We are often asked by hockey players if they should quit hockey at age 18 or 19 when the player realizes he won’t play major junior or NCAA Division. 1. Although our responses vary due to the uniqueness of every situation, the common theme in our answers is to play competitive hockey as long as you can.
The reality of junior hockey is we have a very small window between the ages of 16-20 to play the game. Moreover, due to the competitiveness of AAA midget, Junior A and Major Junior, hockey players don’t have the luxury of having the ability to take a year off with the option of returning to the game at the same level.
On the flipside, we have our whole lives to work 9-5 jobs and have a much longer window for college. In addition, I know of many successful businessmen and professionals who did not get into their line of work until age 25 or later. The success of someone’s career is not based on how they fare straight out of the gate, but rather the longevity of their career.
Even if a player isn’t a lock to make a Junior A team at 18, we still encourage our players to play junior hockey the first year out of high school. From there, our answers vary depending on the calibre of the player and how much they love the game. But we often encourage all Junior A and Major Junior calibre players to remain in junior hockey for their 19-year-old seasons.
That said, it is important to plan for your long-term future. We encourage our players to begin preparing for college while they play junior hockey. Many of our players have upgraded their high school marks and have taken part-time secondary-education classes prior to advancing to college.
The bottom line is eventually we are all told we can no longer play the game at a high level. Try to make the most of that time before you are told the inevitable.
@IceExposure