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Many parents of 10-year-olds who aspire to make the Squirt A hockey team believe the right training and gear can provide an edge. Here’s what a team jacket (list price: $100) can really cost.
By Carol Ratelle Leach
Photo by Getty/CSA Plastock
$1,070
The amount you’ll need for decent skates ($325), pads ($275), gloves ($70), a concussion-proof helmet ($150), and at least two sticks ($125 each—it’s important to have a back-up when, say, another player “accidentally” breaks your stick in the locker room before tryouts).$1,500
The price of sharpening your skills during the spring, summer, and fall through AAA and MASH leagues. (There’s no off-season in hockey anymore.)
$825
Tuition for a week of residential hockey camp at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault. Some players stay longer.$1,045
The registration fee for Squirts in Eden Prairie, the state’s third-largest hockey program. This includes top-team consideration and a pre-tryout clinic.$800
What you could shell out each month, year-round, on specialized instruction, including skating with Troy Stevens of Pro Edge, stickhandling with Minnesota Made’s Bernie McBain, and plyometrics at Acceleration Minnesota.$500
What you’ll spend to attend four regular-season tournaments; most families make a weekend of it. Add another $30 or so for each player if they will travel together on a team bus.$1,600
Amount Dad’s or Mom’s company can cough up to sponsor your team and ensure that your place is considered bought.$45
Cost of supplies for the scrapbook Mom must make commemorating your season.Carol Ratelle Leach, senior editor of Minnesota Monthly, is grateful that her children play soccer.
Things To Do Before…
YOU PLOT YOUR BLACK-FRIDAY SALES ROUTE
1.
Last Thanksgiving, you burned the turkey, forgot the potatoes, and politely ignored your mother-in-law’s complaints about the lumpy gravy. This year, let somebody else deal. Two clubby institutions, Jax Café in northeast Minneapolis and the Lexington Restaurant in St. Paul, serve traditional turkey-and-trimmings dinners—with a side of nostalgia for the time when all you had to do on holidays was pass your plate. —RACHEL HUTTON*Like this idea, but would still rather eat at home? Learn which stores around town provide food to order.
