It is commonplace these days for players and families to search out help and advice from people outside of their circle of friends and coaches. Oftentimes that circle widens to include paid advisors or agents. Many in this game are honest and good people who genuinely want to help your player reach their goals and dreams in the game. Yet, there are others who routinely practice deceptive sales practices and report inaccurately. Watch out for these types of Advisors.
Falsely reporting Advancements
It is common knowledge to most who follow Jr hockey that the NCDC and EHL are currently jockeying for position on the East Coast. Both leagues are competing for teams and players, and the NCDC/ USPHL has siphoned off some teams from the EHL with their new Tier II Pay to Play model.
One such case was the Boston Terriers (aka Boston Dogs).
The team left the EHL 1/3rd of the way through the hockey season and jumped leagues, taking with them their entire EHL roster. Here is the story from the NCDC website- Boston Dogs To Begin Play In NCDC Effective Immediately | NCDC
The below Advising group proceeded to use this information and claim it as their own advancement. The language that they use in the announcement is misleading at best, as there was no NCDC Boston Terriers during the players time in the EHL. The EHL was their top-level team. Once the team moved, the players naturally went with the team and the organization. This reporting is misleading at best, if not completely deceptive.
Falsely reporting College Commitments
In my 15 years of coaching Junior Hockey I have spoken and worked with a tremendous amount of college coaches to help secure an athlete a college commitment. At the Junior level and at most DII and DIII schools, the direct point of contact for college coaches regarding a player is to reach out directly to their current coach. Their Junior Coach. To research and find who their advisor is, when there is not even a centralized directory of who is and who isn’t an Advisor, is not something a college coach is going to waste their time doing… so the College Recruiter contacts the current coach…a coach that oftentimes they have a working relationship with.
Chris Cerella of the New Hampshire Avalanche has been coaching Junior Hockey for 20 years and routinely places 15 or more of his current season players into college hockey each season. Do we really think that this advisory group which has been in “business” for a few months or years had anything to do with it? Look at Coach Cerella’s advancements- Alumni
Teehan’s commitment to Western Connecticut? Congratulations to Ryan. I personally made these calls and emails to Coach Friedman at WCSU. At no time during those conversations was there a reference to connect with his Advisor before making a decision.
Poor Understanding of the Level of Play
If someone makes an outrageous claim or misleading statement, and then this information proves to be wildly inaccurate, it should raise many red flags about those persons understanding and knowledge of a particular subject matter.
Such was the case earlier this year when an Advisor associated with a large Facebook Discussion Group unsuccessfully predicated the outcome of a game between an NAHL team and a CCHL team. His prediction was a 15-0 shellacking. The reality was 2-1 and 3-1 close contests. This lack of understanding about the product on the ice says a lot about someone’s hockey knowledge. If this person can be so incredibly off in their forecasting of the outcome, how can they possibly tell your son or daughter which level would be a good fit for him or her?
Always remember that in the end, Hockey Advisors or Hockey Advising is an unregulated business with no governing body overseeing the language, images and likenesses used to advertise and promote these products. This business in the amateur hockey world is vastly different from the NHL, where Agents have to become approved and licensed- Certified Agents – The PA | NHLPA.com
There are many terrific people willing to help your son or daughter advance in the hockey world, and many are Advisors. There are thousands of truly good people operating as coaches, mentors, advisors, and teachers. Do your homework and find ones that are honest, sincere, knowledgeable and genuine.
For more in depth information on Advising Listen to The Hockey Toolkit’s Advisor interviews which came out last winter.
Stefano Cantali interview – The Hockey Toolkit – Interview With An Advisor #2 – Stefano Cantali Advancement Hockey Advising | RSS.com
Tim Madsen interview- The Hockey Toolkit – Interview With An Advisor – Tim Madsen Nexlevel Hockey | RSS.com
Advisor Recap- The Hockey Toolkit – Our Hockey Advisor Recap | RSS.com
By Andrew Trimble
Andrew Trimble is the General Manager and Co- Owner of the New England Wolves Hockey Club. He is also the Owner of Scoring Concepts LLC, a New Hampshire based hockey training company that offers camps, clinics, private lessons and teams. He has coached at all levels from Learn to Skate to College Hockey. For more info on his teams and programs check out- www.scoringconcepts.com or www.ne-wolveshockey.com
To Purchase Andrew’s new book “The Hockey Planner”, click on this link- The Hockey Planner: A Year by Year Plan to Assist You on Your Hockey Coaching Journey: From Learn to Play to Junior Hockey: Trimble, Andrew: 9781963743388: Amazon.com: Books
