Lance’s Hockey Journey (So Far)
I wrote this for a Goalie Moms forum (yes, there is such a thing). It is a place the Moms can post questions and concerns about their child’s journey through hockey. I have commented on various posts from the other moms, but never posted myself. I thought I would post on my own blog as well. Here it goes:
We come from a non-traditional hockey market, Kentucky! My son is a 2000 birth year. He started playing hockey at 8 years old and very quickly he wanted to try the goalie position. The rink had extra equipment laying around. Coaches said he was a natural. Parents were telling us to get out our checkbook.
After playing as both a player and goalie for a couple of years, he knew he wanted to stick with being a goalie. We did the travel hockey thing.
In the Fall of 2014, it was time to start high school. We knew he would be attending a private HS, which luckily had a club/travel hockey team. We traveled to play teams in IN, OH, TN, so the boys could play the game they love. For several seasons, he was the teams ONLY goalie. (Don’t get sick, don’t get injured, right). High School hockey was FUN!
January, 2018, late winter of his Senior year, he tells us he would like to play Juniors. We had heard of Juniors, but that was about it. The local college showing some interest at the time told him they wanted him to get a couple of years of Juniors under his belt. This from a D2 club team! WOW! They recruit! We had no idea!
We were late to the party. We scrambled to understand all we could about Juniors. By the time he graduated HS in May 2018, most Junior teams had already had tryouts. He was able to find a couple of 18U tryouts and a Juniors summer showcase. At the showcase, my husband and I talked to coaches to better understand this Juniors thing. Thankfully, every coach was very nice and generous with their time.
However, what they told us wasn’t very encouraging. We were told “it is tough for goalies”. There are more goalies out there than there are spots available, and that most coaches are conservative and would rather stick with an “OK” goalie they know, rather than take a chance on a kid they don’t know. We were also told that most teams select their goalies early in the year, so be prepared to not find a team.
That summer we also learned that there are politics in hockey. Even though he may have been one of the best goalies at the tryouts and the showcase (true!), the coaches would tell us they had to go with the goalie already in their program. Or they would say we can’t take a chance on him since he is from KY. (also true!)
Frustration set in. In August of 2018 we heard of tryouts for a tuition-free Tier II start up league. We drove the 5 hours to the tryouts, he played well, he got an offer. Perfect! The downside: the team was 20 hours away, in south Texas. Wait, WHERE? However, when you see the excitement in your son’s eyes, that he will get to keep playing the game he loves…in TEXAS, you say OK.
I cried on the drive home as we were leaving my son so far away. Then I learned the distance bothered me more than him. He had good life experiences there. He got to play hockey with legitimately good players. Some of his former teammates are now in the USHL and NAHL. But by December of 2018, the league went bust. The stress and sickness I felt cannot be described.
He wanted to keep playing, so we scrambled to find another team for the second half of the year. This one was “only” 12 hours away on the east coast. To sum up that awful experience, let’s just say he was nothing more than a check to them. (My son, my husband and I take some satisfaction knowing this team is no longer around).
Surprisingly, after the debacle of the 2018-2019 season, he wanted to continue this Juniors journey. By this time I am telling my husband, “Juniors is a Joke!” He didn’t have any stats from the previous season to show prospective coaches. He got turned down a lot. It is the first time in 11 years of hockey that I heard him say, “I am ready to quit”. It broke my heart.
We heard about one more showcase in Chicago for the USPHL Premier league. We told our son, “Let’s go. Last chance. If this is a bust you can quit, but you must give it one more shot”. The end result: just like the showcase the previous year, he shined. Only this time, three teams offered him a spot! We interviewed all three coaches and decided on a team. The team he went with was new in the league and only 3.5 hours away. In our discussion with the head coach, the first thing he talked about was development. Our son craved development! We had a good feeling about the coach. He was genuine.
The good, bad and ugly of the 2019-2020 season? He had a great life experience; the organization is top-notch, run by caring, conscientious people. He had a ton of coaching as well as a ton of goalie coaching from TWO goalie coaches! He was on the ice up to 6 days a week, with some days multiple ice times, off-ice conditioning 5 days a week, great teammates that will be friends for life, occasionally he would get shots from some of the pro players in town, plus he was doing volunteer work: schools, animal shelters, and coaching the younger teams and goalies. He had a great billet family that enhanced his overall experience and 4 goalies on the roster. Wait, HOW MANY? Four goalies? By Christmas we figured out he was the number 3 goalie. Hmm….not what the family was expecting.
My son on the other hand was HAPPY! He said he got to do what he loves; he received good, consistent goalie coaching for the first time in his life and HE IMPROVED!!
In January, 2020 he calls me to tell me he wants to go to college in the fall. We thought he would stick with Juniors for his final season, so I was a little shocked and asked him if he planned on playing hockey in college? He said yes he would try out. I asked what is your plan if you don’t make it? His response was, “Mom, I am more than a hockey player”. WISE WORDS FROM A 19-YEAR-OLD! He taught me a lesson that day!
When my son told his Juniors head coach his plans, the coach immediately got in touch with the college coach. Then the college coach and my son started communicating. A week or so later, immediately after a particularly good game, the college coach offered my son a guaranteed spot on the team. My son will be playing for the University of Kentucky, an in-state school, on their pretty darn good ACHA D2 club team. UK plays all home games at midnight, in front of a rowdy crowd of 700-800 students. How fun is that! He is beyond excited! We are beyond excited!
“We are thrilled for Lance and know how much value he will bring to Kentucky’s program. He’s an asset on any team by the way he treats his teammates and how hard he works every day. Lance still has a high ceiling on the development side as well. We were impressed with his growth and know he still has upside.” – Coach Schrock, Fort Wayne Spacemen
The goal of playing Juniors hockey was to get him a chance to play hockey in college, so mission accomplished. And we are fortunate we get to continue to watch our son play the sport he loves, and this time, it’s only an hour away.
I will not lie: It was a stressful 2 years of Juniors. We had plenty of doubts and negative experiences, and plenty of negative comments from friends and family. They asked why are we allowing our son to continue to do this when he is number 3 on the roster? Like, where is our return on investment?
Why? We continued to let our son play the sport he loves! He has grown as a person. The experiences he has had are far greater than most 19 year-olds will ever have. He has lived in three distinct and vastly different parts of the country. At times, he was basically living on his own. He is mature beyond his years.
As parents, we want the best for our kids. We want to see our kids happy! We also want them to become well adjusted young adults who will be contributing members of society.
I hope this helps others to understand the paths our goalies can take. It can be frustrating and stressful. But our kids can learn (and teach us) so much!