This has been a hot topic for a while now. As a parent with a kid in DSMHL and first year in the high school hockey program, I look at how is the organization fostering hockey development. The Stars have done a GREAT job in getting kids interested in hockey. We did "Try Hockey for Free" in 2019 and he our son was hooked; and we got into the Rookies program. With the help of private lessons (again, hockey is not cheap) he grew fast but that was individually. As kids get older and into middle and high school, there is little hockey development. Enhancements focus on individual skills and "team" practices again focus on individual skills but not the team game. Youth hockey runs also on the backs of parents that volunteer to be coaches; and like myself, may have never played hockey before therefore may not know how to coach the team game. This is no fault of the volunteering parent coach, they only know what they know. This is where the Stars could improve hockey in DFW. Early ages they do great but zero benefit to grow the knowledge of how to play the game. Focus all team practices on the team game, give the volunteer coaches information and guidance on hockey strategy are just some thoughts. While we are new to the high school program, the fact that high school teams get one practice a week is a challenge. Unless your kid is travel hockey ready (and your pocket book and life are travel hockey ready), the development of hockey is in the hands of the parents that volunteer their time and effort as coaches and the few coaches that offer private lessons which we are very thankful for.
I really appreciate your perspective, Brandon. You’re in a unique position to see the growth and the challenges side by side. I’m sure those coaching positions aren’t glamorous, but they are extremely important for the kids you’re teaching. But yeah, practice time is crucial for real improvement, and that looks like it’s gonna keep being a challenge for a while.
I will clarify, I can skate about as good as Bambi does; therefore I cannot lead any practices :) . I have bench helped before. We are thankful for those parents that put their time and effort to allow for rec kids to play.
The relationship of city and Dallas Stars is interesting and never thought of who would be ultimately responsible to build. I always saw it as the Dallas Stars to help grow hockey.
Note: there was a bond in I believe 2018 in McKinney for for another sheet of ice. What and why that never transpired would be interesting to know. The Stars (or the local community) is introducing 2 new sheets in Northlake (near Fort Worth). https://www.dmagazine.com/commercial-real-estate/2024/04/dallas-stars-northlake/
It’s really shameful that our current society doesn’t value common community investments. We are tax averse to our own detriment. From swim centers, to activity centers, to baseball fields, soccer fields, ice hockey rinks, to indoor soccer centers, even senior centers. These are investments in raising active children into active adults into active seniors. I can’t speak for everywhere, but these are public investments made by the communities around the Vancouver CAN area. Instead today we have literally kid-free empty parks and playgrounds except for the dog walker. And, all those northern ponds/lakes are not freezing as much as they were when I was a kid.
I don’t know the fix, but until we all realize that public investments, like public schools, make our society stronger, by helping ALL… then we’re left with a large proportion of us who can’t afford to “play”. Shameful.
Great article Robert. I would love to coach youth hockey but my time as an U16 soccer coach deterred me and probably several others for continuing due to the parents, not the players.
Yeah, I think the issues with egotistical sports parents similarly killed my desire to keep umpiring and refereeing when I was younger. It’s just not worth the abuse sometimes.
Have to say I found the USAToday piece compelling.
The fact Gaglardi just waved away the egregious actions of his organization to shake down parents by compelling them to stay at hotels in order to participate in tournaments - and then taking a cut of those costs - is unacceptable to me. I would expect a much more forceful response such as "such actions are not acceptable in this organization and they will not happen again" not "some people did some things we didn't know about and they're not here anymore". That's pathetic response IMO.
The fact you have numerous instances of parents being shaken down and then threatened...that to me speaks to a culture and culture starts at the top. Gaglardi seems like a really great guy and he's obviously been a high quality owner for the Stars. And yes, all the Stars' investment in youth hockey has yielded many benefits.
But that doesn't mean there's not room for improvement.
And yes, local governments...like state governments and out pathetic federal government...have all sold out communities the whichever big money corporation gave them a steak dinner and some tix to sporting events and you're right to place blame there.
And yes, sports parents are sometimes (often?) the worst (I was laughing at the mother who claimed they were living "hand to mouth" while also saying they spend $30K annually so their son can play hockey while standing in front of a very large well manicured suburban home).
But there seems something wrong in the Stars actions here. They like to portray themselves as part of the community and aggressively leveraging your power to exploit those in the community is not how a good neighbor behaves.
I felt USA report was a bit biased-I do not have a youth in the game but am a Stars fan and Victory Club member. It’s an expensive sport but the Stars have done so much for building the brand and also for the community since moving here, I’m sure some toes have been stepped on in the process. Also I cannot imagine dealing with parents in this sport. It seems like the Stars have already addressed a lot of the issues brought up in this article but that wasn’t emphasized. He didn’t expand much into what has been done by the Stars or what other teams in non-traditional hockey cities have had to deal with.
This has been a hot topic for a while now. As a parent with a kid in DSMHL and first year in the high school hockey program, I look at how is the organization fostering hockey development. The Stars have done a GREAT job in getting kids interested in hockey. We did "Try Hockey for Free" in 2019 and he our son was hooked; and we got into the Rookies program. With the help of private lessons (again, hockey is not cheap) he grew fast but that was individually. As kids get older and into middle and high school, there is little hockey development. Enhancements focus on individual skills and "team" practices again focus on individual skills but not the team game. Youth hockey runs also on the backs of parents that volunteer to be coaches; and like myself, may have never played hockey before therefore may not know how to coach the team game. This is no fault of the volunteering parent coach, they only know what they know. This is where the Stars could improve hockey in DFW. Early ages they do great but zero benefit to grow the knowledge of how to play the game. Focus all team practices on the team game, give the volunteer coaches information and guidance on hockey strategy are just some thoughts. While we are new to the high school program, the fact that high school teams get one practice a week is a challenge. Unless your kid is travel hockey ready (and your pocket book and life are travel hockey ready), the development of hockey is in the hands of the parents that volunteer their time and effort as coaches and the few coaches that offer private lessons which we are very thankful for.
I really appreciate your perspective, Brandon. You’re in a unique position to see the growth and the challenges side by side. I’m sure those coaching positions aren’t glamorous, but they are extremely important for the kids you’re teaching. But yeah, practice time is crucial for real improvement, and that looks like it’s gonna keep being a challenge for a while.
I will clarify, I can skate about as good as Bambi does; therefore I cannot lead any practices :) . I have bench helped before. We are thankful for those parents that put their time and effort to allow for rec kids to play.
The relationship of city and Dallas Stars is interesting and never thought of who would be ultimately responsible to build. I always saw it as the Dallas Stars to help grow hockey.
Note: there was a bond in I believe 2018 in McKinney for for another sheet of ice. What and why that never transpired would be interesting to know. The Stars (or the local community) is introducing 2 new sheets in Northlake (near Fort Worth). https://www.dmagazine.com/commercial-real-estate/2024/04/dallas-stars-northlake/
I hadn’t heard about the McKinney thing. I’ll have to dig into that.
It’s really shameful that our current society doesn’t value common community investments. We are tax averse to our own detriment. From swim centers, to activity centers, to baseball fields, soccer fields, ice hockey rinks, to indoor soccer centers, even senior centers. These are investments in raising active children into active adults into active seniors. I can’t speak for everywhere, but these are public investments made by the communities around the Vancouver CAN area. Instead today we have literally kid-free empty parks and playgrounds except for the dog walker. And, all those northern ponds/lakes are not freezing as much as they were when I was a kid.
I don’t know the fix, but until we all realize that public investments, like public schools, make our society stronger, by helping ALL… then we’re left with a large proportion of us who can’t afford to “play”. Shameful.
One important thing to add here: Gavin Spittle talked with the reporter who wrote the USA Today piece, and he gave more details about why those two coaches were fired, including things like showing up late to practices and not taking things seriously. It's a good listen if you want to get a little more background: https://www.audacy.com/podcast/spits-suds-podcast-67080/episodes/usa-todays-kenny-jacoby-on-the-dallas-stars-monopoly-on-dfw-youth-hockey-f5c20
Great article Robert. I would love to coach youth hockey but my time as an U16 soccer coach deterred me and probably several others for continuing due to the parents, not the players.
Yeah, I think the issues with egotistical sports parents similarly killed my desire to keep umpiring and refereeing when I was younger. It’s just not worth the abuse sometimes.
I can’t imagine being an umpire or referee for youth sports. You seem to have a good personality for that, so your comments speak volumes.
I think coaching is harder! You have to deal with the same parents all season. At least I got to rotate each game!
Have to say I found the USAToday piece compelling.
The fact Gaglardi just waved away the egregious actions of his organization to shake down parents by compelling them to stay at hotels in order to participate in tournaments - and then taking a cut of those costs - is unacceptable to me. I would expect a much more forceful response such as "such actions are not acceptable in this organization and they will not happen again" not "some people did some things we didn't know about and they're not here anymore". That's pathetic response IMO.
The fact you have numerous instances of parents being shaken down and then threatened...that to me speaks to a culture and culture starts at the top. Gaglardi seems like a really great guy and he's obviously been a high quality owner for the Stars. And yes, all the Stars' investment in youth hockey has yielded many benefits.
But that doesn't mean there's not room for improvement.
And yes, local governments...like state governments and out pathetic federal government...have all sold out communities the whichever big money corporation gave them a steak dinner and some tix to sporting events and you're right to place blame there.
And yes, sports parents are sometimes (often?) the worst (I was laughing at the mother who claimed they were living "hand to mouth" while also saying they spend $30K annually so their son can play hockey while standing in front of a very large well manicured suburban home).
But there seems something wrong in the Stars actions here. They like to portray themselves as part of the community and aggressively leveraging your power to exploit those in the community is not how a good neighbor behaves.
That’s about the size of it, I’d say.
I felt USA report was a bit biased-I do not have a youth in the game but am a Stars fan and Victory Club member. It’s an expensive sport but the Stars have done so much for building the brand and also for the community since moving here, I’m sure some toes have been stepped on in the process. Also I cannot imagine dealing with parents in this sport. It seems like the Stars have already addressed a lot of the issues brought up in this article but that wasn’t emphasized. He didn’t expand much into what has been done by the Stars or what other teams in non-traditional hockey cities have had to deal with.