[Morgan] Arizona Hockey Union team hosting charity event in Gilbert to combat participation decline, raise awareness for youth game
[Morgan] Arizona Hockey Union team hosting charity event in Gilbert to combat participation decline, raise awareness for youth game
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While I am sure that the departure of the Coyotes has had some impact, I think a lot of the blame also lies with AZ Ice and Ice Den for how insanely their prices have gone up the last decade.
Adult league seasons are pushing $800 now once you factor in fees and at quick glance, youth leagues have gone up as well. I found a receipt and it was $350 in 2013 for adult league with an early payment, plus maybe $50 more for USA hockey.
It’s not like we have seen a huge increase in minimum wage or utilities costs, so the entire inflation argument doesnt hold much weight when you talk about rising ice time rates since those are the two big expenses for an ice rink.
Mix rising prices with economic turmoil, no wonder participation is drying up.
Maybe my perception of this is wrong, but as a parent of a kid who plays travel hockey in the Valley, I see a few problems. First, it seems to me like most of the associations are more focused on competing against each other and furthering their own interests rather than growing the game in the Valley. Tryouts are a debacle every year. Because the associations hold them at the same time to try and determine who’s committed to their programs, kids and parents have to try and guess where they have the best shot at making a team because they have to skip the others. There may or may not be spots available, depending on who ends up where, and inevitably there are kids that are on the bubble and end up not being offered a spot anywhere who then never play hockey again. Better hope you guess correctly. This happens as early as 10U. Good luck trying to get them back once they’ve been cut and told they’re not good enough to play on your team. Most of them are done with the sport once that happens. It’s not like there are a lot of places to play in the Valley to begin with. Then, of course, you have the cost. On the low end, you’re talking about $5000 per season for a travel team, not including travel to tournaments and equipment. It ends up being about $2500 per weekend once you add in airfares, hotels, meals, etc., multiplied by 3 or 4 for most teams. Of course, not everyone is entitled to play travel hockey, but if you’re a higher level player in Arizona it’s really the only option available. It’s a huge barrier to entry for young kids though. We also have a shortage of ice – especially in the West Valley. There’s a reason there’s not as much interest in hockey in the West Valley – it’s not visible. Very few kids do it because there’s one rink and one association in Peoria. We could really use one in Avondale or Goodyear, but rinks have always been privately owned here – unlike lots of parts of the country where cities or park districts run them. No one is eager to put up a barn though. And without a NHL team and a long string of owners here who didn’t give two fucks about youth hockey when we did, you get have what we have now. Basically, the scene is that we have some VERY good players here, but very poor visibility for the sport, very high barriers to entry, and limited opportunities for your middle of the road kids who are too good to play on house leagues but not good enough for AAA teams. There are things that could be done to make it better here, but it takes money that no one wants to commit and a willingness to put personal interests and pride aside and work together for the betterment of the sport here in AZ. Good luck with that…