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re: Is the high cost to play hockey the reason it isn't as popular?
Posted on 2/22/26 at 10:14 pm to UltimaParadox
Posted on 2/22/26 at 10:14 pm to UltimaParadox
TBH, I think soccer is growing because youth football is shrinking.
0
Posted on 2/22/26 at 10:22 pm to UltimaParadox
Even in Houston, the kids playing hockey have to share ice time with figure skaters and people who rent it out for birthday parties.
The winter sports are just much less accessible for people in general. Clearly luge, skeleton, and bobsled are the least accessible, but I believe there are only 4 or 5 long tracks for speed skating in the whole country.
Ice hockey is clearly more accessible than those but nowhere near the major team sports or golf, tennis, track, or swimming.
I’d say the most accessible winter sports is actually freestyle skiing and snowboarding, specifically slopestyle.
One of the Olympians came from A Perfect North, which is nowhere near as exclusive as Jackson Hole or Aspen and is mostly used by kids in Ohio and Indiana on the weekends.
The winter sports are just much less accessible for people in general. Clearly luge, skeleton, and bobsled are the least accessible, but I believe there are only 4 or 5 long tracks for speed skating in the whole country.
Ice hockey is clearly more accessible than those but nowhere near the major team sports or golf, tennis, track, or swimming.
I’d say the most accessible winter sports is actually freestyle skiing and snowboarding, specifically slopestyle.
One of the Olympians came from A Perfect North, which is nowhere near as exclusive as Jackson Hole or Aspen and is mostly used by kids in Ohio and Indiana on the weekends.
Posted on 2/22/26 at 10:24 pm to UltimaParadox
Hockey has become fairly popular in Dallas and more and more kids are playing. But its still a niche sport in DFW compared to even soccer. I think there are 10 or so rinks mostly in Dallas and the northern burbs as the Stars have built most of them. I lived in Southern Cali when the Kings got Wayne Gretzky so me and another LSU grad started watching Kings games because of him. We figured out the rules pretty easily and had a lot of fun watching those playoff runs. I moved to Dallas a couple years later about the time the Stars moved here and I've been a Stars fan since.
This post was edited on 2/22/26 at 10:27 pm
Posted on 2/22/26 at 10:37 pm to UltimaParadox
It's just not part of the culture of the south. You typically do things your parents do/ did when they were younger or that your friends do. People in the NE and midwest have been playing hockey for generations. Kids play it in the street. Baseball is huge down here and not nearly as big in other areas. You just have regional sports cultures.
Posted on 2/22/26 at 10:46 pm to UltimaParadox
quote:
Guessing it doesn't go much further south?
We had one in the mall in Montgomery back in the 90’s but it wasn’t big and the only people who really used it were wannabe-figure skaters. It closed in the last 2-3 years.
Posted on 2/22/26 at 10:51 pm to nugget
quote:
It's just not part of the culture of the south.
True. When someone asks “see that game last night?”. No one here means hockey. Local media don’t cover hockey at all.
Posted on 2/22/26 at 11:59 pm to UltimaParadox
USA Hockey runs a "try hockey for free" day usually once a year at hundreds of rinks throughout the US. This kind of answers your question on cost, but to participate my understanding is they provide you equipment on this day in particular.
Yes, the event is running this year on Saturday March 7th. However it looks like only kids ages 4 through 9 are eligible to participate.
HOCKEY WEEK ACROSS AMERICA SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
That gives you a daily schedule as noted of each day what's going on.
RINK LOCATOR FOR PARTICIPATING RINKS FOR TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE DAY
Appropriately named iink, put in a zip to find participating rink closest to you. I tried a few states and no finds, so either no registering yet, or simply no rinks around.
Yes, the event is running this year on Saturday March 7th. However it looks like only kids ages 4 through 9 are eligible to participate.
HOCKEY WEEK ACROSS AMERICA SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
That gives you a daily schedule as noted of each day what's going on.
RINK LOCATOR FOR PARTICIPATING RINKS FOR TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE DAY
Appropriately named iink, put in a zip to find participating rink closest to you. I tried a few states and no finds, so either no registering yet, or simply no rinks around.
Posted on 2/23/26 at 12:16 am to UltimaParadox
No it just sucks.
Posted on 2/23/26 at 5:19 am to UltimaParadox
Hockey has a couple things going that don’t work for it:
1. It is tough to get into as a kid, not just in the south but in much of the country. It’s expensive, requires ice instead of a field, etc. So people don’t know the rules and don’t have the interest.
2. Televised hockey is harder to follow because the puck is so small. For instance, I watched the Gold Medal Game with a couple of puckheads from the Northeast and their reaction to the winning goal was delayed by half a second because they couldn’t tell if we scored. I had thrown my hands up and cheered but they couldn’t tell we had won. As ragged on as the highlighted puck was back in the day, it did make the game easier to follow.
1. It is tough to get into as a kid, not just in the south but in much of the country. It’s expensive, requires ice instead of a field, etc. So people don’t know the rules and don’t have the interest.
2. Televised hockey is harder to follow because the puck is so small. For instance, I watched the Gold Medal Game with a couple of puckheads from the Northeast and their reaction to the winning goal was delayed by half a second because they couldn’t tell if we scored. I had thrown my hands up and cheered but they couldn’t tell we had won. As ragged on as the highlighted puck was back in the day, it did make the game easier to follow.
Posted on 2/23/26 at 5:47 am to UltimaParadox
Not as many “highlights” as something like football or basketball also.
Posted on 2/23/26 at 6:09 am to Hoops
I’m in DFW and we have many rinks.
The problem is it’s very hard to get ice time. All of my friends that are in beer leagues don’t play until 10 or 11 PM.
That is very hard to do when you work and have a family. Youth leagues are very expensive and you have to travel a ton
In most countries if you’re really good, you leave the house at 12 and live with a host family to train
The problem is it’s very hard to get ice time. All of my friends that are in beer leagues don’t play until 10 or 11 PM.
That is very hard to do when you work and have a family. Youth leagues are very expensive and you have to travel a ton
In most countries if you’re really good, you leave the house at 12 and live with a host family to train
This post was edited on 2/23/26 at 6:10 am
Posted on 2/23/26 at 6:18 am to UltimaParadox
It was a MAJOR factor for gen x and those before
When i was thinking about playing, it would of been 1500 to start, and thats with no stick or skates. there were no resale market like there is for other sports, people kept their shite.
You also had to pay to practice, icetime has sacred, everyone paid for every minute on the ice.
I remember looking into being a goalie, i was at 3K, and i hadnt even got to the mask,stick, goalie leg pads,etc.
now, there is a resale market, and you can get into hockey for much cheaper, which is why it has grown, and we see more americans at the top of draft charts.
but when i was young, it was for the upper middle or rich. paying $100ish per practice for ice time was the nuts.
When i was thinking about playing, it would of been 1500 to start, and thats with no stick or skates. there were no resale market like there is for other sports, people kept their shite.
You also had to pay to practice, icetime has sacred, everyone paid for every minute on the ice.
I remember looking into being a goalie, i was at 3K, and i hadnt even got to the mask,stick, goalie leg pads,etc.
now, there is a resale market, and you can get into hockey for much cheaper, which is why it has grown, and we see more americans at the top of draft charts.
but when i was young, it was for the upper middle or rich. paying $100ish per practice for ice time was the nuts.
Posted on 2/23/26 at 6:36 am to Jax Teller
quote:
I think that whole lack of ice plays a part
I'd bet it would be a pretty popular youth sport in Florida if there was simply more access given the massive success of the Lightning and Panthers. But the cost to keep rinks operational here leads to many failing. Not a whole lot of places for kids to play.
This post was edited on 2/23/26 at 6:38 am
Posted on 2/23/26 at 6:37 am to stlslick
quote:
but when i was young, it was for the upper middle or rich. paying $100ish per practice for ice time was the nuts.
Where was this? Because if you watch the 1980 miracle team documentary, they did not come off as a bunch of rich kids.
Posted on 2/23/26 at 6:51 am to UltimaParadox
I played hockey when I was 9 years old through 11 years old and I remember if it was pretty expensive for all the equipment plus the league fees. I remember going to an equipment store to buy all my equipment with my dad, and after we picked everything out, I saw a really cool Red Wings poster cause I’m a big Red Wings fan and the guy at the counter said just take it for free. You’re spending so much money here anyway.
I remember wanting to play club hockey in college but the cost to join was $900 so I was like that’s gonna be a no for me dog
I remember wanting to play club hockey in college but the cost to join was $900 so I was like that’s gonna be a no for me dog
Posted on 2/23/26 at 7:09 am to UltimaParadox
It’s fairly popular around Houston (due to all the Canadian oil and gas baws) but a few of my kids friends play and the times of the practices and games in insane because they all have to share ice time at one of the 2 rinks.
They had a game yesterday at 5 am
They had a game yesterday at 5 am
Posted on 2/23/26 at 7:14 am to UltimaParadox
What local teams do we have across the South?
How many ice rinks do we have across the South?
How many ice rinks do we have across the South?
Posted on 2/23/26 at 7:14 am to UltimaParadox
Duh, it is too hot down here. Our ponds don't freeze up for kids to play on. It is kind of like the reason most good baseball players come from the south because they can play it outside as kids.
As far as spectators, it is not an easy sport to enjoy unless you just want to see the fights. The puck is too small and fast for most people to see in real time. In fact, without the silly fights, I don't think anyone would even go to the games.
As far as spectators, it is not an easy sport to enjoy unless you just want to see the fights. The puck is too small and fast for most people to see in real time. In fact, without the silly fights, I don't think anyone would even go to the games.
Posted on 2/23/26 at 7:29 am to UltimaParadox
Friends of ours have a son that plays hockey. He plays a few games and practices at George’s Pond (the local ice rink) in Shreveport but for the most part is in DFW, Kansas City, Nashville, and I think Birmingham during whatever junior league he’s in’s season just for them to find games and tournaments in this region. Most of the time it’s DFW so it’s not too bad travel wise for them.
This post was edited on 2/23/26 at 1:23 pm
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