Ugh...
A 4 star player might never make the top 50 for the big 3, but what if that player got to train on a team of AAA 5 star players... I bet you would make another 5 STAR PLAYER!!!
What if that 4 star player is limited to playing on his team with 3 and 4 star players. Together, there is a chance one might become a 5 star, but more likely these players will plateau and hit a lower ceiling than they actually had potential for achieving.
Nice thought, but that's just not how it works. In practice, that 4 star player is going to :
- Play on the third line. At best. Where on most AAA teams he's going to get half the ice time that he would on the AA team.
- Not get PP or PK time.
- Be last up on the drills as the coach focuses on the top 2 lines.
- Potentially be ridiculed by his teammates. Never get passed to ("because that guy can't take a pass").
- Not get the fundamentals training he needs because everyone else is past him.
- Basically feel like crap the whole year.
- Fall further behind
And after all that, there is a good chance that they simply won't make it. Because they aren't big enough, or strong enough, or have enough hockey sense, which is the biggest difference between AA and AAA. They will be part of that %20 turn over next year.
Compare that to:
- Being on the first line of an AA team.
- Getting more ice time than anyone else
- Being on PK, PP, maybe both
- Getting more drill time
- Getting more coach focus
- Spending the saved money on private coaching
- Feeling like a star.
Which seems like a better development environment? Unless your kid is bored or not learning anything because they are just that good, if they are an AA player, they will develop better on an AA team. On the other hand, if they are that far above everyone else, why aren't they getting picked for AAA? Examine that.
The crazy thing I see here is people thinking somehow that 'adding an A' will change things. As far as I can tell, the complaints are about wanting the same AA coaches and organizations to have AAA teams. How would that change anything apart from making everything more expensive? Most of these teams aren't going to end up in Tier1Elite, where the rest of the western AAA teams play, so what tournaments are they going to be in? All in Canada? All east coast? That sounds crazy expensive to me.
There was a good argument a few yeas ago with the 03/04 Bears that they needed better competition. Is there really such a standout team anywhere in AA now?
In the last few years Socal AAA teams have had Norcal players commute. They've had Norcal players move and billet. One team had multiple pieces of their roster living in Nashville and just showing up for tournaments. Do you think they would do that if a plethora of 'obvious AAA' players were lying around in AA?
If your kid is in AA, there is a reason your kid was not picked for AAA. Stop whining and work on that. Prove them all wrong. Next year, get picked. Unless your kid is in the top 1-3 of your AA team, they have a lot of work to do. The kids that are AAA ready stand out. You will see them at the top of the scoring charts. They will posses the puck more than anyone else on their team. They will typically have developed earlier, and be larger and faster.
Sorry. That's the hard truth. And as Dads and Moms we have very little influence on any of it.