While you have some free time, make some time to think about what you value, what you hope to achieve. Then you can fill in some of the blanks with strategic plans for how to reach those goals in a way that is honoring to your values and the values of your family. Making decisions about whether or not to play Junior Hockey and then ultimately deciding the team can be a daunting task.
By default, some families wait for the decision to be made for them - which teams recruit them to tryouts or offer a tender/draft them or by which team(s) actually offer your an initial roster spot in August.
But we suggest a series of questions and a logical sequence that will help you arrive at a better decision for you as a player and as a family for this particular time. This process of decision making is a great learning experience and can help you learn to make other tough decisions in life (like what college to attend, what major/minors to study, how to pick a college adviser, whom to marry, which job offer to take, which house to buy, and so many more choices). For most families, the "junior hockey question" or the "college question" is the first major decision they face together with the strong input from their young adult. Many families are inexperienced in this process and they don't have pre-defined roles and methods for making decisions. This process is designed to help you decide how you will decide.
WATCH OUT FOR THESE "DECISION TRAPS"
TRAP #1) Plunging In: Making a conclusion without really thinking about the MAIN issues or thinking through the PROCESS you will go through to make the best decision.
To avoid this trip, decide the METHOD/STRATEGY you will use to make a decision before starting to weigh options. Otherwise, you haven't defined what the real issues are and what you believe is really important. It's easy to be swayed and to make a wrong "purchase" when you let someone else decide what is important
►►ACTIVITY: Decide how you will decide. Agree on your process. Write this answer down and then when you must choose between options, you will better see the main issues as the main issues without getting distracted by the "non-essentials."
Some methods we have observed over the years
A. One party decision: Parents alone, parents with player's input, player alone
B. Parents narrows down choices then player decides. Tryout for your top pick
C. Player narrows down choices then parent decides. Tryout for your top picks
D. Group consensus: Each parent gets a vote and player gets a vote
E. Rely on a coach or mentor to make the decision for you
F. See what teams recruits you; if none, skip a summer of tryouts, save $ and go to college
G. See what teams recruit you; if none, do whatever it takes to get into as many tryouts as possible with hope of making some team somewhere ("any team is better than no team" philosophy)
H See what teams recruit you; from that group make a selection
I. See what teams recruit you; weigh those against going directly to college
J. Sign immediately with the first team that contacts you because who knows if you'll have another choice
K. Decide where you want to play and do whatever it takes to play there. No opportunity with that team, go to college
L. Straight intuition after meeting a scout or coach and sign on the spot if you get a good feel after the "sales pitch"
M. See what team(s) recruit you; then measure each team against your standard list. Determine which choice makes it through the “approval round,” then go back and weigh the “extras” for making a final selection.
The list above is not exclusive: we've observed other blends of decision-making. We don't aim to make a value statement about the selection process you choose. What works for one family may not work for another. Maybe you need to select a different process for different decisions. But intentionally selecting HOW you will proceed through the decision-making process can prevent a lot of wasted time, energy, confusion, frustration and potentially money.
Clinical researchers in decision making sciences suggest a strategy like (M) -- where you measure possibilities against each of your defined standards. If more than one option makes it through the first round, compare the options head to head in those categories to see how well they deliver those criteria. If it's still tied, bring in other criteria that are bonus or part of the "cool factor."
TRAP #2) Frame BlindnessSetting out to solve the wrong problem because you have unintentionally created a skewed mental framework for your decision, causing you to overlook the best options or lose sight of the important objectives
Frames have enormous power over your thought process because how you frame the question will have great influence the outcome. Think of your frame like choosing where to build a window frame in a house you're constructing. Depending on where that window is, you might see a different view. The best frames will showcase what is important and the walls will block out the rest. How you frame your question will control your reaction and next steps. You need to glean information to make an informed decision; but with so much information out there from so many sources, you need decide where to place your frame. Select your reference points wisely or you may find yourself with skewed or incomplete information
►►ACTIVITY
Decide what will you use as reference points that ultimately make up your frame. Which of the following "information sources" will you allow to influence your decisions ? (Friends of the family who navigated junior hockey last year? Your high school coaches? Grads from your school? Team websites? League websites? Chat pages? Stats pages? The verbage in a legal contract or team manual that you have been given to read and consider? Overheard conversations? Host home parents? Disgruntled player who came from that team? Several players who have come from the same team? What you have observed? What a recruiter from another team says about a competitor? News articles? How far back will you look to find answers? (one season, five years?) When you get information from outside of your set frame, throw it out immediately! Don’t listen to those sources.
TRAP #3 Being Overconfident in Your JudgmentFailing to collect key factual information because you are too sure of your assumptions and opinions.
Size up what you know. List the questions you want answered to make sure they aren't overlooked. Search out those questions systematically that you will use to compare the answers. Confirmation bias is the term that means finding evidence that confirms your assumptions and throwing out anything that seems to the contrary. Most of us seem to possess a built-in tendency to find evidence that will help build a mental case to support our current beliefs and to ignore other evidence to the contrary. A diligent search can turn up hundreds of pieces of evidence that seem to confirm a hypothesis even though the hypothesis isn't true. The wise decision maker is a realist when making a decision but an optimist/positive thinker when implementing that decision.
TRAP #4 Shortsighted ShortcutsRelying inappropriately on "rules of thumb such as trusting the most readily available information or placing too much power on convenient facts.
With so much information out there about junior hockey and college hockey, it is unrealistic to believe your family can discover ALL the important, useful information. And if you did, it's unlikely you'd be able to strategically sort through things, ignore biases, properly frame the right question and arrive at a wise conclusion in the few weeks between now and fall. And the time does go by in a blink! So some shortcuts are necessary. Simply be aware that CONVENIENT facts or opinions are not always best. Similarly, scouts/recruiters use shortcuts to narrow down the lists of the thousands of eligible junior hockey players when they try to select their twenty-plus roster. If all they did was look at players height and points for the season, some great prospects would be overlooked and they might select players that really did not have as much potential as another player. Here is a list of mental shortcuts families often take. These can be part of the final decision making process if all the other information is equal between choices but we caution you to not exclude a possible team based on the following shortcuts.
A. Final standings last season (Reason for error: Does that prove the coaching was good or that the team just didn't mess up good players? Are those talented players returning? Will you be able to get lots of game time in order to develop?)
B. The head coach played in the NHL (Reason for error: Does that mean he can COACH this level?)
C. The "Cool factor" number of fans, feel of locker room, flashy color brochure with lots of photos, sweet jerseys (Reason for error: if these are not needed to help you reach your goal, then they are extra and can distract you from the main questions)
D. What's the cost for me to play there? (A better question would be: "What are you getting for your money" Everything costs something. Consider opportunity cost)
E. Did players move up to Division I colleges? (Some players will move up regardless of where they played. Don't automatically give credit a team for developing them.)
None of these things above are bad. In fact, I'd check into those things too! But just make sure you are basing your decision on what will aid your development on and off the ice as an athlete, a student, things you value not just what sounds great on the surface. Get a deeper picture of what is not talked about as much.
►►ACTIVITY
Look through the list of other short-cuts and select some criteria that you might consider as good complimentary information.
A. Has the team been consistently competitive? If not, ask why!
B. What types of players, student/athletes do they tend to recruit? What kind of people will be my teammates? Which spots are filled for next year?
C. Is the team located somewhere you would enjoy living? Metro vs small town or rural? Part time job opportunities? Proximity to community college? College town life?
D. How much does the team travel? How many days of school/work missed?
E. It is possible to work or go to college with their game/practice schedule?
F. How much time/money would my family spend commuting to see me play this year? How realistic is it that my family will be able to come and see games? For me to go home periodically? How much is a trip home?
G. What has the press reported about this team?
H. What guarantees/details did they put in writing about what they offered? (Look past the slick brochure and look at what they are really selling you. Is that truly the opportunity you want to “buy”
I. Will I be able to spend holidays together with family?
J. What does my team fees/housing fees pay for and is it worth the investment?
K. What is their policy regarding drugs, alcohol and tobacco?
L. How billet/host families selected? How are players matched with billet families? Do players get own room and bath? Do they share with another player or family members? What is expected of me if I live in their home? How long of a commute is it to the rink and how is traffic at the time of day I’d be commuting? How are winter road conditions?
M. Describe the workout facilities and the off ice program.
TRAP #5 Shooting from the HipBelieving you can keep straight all the information you've discovered, and therefore "winging it" rather than following a systematic procedure when making the final decision.
TRAP #6 Group Failure Assuming that with many smart, good intentioned people involved in the decision process that good choices will follow automatically
If that is the case, then in theory, our government could have prevented 911, the space shuttle should not have blown up, and every elite player with a caring high school coach and supportive family would find a perfect match for a junior hockey team that will develop him and prepare him for Division I hockey scholarships. Except that there are less spots than there are "elite" hockey players and there is no way to scout every one of them. So scouts use short cuts like height, plus/minus, selection to the Chicago Showcase, regional selection to all star teams, GPA etc to recruit players they think will come play for them, trying to second guess who will earn a NCAA college roster spot before the age of 21. It is really a pretty daunting task to match players with the best option for them. So until an eHarmony.com site is created for junior hockey, we all get by the best way we can. But just recognize that involving more people in the decision making process doesn't mean that you will arrive at the best conclusion. We all have biases, frames and limited information. You don’t know everything you need to know about a team and they don’t know everything they need to know about your recruiting class.
After analyzing catastrophes and scandals like Chernobyl, the Bay of Pigs, Watergate etc, researchers discovered common elements - though apparently innocent- that seemed to lead toward disaster. So as much as possible, avoid these things if you are going to use a group approach for decision making because these things led to bad group decision making:
A. Cohesiveness: People who know and like each other and who want to preserve relationships/good feelings often leave things unsaid and don’t challenge other people’s thinking as much as they should. You walk off the cliff together
B. Insulation: Groups that don’t have all the information because they didn’t know the questions to ask or where to look for critical answers can’t be expected to make wise decisions. These groups appear quite busy but are operating without key facts. (Teams don't often disclose information about what kind of players they need to fill in roster spots; Players aren't all seen by the people who want them; Last year's veterans don't have an avenue to share what they've learned; Released players disappear and don’t share what they have learned).
C. High Stress: The perceived importance of the decision, its complexity and tight deadline often lead groups to select something just to select something. By contrast, many of the best decisions were made later in the process by groups that resolved to keep working towards a solution after other groups would quit. Not knowing is so uncomfortable to some groups that they would risk a less appealing or wrong decision just to have closure.
D Strong Leadership: If the head of the group/family clearly states up front what he/she favors it is likely that others will
naturally follow that train of thought rather than come up with an alternative, maybe even better answer. You would think that a strong leader involved in a decision is helpful; but in group decision dynamics, unless that leader is willing to listen and guide the discussion rather than impose personal ideas, it really isn’t a group decision.
DECISION TRAP #7 Not Keeping TrackNot keeping records to track information prevents you from analyzing details later and from learning key lessons to regroup
For families that choose to research opportunities and sort through possibilities, there is a ton of information out there to weed through. Start compiling the answers to your important questions into a format that you can find and process later. Don't jot notes on scrap paper that you can't sort or retrieve later. It may take more time to get organized on the front end, but when you really need the information, if you can't remember for sure if that was about Team X or Y or who you "heard it from" or if you already asked that...you'll either waste a lot of time looking for it or worse yet, you'll just rely on your memory. Put paper by the phone, get a box to put letter in. Start filling out charts that include space for the important questions you’ll use to compare.
Credit: This is an application of the book "Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Brilliant Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them" by J Edward Russo and Paul Schoemaker
