TPM #249: Youth Sport Parents Need to Pull Their Head Out Of The Sand.

Lawsuit by former Canadian Hockey League player demonstrates how delusional youth sport parents expectations can be.

A former Canadian Hockey League player (a 20 and under elite development league in Canada)  has joined a lawsuit against the league claiming he was treated as disposable.

A recent article by Ian Mendes of The Athletic documents the plaintiff’s case, and quite frankly it made me roll my eyes!

(Photo of Isaiah DiLaura playing for the Portland Winterhawks on Dec. 28, 2019: Alika Jenner / Getty Images)

Let’s establish a few things in batting this around.

·       Elite youth sports, in general, do not take into account the best interests of the young athletes.

·       They have turned into businesses that, like all businesses, need to generate a profit.

·       The product in these elite sports leagues are the athletes.  These leagues generate sponsorships, ticket sales, merchandising and other revenue in various ways by placing an entertainment product (youth athletes) on display in return for money.

·       The leagues themselves can provide multiple benefits to the youth athletes, including highest level of competition,  experience, exposure and skill development so they can move on to the next level.

·       The very best, yet still the minority, in these leagues make a living for a period time as professionals.  

·       While many teams provide first class care for their athletes, and in the case of CHL have a very strong education scholarship program, their main purpose is to be a profitable business.

·       For families and young athlete to not enter into these leagues, and their associated activities without doing some due diligence is borderline negligent.

Let’s look at the situation around the young athlete in this lawsuit.

He was a 17 year-old from Minnesota, USA who was drafted to play in the CHL in Prince George, British Columbia.

For those of you not sure where Prince George is, it is way up there in northern British Columbia. 25 hours drive from the family’s home, and many hours away from their closest team in the league.

Players on teams in the Western Hockey League of the CHL have historically spent hundreds and thousands of hours on buses travelling to games throughout the winter in playing a 70+ game schedule.   They get very little money, but do receive room and board and expense money.  They are expected to keep up with their high school work despite having a schedule that would leave nothing left for anything other than hockey.

This is well documented process that has been in effect for 75+ years.   Junior elite hockey development though the CHL is seen as the path in pursuing a pro career.   It is perceived as the best path, but it is not the only path. (More on that in a second)

These elite programs are not unique to Canada or hockey.  Youth athlete development in Olympic sports and other team sports like soccer and basketball are also run similarly, often putting the organizational interests ahead of the athlete.

In 2024, in leagues like the CHL, like many aspects of life, families of young athletes need to be advocates for their children in pursuing paths of development that prioritize their best interests. Being advocates for our kids is required in health care, education, and in the sports they pursue, including youth sport.  We have a responsibility to vet out where and who we are leaving our kids with, especially when but not limited to being under 18 years old.  This applies to the skills coaches and strength programs that we sign them up for just as much as the leagues and teams they decide to play for.  It also applies to the universities they chose to go on and scholarships they accept. The youth athlete family always has choices.

Do parents really think that leagues like this are going to prioritize their athletes more than their families will or should?

While we would probably all agree that 17 year olds should probably not be dropped off 25 hours away to play hockey in another country,  many chose to do that.  This is fine, as long as they understand the realities of the experience.    

 According to the story in The Athletic, the athlete’s education was not prioritized, he was traded multiple times without much input and there was not a lot of financial compensation.  If the family had done their due diligence, they would have found that none of this is news or particularly exceptional.  This is how they operate.

It does not make it right, but it should not have been a surprise.

A 17 year-old hockey player in Minnesota has multiple options to play hockey. The USHL is a developmental hockey league based in the USA. This is one option that would have been closer to home and kept him NCAA scholarship eligible.

High School hockey is very big in Minnesota.  This is another option that many have taken to a university education and professional contracts.

Here is a news bulletin for youth sport parents and athletes:  Elite sports organizations and universities treat athletes as commodities. They are disposable.  Again, this is not right, but we do have a choice on whether and how to participate.

I grew up with the advice from my father that if “you are good enough, the pros will find you”.  This advice, at its core influences how youth sport choices are navigated.

That is not the slogan that many youth sport teams and organizations adhere to today. The current slogan is more like “ if you want to go to next level, you need to go play here _______”.

Parents ! 

EYES wide open to the realities of youth elite sport!!