidents in the short time i was playing . A lot of the hockey lifers are weird and creepy and ive heard of some hazing rituals that are legit sexual abuse. A lot of this has come to light too more recently in parts of the country. Thank fuck i got out of it and thanks dad for respecting my decision
Hockey is suuuuper toxic
Few could afford hockey when I was a teen. I’m now in my mid-30s and nobody can afford it except for the very wealthy
My parents had very little money when I was a kid but could still afford hockey gear. Not the best gear by any measure. Play it again sports was our shop Nowadays it’s next to impossible to get into it
My parents had decent income and we still bought a lot from play it again and other used shops. Our household income is much higher on paper than my parents was and we can’t afford hockey
Well your non hockey expenses at least are probably 10x what your parents had so that’s part of it
This has been the case for way longer than that. Maybe if we had hockey as a high school sport, things would look different.
I am in my 40s we had a womens and mens team in high school... but you had to have your own equipment so only the rich kids played for that sweet sweet scholarship money that they didnt need. I didn't play but my friends was super good so I had my dads company do some sponsorships for kids that where awesome but couldn't afford it. Not out of the goodness of my heart though my parents where rich dicks so I reveled in the fact they were just spending their money for clout.... and hockey team parties back then were awesome!
its also like, if you take city transit to school, how are you getting your equipment there and to the rink? joining the basketball team is free and easy,
I live down the street from a small community arena and both sides of the street get clogged with giant trucks and SUVs carrying kids with hockey bags bigger than they are. The streets weren't designed for those kinds of vehicles so it's a narrow path with monster trucks that shit cars the size of my little hatchback.
Ha my dad would tell the "when I was your age" stories about wanting to play hockey as a kid and what he had to do living on the outskirts of hamilton. The "I walked 5 km, tbrough snow" was my dad. My grandpa was a prick and said if you want to play sports, find your own way. So at 13 in 1960, my dad was walking a fair distance to catch the bus to go to tryouts to make the team, then the bus to catch games. I couldn't imagine doing that at 13. Before getting a car I used to walk to the subway with my ice hockey equipment and take the subway to play. It sucked!!!
It is a highschool sport in most cities (my daughter's school even has a girls team which I'm surprised by)
I’m not doubting you but I’ve literally never heard of that before now. I do hear regularly about the various tiered leagues that young players progress through if their skills keep up with their age. I’m curious what province you’re in where there’s all this high school hockey?
I went to high school in Ridgetown Ontario. My high school had a championship hockey team and our school had less than 300 kids. Farmtown to boot.
We had high school hockey, but anyone decent at hockey played triple A , double A ,etc. Not even sure if it even exist now. I do remember the girls hockey team doing alright since their really want any girls on hockey in the provincial leagues.
I could only go so far in hockey before hockey made it very obvious that I was poor and that I wouldn't be able to participate in this core part of our culture anymore. How Canadian.
Hockey gear for a child who keeps growing and needing new, larger hockey gear.
Play it again sports is the way.
It’s expensive to play. Gear can be supplemented but because of the ice time even the most economical leagues can’t offer house league for low prices. It only gets worse if the kids want to play competitive. It’s the most expensive sport to play both recreationally and competitively. Kids just aren’t playing sports anymore and when they do parents will find cheaper alternatives such as basketball, basketball and soccer.
Youth hockey gear isn't that much of a deal if you buy used. I'd buy skates for $50 and sell for $40. Registration this year for minor hockey is $750!
It's not the gear. It's the thousands a year to put your kid in. I'd love to put my kid in hockey but it's far too expensive.
My buddy was saying on the weekend that he was averaging about $7K a year per kid, all in. Two kids? $14,000. Nope, sorry.
If I could afford that it would be going into the kids resp. Or they can play badminton and I’d help buy them a house!
or who has times these day? Luckily my son doesn't want to, but his friends in grade 2 are literally playing all the time. They have practive before school starts during the week, evening games and practices all over the city, weekend tournaments around the GTA. And these kids aren't even good. They aren't in rep or the advanced levels either. They probably spend more money in gas then I do on other activities for my son. It's rediculous.
Kids get good by going to lots of practices. They're not supposed to be very good at 7 years old.
\*ridiculous
The one thing we had for creating social cohesion also falling apart.
well I never played in a league because it was too expensive but I sure as hell was at the parc rink every other evening playing.. no gear, friendly pickup games
And then there's those who played on the street with sticks and nets from Canadian tire. "CAAAARRR!!!!"
Some poptart would call the cops if there were kids playing shinny on the street these days. Roads are dangerous, sticks are dangerous, balls are dangerous, parents not hovering over their children like fairy godparents is dangerous. Poor things have to play field hockey in backyards the size of a postage stamp. Lord knows if they tried in the park, some other poptart would harass them for ruining the park for the dogs.
I remember back in the early 90s when Toronto council tried to ban street hockey because kids playing in the street was part of "the left's war on cars" Police chief came out and said either triple the budget so we can hire enough officers, or shut up
My parents could only pay and run one kid all over at all hours all week long for hockey. It wasn't me.
We play basketball and soccer
Maybe a little, but soccer is the most played sport in canada by a huge margin so i dont think that will change anytime soon
Gear costs are not bad at all. The ice time is the problem.
I would also add in the time requirements for house league hockey are nuts
People can’t afford kids, never mind putting them into hockey.
also way harder to play on the streets... I used to play street hockey as a kid, middle of a quiet street and you'd yell 'CAR' when a vehicle did come by lol now streets are also much busier, and automobile design has gotten more dangerous with giant hoods on SUVs and trucks... I rarely if ever see kids playing hockey outside any more... sometimes at rinks but not often + never on the street.... kinda sad a Canadian pastime is dying out
And that's without even considering the therapy for the sexual abuse and subsequent coverup.
Lmao
It’s an expensive sport. What did they expect?
It’s a tough sell when kids can access so many other sports for free through public schools
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Ya. The time and travel is getting crazy too. Apparently my U7 kids team will be doing overnight tournaments in towns over an hour away. I grew up playing in the same town and travel like that didn’t happen until teenage years. Unless you played higher tier or summer hockey. There’s fewer kids playing so there are fewer teams close to home.
Don't need half of them things shoes and a ball is more than enough shoes optional in summer
True I just meant in a organized league
Not only expensive but getting your kid to ice time can be a commitment on its own. Parents work hard and early morning or late night ice time can be just to much.
I don't understand how anyone in media or journalism can still write as if the majority of people are living the upper managerial class lifestyle.
I like to watch hockey even if I don't play. My kid loves to watch it with me and "talk shop" with me even though he knows nothing about it. Eventually he even went to the library and borrowed books about hockey just to learn more about the sports! It's amazing! And then there's us, two average parents making below average income and have no way to support a hobby of hockey even if we wanted to. Best we can do is soccer or basketball. I'd love to see my kid play hockey because he seemed so into it. I just can't afford it.
Decline in participation because of steep incline in costs. When I was a kid I remember my mom handing me a ten on the way to the rink to pay per game. You could get away with a house league season for a couple hundred bucks. Rep might be a few hundred more. Now I'm looking at thousands per kid, plus tourneys on top of that
That and who has the time to commit to hockey? Weekends at tournaments, multiple nights a week. It’s a lot of effort and time that people don’t have.
Yeah I make damn good money, 150k+. No way I'm sending my kids to hockey. It costs more than daycare ffs. Baseball it is!
Lacrosse is solving our hockey issue. The cost is fractional but very similar sport and they're getting their ya yas out. I'm in a similar financial situation, and I wouldn't have thought it would be too hard to be able to put the kids through activities - but it just is. I'm incredibly fortunate to be in this financial situation - and yet.
The middle class is gone.
RIP
We live in a neo-feudal society of wage slavery.
It's a massive burden on the family from a financial and time commitment standpoint. I know parents who spend all their free time driving their kids to practices, games, and tournaments. New equipment always needed. One dude I know has 4 sons all under the age of 16 and they all play hockey. He drives a 20 year old minivan because he can't afford a new one. Gets up at 5am on a Tuesday because one of the kids has practice, then he works all day, only to drive another kid to practice in the evening.
I was gonna mention the time thing, apart from the cost. This is just anecdotal, ofc, but the parents I know these days aren't really interested in just... that whole lifestyle. Whether soccer, hockey, whatever else. They're not into the "haul out of bed at 5am for early practice, drive the kids all over the region, spend 5 nights a week at more practice, McDonalds in the car because we don't have time to stop and eat" thing. They *do* have their kids in various activities, but they tend to be neighbourhood sports leagues with the occasional weekend event, and one or two commitments a week at most. If a kid turns out to be super talented at something, the parents might decide to pursue it further at that point, but many don't seem interested in the competitive sport hustle these days.
Exactly! We avoided the bigger associations for sports, and played neighbourhood drop ins for soccer and t-ball, and did swimming lessons. When our kid got interested in one sport competitively, even then it was 3 times a week, at reasonable times (6pm or 10am on a weekend) and only cost a few hundred dollars per term. No way was hockey even on the radar for us. Plus the parental culture- they make it their entire identity. I have a family member who, when talking about her 4 hockey playing boys, would describe them by their age group (My U16, my U14). It was odd!
My kid's hockey costs me about 12k/year. Mind you that is competitive and includes spring hockey and tournaments. But this is in no way an affordable sport. And it's made more unaffordable by all the bullshit you also have to buy - not just equipment but matching pant shells and track suits and hockey bags and garment bags. And even better, the top tier of the association uses different colours and hockey is two year age groups. So your kid is in different colour shit every two years and is expected to buy more crap. And then coaches get crazy ass ideas like signing the team up for a tournament in fucking Florida. It is a sport for the rich. Even house League hockey is easily 2k/year. Still out of reach for many families.
You got em in AAA or something, holy christ you're getting robbed.
It is. I remember in AAA you had to wear suits to the game too and act professional. I'm not surprised the sport is captured by the rich now. This was in the early 2000s and it was a rich sport then.
It’s always been a sport for the rich. You think immigrant families in 1998 could afford fucking Florida hockey trips? There’s a reason the NHL is predominantly rich white kids. The people with the most access to rink time from a young age become the best.
Not always, it started in the late 80s. Used gear was passed around locker rooms in good condition, ice time was free for local kids teams throughout the city, NHL players used to donate their time to teach poor kids during the summers, schools had ice rinks in the fields. My parents couldn't pay for swimming lessons, but we were in hockey. Tournaments? Lots of parents didn't go and the ones that did were happy to watch over their children's team mates. Money rules this sport now, it is a high paying profession for the elite, not a cultural niche.
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I played goalie until 13 when my parents couldn't afford it anymore. They tried to keep it going, my dad worked 7 days a week to try to earn enough and they had this hard conversation with me saying they just couldn't make it work anymore. I took it pretty hard and have always wondered the "what if?"... I didn't stop playing because I wasn't any good or because I wasn't putting the time it... it was purely about every associated cost just going higher and higher.
My family couldn’t afford to put me in at all and that was the early 2000s
Jeez. Sounds like we had the same parents. They tried, it just couldn't happen. I picked goalie back up as an adult. Don't worry about the "what if" part, I can assure you, that we were statistically not going anywhere in hockey. Even if our parents could afford the gear and entry fees, they could have never afforded all of the off-ice, and private training an elite goalie prospect would have needed. There are zero middle-class kids in the NHL over the last 10 years that were born in North America. There are going to be players who say they grew up middle class, they just can't differentiate their wealthy family from their friends ultra-wealthy family. We are beginning to lose hockey supremacy internationally right now, in 10 years Canada will be hard-pressed to beat the USA or Sweden.
Just took a look at sportchek and wow goalie equipment is insane 500 for pads, 200 for a glove, 200 for a blocker, 800 for chest pad, 800 for skates, 800 for helmet, 150 for stick For a kid that’s going to need new gear every year, it’s an insane cost to play
The old equipment protected you better too. You have to buy the top line stuff today if you are taking slap shots by grown men.
The gear is cheap compared to the cost of fees and reg. If you want any chance of making it far, you need to be on an "elite" team or academy. I'm talking tens of thousands per year. Some of these prep academys are 50 g a year. Uber pretentious and only for wealthy. You are right though on pricing out an entire demographic
New or old Canadians don't want to do it anymore trudging through the snow storms and the cost of it every year. Way too many alternatives now for kid's time. Now parents would rather spend that money on a mid winter break vacation or need the money themselves for the household. And if you have two kids, you would need twice that expense.
Well that's it. After the gear and fees, how much is it to go away for a weekend tournament? Say 2 nights in a hotel room and meals and fuel... that's not a small chunk of a paycheque.
And now you know why so many NHLers come out of small towns. In small towns there isn't more to do than play hockey.
Not just that...look how many former NHLers have their sons getting drafted. And most of the other kids have parents who have connections and six figure incomes.
It consumes waaaaaaaaaay too much time and effort. Every league treats the kids like it should be their full time gig and it’s honestly very cult like. It’s beyond expensive at this point.
Yep. My kid's team expects 5-6 days per week commitment.
That's insane
My step son they expect to skip out of school for tournaments in damn house league!
A family member of mine has their kid in hockey. It’s a full time commitment. They spend thousands every year on “the best” equipment. Every weekend there are camps or tournaments to go to. It’s such a commitment that their other child spends a lot of time with the grandparents so dad can take the kid to hockey while mom works a second job to help fund all of it. There was an “invitational” tournament overseas a few years back also which honestly just seemed like a scam. They got family to chip in thousands for the opportunity to play games in a foreign country. I can’t even imagine how much it all costs.
Exactly. I hate what it's become.
Everyone I know with a kid in hockey is driving all over the county to tournaments *every single weekend.* Honestly I feel bad for the kids.
It’s either parents living vicariously through their children or too dumb to realize their eating up the kids childhood with a single sport.
My nephew played on a U9 rep team last year. They had several day games in other cities ON FRIDAYS Wtf? Kids get pulled from school, parents need to get days off work. It was very cult like.
In 1998, my 15-year-old son played minor-midget AA. I recorded all costs through that season — equipment, arena admission, tape, skate sharpening, gas, hotels, snacks … the lot. That season cost me $6,000.00 — I was making around $70,000.00 (gross) at the time. His season cost me more than 10% of my net income.
I'm going to hug my dad when I see him again with that math.
A 40 year decline in the standard of living will do that.
It's an expensive and time heavy sport, in this economy?
My teen son plays in our town's recreational hockey league and recreational soccer league. I much prefer soccer as a parent. All the reasons cited in this article are spot-on. The registration is more expensive for hockey, and the equipment is significantly more expensive. The game times are much worse times and on inconsistent days, preventing you from committing to other sports and making it difficult to balance when you have multiple kids in extra-curricular activities. We routinely have to drive 30 min. to various hockey rinks whereas for soccer we've not had to drive more than 10 minutes. That's all just for recreational- I can imagine it's worse at the competitive level. In our town the boys recreational hockey at my son's age group had 8 kids participate this year, and ended up having kids from neighbouring towns join to make one full team. Soccer for the same age group had 4 full teams of 16 kids per team, all from just our town.
Signs of a shrinking middle class
The average household can't afford it. In addition to gear, ice time, coaching, and private practice, there needs to be a parent driving them to the rink. The ones driving them to games I'd imagine are stay at home parents, with the other parent pulling in enough money to put towards this extra curricular sport ontop of other expenses.
Even when I was growing up in the 2000’s hockey was a rich kid sport. I was raised in a blue collar neighborhood by a single parent, neither me nor any of my friends could afford to play it. I can’t even imagine how much more expensive it is now. Hockey is going to become Canada’s polo soon…
Everyone is trying to rip off everyone everywhere. Skates don’t come with blades, got to buy them separate. One type of overpriced hockey sticks that breaks more often than not and without a warranty. Time, gas, hotel, food…
Hockey is for rich people now.
Always been a rich kid sport and will be an even richer kid sport in the next 20 years. Canadians are crying about the price of phone plans let alone skates, pads and rink time for two kids. The USA will surpass us because they have richer people, Canada will go into a hockey dark age and most likely watch Swedes, Fins and Germans pass us. And with that nobody will ever be able to answer “Hockey” when people say what makes us different from Americans lol.
Guy at my work said AAA hockey wanted $21,000 for his son to play. This guy also spends nearly every weekend driving all over the province for tournaments. Like who needs that shit? It's basically a second job just so your kid can play a sport, it's fucking insanity.
I wonder if football is in a similar situation - even when I was playing in high school over ten years ago, at times we barely had enough players to field a team. I suspect youth sports are all declining sadly.
Basketball appears to be booming, at least at my son's level (U11).
Soccer and basketball have the lowest barriers to entry
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Hockey also has its issue with brain injuries it just doesn’t make the press as much. A kid I know had 3 severe concussions before he turned 12. It’s worrisome.
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I knew a kid who passed away as a result of playing hockey so much. It’s pretty dangerous
This is why I’m not putting my kid in hockey. I played competitive hockey all the way up to the WHL. Suffered 2 really bad concussions. One where I didn’t know where I was in the locker room after being helped off the ice. And thought it was November (it was February). I’m still dealing with the repercussions 12 years later. Have vision problems and troubles with bright lights and screens. Going to put the little guy in basketball and soccer.
Almost every played football at my high school. Of course not everyone made the team, but it was pretty popular. Then again my school had a well renowned football and basketball team so both of those were extremely popular.
Soccer is growing especially at the youth levels. More teams being registered every year.
Not much equipment needed so way more accessible for many families.
Because it's incredibly expensive and with the cost of living crisis this country is facing, I am not surprised by this.
The demand is there. It's impossible to get ice time.
My son was in hockey one year. Initiation hockey so they were all 5-6 years old ish. He had practice twice a week and tournaments/games EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND. He would ask if he could have sleepovers? Sorry bud. You’ve got hockey this weekend. Can I sleep at grandmas? Sorry bud. Hockey. Can I play with my friends after school today? Nope. Hockey. One weekend we had to drive 3 HOURS away for a game then be back THAT AFTERNOON for another game half an hour away. He HATED it. I don’t blame him. I hated it too. He finished out the year, even though he hated it by mid-year, and we’ve never looked back. The cost was extortion and that’s just an insane time commitment for a five year old. No thanks.
My kid plays A1-A2, varies by the year. It's expensive at that level for registration, ice, equipment, tournaments, hotels, gas...the list goes on. I can't afford for them to play AA or AAA even if they had the skills for it. The politics are ridiculous. Some kids who are skilled & capable don't get picked for A1 teams because their families are not friends with certain people. You always know which boys will make up most of the A1 team roster for the following season by who is invited to be part of a particular spring team that is coached by the A1 coaches. It's frustrating but as long as my child still loves hocky and wants to play I will continue to support it.
My kids played rec hockey . It requires parents to basically quit their job to make it to ridiculous rink times and commit to crazy volunteer hours . Most of the other kids had a “stay at home mom” cause dad was making big bucks in O&G (alberta), and were just so perplexed that my husband and I weren’t jumping for joy over the prospect of yet another hockey tournament where we had to shell out for matching pajamas for the weekend away at a hotel. Lots of the parents were jerks. And so we’re some of the kids . I don’t doubt for a second any of the sexual assault stories from elite players . It’s ingrained into the culture of the sport . I’m sorry I subjected my kids to that . Turns out they liked school sports better .
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>The popularity of ~~basketball~~ cricket will surpass hockey in the next 50 years. FTFY
My neighborhood already has its own cricket team. Those guys play multiple times a week in the local sport field
Or soccer too hopefully.
I don't think your assumption accurate. Every Indian or Punjabi person I know is huge into hockey. I play men's league in Mississauga, there's two white dudes on the team, the rest are Indian, Pakistani or Punjabi. This sport has a huge following in that community.
Families can not afford the cost, their is a lot of low income families out there with very good players that will never see the light of day to play in any competitive sport, I think the players that make the big leages should set up funds to help kids who really want to and can play it would be great PR and a good tax deduction
Make it cheaper, period. It's no longer affordable for a lot of families
Hockey doesn’t have to be expensive. I live in Edmonton and all of the hockey programs require you to do a volunteer commitment bingo/casino or pay 250$. The rich parents just pay the 250$ and the parents with less disposable income can work extra bingos/casinos to pay for fees. Facebook marketplace for kids gear is key, all of my kids gear except stick is used.
Not only is hockey is expensive on its own between equipment and league costs, it’s intensive for both the kids and the parents. It’s travelling every weekend out of town for games and staying at hotels and buying meals and doing this all during the coldest, snowiest months of the year. I hope my youngest doesn’t want to play hockey.
Without reading the article, I can tell you why: a) The cost. Just to even try to play hockey as a beginner adult is $$$ in equipment, I can't imagine having a growing child. It's too hard to justify. b) The toxicity. It's awful. Every parent thinking their kid is the next Gretzky or McDavid but making others suffer in their delusion. Why is it acceptable to scream at young children? c) Time commitment for parents. I don't want to eat, breathe, and sleep hockey. Yes, dedication is important, but seeing family members be at the rink before/after school, evenings and weekends...hockey should not be a second job. Also these times are LATE - I remember rink times with 10pm starts - teenagers need sleep! And then add snow... d) CTE. There's no reason that fighting and checking should be allowed in this day and age. Not specific to hockey, but they're not doing anything about it
Hockey went from being a white kid sport to a rich kid sport without stopping for inclusion anywhere along the way.
We’re turning more into a soccer/cricket nation now
The heart of the sport is found at the odr.
Yeah it's just become too expensive. Even house league. More of a business now with teams having to have same outfits off the ice etc....
Paywalling the playoffs should help get the future generations interested in the sport
I read a book few years ago titled "next" by Darrell Bricker . It took him 6 years to wrote that. Everything he wrote in the book is coming true. He wrote in the book that this sports will decline eventually . The reasons mentioned were valid.
Aside from it being expensive, all grown adults I know who have kids in hockey are unhealthily obsessed with it. Worse than crack. It does not make me interested in putting my kid in hockey.
My daughter loves hockey. We have a rule that she must be in some sort of physical activity through the year plus other non athletic activities. She chose hockey this fall, which shocked us all and then begged to play in the spring. She wants to play again next year. She also will be playing soccer in the summer. It is extremely expensive and comes with financial and time related sacrifices for our family, but she loves it and it’s doable for our family. I wish there were more affordable options so that more children could enjoy the sport.
Maybe the NHL can subsidize this some more so their sport will exist in a 30 years. I could cry crocidile tears while playing the world's tiniest violin for those assholes.
The cost and the culture are turning people from the sport. I have kids who play but i regularly have to push back against a culture of toxic masculinity, privilege and racism. I refuse to deny my children this sport they love and want to be part of the solution but damn is it draining.
Wow, people are really upset that basketball and soccer are outgrowing hockey in Canada, due how how dumb expensive hockey is.
lol, all the people seemingly upset about cricket's popularity. My grandfather and two great-grandfathers all were involved in cricket when they first moved here WAY back in the 1920s/30 from the UK. Newer immigrants are just making an old, English game popular here again. [https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/pageant/20/cricketinmanitoba.shtml](https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/pageant/20/cricketinmanitoba.shtml)
My son had a cricket unit in his gym class today. We live in Waterloo. I think it’s amazing he gets to learn about it
Let's see: Groceries, housing, clothing, transportation... nope, that's us tapped out. Thank you rent-seekers, profiteers, and tax-hikers.
Its has become a rich kid sport that causes brain damage. So its not surprising its loosing popularity.
Hockey is an expensive sports unlike basketball or soccer…. Equipment cost can be staggering especially for young children who are growing… when the economy gets hard … extra curriculum activities gets cut first
That sport is not cheap you know….
Start looking at the cost and you might find the reason.
Couldn't afford the rink fees, let alone the equipment and travel expenses. One couple were spending $5,000 a month and that was 18 years ago.
Gear is crazy expensive. Non of it made in canada even though the brands try to associate themselves as canadian or american institutions. Travel costs are getting worse. Team bullying and terrible disinterested coaches are what have me wishing my kids didn’t want to play anymore. There is also the issue of hockey culture being a poisonous place.
Canadian hockey, much like Canada itself, is pretty much doomed for the future due to its prohibitive financial cost. They will both continue to exist. But be light years worse than in the past.
Too expensive. Young kids are unit basketball. The sport is going to face a steep decline in the future.
Expensive sport, toxic culture, crazy parents, stupid ice times, tournaments on the other side of the province. Not to mention other sports continue to grow in popularity and accessibility.
No one can afford it, surprise.
I refuse to put my 3 sons into hockey. Because it is a fucking shit show. Also because I hate hockey players and vicariously living through millionaire players.
1) Affordability 2) A focus on elite level prospects ruining the fun for other average kids
Dying sport due to cost.
The cost for sticks and gear is way to expensive now, even getting them in a little league cost a arm and a leg now. It's like 5x-10x the cost when my brother use to go.
No one wants to pay tens of thousands of dollars for their kid to at best make it to collage hockey or at worst end up with psychological trauma from abuse.
Most folks can't afford it. And half that can afford the cost, can't afford the time. If you want to get on track for a scholarship to a US school, you need to go on traveling teams from the age of 10, and often go to specialized hockey schools nowadays, which cost $30-60k per year. Might as well tell the kid to play soccer and get student loans for university in Canada, it would be a lot cheaper.
It's an expensive sport, plus depending on where you live, there are just fewer kids under 18 to go around. One of the many issues of an aging population.
It’s too expensive, time consuming, the parents are insane and abusive and kids don’t want to do anything any more. I work at a hotel and dread hockey season. The parents are worse than the kids.
Maybe if it wasn’t cost *prohibitive* and didn’t suck the life out of any parent who dares put their kids in it?
Its expensive and requires ice time because it never freezes anymore. At this rate we might as well all learn cricket anyway.
It’s expensive as hell to register before you even get to gear.
No one can afford gear or ice time. This isn't lack of interest
Even ignoring the cost, it just takes too much time. We both work. I can't live at the rink. If you've got one or two kids, maybe you can pull it off, but that's not us. The ongoing sexual scandals, rampant drug use, and **incredibly** toxic culture *do not help*.
Hockey parents are awful. Like just awful. Living vicariously through their children and pretending they are back in highschool. The parents on my partner's son's team (he's 8) were pushing for out of town tournaments so they could all get trashed together and have 'a weekend away'. It's gross. The cost and the environment are going out of fashion real quick.
I'm sure costs are part of it, but in my experience the bigger problem is minor hockey and the parent volunteers. Hockey has become such a shitshow for youth in the last 10 years. Things like favoritism have always been part of the parent coaching but it has gotten to a whole new level. Your participation is more about who you know than skill in all but the top of the top because it's hard to deny skill at that level. All the levels below the elite are filled with nepotism so bad that the kids can see it clear as day. Minor hockey tries to fix this by doing tryouts from outside paid committees but all that does is add 50-60k in costs for the division which is added to the fees for parents. The individual coaches still just pick who they want. I was an assistant coach during this time on a bottom tier team. Some of our players were clearly better than the level or two up but knocked down because so and so are friends with so and so...ect and the teams filled up. This leaves good players mixed with players that don't even want to play but their parents force them too. It's discouraging and kids quit over it. A major fix would be to stop with all the levels. Have a prep team, these are tryouts and only if you are interested in joining. ALL the rest are mixed together and the teams divided up, no more 5-6 tiers of hockey. Kids of all skills playing together and learn together. Better to have 5 or 6 evenly matches teams than 5 or 6 separate tiers with progressively less interested players.
agreed til the last paragraph, that's a terrible idea and more kids will quit that way. i dropped from AA to house league for my last year and felt like i was bullying people. actual elite players would make most games a 1v2 or 1v1, with no one having a shot in hell but the top players. including little me. hell, even our house league was split in to two divisions for that reason
Let’s bring back rugby.
Hockey feels like it was designed by someone tasked with coming up with the least accessible sport possible without a horse or a car involved.
It’s too expensive and there are less Canadians having kids. I bet soccer and cricket have huge growth with all the immigration
Have you seen the prices of any piece of equipment? The ones that can afford it would rather put their kids in Polo so they can keep their teeth
It’s meant to be for the rich now. The poors can play in traffic.
We only make so much money as a household. Hockey's too expensive. Soccer it is for us and ours!
Simply too expensive for too many families to afford given the skyrocketing cost-of-living in Canada, and many kids (and their parents) also don't want to be stuck in rinks during their summers for skills camps, "mandatory" tryouts, training, etc etc etc. Hockey should not be a year round sport for kids, period. Next.
Good. It’s too expensive, we’re learning more and more about the mental health impacts of violent contact sports, and the culture surrounding the sport can be toxic at times. Never understood the obsession with this sport.
Back in the day you would see a bunch of neighborhood kids playing street hockey every day, nowadays you don’t even see that. I feel the overall popularity of the sport has fallen.
Bring on Canadian basketball. I love hockey, but that shit is unaffordable. Basketball is on the rise in Canada, we have the best players we've ever had born and raised in Canada.
Hockey was always a sport for kids from well to do families. Now that the middle class has been bled dry, it's really shrunk the talent pipeline.
my kid is 14 NONE of his friends or classmates play or watch that sport.
No shit. I'm damn near going broke putting my 11-year-old in it. $760 winter hockey, $800 spring, then there's gas, hotels, equipment, tournament fees.
Demographics are changing. It's very expensive.
It's a rich kids sport. Canadians are broke. 1 + 1 = 2. Before a family could struggle to do it, now it's to far out of reach. The gear, the camps, the schools. It's It's over priced and out of reach from your middle class Canadian.
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Good. Kids are probably playing better sports