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I want to share a personal story about youth sports and a conversation I had on the way home from soccer practice with my 7th grade daughter, Alexa and niece, Molly who I coach. I told them about my up and down road as a youth hockey player growing up in Bedford, NH playing for the Manchester Flames. This story may sound familiar to what is going on in many of your homes this fall.

Alexa is a forward gifted with wheels and speed-she is a goal scorer. Molly is what I call a mule(a defenseman like myself) and a journeyman athlete. She is a gifted tenacious athlete born with an athletic build and a killer instinct. They were expressing to me their upset of being “demoted” from the “A” team to the “B” team as this is the first year they are mixed with eighth graders. Most of the team is made up of eighth graders with a few seventh graders chosen that will hopefully crack the line up. I explained to them that this scenario sounded all too familiar to me as this was my same path as a youth athlete and currently as being my profession running my own camps and tryouts for youth organizations. There is always a component of town politics and rite of passage of being the older grade or age on a mixed aged level team. My explanation to them was that things happen for a a reason and is many times can be a blessing in disguise. They will have a better growth year and have more playing time to hone their skills. It is not advantageous to be on an upper level team if you are going to “ride the pine” and sit on the bench. You are better off with more playing time so you don’t have a wasted season for growth.

If you are fortunate to be a top pick and will crack the line up as the younger player in a 7th/8th grade team or a first or second year squirt that is entirely a different story. Advice to campers and parents-take your hits, and let the cream rise to the top. All those years I was up and down from “A” teams to “B” teams myself I never imagined I would go on to play Division One Hockey, play in the NHL, have my idol Ray Bourque as my defensive partner, coach and write curriculums for my own youth hockey outfit that has grown to the largest outfit in the world. In closing…..put your hard hat on and get to work kids. Good things will happen. Swallow your pride and consider yourself welcomed into the wonderful world of athletics.

The greatest athletes in the world have all been there. Let’s talk about our hometown hero-New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. He was a back up quarterback in college and for the Pats until Drew Bledsoe fell to injury. Tom stood up and stole his job, and will now go on to be one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the game.

Sincerely,

Jeff