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The elite dream: Is it all worth it?

As a parent, one can’t put a price on encouraging your child’s dream, whether it’s an attainable one or not. Doing your due diligence in the program you intend to place your child can save you money, heartache and angst, but another important factor to consider is: is it all worth it to your child?

“From my experience … there’s a very small percentage of kids at that age who know what they want to do,” said Cioffi, the North Vancouver hockey coach, expounding upon the early age children are asked to specialize and focus on a sport.

“And you can tell by how committed they are to the sport. And when I say committed, I want to say ‘obsessed.’ The kid that wants to be on the ice all the time. The kid that wakes up without a huff at 5 a.m. to go do it. And that’s a small percentage.

“The rest of the kids, they might love playing the sport, and the social aspect of being around their friends, they love the competition, but it’s not necessarily the sport that they’re obsessed with.

“When they’re 10 or 11, as a parent, you’ve got to put the reins on them, too. Just because they want it, you don’t have to give it to them.

“… It’s like chocolate cake. If a kid wants a piece of cake, they’ll take the whole thing. But as a parent, are you going to give them the whole cake? Or are you going to give them a piece at a time? It’s just like sports. ‘You want to play this? You need a break. Try something different.’

“And if they get to 13, 14, and they’re still showing that (obsession), then you can support that a little bit further. … As soon as you have to start dragging them to do things, you know they’re not necessarily all in.”

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