The Ride to The Rink: A Parent’s Guide to Hockey Evals and Team Decisions

🚨 Parents — this one’s for you. 🚨

Tryout season is here. Emotions are high. FOMO is real. And decisions made right now can shape your child’s hockey journey for years to come.

In this special Parent Edition of The Ride to the Rink, Lee and Mike Bonelli flip the script and ask the kids to turn to YOU and say: “Are you listening?”

Because when it comes to hockey evals, team jumping, chasing elite labels, and negotiating during tryouts… parents matter more than anyone.

Mike brings the perspective of a hockey director and lays it out clearly:

• Stop chasing what isn’t realistic right now.
• Stop negotiating like it’s Division I athletics.
• Start focusing on environment, development, and long-term growth.

This episode is about stepping back, thinking clearly, and choosing the right path — not the flashy one.

🏒 In This Episode:

• Why chasing “AAA” or the winning team can backfire
• The danger of team-hopping and how coaches really see it
• The right (and wrong) way to talk to directors during tryouts
• Why development beats records every time
• How adversity years may actually help your player more
• Eliminating stress by knowing who you are as a hockey family

✨ The goal isn’t to win the tryout season.
✨ The goal is to build a healthy, happy, developing hockey player.

Parents, take a breath. Think. Make a decision you won’t regret in six months.

And kids… thanks for making sure they listened 😉

We believe in you. You should too.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog:Youth Hockey Tryouts: Don’t Let Emotions Make the Decision

#YouthHockey #HockeyParents #HockeyTryouts #HockeyDevelopment #ParentingInSports #AAAYouthHockey #HockeyEvals #TheRideToTheRink

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