Family Advising

The JCHD Difference:  Cut Through the Fog

As a parent, the hockey world can be overwhelming.  I understand, my parents were just like you.  My teammates parents were just like you.  We all have different experiences and either you know nothing at all because no one has spoken with you, or everyone from your previous coaches, teammates parents, crazy uncles, Zamboni drivers, and the young sales rep at the local hockey shop have told you what to do in your career, and yet you still don't understand.  The internet in many cases doesn't help much either - it just muddies the waters.

The reality is if the advice you are receiving is from someone who is not plugged into NCAA and professional hockey, then it's naive advice.  How can someone advise you on junior hockey when they don't know what it takes to develop into a college or professional hockey player?  Stop listening to those people.  And if you don't want to do that, then please go get a 2nd opinion.  That decision could be the greatest decision you ever make in your hockey career.  This sport is too expensive, and the windows of opportunity to develop to your maximum potential are too small to be messing around making decisions on your own where you leave it up to chance.  That is the road for learning from the school of hard knocks and a hockey career filled with regret and what ifs.  Family Advisors help you clear the fog, cut through the noise, and make sense of what is in front of you.  They guide you properly for what is best for you.  At least that is the intention.

When I hear someone say they save money on an advisor and instead go to all these "exposure camps and pre-draft camps," my heart breaks for the kid of those parents.  The majority of those camps provide zero value for your son or daughter, and you would have known that had you hired a family advisor.  Each weekend you flew to a pre-draft camp or exposure camp, rented a car, stayed in a hotel, and paid for the camp fees can run just you and 1 kid $2,500.  Go to 2 unnecessary camps and you just wasted more money than what it would have cost you to have a professional service with all the hockey knowledge at your finger tips helping guide and advise you based on what is best for you, ultimately putting you in the best situations for your development while saving you money over the long run.  The kids suffer from the ego of their parents, and that hurts me more than anything.  This is why I have stepped into this world - to be of service and to help.

The quickest death of a hockey career usually occurs in junior hockey.  Entering that world without an advisor would be like flying an airplane without a pilots license.  You might soar alone, but the odds are against you.

BEWARE of the bad side of advising.  It is sad for me to say this, but there are advisors and advising firms out there that do not provide proper value.  They take short cuts and convince families and players of things by gaslighting them.  For example, I had a family nearly pay a guy $1,000 just to get information on a junior team that had a roster spot, however he wouldn't disclose the league, team, location, staff, housing situation until after he was paid $1,000.  It was just ridiculous.  Sad,  Very very sad.  I was in fact so angry that I knew I needed to protect players and families from people like this.  It is a sad reality of the business but with a proper advising firm like JCHD, you'll never run into these issue.

Most family advisors and advising firms offer nothing more than advice.  They don't watch you play, they don't talk to your coach, they don't provide you training services.  They don't do anything other than take your money and pretend to represent you.  While I was coaching 18u, I had a parent brag about how he had a family advisor as if he was trying to one up me as the coach.  I told him that I was glad he had an advisor, that I even recommend it.  But how come his advisor has never contacted the head coach of the team that his client plays for?  He's never been to a game nor watched him play.  So if he is properly advising for his client, then how is that possible when the head coach knows the players development better than anyone in the world at that moment since he sees him every day on the ice?  And how can the advisor communicate with junior scouts and programs if the advisor doesn't know any tendencies of the player?  It's a waste of money for the parents.  Avoid advisors at all costs that do not provide you additional value.  You want an advisor that is on top of your player development, communicating with your coach so that everyone is on the same page, providing training services, and ensuring that the player maximizes their potential and career.  That is the JCHD Difference.  We do it all.  I entered this business to see you succeed to the highest levels and to steer clear of landmines along the road.

 There is so much to learn and know about the path to college and pro hockey that it is daunting for a parent or player to figure out on their own.  From the hundreds upon hundreds of programs, ten thousand junior hockey players, countless leagues, varying living conditions, NCAA eligibility rules, and varying degrees of development, it all boils down to this - There are varying degrees of AAA, junior hockey, and college hockey programs that develop you to the next level and fall under 4 categories of programs: great, good, mediocre, and atrocious.  You need an advisor to avoid the atrocious, steer clear of the mediocre, identify the good, and do what they can to get you to play for the great programs.  It's about finding competitive advantages to put yourself in the best possible situations to compound your hockey potential to the highest degree.  As I mentioned, junior hockey is the quickest place great players hockey careers die.  Having a high value family advisory firm helps you navigate the land mines and compound your career while simultaneously saving you money, time, and stress.

Gain trusted insights from a trusted network that offers you more than just representation.  That is the JC Hockey Development approach.