lastly....people complain about AAA or even AA and travel. If you are playing AA or AAA you are pushing your kid to be better and player better. Playing A level teams does nothing but actually HURT development. So, guess what - you want to play top teams and get better you have to LEAVE the state...and sadly mostly teams west of the Miss are not what I call "stiff" competition. Sorry CO, Utah, Texas, AZ...that is just fact. So, yes its crazy expensive to goto NY, MA, Chicago or Canada but if your kid is playing Tier level hockey this is what you signed up for and what you should want. Dont like it? There is nothing wrong playing A level for your local club.