Question for Parents and coaches...

My son is a very good 97, but not great AA player.
Should we let him try-out for the local AAA team?
If he makes it he will be at the bottom of the team and I'm afraid he won't have fun...Although, you never know how much he will improve. Also, the cost is ridiculous. Tuition alone is $3,400. Add travel and you’re easily over $7K/Yr.

We also have two other kids and the youngest is starting to play hockey as well...

Can a player develop his skills playing AA? It is my belief that if he has it, he will go places (i.e., College), if he doesn't, no matter how hard he tries, ultimately he will just play at a higher youth hockey level and our family would have spent a lot of money and weekends away for nothing.

The hardest thing is knowing how good he could be. I don't want to limit his potential? So can his potential be reached playing AA???

Hope I didn't ramble too much in my first post...thanks all...

So, let him tryout for the AAA team and see how he does. Nothing lost - other than the tryout fee - and you & your son will know how he rates vs. the AAA players.

If he gets offered AAA spot, then ask him where he wants to play. Ask the AAA coach how he see him fitting in to the team.

You won't know his potenial for many years.
After working with Jr players and Midget AAA players, it's still not so clear. I wouldn't start to think about a 97's potenial for a long time. Let them have fun, a good coach will help him no matter how many A's you have.

Do what fits in best with both your family and budget. Good Luck.

Thanks for the feedback...

My son is a goalie so it is a bit different but he didn't make the jump to AAA until this year at Bantam Minor. He thought about trying as a second year Pee Wee and instead we gave him some performance goals to meet to show us he was ready for the commitment of AAA. It was also to show him how much more involved AAA would be then AA. He worked hard, improved a ton and is having a fantastic first year at the AAA level and still working hard. It hasn't been easy for him but he respects the ability to play AAA now after having to earn it.