As I sit here reading articles about junior hockey and see mention of what it costs to play. I am suddenly consumed with the question- Why does Tier 3 junior hockey (Junior B when I played in the 90’s) I still cannot understand the change in description, but nobody asked me. So we will leave that one go for the time being.
A little background, I played in the CSHL (Now the NA3HL) for one season when I was in high school, and I of course wanted to move up to the NAHL or USHL because that is the natural progression of a career and I wanted to play at the highest level, but also because I was conscious of the fact that with three brothers playing it was difficult for my parents to afford the fees. Don’t hold me to the #’s 100% but I am pretty sure it was $1500 a season it may have been $2000 who can remember? Of course I didn’t have to pay it so why would I know right. My two younger twin brothers played for the same team two years later, and I am pretty sure my Dad paid $2500 each for them to play that year. Luckily I was playing in the NAHL by then so there were no fees for me, just housing.
When I coached in the CSHL in the early 2000’s we were charging I believe $3500. That may be incorrect, my memory is fading on me, so don’t shoot me if that is incorrect.
Anyway back to the question at hand, why is Tier 3 so expensive now? Lets use $2000 for our base. I am reading that it costs $8,000-$10,000 to play at this level today. At $8,000 that is a 400% increase in cost in roughly 20 years or so. Ice costs have not gone up by 400%. I know teams have started paying coaches full time salaries, which I argued should have been the case years ago.
If you give them enough to focus on their job, you will get more quality coaches doing a far better job. The problem is that if you raise a coaches pay by $50,000 that is only $2000 per year for 25 players on the roster, not the $6000, 400% increase we see here. I am sure there are reasons for the cost of playing to go up. Inflation drives prices up in every industry. I find it hard to believe it should have gone up this high. Prices in the $8000 and up range are pricing some players out of being able to play Tier 3. I know that I would not have been able to play and my brothers would certainly not have been able to play at the same time. I know hockey is an expensive sport and some people just can’t afford it, but these prices are a little much.
I am sure someone can give me reasons, and I am sure some of them will make sense, but it is disheartening to think of how my career may have changed if prices had been what they are today.
I will look forward to reading your responses.
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