Advisor Horror Stories – Part 3
Thank you to everyone who reached out following the last few articles. It is sad, but relieving to know, so many share similar experiences.
Once again, over the last several years I’ve experienced a dramatic increase in the number of advisors and the usage of advisors in the Youth and Junior Hockey landscape. There have been some benefits for many kids in their interactions with advisors, and I would consider some advisors to be personal friends of mine, however overall, I have seen more negatives than positives. Truthfully, when I first became involved with coaching in Junior hockey (around the 2010 season) rarely did I ever encounter a player or parent who had any interest or was contracted by an advisor. More often than not we as coaches informed players during that period that they could NOT have an “Agent” or “Advisor” as it could negatively impact their NCAA eligibility.
The last few years NCAA rules have changed however, and while there is still much more stringent guidelines that professional bound- NCAA players have to follow, the market for the Junior Hockey Advisory business has become saturated. See this link for NCAA guidelines and Agent restrictions:
Agent Certification – NCAA.org: Hockey Advisor Horror Stories – Part 3Around the 2017-18 season I started to see a gradual increase in the number of players being represented by advisors. Between the years 2010-16 if you had an advisor, you were more or less an outcast on the team. Often, I would hear “kid thinks he’s going to the NHL” by teammates in reference to the player working with an advisor, but that gradually changed where many kids on a team were dealing with an assortment of advisors. The level of hockey I am proudly coaching at hasn’t drastically changed mind you. Yet, the number of advisors in players ears telling them they are better than the level they are currently at or directing them to tryouts at different levels has.
As I’ve stated in previous posts… the advisory “business” is an unregulated, non- certified business in which individuals have to adhere to Zero background checks or oversight. The Advisor gains when the client knows nothing…
CASE #4- The Discounter
Over the years we’ve had many advisors explicitly instruct their clients to ask for a reduction in their tuition. It’s a common theme. With our Junior Program we offer a tremendous amount to our athletes in regard to practice ice and gym time (we have our own gym), uniforms, apparel and travel all included in tuition. Our tuition is our tuition, and we have what I strongly believe is an affordable price for a premier experience, that has an extremely high ratio of players entering the program and then exiting the program with a college destination.
Not once in the 10 years I’ve been with my program has an Advisor secured a player a college commitment for us. These commitments are driven by the league and our geographic location, the player (and his parents- with affordability and grades at the utmost importance), and most importantly the players’ coach. The players’ coach is the access point by which the college coach will connect with the player.
Given all that… why do Advisors, who oftentimes charge the player/parent close to the same dollar amount as the team tuition we have for their advisory services, ask for a discount on the athlete’s tuition?
We had a defenseman a few seasons back who had an advisor adamantly ask us to take him for our team. Texts, emails, calls non- stop. We were reluctant to take him at the time due to our leagues import rule which restricted the number of players we could have from outside the United States. But the texts, emails, calls continued non -stop. “You need to take him”. “He’ll help your team”.
When he arrived, he was completely out of shape. In no way shape or form was this athlete ready to play a season of competitive hockey. In fitness testing during training camp, he finished in the bottom two players in the program and exceeded 10 minutes in his mile run.
When I informed his “Advisor” of these struggles, and that his playing time will be extremely limited until his conditioning improved, the Advisor shot back hard with claims that our tuition was not fair if we were not playing him top minutes. That he was going to stop paying his tuition… that he would need a discount to reflect his playing time.
I remember distinctly asking… “What kind of advice for a player is that?!?!?”
If you are advising a player and your player is not ready to play because his own conditioning is so poor, the best advice you could give them is “GET IN BETTER SHAPE SO THAT YOU CAN PLAY AND HELP YOUR TEAM.”
If you advised that same player to travel all summer and attend every NAHL combine and tryout camp, without telling the player that they need to get in the gym, get on the track, and get in great shape, how are you helping the player?
If you advised the player and at the first sign of struggle blamed someone else (the team/coach in this case), and used the team’s tuition as a scapegoat, without ever discounting your own (perhaps worthless) advice… what kind of player or person are you developing? How are you being a role model to that athlete?
Parents and Players please ask yourself what kind of advice you want to receive from your advisor. Do you want to be sent information on team openings at levels of play that your player is currently not capable of playing? Do you want to spend an endless amount of money on tryout camps? Do you want screenshots of college rosters without any information on that college’s educational opportunities? (ALL THESE INSTANCES HAVE HAPPENED) Or do you want hard and real advice that can help your player become a better player and a good human being?
Once again… not all advisors are bad. Established, trustworthy agents and advisors can provide immense help to many people. However, this business is unregulated and exists outside of any governing body. Most of the international advisors I have worked with have been tremendous benefits for their clients and players. Visa paperwork, language and translation issues and much more are needed for these players to arrive, thrive and play hockey in the US. However, no background checks are required to become a player Advisor. Advisors are not approved or sanctioned. There simply is no oversight… so choose wisely who you are getting your advice from.
Enjoy the rest of your week. Part 4 comes next week.
