I started interacting with USA Hockey on the program management side in 2014-15, as General Manager for our New England Wolves Junior team here in Laconia, NH. In 2015-16 I hired a youth coach, and we expanded into youth hockey with the Wolves, operating 16U and 18U teams. At the conclusion of the 2017-18 season I became part owner of the Wolves. Now we have Learn to Play and 8U cross ice hockey up to EHL Junior hockey, all under the same management and logo, here in Laconia. 20 + years of coaching, 10 years of management and 40 years in the game.
I cannot say I would want to do anything else. Working in hockey is a wonderful and life- affirming experience, that allows you to teach and grow the game at the grassroots level, while also experiencing (when done correctly and with integrity) many of the thrills of championship seasons and college and pro advancements for your athletes.
I’ve also witnessed a lot of the downside and negative aspects of running both for- profit and non-profit amateur hockey. With a decade in the management side of hockey, and my entire life in the game of hockey, it’s time for some changes, and it starts at the top with our governing body. Here are some of my thoughts on the subject. They are arranged in random order.
1- The Myth of “Hockey is for Everyone”– Here in Laconia we operate one of the most cost- efficient and consumer friendly programs available. Uniforms included in tuition costs, mandatory off- ice for our players (which comes at little cost but provides immense benefit), Free equipment available through our equipment swap program, Free Street Hockey in the Month of May each year and a Free Learn to Play program that lasts for 5 months, is run by our Junior coaches (and players) and introduces players to the sport for little to no cost.
With a growing customer base, why does USA Hockey keep upping the fees for all their registrations, while providing no additional benefits?
Why does USA Hockey keep changing the rules (mandating new courses and curriculum) and upselling on their coaching education program?
Why does USA hockey make Host and Billet families register for USA Hockey? USA Hockey Registration
A whole section of this article could be on equipment costs…. but $300 sticks? Give me a break. Composite Hockey Sticks | Pure Hockey
The introduction point of entry into hockey gets more expensive for coaches and players each and every season. How can we say hockey is for everyone, if we are continuing to make it more difficult, laborious and time consuming for everyone to get involved.
2- State Associations– I am not involved with governing New Hampshire hockey in any way, but as a program operator, I have to interact and abide by the rules on a day-to-day operational basis. This year alone we had rule changes that caused us (after our program rates were already set) to purchase new scoreboards and additional ice for our Mite program, and start earlier than historically, due to the parity tournament that determined Tier levels. This equated to nearly a month worth of ice and practice time that we did not budget for as we were using previous year templates.
When you start a season earlier it has as great effect on a family and child’s sports schedule. Burnout and fatigue become a real issue.
USA Hockey puts out a lot of information on the benefits of multi- sport athletes, but they are talking out of both sides of their mouths. Click on these links. It’s all about Multi Sport Athletes (which I firmly agree offers tremendous benefits).
Offseason Recipe for Long-Term Development
Why High-Level Coaches Love Multisport Athletes
Multi-Sport Successes Abound on Minnesota’s North Shore
If your state associations are requiring parity play or tryouts deep into the baseball season, or beginning at the same time of your local fall soccer season, how can a family possibly play multiple sports, especially with multiple kids in a family?
Furthermore, state associations, in particular here in New Hampshire, do little to nothing to actually grow the game. Programs do not get a check from the state association to be used to pay for ice time for introductory hockey, or “Try Hockey for Free” day. You can petition the state for funds from USA Hockey’s pool of money sent to each state earmarked for non-profit organizations, but that money is handed out by the state with little to no disclosure on who gets it and how much.
Teams that are successful, have to then pay state tournament fees for qualifying for their state playoffs… so the better your team does, the more it costs to operate. Would this USA Hockey money be better served assisting programs who have successful seasons or running initiatives to grow the game? I think so. More often than not however, these state governing bodies only serve as rule- enforcement agencies that pose punishments and fines on programs and individuals, thereby making hockey more expensive and tougher to navigate.
3- Junior Hockey Expenses– I’ve read and seen a lot of advisors and families weigh in on this issue and they simply do not know. The USPHL and EHL left USA hockey (and the BCHL left Hockey Canada) for very real reasons, and almost none of it was addressed by USA hockey.
The cost of operating a Junior Hockey program within USA hockey is cost- prohibitive. Period. End of Story.
Here are some of the hidden fees.
- Teams have pay to the IIHF $1500.00 per player for an international athlete to play for a USA hockey Jr team. Where this money goes and what it is allocated for, I have no idea. The fee is less for a Canadian (was $150.00 last time I paid it).
- Teams acquiring back US born Hockey players from Canadian hockey programs have to negotiate a trade or compensation to acquire back that player to play for a USA Hockey Jr team. Compensation can be up to several thousand dollars. This means if you have a player from upstate NY (near Canada) who plays for a Canadian team for one year, but wants to return home to his hometown team for his age- out year, the program operators within the USA Hockey Jr team have to negotiate with the Canadian club to have a US born player play for his hometown team. This can cost a lot of money time and resources, just for an American player to play in America.
- Advancement Money. USA hockey Jr teams used to get a check paid to their league for advancing players onto NCAA hockey programs. Some years this was $25-30,000.00. This stopped around 2020. Leagues and teams used to have a financial incentive to move kids onto college rosters, and USA Hockey helped pay for it. No more. With the CHL (became eligible this season) now allowed to advance players onto College rosters, US- born hockey players will face increasing difficulty to make US College rosters.
- The Junior Hockey council operates with no seat at the table for smaller leagues, thereby encouraging collusion. When the EHL (Eastern Hockey League) left in 2022 we essentially had no vote on rule changes, compensation, fees, structure of leagues and much more. The USHL had a vote. The NAHL had a vote. The NA3HL had a vote, and the EHL had a vote. The NAHL and NA3HL voted together and essentially cancelled the EHL’s vote.
It’s time for a change…
It’s time for Hockey to get back to growing the game and making products and programs affordable for families. USA Hockey post- COVID has continued to ramp up fees, expenses, courses and bureaucracy since the pandemic. The point of entry is more difficult now than ever, and with Private- equity becoming even more involved with operating rinks and programs, hockey is pricing out families and kids from playing this game. Hourly rink rates are skyrocketing.
We need better for our sport and our game to grow. There is an interest and opportunity in 2025. The excitement of the 4 Nations tournament and the crop of young stars in the game who have flourished to make the game faster and more exciting than ever, make this a perfect time for a revamping of how we operate.
Yes, I agree with having to educate coaches, and programs as well, as to providing safety to our athletes through background checks and SafeSport. These are good things that make our programs and game safer. Yet, I have to believe the point of entry into the game can become more affordable with a reallocation of resources, and the operational costs can become more affordable with the use of AI and advanced technology. Let’s send some costs to “Advisors” instead of Host Families. Make Advisors pay USA Hockey registration fees, complete SafeSport, and develop curriculum that they have to pass in order to do business. Most coaches in the game are not compensated… but Advisors are. Yet, all the fees and expenses are incurred by coaches and programs, rather than Advisors, who operate with little to no overhead and do very little to enrich and grow the game.
Let’s be better for our kids. Let’s make impactful decisions in real-time. Do it for them. Do it for the game.
By Andrew Trimble
Andrew is the GM/ Co- Owner of the New England Wolves (www.ne-wolveshockey.com).
To Purchase Andrew’s new book, The Hockey Planner, follow 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
