Crazy Hockey Dads Podcast

When private equity meets private lessons... who’s really winning?
Scott and Jamie dig into the growing influence of money in youth hockey and how the chase for profit is quietly (and not-so-quietly) warping the game. From $500 “development” weekends to kids being pushed into specialization before they can tie their skates, this episode is a no-filter look at what happens when hockey becomes a business first.
In this episode:
  • How private equity and profit-driven models are reshaping rinks and programs
  • The mental weight of year-round “development” and the cost of over-scheduling
  • Why rushing to specialize might hurt more than it helps
  • Chuck Norris jokes, because things were getting a little too real
Plus: A look at why skill doesn’t always equal confidence, how early bloomers don’t always finish strong, and what we’re actually paying for in the modern hockey ecosystem.
If you’ve ever wondered why your 10-year-old is training like a pro athlete this episode hits home.

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What is Crazy Hockey Dads Podcast?

A relatable and honest podcast about the highs and lows of being a youth hockey parent. Join us as we share real stories, struggles, and wins from the rink, offering insights and support for parents navigating the world of youth hockey.

Jamie:

Everybody. Welcome back to the Crazy Hockey Guys podcast. We are back in the studio.

Scott:

The studio.

Jamie:

The studio.

Scott:

We're Is that what you call this now?

Scott:

The studio?

Jamie:

Yeah. Why not? My office?

Scott:

Studio? Sure.

Jamie:

We'll go to studio. Yeah.

Scott:

Yeah. Feels like a studio ish.

Jamie:

Yeah. We need to get new furniture and stuff and actually do something with that.

Scott:

Maybe. We need an on air sign, like a neon sign that says on air.

Jamie:

Well, didn't you say we have a monitor coming? Didn't you tell me that?

Scott:

I did order a monitor.

Jamie:

You did? Yeah. Oh, so we're going have a teleprompter? Is that what you're telling me?

Scott:

I mean, could see about teleprompting things.

Jamie:

Why not?

Scott:

I'll program it just to make you laugh and you can't keep a straight face.

Jamie:

Speaking of laughing, July 1 was International Joke Day and we missed it because we were I just missed it. I was thinking of cool segments to do and I know you and I were kind of messing around with jokes And that then I just happened to Google dates in July, just trying to think of content, stuff like that. And it came up with International Joke Day in July 1. And it was July 6 when I did it.

Scott:

Know what I think about that though? The first thing that comes to mind is that's a fucking hallmark. Like, you know not a hallmark, because there's no like international drug day cards. But like, do you think anyone besides The United States and maybe Canada Probably recognizes not.

Jamie:

That as It probably doesn't mean

Scott:

So why the fuck would why would we call it international, whatever?

Jamie:

I mean, listen, there's a day for everybody these days. So are you surprised that

Scott:

No.

Jamie:

And I wonder how how long this international joke day has been a thing.

Scott:

That's true. They probably came up with it last week, and next year it'll be a month long. Like everything else, right? Yeah, no doubt. It needs a month.

Jamie:

That's right. Yeah. Everything seems to need a month.

Scott:

Needs a month. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Anyway, welcome back, dude, from vacation.

Jamie:

Yeah, yeah, man.

Scott:

How was it?

Jamie:

It was good.

Scott:

Yeah, it looked awesome.

Jamie:

It was fun. We hit a lot of different spots, which was Yeah,

Scott:

it did.

Jamie:

Yeah, it was neat. It was long.

Scott:

Yeah, meaning you felt like you were just out of town for a long time or you were itching to get back?

Jamie:

No, we actually came home a day early.

Scott:

Yeah, was going say that you were coming We back on

Jamie:

came home two days earlier.

Scott:

Oh, you were coming back on Monday?

Jamie:

No, we came back one day early.

Scott:

So you came back on Saturday.

Jamie:

Yeah, supposed to come back Sunday.

Scott:

Right, right,

Jamie:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was long, not going to lie.

Scott:

Because everyone was just ready to go home.

Jamie:

It was alright, you want hear one of the major problems we had?

Scott:

Yes.

Jamie:

So normally we stay in hotels that have laundry facilities.

Scott:

You ran out of clothes? Bro.

Jamie:

Yeah. Listen, every place we stayed at had a laundry service where they would send it out but Nancy's like I'm not having somebody else touch my underwear. No shit. Well normally Luca, my older one, likes to do laundry. So he just normally takes we have a laundry bag to be everybody has their own laundry bag when we travel.

Jamie:

So you put your stuff in it and wherever we are, he'll do laundry.

Scott:

Right.

Jamie:

You know? So of the one, two, three, four, five, six places we stayed, not one place had that. They all sent it out.

Scott:

But you couldn't go to a laundromat?

Jamie:

I mean, we could've.

Scott:

I did. We could've. I watched Otto's Clothes

Scott:

after hockey

Scott:

camp before mountain

Jamie:

biking We could've. Oh, did you? That was smart. We could have.

Scott:

I'll tell you.

Jamie:

We 100% could've.

Scott:

Yeah. No, listen, I understand what you're saying. But coupled with the fact that it was a long vacation, it was probably just like the straw that broke the camel's back maybe. You're just like, yeah, fuck it, let's go home. Do my dream home.

Jamie:

You know, I got to tell you, we didn't stop just because of the laundry. That was just one course. Thing, But we were gone for like, it was like thirteen days, twelve days. It was long.

Scott:

It's a long time for a family to be together and traveling too. It's not like you were out at where you had home base and you could you were at resorts.

Jamie:

We were at resorts. No. My point

Scott:

is, you were still getting in the car, you

Jamie:

were Which going on a road I had tell you, it didn't bother us. And we don't mind being together and hanging out. We didn't get sick of each other. We do it a lot. So that wasn't an issue.

Jamie:

You know, so I spent a lot of money. Time we travel

Scott:

Okay, now we're getting somewhere.

Jamie:

Listen, I do it often, Right? So I like traveling. I like showing my kids The United States. So we went to Baltimore, DC, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland,

Scott:

a bunch of Mid Atlantic.

Jamie:

Yeah. Which was awesome because we Northeast last year.

Scott:

Okay.

Jamie:

And we were doing the same thing. Were at, like, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, you know? So we did like, you know, the New Hampshire last year. So, but I have to tell you, I don't know if everything has gotten so much more expensive, but every place I went, I was just irritated.

Scott:

At the cost.

Jamie:

Yeah. I was just irritated. So the place in West Virginia, which is a wonderful it's a phenomenal place, But everywhere you go on their property and it's a massive property, again, it's wonderful, don't get me wrong but you have 37% tacked on to every single thing you do.

Scott:

Your room

Jamie:

to drinks to food to Dominic and I went trap shooting, trap and skeet shooting, to we did a Jeep tour. You do, there's

Scott:

Plus 37%.

Jamie:

Plus 37%. Fucked up. No matter what

Scott:

Is it not including gratuity? They expect gratuity No, on top of

Jamie:

20% is tip. So even if you hate the person who helped you, you're whacked. Correct. And I'm fine with that because I normally tip that anyway. Or more if I'm really happy with it.

Jamie:

I have a thing about tipping, I like tipping. But there's 7% West Virginia which is fine. Okay. But there's also a 10% like

Scott:

Make America Great Again tax?

Jamie:

Make America Great Again. So it's a very old building, right? Like 1800s old, the property was there pre 1800s. So there's a lot of upkeep, right? So, and again, I don't necessarily mind that either.

Jamie:

Forget the 20%. There's 17% on top of everything else you do. Yep. Plus the gratuity, right? But what pissed me off was that there were like, call it there's like 15 restaurants on the property in all different spots, right?

Jamie:

There's one down by the golf, one by the tennis, a bunch, they're all over the place. And it's fancy, like jackets, men have to wear jackets, okay? In most places, there's a couple places you have to wear college shirt, but mostly jackets, Right?

Scott:

And knew that going into this August.

Jamie:

We did. Yeah. Nancy Park dresses, the kids who had shorts and pants and shoes and collared shirts. But that

Scott:

didn't get like you didn't get tired of that?

Jamie:

No. Like that, to be honest with you. It keeps the riff raff

Scott:

You like a good collar.

Jamie:

It keeps the riff

Scott:

You like a good collar.

Jamie:

Obviously, as you can tell, right? But it keeps riffraff out so

Scott:

I don't

Jamie:

mind it. One day we were just kind of tired that day. So they have this Italian restaurant on the property. So I'm like, know what? Let's just go down and order did Dominic split a margarita pizza.

Jamie:

Nancy got vegan meatballs and pasta. Luca got like

Scott:

She's a vegetarian?

Jamie:

Yeah, he didn't know that.

Scott:

No way.

Jamie:

My wife? Yeah.

Scott:

Yeah, dude. No way.

Jamie:

Doesn't eat dairy because she's allergic. You know yeah. Oh, yeah. She's big pain in the ass to take out to eat.

Scott:

No shit. Huge pain in the ass.

Jamie:

Love her to death, huge pain in the ass to go out to eat with.

Scott:

Interesting.

Jamie:

Huge pain

Scott:

in the ass.

Jamie:

Yeah. She's That was all around. She's difficult. Super difficult to feed. Okay.

Jamie:

Yeah. Like I said, love her to death. Love you, babe. You're a pain in the ass, though. She knows it.

Jamie:

But yeah, so again, so I go down and they automatically whack 20% onto the and I went down to get it. I called and ordered it. I went down to get it. They didn't even bring it to the room.

Scott:

Right. They're still whacking you.

Jamie:

Right, right. That irritates me. That pisses me off.

Scott:

Yeah. It's just like they're helping themselves to your wallet.

Jamie:

Right. And I have to tell you, when I go pick food up and somebody puts the tablet in front of me and there's the tip when you go pick a food and they're holding the tablet and they're like, Here, tip and then sign. You pick like ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty two, 25. I don't tip when I pick up.

Scott:

Because you're not getting any service.

Jamie:

What the fuck are they doing? They're making the food for you regardless whether you're eating there or whether you're picking it up, right? And there's already a percentage tacked onto the food. So you're not doing anything for me. Why am I tipping you?

Jamie:

And that started during COVID. Listen, I don't know how other people feel about it but that pisses me off. When they spin that thing at you and they're like, Here? If you have a jar there, fine. I'll stick a couple bucks in but don't you know what I'm saying?

Jamie:

That irritates me.

Scott:

Yeah, hear you.

Jamie:

It's just bullshit.

Scott:

Yeah. No, listen, don't

Jamie:

disagree. Again, I like tipping. Don't get me wrong. People, don't get me wrong. I like tipping and I have no problem doing it, especially if you're good.

Jamie:

I'm super generous tipping. But if you're not doing anything for me, you lose me.

Scott:

Right. Okay. That's reasonable.

Jamie:

Yeah. So again, but everywhere you go, stuff is so expensive.

Scott:

So expensive. Yeah.

Jamie:

You can't get away for under $100 for a family of four, even for breakfast.

Scott:

Oh, I would've yeah.

Jamie:

The buffet was like $55 a head. Fuck. I mean That's ridiculous. Like $225 for breakfast.

Scott:

Like how much do they charge you to take your first breath when you wake up?

Jamie:

Again, and they got listen, everything is so it's funny, all the reviews about that place is like everybody loves it. Place is phenomenal. There's so much to do. They're like, it's expensive and they get you.

Scott:

Everywhere. Everywhere.

Jamie:

And they do. It's true. It's not reasonable.

Scott:

No, one thing is when I get it for when they have large parties and restaurants where gratuities included.

Jamie:

I get that but a family of four? No, I don't. Or when I'm picking up

Scott:

But if you're going to a place that's expensive and I know that there's, I don't know if logistics is the right word, but I'd so much rather just make it more expensive and don't nickel it. Don't make me feel like being nickel

Jamie:

and dime. No, you're 100% right. Just add it in to it.

Scott:

Just add And it that's why part of my resentment with airlines now

Jamie:

is that

Scott:

you have to pay to choose your seat. The bags.

Jamie:

And if you want upgrades, you want more leg room, god, you're an extra like $40.

Scott:

No doubt. But it's okay if you need to charge more, I get it, but don't advert and then the advertising of the pricing is really such bullshit because they show you pricing, which is, like, bare bones. Like, no one's ever, like, flying at that. Like, you know, whatever the rate they show you because then you have to do all the add ons and all that other shit. Yeah.

Scott:

And the same thing with, like, tickets. At least I respect the fact that if you're buying tickets like on Ticketmaster or maybe with StubHub or whatever the fuck it was, you can at least toggle a button where it says show me price including Including all the horseshit. So at least you know

Jamie:

this is really where I And I gotta tell you, hotel rooms are the same way. You go to a hotel room and you think you're paying $7.50 a night, and then you actually get the bill and it's more like just under $1,000 I mean because they tack on shit left and right. Just give me the fucking bottom line.

Scott:

Bottom line up front.

Jamie:

Because I gotta tell you, everywhere we went, like they get shafted everywhere but my god, these days it seems like you get hammered for everything.

Scott:

For everything.

Jamie:

And it starts to piss you off. And again, I have no problem paying for stuff but the room we stayed in in Annapolis, Maryland was a Marriott on the water and I was like this is so not up to standards.

Scott:

Wasn't up to standards? The property or what you were getting in return for the price they were charging?

Jamie:

So you're on the water on the harbor in Annapolis and you're downtown so it's a nice location. So we stayed there like, I'll call it ten years ago, maybe longer. Luca was two. So it was probably fourteen years ago actually, now that I think about it. So it's longer.

Jamie:

But talk about the place has gone And it's a Marriott It's like one of their signature collections. So it's supposed to be like

Scott:

JW Marriott.

Jamie:

So the JW is like JW, Ritz. Conrad. Yeah, they're up there. Is like

Scott:

Conrad's Marriott, right? Or is that I

Jamie:

don't Is Conrad's Marriott? I don't think Conrad's Marriott. No. It's like JW, it's like Ritz Carlton. But this is their autograph collection.

Scott:

Okay, whatever.

Jamie:

So it's obviously like a boutique hotel that they kind of bought.

Scott:

Right.

Jamie:

Right? But So you expect a certain level of we stayed at the JW in Downtown DC. So you expect a certain level of service. Room, the cleanliness. It was clean, don't get me wrong.

Jamie:

We had two rooms, a kid in their own room. It was like a suite ish type thing where Nancy had her own room and the kid's other room. The air conditioning didn't work in the kid's room.

Scott:

No shit.

Jamie:

I was like, What the fuck? It was like 97 degrees.

Scott:

And they didn't have maintenance up there right away?

Jamie:

They said they looked at it, I was like,

Scott:

What the fuck? Well, looking at it's different than fixing it.

Jamie:

So I left two days early. Like, go home. Downstairs, you saw there was water issues. You saw there was water issues in our room. So if you're charging me the price you're charging me, fine.

Jamie:

But you know what? I expect everything to work and be not an issue. So that pissed me off.

Scott:

Yeah, that makes sense, man.

Jamie:

So I started getting irritated toward the end. I'm like, you know what, Nathan? Let's just go home.

Scott:

Yeah. Alright. So you

Jamie:

came back? Yes. We came back.

Scott:

You came back. Welcome back.

Jamie:

Yes. No. No. Happy to be back.

Scott:

Welcome back.

Jamie:

I'm I'm I'm happy to be back. Good. And I must say, you and I are not on a delay right now, which is beautiful.

Scott:

No. That was was different. You had to get adjusted.

Jamie:

It was different. You had a deal. It was fine. I think it

Scott:

was fine.

Jamie:

It was just different.

Scott:

It was different. Yeah. But now we're back.

Jamie:

Now we're back. You're out of the bunker. I'm not on the road, so it's perfect.

Scott:

Yeah. I'm looking yeah, anyway. Yeah. We were I was also out of town just for the last weekend.

Jamie:

That's right. You in New Hampshire, right?

Scott:

Yeah. Then we moved over to mountain biking camp.

Jamie:

It went well? He liked it?

Scott:

Yeah. He had a great time. We went up there on a Friday on July 4. They had like an end of camp

Jamie:

Game. Game Yeah. Yeah. Which

Scott:

they pretty much dominated. Their team was stacked.

Jamie:

Oh, They

Scott:

felt bad. He did How did

Jamie:

he play?

Scott:

Yeah, he played well. Know, the one thing that stood out was working really hard on his back check. Nice. That's huge. Which is that felt more consistent.

Jamie:

That's huge. That's really huge.

Scott:

Passing the biscuit nicely.

Jamie:

Nice. So all good things.

Scott:

All good things. Still looking for a little bit more of a dominant play, meaning wanting the puck more and trying to just hang on to possession more and try to be more creative as opposed to but that's fine. There was a kid on his team that was like a 2013 birth year, played brick, plays for the Reapers. Nice. The kid was a star.

Jamie:

Oh, in Chicago? Yeah. Nice.

Scott:

But, yeah, that was good. Then we dropped off a mountain biking camp.

Jamie:

Oh, look. Look. These these people walking by, they see they were doing they see they were they see the lights from the

Scott:

Yeah. Should we call them in?

Scott:

They just looked in.

Jamie:

They kept staring. They obviously know they're because I guess could see the bright lights from outside.

Scott:

Of course you can.

Jamie:

Yeah. You know them? I I don't think so. No? Yeah.

Jamie:

Fair enough. Yeah. That's funny that they were looking in from the street.

Scott:

That's funny. Well, listen, put an on air sign and we'll get like an outdoor audience. We

Jamie:

could do a live show.

Scott:

Live show.

Jamie:

With a live audience. You know what I mean? Anyhow. That's actually pretty funny. But yeah, nice, man.

Jamie:

So you happy to be back from New Hampshire? And Otto is not back yet. Otto is still

Scott:

No, he's still up there. He's still camping, no, he's not camping. He's at a boarding school for his dorming. Then they bus him over to mountain for mountain biking for the That's

Jamie:

pretty cool.

Scott:

Yeah and it's like last year we sent them to this kind of, it's called Camp Woodward and it's pretty well known for skateboarders and BMX people. Yeah yeah. So he was telling Like

Jamie:

ex games athletes?

Scott:

Yeah, that kind of thing and he was saying last year when he was there, it was the first day he was there, the kid went home with a broken arm.

Jamie:

Didn't he mention on one of our episodes you don't want him to break his collarbone?

Scott:

Well so then he called Orly last night and he's like, yeah, so the first day, kid went home, he had a broken collarbone.

Scott:

Oops.

Scott:

Another kid like fractured his his wrist. And like, listen, he's not at the level, I don't think. I mean, well, I know what his level is and he's still on the beginner side. Yeah. Yeah.

Scott:

But he's not doing like, some of kids are doing like major aerials, Are they? Oh yeah, man. Oh no shit. They have heavy duty mountain bikers, celebrity level. That's They're doing backflips and crazy Oh

Jamie:

right, that's impressive dude.

Scott:

That's Really? Very But so he's not

Jamie:

Right. He's not doing If he

Scott:

were to break something, it would be because he don't know. Something something went wrong, not because he failed on a stunt.

Jamie:

I gotcha.

Scott:

You know what I mean? Listen.

Jamie:

Keep sending him. He'll be doing those aerials in no time.

Scott:

I don't know if I'm down with that.

Jamie:

Yeah, I get that.

Scott:

And to be honest with you, I don't know that he's down with it. I don't know his appetite. He's not like a daredevil. He does the adrenaline and speed,

Jamie:

plays ice hockey. Yeah, sure.

Scott:

But he's not a thrill seeker but he's not I don't know what the right word is. He's

Jamie:

not a daredevil. An adrenaline junkie.

Scott:

He is but he doesn't throw caution to the wind immediately. He works his way up, has to build his confidence. You know what I mean?

Jamie:

Yeah. I gotcha.

Scott:

That's cool though. Yeah. He's there and I'm back here and now we're podcasting and let's talk some

Jamie:

some Episode 18. It's exciting.

Scott:

Yeah, two new states, right? Three new states, Rhode Island, Tennessee and South South Carolina.

Jamie:

That's what's up. Gamecocks, the volunteers and I have no idea where Rhode Island is. I was going to say the blue hens, but that's Delaware and that's not Rhode Island.

Scott:

I don't know.

Jamie:

I don't know. I don't know.

Scott:

Good job.

Jamie:

Have a cousin that lives I'll with have to ask. Think there might be Birds. Well, I'm doing college mascots. I did Tennessee Volunteers. I did South Carolina Gamecocks.

Jamie:

I don't have one for Rhode Island. I don't know like, University of Rhode Island, what are they?

Scott:

Alright. The URI, it's Roadie the Ram. The Rams? The Rams.

Jamie:

Gotcha. Okay. So welcome all you Rams, all you volunteers, and all you Gamecocks.

Scott:

That's it. I know a guy that I play, like, pick up, like, men's with, his kid

Jamie:

Goes to the University of South Carolina?

Scott:

To play hockey.

Jamie:

Plays hockey

Scott:

down there.

Jamie:

Beautiful school.

Scott:

Yeah. I've never been

Jamie:

So is Tennessee, by the way. Yeah. UT? Yeah. Well, I guess UT could be UT, Texas too, you know.

Scott:

Yeah, I know what you're about.

Jamie:

But also spectacular. Yeah. Peyton Manning.

Scott:

Yeah, there you go. Chris Simms.

Jamie:

Texas.

Scott:

Was a longhorn. He was a longhorn. Did he No.

Scott:

Originally

Jamie:

committed and he pulled out. And then he went to University

Scott:

of Texas. Yes.

Jamie:

Yes. That's right. Yeah. But you're right. But he was committed there

Scott:

He was committed.

Jamie:

For a hot minute. Yeah. And then he changed.

Scott:

Listen. He still went on to play in the NFL.

Jamie:

Listen. I think he got I think he, like, bust his spleen or something. Something funky happened

Scott:

to Chris. Did, like, have an injury like that.

Jamie:

Yeah. Listen, University of Texas has had monster quarterbacks. I mean, look at is it Ash Manning? What's his

Scott:

Yeah.

Jamie:

Archie? Archie's the grandfather. Who's the dad?

Scott:

I don't know. Archie's the dad. Archie's the dad.

Jamie:

They have Peyton Eli. There's another brother who was apparently pretty good. But is that right? Google that for me. Is it Ash?

Jamie:

Ash Manning? I think it's what it is. I think he's supposed to start this year.

Scott:

Ash Manning is archer ball Charles Manning born 04/27/2004, American football quarterback for the Texas Longhorns.

Jamie:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love college football. So I'm excited for I mean, I'm actually very excited for the season to start. Yeah. Well My Rutgers Scarlet Knights are gonna be

Scott:

questionable. We'll see. Okay.

Jamie:

We'll see how it goes. Yeah. We'll see how it goes. But yeah, so welcome to those three states. We're at 38 states total.

Jamie:

I mean, are I'm shocked that we're this far along this quickly. I did not expect this.

Scott:

I know. Listen, let's enjoy it. Celebrate. It's awesome. It's amazing.

Jamie:

I'm curious how long it's going take us to actually get all 50.

Scott:

Yeah. Here's a question. Who would you think the last state is going to be?

Jamie:

So it's so funny that you say that. The last one. So I would have said Hawaii but

Scott:

Here you

Jamie:

have one. We got Hawaii a while ago. So and and we're in like we're in like funky places. Like like we like we have like Kansas and Nebraska and Iowa and Utah and Nevada. So what's the last one?

Jamie:

I'm going to say That's a good question. What's going to be the last one? I would say New Mexico but we have New Mexico. So I want to say Alaska but I don't think that's going to be true.

Scott:

I don't think that's going be true. Yeah, don't

Jamie:

think it's going be true. But I want to say that but I don't think it's going be right. What's the last one?

Scott:

Arkansas?

Jamie:

Mississippi? Oh, man. So you think it's gonna be a southern state?

Scott:

Kind of. Hockey

Jamie:

is not so much.

Scott:

As I

Jamie:

would've said that too, but we have Alabama and Tennessee. I I would've said that too, but we're in those areas.

Scott:

Montana,

Jamie:

North I got it. Ready? Yeah. I think Louisiana.

Scott:

Louisiana. Although Arkansas is

Jamie:

a nice call by you. Arkansas. But I wanna say

Scott:

Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, somewhere over there.

Jamie:

Do we have Mississippi yet?

Scott:

I don't think so. MISSI is what I keep by. We? I could be wrong. Anyway, probably not.

Jamie:

Yeah, yeah. So yes, we picked up those three states and we also picked up Finland.

Scott:

Finland. How cool is

Jamie:

that? Super cool. Right?

Scott:

Yeah. I mean, big hockey over there. Usima, Finland? Usima? Yeah, I looked it up.

Scott:

The Southern part of Finland. Usima, that's more of like

Jamie:

It's a region.

Scott:

It's a region. It's not a specific, although there might be a specific city

Jamie:

But I'm or pretty sure the cities that that encompasses are like Helsinki, right? Mean, I'm pretty sure

Scott:

Big that's so.

Jamie:

Yeah.

Scott:

Yeah. It's across whatever the water is there from Estonia and Latvia. You know what I realized from looking at map, the this was a while ago, St. Petersburg, Russia is very close to Finland. It's a short, short

Jamie:

I saw that actually. It's funny you

Scott:

said that.

Jamie:

I noticed that. When do you think we're going to get Russia? I bet you we're going to get Russia soon.

Scott:

Yeah. I think that's reasonable.

Jamie:

Yeah. As

Scott:

long as they allow American internet over there.

Jamie:

As long as Putin doesn't shut it off? Like they

Scott:

do in Iran? I

Jamie:

was going say when do you think we're going get a Middle Eastern country but you have Turkey already?

Scott:

We have Turkey.

Jamie:

It's like like a all right. What do you think is going to be your first South American country?

Scott:

The first South American country? Yeah.

Jamie:

I think it's going be one of the bigger ones.

Scott:

Think Like

Jamie:

Brazil or Argentina or Chile or something like that.

Scott:

What do think? I mean, that would make sense. I don't know. I'll go out on a limb and say

Jamie:

It's got to be a big one, I think. That's my guess.

Scott:

I don't know. Yeah. I love it. Colombia.

Jamie:

All right. That works. That definitely works. We have not picked up any more. So I was doing some kind of homework.

Jamie:

So there's 10 Canadian provinces and then three territories. So we need to get the 10 We're at eight of 10 and then I want to see if we can get the three territories that are after that.

Scott:

Okay. Well, it'll come.

Jamie:

It will definitely come. And then after we do that, I want to get all the hockey playing nations.

Scott:

Okay. Anywhere where the game of hockey is played?

Jamie:

No, no. The major ones like Canada, US, Finland. So obviously we have those three. Germany we don't have. Netherlands we have.

Jamie:

Norway we have. South Korea, Slovakia, Russia. Switzerland, Denmark, Great Britain we have, right? Italy, Latvia, Slovenia, Sweden, Belarus, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Poland, Spain, and Azerbaijan. Okay.

Jamie:

So after that's what I wanna hit. I wanna get all those.

Scott:

All right. We'll do it. But let's talk hockey. Let's talk hockey. Let's talk hockey.

Jamie:

Guy, you talked about today's topic.

Scott:

Yeah, no doubt.

Jamie:

Which is actually a good topic.

Scott:

It is a good topic.

Jamie:

It was a good call by you.

Scott:

Yeah. So I mean I was

Jamie:

Good call by you.

Scott:

We were talking about it and then I'm like on my way over here, I stopped to get something to eat and on the phone pops up a New York Times article about private equity and youth sports Youth sports. Generally speaking. And like, wow. The money that gets poured and ultimate the topic is money in youth sports and the trickle down effect that it has. There's a few things happened this week that just had this topic percolate and not least of all Gavin McKenna signing for We are.

Scott:

Are 700 or $750,000

Jamie:

Oh, was that the NIL money he got?

Scott:

Yeah, I don't know exactly. Heard someone I say 7 read 700.

Jamie:

Yeah. Dominic's pretty excited about that PSU commit.

Scott:

Yeah. I'm sure. But just think about now that there's hockey parents who are already bananas. Like, now that their kid not only could potentially get a scholarship but get paid 6 figures to play collegiate hockey. I mean, it just puts downward pressure on the game in these sports and and part of the fact that, like, families are investing so much in terms of this early specialization of sports, then you have private equity trying to make a buck.

Scott:

We have in our area, you have Black Bear Sports Group that has We're gone on every rink. They're

Jamie:

buying rink. Every small rink.

Scott:

But it's not just that they're buying rinks, they've also started leagues.

Jamie:

Yeah, they started TV, a TV live barn ish type. Yes, think

Scott:

used use Flow Hockey. Was it Flow Hockey?

Jamie:

It was. Or Hockey TV? It Hockey TV and it became Black Bear TV.

Scott:

And it might have Flow also.

Jamie:

I think you're right about that.

Scott:

But what I think is it's just like this, ultimately, you have big business that's extracting dollars from families.

Jamie:

Because they see dollar signs.

Scott:

Because they see it, but they also kind of make it. What do I mean by make it? Start Blockbair You create leagues, you create tournaments, you create all star games, you create more pay to

Jamie:

play Big business, big business.

Scott:

Stay to play. Big business. And ultimately, we're kind of jumping at the end, let's try to get a little focused on this, okay, so both of our kids are playing in

Jamie:

A Black Bear team.

Scott:

In a Black Bear team and a Black Bear league. And at first glance when that came out, to be honest with you, you were in it before me so I can't necessarily say

Jamie:

Yeah, joined before we knew that was going to happen.

Scott:

Yeah, ultimately the effect of them, they bought ranks and then they started a league. And this league is now effectively creating new teams and they're also matching the different tiers. Like in hockey, there's tier one, there's tier two. Yes.

Jamie:

They also came up with own ranking system.

Scott:

Their own ranking system. And they've also Yeah, no, And they're also there's a major fail because our team, among others, got selected to play in their national tournament. Now for the U10 age group, is no USA hockey does not have a road to nationals for the U10 age group. What age does it start at nationals?

Jamie:

I wanna say it's Bantam.

Scott:

Bantam? Like Dom's eligible? Last year

Jamie:

we capped out at districts. We won districts and

Scott:

it was over. And so for us last year, our team got invited to play in their national tournament which ultimately did not happen. They bailed.

Jamie:

That was the end of last year. Right. They

Scott:

canceled Wasn't it

Jamie:

up in New Hampshire or something, you Well, were telling

Scott:

it was also like I could be wrong, but

Jamie:

We're might have talking tier one. Tier one. This is tier one.

Scott:

But the tournament might have been after or just days before tryouts for the following season. And the timing was bad. It was up in Massachusetts. So in any event

Jamie:

And they canceled it. Right?

Scott:

They canceled it. I think teams pulled out. It was just because it was left. Yeah. I don't know the full scoop.

Jamie:

Oh, so it

Scott:

fell apart? It fell apart.

Jamie:

Oh, A 100%

Scott:

it fell apart.

Jamie:

Oh, really? Why? Why do think it fell apart?

Scott:

I think part of it had to do with timing. Think

Jamie:

It was the end of the season, you

Scott:

It was end of the season.

Jamie:

Like February end of season or

Scott:

like No. It was in it was in March. It was March.

Jamie:

Really end of the season.

Scott:

Yeah. It was like after playoffs.

Jamie:

Right.

Scott:

But then in certain states, you're already like, you have like a week or two weeks before trials for the next season.

Jamie:

You know, it's so funny you say that because when we were when we were 10U Yeah. We were done, like, the last day in February. I remember we went to a tournament in in in in Tampa Yeah. And it was done. Like, you were done.

Jamie:

So you had, like, six weeks or five weeks before tryouts.

Scott:

No, we have finished that tournament and then we would have had tryouts that Tuesday or Monday.

Jamie:

That's crazy.

Scott:

It would have been like

Jamie:

right It's extending the season.

Scott:

It's extended the season after everyone's gone through all their stuff and it's like meaningless. The teams are about to disband and then tryouts are immediately afterwards. And I'm sure there's other reasons. But what we're saying, what we're talking about here is that you have private equity that's bought ranks, that's created leagues. They now, like, at the younger age group.

Scott:

So first, one of the problems with that is that it starts diluting talent because you have a whole another league with triple a teams that didn't exist before and more double a teams, more of every level of team. Like you're

Jamie:

It diluting crushes every level.

Scott:

It dilutes the talent pool, number one. Number two, with some of these leagues, you also have, and this was crazy, when we first started Full Ice Mites because USA Hockey doesn't do Full Ice Mites.

Jamie:

No, they don't. Remember you were all playing under different names? You not, whatever your club was, you were something else for the Full For

Scott:

the Full Ice Mites because it's not USA.

Jamie:

It's not recognized.

Scott:

They started a league that included full ice mites. And not only was it full ice mites, which I don't necessarily have a problem with, but there was they kept stats. They kept stats.

Jamie:

That's ridiculous.

Scott:

Kids are looking at stats.

Jamie:

You're eight years old. Like, stop yourself. Like, come on. Like, who gives a shit?

Scott:

Their their apps are swankier. They're they're you know, everything Everything is cleaner. Everything is cleaner. It's more like a It's modern more high end. But it also includes a lot of things that are not helpful in terms of, you know, the they they had the player of the week every week and you'd submit names and they would be called out.

Scott:

They even had a fucking All Star game for full ice mites, dude. It's all star. Swear to fucking God. When This past year? When we were Full Eyes Mites

Jamie:

When and I you guys were Full was

Scott:

Full Eyes Mites. Wow.

Jamie:

When Dominic was Full Eyes Mites, we did not have that.

Scott:

Dude, there was an All Star game and we sent nobody. We didn't nominate anybody and we said straight up we're not participating.

Jamie:

Really?

Scott:

Yeah. It was a fucking joke. That's ridiculous. There's that. Ridiculous.

Scott:

They're putting together Pee Wee Quebec charters.

Jamie:

Yes, they are. Okay, so Pee Wee Quebec is major dollars.

Scott:

Major dollars.

Jamie:

It's a huge business. For the city of Quebec, it's huge dollars and you're there for fifteen days.

Scott:

I know.

Jamie:

It's huge dollars, dude.

Scott:

It's huge.

Jamie:

I don't to say it's a money grab, it's fucking huge dollars. Huge.

Scott:

But it also isn't just tier one. They've got AA to Pee Wee Quebec Like

Jamie:

I said, it's huge dollars. Huge. I didn't take down to any Pee Wee Quebec tryouts.

Scott:

No. Yeah, yeah, yeah, mentioned that.

Jamie:

I wasn't doing it.

Scott:

So one of the issues that we talked about is the dilution of talent pool which is a problem because people want their kid to be AAA and you'll find a mediocre AAA team in a new league and they want you. They'll put teams together just to fill demand. There's a lack

Jamie:

of And demand is there.

Scott:

They parity events but there's a lack of parity in the league, there's a fucking cliff after you get off past the first three.

Jamie:

My god, it's terrible.

Scott:

No, it's not great. Then so that's part of it. The other part of it is tuition prices go up. It's already an expensive sport.

Jamie:

Our tuition went up. Our tuition And went I'm not sure you're getting more for your money. Pretty I'm sure you're not.

Scott:

Well, from a development perspective, I don't think those additional dollars So here's an example and we talk about development, right? So part of, and I don't know the economics entirely, but for our team this year, again, last year we were in the THF, which is the Black Bears tier one league.

Jamie:

Tier one league, yes.

Scott:

Now we're in the AHF,

Jamie:

So Black Bears tier

Scott:

in tier one last year, an interesting thing that we had was because the team the year prior had finished second in the league, the top couple teams do not have to play a full league schedule. They're allowed to play a reduced schedule, which opens up your weekends to play more like non league, potentially more competitive games, which is nice from a development standpoint, but it's only reserved for like the top couple teams. We didn't have to participate in any mandatory showcases.

Jamie:

Right.

Scott:

Right? But this year

Jamie:

This year you

Scott:

do. This year, part of our our tuition goes to Three showcases. Three showcases. But these showcases are league games.

Jamie:

Yes, they are.

Scott:

They're they're not they're not you know, maybe we're gonna play a team we wouldn't see. Maybe the team's coming from Chicago and whatever. But at the end of the day, it's a league game and you're probably gonna see teams you're gonna see anyway.

Jamie:

Yes. I think you're right about that.

Scott:

And there's not just one. There's And

Jamie:

Nancy so funny you said that. Nancy found last night where our three showcases were.

Scott:

Oh, because they got they got released recently.

Jamie:

Oh, okay. The are you Are you

Scott:

in No.

Jamie:

We're like I said, we're in the fucking worst spots ever.

Scott:

Where? Pendsawken? The yes. Yes. Or are

Jamie:

we. Fucking Pendsawken. Yeah. Like in in August. Yeah.

Jamie:

Like the August 28, twenty ninth, and thirtieth. Like like I said, like many podcasts ago, we were we were about how you're getting shafted that now you don't get to go to a tournament. You get to the three showcases.

Scott:

You have to go to these showcases.

Jamie:

Yeah. So the kids don't win anything. It's just league games that they're seeing is a showcase. But now if you want to go to a tournament, you have to pay extra for it.

Scott:

Which is exactly what's happening to us. Right.

Jamie:

So yeah. So our showcase, just to finish the thought, are in Pennsauken, right? South Jersey, right? We are in why am I drawing a blank? We're in Pennsauken.

Jamie:

We're in York, Pennsylvania, middle of fucking nowhere.

Scott:

Is it? Yeah.

Jamie:

Like, middle of fucking nowhere.

Scott:

Okay.

Jamie:

And the other one, we are in we're Pennsauken. Oh, Hamilton, New Jersey, like, which is fucking Princeton. Yeah. Like, really? Like, those are your those are our showcases?

Scott:

Those are your showcases.

Jamie:

Yeah. Like like, seriously?

Scott:

Right. And they're league games.

Jamie:

And they're league games.

Scott:

So it's not like anyone's, like, gonna walk away with like a trophy. A trophy or

Jamie:

like a thing. Kids gonna give a shit.

Scott:

Dude. I

Jamie:

mean, they're not winning anything. You can't do anything. I'm so curious what our kids are gonna be like at that first showcase. I wonder if they're gonna be like, this sucks.

Scott:

Auto's not even gonna be at the first one.

Jamie:

Oh, guys are down in South Carolina or North Carolina? North Carolina. That's the great.

Scott:

So maybe he'll make the Sunday game, and we'll back on Saturday.

Jamie:

Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. Oh, sorry. You guys are in Pennsauken with us?

Scott:

Yeah, we're also in Pennsauken. That's true. Feel like on the group chat, they're talking about, oh, it's not stay to play, anyway, family's

Jamie:

So already stay wherever you want.

Scott:

Yeah, but then also family, we don't know the schedule, so maybe if we have an early game, we're going to want to be down there. So they're already trying to figure out hotels and stuff like this.

Jamie:

Where are you guys staying?

Scott:

I don't know. I mean, I'm staying in North Carolina.

Jamie:

Oh, right.

Scott:

So I'm not gonna

Scott:

be Right. Right. Right.

Jamie:

That's right.

Scott:

I don't know what they're talking.

Jamie:

State of play. Funny you said that because Nancy and I were actually looking at hotels are hotels we've stayed at before, and I'm pretty sure we're not going to stay with the team. We're going stay

Scott:

at our own spots. Yeah. So in any event, so Okay, a downside to the fact that there's all this private equity money in here is that you have these leagues that are doing things to take dollars that families or teams or organizations would have spent like going to a destination or something Like that

Jamie:

Lake Placid, for example.

Scott:

And now it's just being funneled It's into funneled right back into the same league.

Jamie:

That's exactly right.

Scott:

Exactly what's happening.

Jamie:

It's brutal, dude. It really is. And you're not going to stop it. When big business gets involved, it doesn't stop. Failure it's going get more expensive.

Scott:

So then we also started talking about the Black Bear TV, right? So most rinks, most places have Live Barn. Yes. Now if you are playing in a Black Bear rink,

Jamie:

you don't have Live Live Barn will not be in the building. They kicked Live Barn out. As soon as they buy the rink, Live Barn gets

Scott:

kicked Dude, check this this out. Last year

Jamie:

We experienced it last year. Live Barn shut down.

Scott:

Listen, I would run video, and so I set up, had a pixel art camera, we put up goal cameras. So in certain buildings, they wouldn't let wouldn't let you put your camera record.

Jamie:

They wouldn't let you put your picture

Scott:

on camera. Unless we had to take it down.

Jamie:

That does not shock I was

Scott:

like, this is a fucking

Jamie:

ten year game. Said something to you?

Scott:

Absolutely.

Jamie:

Was it local rinks right here?

Scott:

Like Wayne, New Jersey?

Jamie:

I was just gonna say that. That place is notorious

Scott:

for It was like as if there was someone just in every rink waiting for someone to put up a camera. They couldn't have been there faster.

Jamie:

Can I tell you, during COVID or if you even take your phone out and try to record in that building? No.

Scott:

Oh yeah, dude.

Jamie:

Oh yeah.

Scott:

Fucking crazy.

Jamie:

They want no part of that. They almost like make you buy the Hot D pad. But

Scott:

dude, so I did that when we were playing up in

Jamie:

I thought you were talking about that rink.

Scott:

Maybe we were up in no, it wasn't Buffalo. I forget where we were but there

Jamie:

I've was a huge never situation been anywhere else, the way.

Scott:

So I bought you I

Jamie:

wasn't, but I've seen other people filming where they ask them to Were

Scott:

they to turn it off?

Jamie:

Or leave.

Scott:

Yeah, it's fucking It's my kid's fucking game. You're gonna tell me I can't record my kids' fucking fuck yourself.

Jamie:

Yeah, fuck you.

Scott:

Yeah. So You know?

Jamie:

Then You think you are. Then You know?

Scott:

Because I was doing video review, you know, I could still download games from other sources and then I could have them get tagged and broken down.

Jamie:

Yeah.

Scott:

You can't Like, if you buy the game for an game just to watch, you can't download it. You have to have a more premium package before they start allowing you to I download

Jamie:

have heard that. The basic package does not work.

Scott:

It's not even No, if I just buy one game It doesn't work. I couldn't download That

Jamie:

I know. I know. It's

Scott:

It is fucking insane.

Scott:

So

Scott:

let's just say for families that for whatever reason are watching remotely, now you're gonna have your kids. And for us last year, like I mentioned, it was a little different because we were not playing an exclusive and it's never gonna be a 100%. But we had a minimal league schedule. So most of our games are actually out of league and they ended up being in live barn buildings.

Jamie:

But

Scott:

people had needed two subscriptions. I had it last year. They needed two subscriptions.

Jamie:

I had it last year. Whenever we were in a Black Bear Rink, which we're in it a lot, I had to do it a couple times. I had Live Barn and then I had to go get the My Hockey TV for that weekend or whatever it was or Black Bear TV, whatever it's called now. Yeah, I know.

Scott:

It's a fucking joke.

Jamie:

Yeah, so instead of like $35 you're now like $70 with two. Yeah. It sucks.

Scott:

It's a ton of money.

Jamie:

It's just that it sucks.

Scott:

It's a ton of money.

Jamie:

And it's filtering down to everything, Scott. So I know we were talking about off air how Bauer and CCM were bought by private equity. So I don't know if you've looked recently but literally earlier today, Dominic was on the ice this morning with a dude from Penn State and he needs new skates. Generally

Scott:

Who needs new skates?

Jamie:

Dominic. Every August, his feet and he's been you saw him before when he walked in? Yeah,

Scott:

definitely taller.

Jamie:

Did you see his shorts?

Scott:

They were very short. I thought they

Jamie:

were pulled up too Bro, his shorts, the kid has shot up, which is great. Don't get me wrong, but he's growing out of everything. So those were mediums. She's like, Jamie, needs a large in everything

Scott:

now,

Jamie:

which is shocking because his parents are not big. So all of a sudden, he's growing like a weed, which is great. So I'm on Pure Hockey today and he wants the new Bauer Fly Lights.

Scott:

So I went on

Jamie:

Bauer's website. Is that

Scott:

what he had before? It's vapors, no?

Jamie:

The new fly lights are the old vapors.

Scott:

So vapors are no more? They've done a way of vapors?

Jamie:

Yeah. When you go on the website, is vapors there? Supreme is there? Something else is there? I'm pretty sure FlyLite is there.

Jamie:

But I don't think it's under the vapors category. I'm pretty sure it's under FlyLite. I think. So he was in vapors when he was younger, but they were really narrow.

Scott:

So

Jamie:

he was in Supremes the last, call it, three or four years. But now what they did with the fly lights is they made a fit one, two, and three.

Scott:

Yeah, they've had that for a minute.

Jamie:

Right. So Dom was also in a junior skate last which is probably not as robust as far as width wise. So he's been in Supremes, is easier. But now what's going on is the new flylights come in one, two, or three fits, which is fit one is

Scott:

Like the most narrow.

Jamie:

If the foot is three to three and a half inches, you're in fit one. Three and a half to four and a half is fit two. And four and half to five and a half is fit three. Something along those lines, right? But I have to tell you, so now he's in a three, junior three.

Jamie:

Juniors stop at three point five. There's no way he's going to fit into a three point five. Feel like he's in a four, four point five or five.

Scott:

So you're going to the next So

Jamie:

you're going from a junior to an intermediate, so now you're talking about $1,000 skates for a size four.

Scott:

It's fucking bananas. It's fucking bananas.

Jamie:

It's fucking insane.

Scott:

But see, that's like so and it's

Jamie:

Dude, I'm gonna be there tomorrow morning, so I'm gonna let you know. I'll let you guys know on the next podcast.

Scott:

So, like, you have like, so

Jamie:

So I thought I thought I thought thousand dollar price points were for senior skates.

Scott:

Right.

Jamie:

These are intermediates, thousand bucks.

Scott:

There's youth? What are the fucking sizes? What's the difference between junior versus intermediate? Isn't

Jamie:

that So the same youth goes one to 13 and a half.

Scott:

Okay? Yes. Then

Jamie:

junior goes one through three and a half. And once you're done with three and a half, goes to an intermediate.

Scott:

A fucking scam.

Jamie:

Which I'm pretty sure just got added recently.

Scott:

I don't remember

Jamie:

that Of course, being a fucking scam. I'm pretty sure this is new. I don't want to speak out of turn, but I don't remember there being an intermediate in between the junior and the senior. And the price point jumps.

Scott:

But this is all ways to extract more dollars from consumers.

Jamie:

Of course it is.

Scott:

And then they have all these higher priced things and then I

Jamie:

get see private equity. It's not mom and pop owned anymore like it used to be Bauer and CCM.

Scott:

So the whole thing just puts this downward pressure and I think ultimately, we talked about NIL money with McKenna, we talked about private equity, raising prices on tuition and fabricating is not that word, but coming up with new leagues, new tournaments, new camps, and all of these

Jamie:

All this new gear. Skates, different price points of skates. Sticks, Part of same my idea

Scott:

is that as it gets diluted and you have more people that are getting invited to do these camps or be in these leagues or be in the all star game, it's like they're dangling all these little carrots in front of parents by way of, like I said, All Star games, teams, equipment, all of it.

Jamie:

And a lot of parents take the bait for it.

Scott:

And they take the bait, but then we talked about, was it last pod where we were talking about keeping up with the Joneses? Yeah. And it's like you're

Jamie:

looking We did fourth of July. Was too early. Oh, So

Scott:

the idea of keeping up with the Joneses, now you have, you're looking around and you see the higher end stuff or everything is just more and more expensive. And there's part of me that's just really, bro, talking to Otto, it's like, listen, from now on, everything you're getting is just fucking hand me downs, dude.

Jamie:

I get it. It's an issue.

Scott:

And it's not to say that we can't buy him the new No. But it's like,

Jamie:

stupid am I doing Yes.

Scott:

You feel at some point, you feel like No.

Jamie:

You fucking like a jackass. Idiot. Feel like I'm getting hosed here by him And every you are. You're getting fucked 10 ways.

Scott:

It's like the same thing that you were talking about, like, when you were on vacation.

Jamie:

Yeah. You get fucked and I'm get done

Scott:

going home. Right.

Jamie:

It pisses you. I'm telling you. And you're getting fucked every which way.

Scott:

And then they talk about, like, you know, we were also talking about the growth of hockey

Jamie:

and all

Scott:

that stuff. It's going to be a game for the haves versus the have nots.

Jamie:

Well, listen, you and I were chatting again off the air. You and I were talking about youth hockey across the globe as we're kind of getting into these other crazy countries that are listening to us like Finland and Norway and Taiwan and Japan, places where you didn't think hockey was exploding. But talking about here in The United States, registration for youth hockey is the highest it's ever been and is on a major upswing in The United States. Whereas Canada is on a decline as far as youth hockey registration. And I was kind of Googling around to why that is and they were saying is the price of the game is just getting so out of control.

Scott:

Out of control, yeah.

Jamie:

That it's making families that's what it's claiming, that it's making families go more toward cheaper sports like basketball and soccer, where all you need is a pair of fucking shin guards and a ball.

Scott:

Dude, I I Or

Jamie:

in basketball, you need a pair of Air Jordans and a ball.

Scott:

Right. But then Right? But now there's because of like, you know, you have all these like academies and you have like, you know, all these different avenues where parents can enroll their kids in hopes that they're going to maybe one day be able to get some of that NIL money or get a scholarship or whatever it is. Yeah. It's like they it it it, you know, it it feels like, you know, like Oh, I don't know what a good analogy is, but like it's almost like fucking trying to like win the lottery.

Scott:

You know what I mean? It's like, you know, you're just You keep on pumping money into the lottery system hoping with a dollar and a dream, But now it's more than just $1 and it's a year round investment that just can't stop, won't stop.

Jamie:

Well, I was telling you about the Chris Cuomo and Gary Vaynerchuk thing I came across, Oh, I thought that was very interesting. What it was for you that are listening that kind of don't know what I'm talking about I think it's on Instagram. It was an Instagram clip and it was an interview with Chris Cuomo and Gary Vee. And Chris Cuomo was saying, he's like, listen, I have all these friends and their kids doing this club sports and they're spending all this money and all this time. He's like, and none of them go and play in college.

Jamie:

He's like, and none of them are a GoPro and they're wasting all this money and they're wasting all this time. And then Gary Vee, which I was telling you, he's like and you know what? And this was so interesting that he said this. And he's like and you know what? He's like most of those parents are using their kid to pump up their own self esteem.

Scott:

Yeah. Or have like heresy for them through them. I was like, dude. Well, know, so like when I first started

Jamie:

this journey He's not wrong about that. I know you and I know many parents that are doing

Scott:

that.

Scott:

And to an extent, I was like, so when Otto was first starting into hockey and seriously and I saw that there was the cutting edge and there was these apps and there was all these training facilities. I was like oh my god, this is my fucking wet dream. I was like, I had this when

Jamie:

I That's was a why, yeah.

Scott:

But the thing is that all these things are available and the kids don't necessarily want them as much as the parents do. I was speaking. Correct. So then it's like, well, my son's interested in hockey and I didn't have these things and now he has access to these things, so I better load him up because dude, how fun is this? As a parent, you're

Jamie:

like, here we go. My parents didn't do this for me. This was not at my fingertips. Here we go. You see other people doing it and you're like, shit.

Scott:

If had this, how much better would I have been?

Jamie:

Listen, and that's true. It is definitely true, right?

Scott:

To an extent.

Jamie:

I know you and I have chatted about this before. I think the gentle push, right? You mentioned something else the other day. Yours wasn't a It was a nudge, right.

Scott:

Which I got from Powertech. And listening to Coach Andy.

Jamie:

That's what it was, right. So the nudge or gentle push, which you and I have kind of called it, I think is not a bad thing. And what I've noticed with my kid was my kid wanted to come home for vacation because he was angry that he couldn't shoot hockey pucks. He wouldn't have said that a couple years ago. So what's interesting is the gentle push or the nudge, like they say on PowerTech, if they want it, when they get old enough to that point, they just kind of go on their own.

Scott:

Right, they take ownership and they do. And we talked about this, if you're pushing your kid that hard when they get to the 13, 14, 15, Probably 16,

Jamie:

a problem.

Scott:

You want it more than they do, then you need to reevaluate. No question.

Jamie:

If they're still into it and they're asking for it, hey, you can pay for it and you don't mind doing it at the time, then you know what? Have at it. The way I look at this stuff and kind of what Gary Vee and Chris Cromwell were talking about that you and I kind of mentioned when I first mentioned it to you, I don't think it's all about getting your kid to college or getting to the NHL. Very few of these kids are going to the NHL. Let's be frank

Scott:

about that. Very

Jamie:

few. Like Dom was talking about this kid, L. J. Mooney, he saw, who was like ridiculous, he saw on Instagram. And Dom's like, Dad, he's like, The kid's ridiculous?

Jamie:

And he was like a seventh round draft pick by the Montreal Canadiens. And he's filthy. Seventh round. So you have to be exceptional to even get drafted,

Scott:

let alone make it to the No doubt.

Jamie:

But what I do think is interesting about what we that play club sports and gently push our kids is I think that at least you and I are kind of on the same page with this, is this will make our kids better in life, in business, in relationships, in marriage because it teaches work ethic, it teaches discipline. So it's not all about having your kid go pro or having him play D1. It's about

Scott:

The life lessons. The life skills

Jamie:

that these kids are getting from doing what they're doing.

Scott:

100%.

Jamie:

That's the important part about this. And hopefully it makes them a better person, a better businessman, a better husband, a better father. Hopefully that's what the kids take out of this long term.

Scott:

Yeah. That's what

Jamie:

you need to look

Scott:

Well, that's what you probably need to prioritize as opposed to like the 100%. Right. I mean

Jamie:

because you're right. It's huge business and it's not going to stop.

Scott:

It's huge business and there's so many places where just like money is being extracted from our wallets and things that are just think about the fucking subscriptions you have. Mean, I don't know if you have a lot, but I've like

Jamie:

I do.

Scott:

I've gone through and I've I've cut deleted social media off of my phone. I've deleted YouTube off my phone. Well, I didn't tell you that even though I've sent a lot of Instagram things off the heels of while you were away and while I was just away

Jamie:

this week,

Scott:

it's all off my phone.

Jamie:

It's a waste. Fuck You sit there and you scroll, it's a fucking waste. It just crushes time.

Scott:

And you'll never get it back. In a lot of ways, some of these things that we spend money on are dollars that we'll never get back, obviously. But it's like when you, I hope So here's what I And that just popped into my head, but the bottom line is just being wise with how you spend your money don't and And your time. Right, because part of that is time. But I was listening to Chiclets and they had Schafer on there who were

Jamie:

number Yeah, number one graphic.

Scott:

And he had talked, so he's got an older brother who I think is like nine years his senior. So there's a pretty large gap

Jamie:

between Oh, big gap there, between His

Scott:

older brother played OHL also. What he was saying is that his dad, lessons learned from older brother were You need to be a kid too. So they were asking like, Your skating is one of your better attributes, your better qualities.

Jamie:

I sure he liked his roller blades. That clip you're talking about? He liked his roller blades, yeah.

Scott:

Roller was a big deal. But part of the reason why roller was a big part, he said something along the lines of like, when all of my friends were out there power skating constantly, he's like, I didn't do it as much because my dad said, you need to be a kid. There's more to life than this.

Jamie:

But what's interesting about what he said, I know exactly, and they're like, how many times are you doing? He's like, two or three times a week. Which is still a lot.

Scott:

Which is still Yeah. Right.

Jamie:

I mean, it's not like

Scott:

That wasn't lost on me

Jamie:

either because when you saw that, was expecting, he'd be like, oh, maybe once Yeah. Every two was about that.

Scott:

My friends were doing it five days week. Yeah.

Jamie:

I was only doing two to three. Which is still

Scott:

So you gotta take that with a grain of salt. 100%. But I the essence of what the dad so this is a number one draft pick whose dad clearly let off the gas when others were hammering it.

Jamie:

Well, also learned from his older child.

Scott:

And he also learned from his older child. Yes. And so I think So

Jamie:

he knew the game.

Scott:

So he knew that there are certain pitfalls and I don't know how things turned out with his older brother. Maybe his older brother got burnt out or whatever the

Jamie:

deal was or Maybe it was too hard on him so he went easier on the younger one.

Scott:

Yeah. And look, every kid's different so that's why this is never like a one size fits all model.

Jamie:

It's true.

Scott:

But I think the most important thing that I hope we do as we discuss this is if nothing else give people like a moment of like pause, you know, and like maybe reflection and maybe think a little bit more critically about what you're doing when you're doing. Do I

Jamie:

need What you're do doing it for? Is it your benefit?

Scott:

Is it kids Yeah. Look, nothing in life is like a straight line. You are going to have those moments where it's like, you know what, I'm going to try on pushing my key. I'll try that on for size and see how it goes. And then if it works, you might do it a little more.

Scott:

Maybe you're not gonna step on the gas and you're not gonna see your key. So there's gonna be moments where you do need to push and pull and I think on aggregate, you just need to hopefully come out on the end of all this relatively balanced. Yes. But again, there's going to be kids. You know anything else in it, right?

Scott:

I feel like I'm being somewhat redundant, but there are kids that are going to thrive with just being pushed. Sure. But I think we both believe that that's more the exception than the rule. Yes. And there's probably more fails when it comes to heavily pushing your kid than there are the success stories, but the problem There has to be.

Scott:

There has to be. Hear the fucking success stories. Yeah. Those are the highlights.

Jamie:

It's like the gambler. They never tell you when they lose money. Only tell

Scott:

you when win. Right. So it's not like you're turning on YouTube and being like, let me see all the failed Exactly. And we've talked

Jamie:

about this

Scott:

too. No, I agree

Jamie:

with you.

Scott:

It's something that as this coming season, and it's funny when we got this email about

Jamie:

Oh, the

Scott:

the Showcases. Oh,

Jamie:

guys already have tournaments on

Scott:

the books? We already have one and

Jamie:

they're talking

Scott:

about the second one. And so they gave the Venmo.

Jamie:

Oh, to pay for it? Like 150 a family ish, right?

Scott:

105? 100 for

Jamie:

Oh, okay. It used to not be 200. It used to be like 150, 175. It was more like 150. It's 150 times $18.19 A lot

Scott:

of Boston

Jamie:

You know, 2 ish grand. Mean, again, everything's fucking getting more expensive.

Scott:

So to that end, but then the way the email was written was like, it almost made it sound like it was optional.

Jamie:

No, it's not. No, I take that back. No, It probably

Scott:

is optional.

Jamie:

However, it's optional with an asterisk.

Scott:

But there's part of me, I swear to God, part of me just wants to be like, yeah, I can't make it.

Jamie:

You know, it is optional, but I'm sure they're optional. However, if your coach is trying to put a serious team together and you don't show up and let's just say you're a defenseman and there's 6d, now you have to run five or there's 5d, now you have to run four, you're not helping your team. This is the fucking

Scott:

But that's the problem. It's this downward pressure that's being put on families that like we talked about it also. It's like, don't fucking charge me for all these extras once I'm already paying big.

Jamie:

Roll them into the goddamn tuition.

Scott:

Fucking bottom line up front. And we'll pay

Jamie:

and give it. You want the three showcase building? Fine. Charge us for two more fucking tournaments. Add Just to the put it in the bill.

Scott:

I don't want an extra bill from my manager for extra, extra, extra.

Jamie:

It's a huge pain in the ass. I know. Like you said, you feel And you're resented. Of course you do because you're like, What the fuck? But unfortunately, the other option is your kid just plays like a house league, which is not very competitive, listen, it's not gonna cost you a

Scott:

lot of money. Or don't go to the fucking extra tournament.

Jamie:

So agreed, However, you have to be ready for a repercussion.

Scott:

Okay.

Jamie:

Because we had a kid last year who did not go to a tournament because he was playing another sport and that child is no longer on our team.

Scott:

And if that kid is good enough because the cream will always rise to the top Agreed. Then they will find another home. And when it's time to get serious and spend those extra dollars, then they will do it. But if you're telling me that a fucking U10 or even a

Jamie:

U12 I'm player just saying.

Scott:

Is going to like

Jamie:

I just wanna I wanna, you know, make sure that everybody has all the information out there. If if there's a repercussion from that, don't be surprised.

Scott:

In the form of, like

Jamie:

Especially if somebody's trying to put you in.

Scott:

Getting benched.

Jamie:

Listen. Well, think think about it. You're the head coach, and all of a sudden you have to run five d instead of six. That's hard, especially for a tournament weekend when you're playing four or five games. It's hard.

Jamie:

I disagree. It's downward pressure on the team at the moment.

Scott:

I don't disagree.

Jamie:

Especially if you start hitting, then you have injuries. It changes. Listen, in the grand scheme of things, you should be like, know what? We're not going. We don't want to pay for it.

Jamie:

And you should have the right to do that.

Scott:

Because that $200 turns into like

Jamie:

Yeah, man.

Scott:

It's $1,000 It's another $100 $200

Jamie:

every weekend is $1,000

Scott:

Every Every weekend is $1 hotel and then

Jamie:

it's $2,000 dollars every hot Entertainment. Like I said, you're $1,000.

Scott:

You are. And if you're at a really good tournament, might even have to pay to get in to watch your kid play. Thank you, the cup buffalo.

Jamie:

I was just gonna say that fucking buffalo, dude. Fucking buffalo. Yeah, that goddamn wristband you have to buy.

Scott:

Yeah, 35.

Jamie:

And you

Scott:

have buy

Jamie:

for all your family members.

Scott:

Fucking crazy.

Jamie:

That's what I forgot. For an outdoor When you said that, I'm like, Fucking buffalo. Fucking buffalo. Goddamn it, dude. I must say, the outdoor game is pretty cool.

Jamie:

But goddamn, that fucking Buffalo, man.

Scott:

I can't record my kid. I can't I have to have four subscriptions

Jamie:

have to pay watch $110 for my whole family to get into this goddamn thing.

Scott:

No, but seriously, like, you know, part of the thing that's I think sad is that you are gonna have families that just the bar is too high financially for them to and you might have a kid

Jamie:

that's Which I think actually is what's happening in Canada.

Scott:

Yeah, well, and I'm sure it's happening here too. I'm not disagreeing that enrollment's on the rise.

Jamie:

I'm sure it is. However, clearly there's more that are doing it than more that are not. If youth hockey in The United States is setting records every year for registration for the last three, four years, there's clearly more people that are doing it than are falling out of the sport. It has to be. If you're on the rise, you have more people doing than not doing, right?

Scott:

Yeah, no. Yeah, I get it.

Jamie:

Which is one the reasons why It's Correct. Which is one of the reasons why I think you have all this private equity money coming into the youth hockey game.

Scott:

They need to make their fucking money.

Jamie:

Well, and they also see dollar signs. They know that parents are gonna pay for this shit. Listen, we're clearly all doing it, so there's a reason why they're getting into this game. If there wasn't money to be made, they wouldn't invest the dollars. Just wouldn't.

Jamie:

And it's not going to go down, it's just going to go up.

Scott:

And it's a problem.

Jamie:

So it's interesting that we're on the rise in The United States and countries like Finland and Sweden are I think Finland's on the rise. Sweden's kind of treading water. Russia's on the rise a little bit, but Canada's on the decline, which is In terms of overall enrollment. I would love Kirk from Ontario to actually send us a message and let us know if that's

Scott:

We'll write him back.

Jamie:

Yes, we do. But I'm curious What's up, Kirk? Yeah, seriously, what's up, Kirk? I'm curious if that's true, that that's why they're on the decline for their youth hockey registration numbers. I'm curious.

Jamie:

Because are the economics in The United States and Canada that vastly different where I don't know the answer. Listen, I know that The US game is obviously exploding. We were talking before, there were more US players drafted this year than any other country. Most of the time, it's Canada. The US is like number two.

Jamie:

Now, people drafted. You have, obviously four nations, we almost beat Canada in that. The Olympics are going to be huge because you're going have big US, Canada rivalry.

Scott:

World Juniors.

Jamie:

World Juniors, right?

Scott:

We have Canadian stars coming, like young stars coming for NIL money to The United States.

Jamie:

Right. So clearly The United States is on the Ascend and the NHL is on the Ascend.

Scott:

How many kids want to go to Penn State now just to see Gavin McKenna?

Jamie:

Dude, that was that was a huge pull.

Scott:

Huge

Jamie:

pull. That was a huge pull.

Scott:

I mean, no matter where he went, it was gonna fill the house.

Jamie:

But that was a surprise.

Scott:

Yeah. Penn State specifically, yes. Yeah. But, well, I mean, I don't know,

Jamie:

like It's obviously baked on hockey, which is great, but

Scott:

But it's gonna bring in younger kids. There's gonna be excitement. There's gonna be No buzz. People are gonna wanna see it. They're gonna wanna try it.

Scott:

Of gonna watch this kid's highlights, and you're gonna be like, oh, fuck. Pagulas That is filthy.

Jamie:

The Pagulas, Penn State's rink, they are going to have an increase in season tickets.

Scott:

That's like a $100,000,000 rink.

Jamie:

Yeah. It's a sick facility. Sick. We've played on their ice and on their practice ice. It's pretty awesome.

Scott:

Well, you need to bring in people like him to fill the seats, to sell the concessions, to sell the jerseys, And I'm pretty sure that money, money, money, money, And

Jamie:

I'm pretty sure that Listen, it was donated by the guy who owns Buffalo Sabres, right? Mean it's

Scott:

Well, maybe he should spend enough money on

Jamie:

his own. Yeah, mean listen, he owns Buffalo Sabres and he owns what else does he own? He owns the Sabres. What the hell is the deal? Why am I drawing a blank?

Jamie:

What else is in Buffalo? He owns the Sabres and what? Shit, I'm drawing a blank. Do me for Google that for me. The Bills?

Jamie:

Thank you. Just Google that for me, but I'm pretty sure he owns the Bills and the Sabres. Yeah. So listen, I'm pretty sure one of his kids went there, so he donated a lot of money for that ice hockey program. And that ice hockey program went from club hockey to a major, major D1 program.

Jamie:

Yeah. Major D1 program. And the get of Gavin McKenna for them is it's going to be unbelievable.

Scott:

So here they own

Jamie:

Is it the

Scott:

Bills? The Bills. Is the Bills and Saints? They're Rochester Americans in the AHL. Buffalo Bandits which is a national lacrosse league.

Scott:

And Pagula Sports and Entertainment which is a holding company probably for all of these other things.

Jamie:

Yeah, would say that. Yeah. I mean, listen. So yeah, so Pagoula had and you're going to see other and I can't wait to start talking college hockey, by the way. But you're going to see a bunch we've talked about it before.

Jamie:

You're going see a bunch of rinks popping up on D1 campuses.

Scott:

It's already happening. UNLV is

Jamie:

You're going to start seeing major because there's money in it.

Scott:

But it's And again, at some point, it's the same thing when people complain about how much professional athletes make. And I'm not talking about hockey specifically.

Jamie:

The money's

Scott:

there. But part of it is because we as like, you know what? Don't even get me started. This could be like a whole another thing, like the fans are the ones that are buying the jerseys.

Jamie:

Of course. Who do think is paying the salaries?

Scott:

Right. They're they're buying the tickets. They're buying tickets. Now now where it's even getting even more conflated is with fucking sports betting. And that's like a

Jamie:

Like draft kings? Like that type stuff?

Scott:

Fanatics that makes all the jerseys. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Scott:

They're also a booking, you know, like they're a betting book. Yeah. I know for a fact from someone that I work with who's like again, like

Jamie:

It's sports better, yeah.

Scott:

Sports better, like big time. He likes that stuff. Thinks actually professional sports are rigged, like big time, which neither here nor there.

Jamie:

Would it surprise you?

Scott:

But but he told me specifically, he's got a buddy that's a Ranger fan.

Jamie:

Mhmm.

Scott:

He had, I forget what professional, but these big sports books are getting former professional athletes to make personal phone calls to individuals who spend a certain amount of money, but they are pulling

Jamie:

out It's like comping, but it's like a little treat for

Scott:

the It's like a level of comping where it's like, know, there's signed jerseys involved and they're doing what everything Well, they're

Jamie:

paying that athlete to be a spokesperson.

Scott:

To be

Jamie:

a spokesperson.

Scott:

It's Be part of it. And, again, talking about downward pressure and, like, ruining ruining

Jamie:

well,

Scott:

in some cases, but children But like, you can go on to like DraftKings with a credit card that maybe or maybe not you got from mom or dad. And now you can start gambling and put yourself into debt. And like, it is beyond There's this interconnectivity and all of it has to do with big business extracting dollars.

Jamie:

It's true, man.

Scott:

And at some point, I don't know, there's no end to it.

Jamie:

No, there's not.

Scott:

There's no fucking end.

Jamie:

There's no end to it. Like I said, once big business gets ahold of it, they're in it for a reason and obviously they make money and generally that is not easy on the consumer's wallet. Of course not. They don't give a shit about you. Mean, listen, it is what it is unfortunately.

Jamie:

We live in a capitalist society but schmucks like us pay it, right?

Scott:

No doubt. But it gives me, know, we have these conversations

Jamie:

But it pisses you off.

Scott:

But it also gives me a moment of pause also. I

Jamie:

appreciate things.

Scott:

And I'll be honest with you, even we were talking about Styx not too long ago and the BET Styx, just having this conversation, I would much rather spend money with BT than give it to Bauer or to CCM. I'd rather support that guy. And quite frankly, I don't really know his story.

Jamie:

Me neither. But he makes a good product.

Scott:

But I'll tell you this much, when I got my blades, I talked to him personally. Oh, did? I did. Didn't you also talk to him?

Jamie:

I didn't. No, no, I didn't talk to him.

Scott:

Oh, you were emailing me?

Jamie:

I reached out to the company when we started talking about them on the podcast.

Scott:

Because I was talking about profiling. I didn't talk to him.

Jamie:

I talked to somebody else.

Scott:

Because that was the first time I ever got my blades profiled. Right. And I had questions

Jamie:

when

Scott:

we got on a call.

Jamie:

Yeah, because they have a fancy blade, which is more of, it's not your traditional blade. It's more like technology.

Scott:

But more to the point, it's like I'd rather put my dollars there.

Jamie:

Yeah, listen, you're not getting any argument from me.

Scott:

Right. But I would also say this, there's a value proposition there because it's an off brand, it's not a big label. But if his stick was a premium to Bauer or whatever, that's also a different story.

Jamie:

It's so funny that you say that because I started doing that with clothing brands. I used to buy Vineyard Vines a lot before Vineyard Vines was ever a thing. Because we used go to Martha's Vineyard a lot. So there used to be one store in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard.

Scott:

Okay.

Jamie:

And so I used to wear the whale and nobody knew what the hell it was. Now it's fucking everywhere.

Scott:

Everywhere.

Jamie:

So now I wear stuff like this, which nobody knows, but it's Is smaller

Scott:

that a Doctor. Seuss? No. No, it's not Cat in the Hat?

Jamie:

No. No?

Scott:

It's Happy Fourth of July?

Jamie:

Yeah, sort of.

Scott:

Yeah.

Jamie:

Yeah. So I wear like this, they're called Cricut, c r I q u e t, I think. Cricket is a company out of Texas. Really cool. Matter of fact, those things that are hanging from the window are from them.

Scott:

Oh, nice.

Jamie:

That's cool. They have like a Caddyshack flair to them. That's like Caddyshack guys. And the one behind it is Will Ferrell.

Scott:

Amazing. Amazing.

Jamie:

Anyway, you and I can go on for hours about this topic, I think.

Scott:

Totally. Yeah.

Jamie:

And we're getting long in the tooth. Why do

Scott:

you say that

Jamie:

all the time? I don't know, dude. Give me something else Long

Scott:

in the tooth. I'll give you a

Jamie:

few We're running longer. I don't know what you're going say. Well, I'll figure something else out. So we say we're going do jokes. Should we throw a couple of them?

Jamie:

Should I do a story today too? No. Or we don't have time?

Scott:

No. We don't have time? Save it for next time.

Jamie:

Okay. All right. So we'll save for story for next time. All So you want to do a couple of jokes for joke day, international joke day?

Scott:

All right. Okay. Ready? Knock knock.

Jamie:

Who's there?

Scott:

Interrupting cow. Interrupting cow.

Jamie:

Moo. My god. That was cute, I'm not going to lie. Was actually pretty That's

Scott:

for my daughter. Is it?

Scott:

Yeah, absolutely. All

Jamie:

right, so I got one for you. I got one that I found that I thought was actually very that was actually pretty good, I'm not going to lie.

Scott:

You're welcome.

Jamie:

That was actually a lot better than I expected. All right, ready? Yeah. Why is the Hockey Hall of Fame situated in Toronto?

Scott:

Oh, why?

Jamie:

So the Leafs fans can remember what

Scott:

the Stanley Cup looks like. It's so appropriate right now too. It's so appropriate. I can't

Jamie:

even begin to tell you. I mean, my especially now that Mitch Marner is in Las Vegas. I mean, it's like so appropriate.

Scott:

Oh my god. That was a good one.

Jamie:

Yes. Anyway, all right. So oh my goodness. All right. So little bit of business to take care of.

Jamie:

So not next episode, but the following episode, we are going to have our first interview, right? Our first hockey dad interview.

Scott:

Yeah.

Jamie:

Right?

Scott:

Yeah, 100 That's

Jamie:

the plan. So we're going to figure out how to do that whether he's going to come in

Scott:

No. Yeah, go ahead, sorry.

Jamie:

No, no, in the studio where we're to we're probably going do it with him being remote and and we'll figure that out. But but I spoke to him today. Yeah. We were gonna do it for episode 19 but he's like, Jamie's like, give me till twenty so I can like like, he wants to get like his thoughts straight and he wants to actually prepare.

Scott:

He'll be good.

Jamie:

Yeah. Know Chris I is don't

Scott:

even know. Maybe I met him in Buffalo. Did?

Jamie:

You met him in Buffalo. Yes.

Scott:

Okay.

Jamie:

Where Kenesha's plays. We were on the ice I playing think we're playing the Boston Junior the Boston Terriers. And you did meet him. So Chris is an awesome dude. Chris is one of the dads that was involved in starting the Rockets program with me.

Jamie:

So Chris is a very good dude. He'll be a lot of fun on this.

Scott:

Good.

Jamie:

So Chris is going be our first interview and we're letting I told him, I said come up with a topic that you want to talk about. I said we can come up with topics. Said but if you have something you want to talk about. I go you come up with a topic and we'll go with it.

Scott:

Yeah, 100%.

Jamie:

So it'll be awesome. So that's not 19, that's 20. That's coming shortly. Scott and I will figure that out.

Scott:

Crazy Hockey Dads 10?

Jamie:

Crazy10, right?

Scott:

Crazy10.

Jamie:

Crazy10. Crazy10. Crazy10. Is hockey? As our Howie's hockey.

Jamie:

Just for our listeners, it's the 10% discount code for our listeners from Howie's hockey. So go buy some tape. Go support the show. It really helps us with them. Keep downloading.

Jamie:

Keep sharing the show. We really appreciate it. Let's see if we can get in all 50 states, all 10 Canadian provinces, and all of the countries.

Scott:

Listen, I just before we go, I just

Jamie:

wanted did to tell you

Scott:

you I have a fact. Okay. Fun fact.

Jamie:

Fun Fun fact before it goes to show.

Scott:

Yeah. Did you know that the only time that Chuck Norris was ever wrong was the time he thought he made a mistake?

Jamie:

Did his jokes his jokes are like legendary?

Scott:

They're not his.

Jamie:

No, but the jokes about him are some of the funniest things that I've ever heard.

Scott:

They are the funniest things.

Jamie:

They're phenomenal. They're phenomenal. I mean, jokes are phenomenal. The Chuck Norris jokes. Mean, said like he could cook one minute rice in ten seconds.

Scott:

Did

Scott:

you know that Chuck Norris can tie his shoes with his own feet? When the boogeyman goes to

Scott:

sleep Oh

Jamie:

my god, he checks

Scott:

under his bed for Chuck Norris? I've read that one.

Jamie:

They're so good. I mean they're like painful good. Mean it's see you're reading them.

Scott:

I can't like help myself.

Scott:

Do know that Chuck Norris can drown fish?

Scott:

Chuck Norris once scared a mirror.

Jamie:

Oh my god. I mean, dude, I can read these.

Scott:

Wait, but do you know that death once had a near

Scott:

Chuck Norris experience?

Jamie:

I'm telling you, I I

Scott:

Chuck Norris can fold fitted sheets. Oh my god. Chuck Norris once punched a hole in the rainbow.

Scott:

Did you did you know that the earth rotates because Chuck Norris kicked it? Norris can slam revolving doors. It's fucking insane. It's so fucking insane. One

Jamie:

is better than the next. I mean literally, I'm looking at these jokes, I mean like I mean you can keep going with these. They're literally the one is funnier than the next one.

Scott:

Oh my god.

Jamie:

I mean it's like it's can't even them them This on

Scott:

my last one. Chuck Chuck Norris doesn't need sunscreen, the sun wears chuck black. Fucking chuck block. The sun wears chuck block.

Jamie:

Oh, shit. Chuck Norris' car doesn't run on gas,

Scott:

it runs on fear. Oh my god,

Jamie:

I can't. My stomach hurts. I'm laughing. Oh my god.

Scott:

Okay.

Jamie:

So happy International Joke That's it. Happy late International Joke Day. Oh my god.

Scott:

We need more Chuck Norris in our lives.

Jamie:

Seriously, you're not kidding. Oh my goodness. That was fun, man. That was a very fun episode and I'm hoping it was enlightening for people. Be ready for our interview in a couple weeks with my buddy Chris and we're gonna kind of that's the plan.

Jamie:

We're gonna have like hockey dads on moving forward and getting some of the

Scott:

air Yeah, perspectives for sure. I think we all have our own experiences with these things and I I think Yeah. And part of part of it, I'll say this now, my hope in part with this show is as we were talking about, like, know, you go to YouTube and you go to Instagram and you see all these highlights and I know you're

Jamie:

doing something.

Scott:

I'm thinking Chuck Norris.

Scott:

You can tell? I'm thinking about your Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door joke. I can't even look at this anymore.

Jamie:

Think I've

Scott:

closed my laptop.

Scott:

Okay, okay, okay.

Scott:

I can't even look because it's too funny.

Scott:

Okay. But just getting back to all this, I do think it would fantastic if we just continue to have We need the former player. We don't need, oh wow, that would be

Jamie:

great, don't get me wrong. Listen, I'm sure it'll happen eventually.

Scott:

Just like you and I and other regular dads just to talk about these things because you want to hear the success stories,

Jamie:

But

Scott:

I think part of what the reality that doesn't get discussed enough is when all the well intended things just don't go right and I think people are chasing the dream as well they should, but I think that sometimes it's a little too blind and there's plenty of families and parents that can speak to things that worked well, that didn't work well

Jamie:

and

Scott:

just continuing to learn from other dads. And obviously it's not limited to dads, right? Hockey moms, hockey parents. Yes. I think that there's a lot that we have a platform that can really bring different voices to the table.

Jamie:

Oh, sure. Yeah. No, it's going to be fun. I'm looking forward to it. Was an awesome Stop looking at Chuck Norris.

Jamie:

I'm telling you, I closed my laptop because I can't even look you in the eye because I'll start laughing. So it's like when we were kids on the beach in Massachusetts.

Scott:

That was absolutely crazy.

Jamie:

That's a story for another time.

Scott:

Do you know that when Chuck Norris was born, he drove his mom home from the hospital?

Scott:

I've read that. I've actually read that joke before.

Jamie:

Oh my god. Oh my god. So we're going to cut it there So because I'm gonna lose it. Like I said, I can't even open my oh my god. Here you go.

Scott:

There's no theory of evolution, just a list of animals Chuck's

Scott:

door is allowed to live.

Jamie:

Oh my god. I'm telling you, one is better than the next. And you just keep going. See, that's why I closed my laptop because I can't even I can't. I'll

Scott:

I can't. Chuck Norris can delete the recycling bin?

Scott:

I read that one too.

Scott:

Okay. Okay. Goodbye everybody.

Jamie:

Thank you. Alright. That was fun. Alright, dude. Was fun.

Jamie:

Alright. We'll see you soon. Bye everybody.