alander final inqury project ben haskell

RISING UPBy Ben Haskell

TOUGH ROAD

http://pubpages.unh.edu/~jif4/hockeyeast.html

TOUGH ROAD

Hockey is one of the toughest and fastest sports in the world. To get to the next level you have to be very talented and have a lot of drive, while also knowing the best route to take to get there. You have to know from a pretty young age that hockey is your favorite thing in life and you want to pursue it. Playing NCAA hockey is what a lot of young athletes goals. (Allen, K. M. 2007) Anyone who plays sports wants to advance to the next level. For many people that next level is the NCAA. Playing in the NCAA is a dream all athletes have. What many of these students don't know is how hard it is to actually play there. Playing junior hockey is one of the best ways to reach the goal of playing in the NCAA.

TOUGH ROAD

HARD WORK AND DRIVE

If you want to play college hockey be prepared to work harder than you ever have in your entire life. Junior hockey is one of the best ways to be recognized by D-1 colleges. To play hockey at this level, you must be dedicated and ambitious. This is a preparatory league for the NCAA; this means that they take it very seriously. They have very long strenuous seasons each team in the Eastern Junior Hockey League. This junior hockey program plays 60 games a year, compared to the NHL who play 82 games a year (McCarthy, Dave, ed. 2008). Once you are ready to accept the amount of work you will have to put in then you can think about how badly you really want to play college hockey. It is important to play at many different places, so you are exposed to the rest of the hockey world. Hockey players come from all over to play college hockey that’s why you must go to many development schools. There are many different types of hockey development schools. The first type is an actual prep high school. (Lambert, M. L. 2012) This means that it is just a private high school. These schools must be picked carefully; you must research what private schools have the best hockey program. This helps hockey player’s development because they are still in high school, except their main focus is hockey. The other type of developmental school is developmental camps/schools. These camps vary in skill and intensity. They are meant to just be 100% player development. There is no school involved and is usually done in the summer time or off season. It is an isolated camp that works on developing player’s skills through vigorous work outs and training. The last type of developmental school is Junior college. Junior college is a community college where athletes can play and develop their skills for two years before they go to a four year college. This hockey isn’t very intense, but it is good to take time to get bigger, older and stronger to be able to play at D-1 schools. There is an 8.57% chance to go to the NCCA for hockey if you go to a D 2 or 1 prep high school. If you only play in your public high school, you have a .06% chance of making it to a collegiate level.

HARD WORK AND DRIVE

RECOGNIZED

Playing juniors is the best way to get recognized in the NCAA. If you play juniors you should be aiming to play tier 1 or the Eastern Junior Hockey League. This is the major junior hockey program for kids who want to play NCAA College hockey. This is the last step where you still pay money to play, usually 6,000 a year. Players from this league go directly to NCAA Division 1 schools. Although it is not high, the percentage of Jr. A players that play D-1 hockey is only 10.6%. Compared to other leagues, this is a high percentage. Playing hockey is the hardest sport to play Division 1 in college. (Houox, J. R.) The reason for this is because every athlete must take a couple years off before college to develop their skills. The years that hockey players take off is what separates the serious from the less serious. Also going through these vigorous leagues before college shows that you can handle that amount of work, stress, and competition that comes with Division 1 hockey. This just shows how incredibly hard it is to play Division 1 hockey.

RECOGNIZED

DECISIONS

College hockey also has a lot of different levels that range from D1-3, ACHA, NJCAA or club level. The leagues are separated by the skill level and the intensity level of the teams. Division 1 is above and beyond all other leagues, but Division 2 and 3 are similar in skill. Division 1 has 59 elite teams all over the country. Division two only has six teams in its entire division. Division 3 has 73 men’s hockey teams. Since D-2 has such few teams they play the majority of their seasons with the top D-3 teams. The only leagues that are in the NCAA are the D1-3 schools. After these schools the levels of competition are not as serious. It is much easier to make a NJCAA, or club level team. These teams are mainly to have fun, but still have tough competition.

DECISIONS

http://www.pac8hockey.com/affiliations.htm

DECISIONS

DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS TILL THEY HATCH

If you are looking at these NCAA schools, the standard recommendation from most educators and parents has been to pick a school where you will be happy at and look at hockey after. This is said mainly because of the saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. Parents and educators are worried too many athletes throw away all other opportunities just to keep their hockey dreams alive. If you are talented enough you will be picked up or noticed by the best hockey teams. Playing hockey in college is very hard to do, so you have to be sure you want hockey to take over your life. You should never put hockey 100% in front of school. The best way to prepare you for college hockey is to do it early. You must put yourself on the best path to the NCAA, and realize that’s what you want in life, before high school. You must get into very competitive programs at a young age to get recognized.

http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=205416383

DEVELOPMENT

There are many different ways to get recognized and play Division 1-3 hockey. There are a lot of coaches and recruits that are coming out for many Prep and USHL leagues. The NCAA is separated by divisions, but even within these divisions there are different levels of difficulty. To play for a quality NCAA team is the toughest part. Every athlete who has worked hard enough to play hockey in college won’t want to settle for a poor team. Playing for a strong, playoff worthy team is what every athlete should be striving for. There is not just one list that gives you everything you have to do to make it to college hockey. This is one of those things that you have to work to get and continue. It is 100% in your hands. Brian McLaughlin, head of recruits for the NCAA actually stresses how hard it is to play D1-3 colleges even if you go to a top prep school. He says that a prep school is a very good idea, for just high school. They also stress school and grades because even if you make it to NCAA it’s even harder to make it your career. All coaches and recruits look at grades. Grades are very important because you may be good enough to play at their school but maybe not have god enough grades to get into their school. Prep school hockey is a good way to get recognized for the NCAA. Prep school gives a great opportunity to play very competitive hockey, while receiving a very good education. This way is the best way for wealthier parents or players. It is very expensive to play at top D-1 schools, because they usually are big schools with 10s of thousands of students. Prep hockey gives the student athlete another opportunity in case they give up on their dream of playing college hockey. It is definitely good to get other perspectives on college hockey to see what the best decision for each individual athlete is.

DEVELOPMENT

ONE ROAD

The United States Hockey League looks at another perspective on how to get to the NCAA. Many say the USHL is the best road to college hockey. Out of all of the stats and ratios of going to the NCAA and even the NHL the USHL has the highest percentage; 80. This percentage is extremely high, that’s why it is so incredibly hard to play in this league. It explains how a player must pass high school and earn good enough grades to get into college. Although many of these players who play regular shift don't even end up going to play college hockey. What this means is, you could be a starting player on one of these talented junior teams but still may not even make it to the NCAA. One skill these players need to develop over time is being able to except failure. The road to the NCAA is very long, players need to be able to persevere through challenges, injuries and coaches opinions. Every player needs to be able to accept failure and continue to move forward from it. This program is very intense and has the best talent of young hockey players. The program I mentioned is the USHL, this is a very prestigious league and every player must share the same ambition to win. “There’s not a faster or more focused track to the NHL for those who are ready”. Although many players get drafted to the NHL or other semiprofessional leagues it is still a very good tool to play college hockey. The key is are you good enough?

ONE ROAD

http://emswift.blogspot.com/

ONE ROAD

http://emswift.blogspot.com/

BY THE NUMBERS

The USHL focuses how going through this level of hockey at the high school age is best way to get a college spot. Over 250 players from the 2011-12 season received scholarships to play NCAA Division 1 hockey. There is no greater testimonial to the work and dedication of young hockey players then to see them mature and grow through the most challenging, but rewarding platform in sports. This sport is so hard to succeed in, which is why no other sport provides so many college routes. Many Jr. Teams have many different college recruits at home games. The USHL Champion ship last year had a crowd of 3,480 people. It also had scouts from over 50 NCAA schools. When you make it to the championship in the USHL you have an 87.2% chance of playing D 1 hockey. Although this gets a lot of students recognized by the NCAA, the players who play here are looking for something more. Out of the 87% only 23% actually play in college. The USHL is meant mainly for aspiring pro athletes. It is useful to find out yet again all perspectives on college hockey preparation so you can figure out what route is best for you. It will show how many players get college looks from all the different ways into NCAA hockey.

BY THE NUMBERS

http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2009/12/9/1186312/checking-back-in-with-the-ushl

BY THE NUMBERS

http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2009/12/9/1186312/checking-back-in-with-the-ushl

DEDICATION TILL THE END

The goal is to help educate parents and players who are finishing high school or prep hockey. Jr. Hockey is very important in becoming a college hockey athlete, especially at top schools. Now very few NCAA players play college hockey without playing some sort of junior hockey first. This gives athletes the opportunity to provide an opportunity for players in this age group to play organized competitive hockey. It also lets the athlete grow and develop their skills to the level they need to be. This article stresses on how important school and juniors are as a combination to success. Unless you are a phenomenal young super star player your grades do effect what college you will be able to get into. You should have back up plans, but the only way to get to the top and go to D1 College for hockey is to dedicate your entire life to the sport. It helps you navigate the junior hockey league. It shows you what is best for your ability and how to get into the system and get your name out to all of the coaches and scouts. It is written by the CEO of the junior hockey association. It also has ideas and recommendations from prior jr. hockey players and players that have gone even farther than that.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/article/692569--spacious-new-practice-facility-for-maple-leafs-marlies

THE FUTURE

The level of time and skill it takes to play Division 1 hockey is why it is the hardest sport to play in college. It is incredibly hard to play at the D 1-3 levels. These divisions are taking very seriously and the skill that is required is unreal. Many athletes who play at this level are 21 year old freshmen. To play at this level you must play some sort of junior hockey, prep school, or some other skill developing program. It is important to look at all the options on how to play in the NCAA, and match that with the level that you are on physically. College hockey requires a lot of hard work, before you even get the chance to play. Athletes work for roughly two years to develop their skills to College level. It takes dedication and drives to get to wear you want to go in life, and if you choose this route be ready for full throttle.

THE FUTURE

http://www.stateofhockeynews.com/

THE FUTURE

http://www.stateofhockeynews.com/

REFERENCES

Allen, K. M. (2007, February 12). Youngsters hoping to realize hockey dreams . USA Today Hockey . Retrieved March 24, 2012, from http://Usatoday.com/Dreams/NCAA

Foster , B. L. (2009, August 13). US Hockey Report: Prep Hockey Recruiting & scouting. College Hockey Prospects. Retrieved April 17, 2012, from http://Http://ushr.com/>

Houox, J. R. (2010, October 7). College Hockey Information. Brockton High School Hockey. Retrieved April 17, 2012, from http://brocktonhighschoolhockey.com/college_hockey_information

Lambert, M. L. (n.d.). Opportunities in Hockey. College Hockey Directory . Retrieved April 17, 2012, from http://www.collegehockeydirectory.com/contents/Articles.aspx

USHL Player Development. (2009, August 8). USHL The United States Hockey League. Retrieved April 17, 2012, from http://www.ushl.com/index.php

alander final inqury project ben haskell

Sports