If your hockey story starts anything like ours did, one day your daughter announced that she wanted to play hockey.
Now, maybe your daughter has skated since she was old enough to walk or maybe she saw an older sibling playing hockey and has decided she wants to play, too. Or maybe she saw the NHL or a women’s hockey game on TV and has decided she wants to give it a try.
No matter how your daughter found the sport, you want to let her don the gear and skate out onto the ice. If your daughter has been skating since she can walk, you probably already know enough about hockey to get her started. This article isn’t for you. Move on to a different one.
But if you don’t know much about hockey and are a little bit stumped by how to make your daughter’s request a reality, stick with me. I’ll give you the basics to get started with a few simple questions to ask yourself or your daughter.
Can your daughter skate?
The first question seems like the most obvious one, right? If your daughter already knows how to skate, great! Move on to the next question.
If, however, your daughter doesn’t know how to skate, she’s going to need to learn. Luckily, almost every ice rink has a Learn to Skate program – and it doesn’t matter what age your daughter is. She can still take a Learn to Skate class. Many rinks even have them for adults.
Learn to Skate classes are an easy, low-cost way to figure out if your daughter even likes skating as much as she thinks she will. If she doesn’t like skating, she’s not going to like hockey, and you’ll save yourself a whole lot of money and time figuring that out before you buy equipment, put her on a team, and pay those hockey fees.
You can find a Learn to Skate program near you by checking with your local rink or using the program finder at Learn to Skate USA.
Does your daughter know how to play hockey?
If you’re just getting started in hockey, the answer to this question is probably no. While your daughter may know the rules of hockey, if she hasn’t ever played in a game or been to a practice, then she doesn’t really know how to play.
Now, I’m going to be honest. Hockey is an expensive sport. The last thing you want to do is drop hundreds of dollars on equipment for your daughter to decide a month later that hockey isn’t her thing.
That’s why I highly recommend taking your daughter to a Try Hockey for Free Day at your local rink. USA Hockey teams up with local rinks twice a year (usually in November and February although it can vary from rink to rink) to host a day where your child can try hockey for free.
Coaches and older players from local teams provide on-ice instruction and off-ice help to give kids a taste of what hockey is like once you’re on the ice. These days are fun and stress-free. They’re also a great way to let your daughter try hockey before you make a large financial commitment.
If you’ve been to a Try Hockey for Free Day or your daughter has gotten a taste of the on-ice action in some other way and is now all-in on hockey, look for a Learn to Play Hockey class at your local rink. These classes are designed to teach kids the basics of hockey before they step on the ice in a team setting.
If this sounds like a lot of classes before your daughter actually hits the ice, it is. But hockey is a little bit different than other sports. Until kids are solid on their skates, it’s really hard to play hockey. If your daughter falls down every time she hits the ice with her teammates, she’s not going to have much fun if she can’t keep up.
Also, keep in mind that unless you live in a place where you’re lucky enough to have a robust girls’ hockey program, your daughter is probably going to start out playing with the boys. The better she can skate and the more she understands the fundamentals of the game, the easier it will be.
In the Learn to Play Hockey classes, your daughter will learn important skills like making a hockey stop, how to handle the puck, and how to pass. A few weeks of training before putting her on the ice as part of a team can make all the difference in how much she enjoys the game.
Do you have a local team?
This might seem like a dumb question, but if your daughter wants to play and the closest team is 45 minutes away, are you willing to commit to driving that far at least two nights a week for her to practice?
Call your local rink(s) or visit their website(s) to determine what hockey in your area looks like. What are the options for your daughter, and what do they cost?
If you’re lucky enough to live in an NHL city or a place where hockey is a part of the social landscape, then you probably have plenty of options. If you live in a city where hockey isn’t popular and there isn’t a major league team to draw interest, you may find you have limited options – or none at all.
My daughter played co-ed until she was in high school then switched to an all-girls team because there was no girls’ program at the younger ages.
Like my daughter, many girls have no choice but to play on a co-ed team – at least initially – because the girls’ program in their area is limited or non-existent. This isn’t a bad option, but you need to make sure your daughter wants to play in a situation where she may be one of the few (or the only) girls on the ice.
If you have a choice between co-ed and an all-girls team, that’s fantastic. Your daughter can choose which team makes her more comfortable (or she may be able to play on both).
Are you ready to invest in gear and fees?
As I said before, hockey is expensive. You’ll invest several hundred dollars in gear and depending on where you live, quite a bit more than that in fees. If your daughter ends up on a travel team, those costs can rise to upwards of $10,000 for a single season of hockey.
But if your daughter is just starting out in hockey, there’s no need to worry about travel fees. You can cross that bridge when you get there.
For her first season of hockey, you can expect to pay for her gear and league fees. To keep gear costs down, look for used equipment at places like Play It Again Sports or check to see if your local hockey organization sponsors a used gear sale or swap where people sell the gear their kids have outgrown.
At the younger ages, kids outgrow their gear so quickly that you can find good deals on barely used equipment.
If you live in an NHL city, some NHL teams sponsor programs that give kids their first set of hockey gear for free, so be sure to check out that option.
Figure out what your local hockey organization charges for a year of house league hockey at whatever age group your daughter falls into then add the cost of gear to the fees to get a good estimate of what a season of hockey will cost.
If the fees don’t fit your budget, be sure to ask the organization about scholarships. Almost all local hockey organizations have money set aside to help families with fees if they need it, but you’ll have to ask to see if you qualify.
That’s it. Your daughter is all set to take her first steps on the ice and into the exciting world of hockey. I hope she, and you, fall in love with the game!
Do you have more questions about how to take the first steps toward getting your daughter involved with hockey? Let me know in the comments!