The topic of family advisors does not get enough attention. Good ones are invaluable. Bad ones are worse than nothing (because you expect them to help and they don't). Figuring out which ones are which is a little like playing craps, put your money on the table and roll the die.

It's that time of year when some of you start thinking about positioning yourself or your child for next season. How do we get Johnny on the Midget AAA, Junior or College team that is right for him? How to avoid making a mistake? What does Johnny need to work on in the off-season? Family advisors can be the perfect person to answer these and other questions.

There are a lot of reasons why you might consider contracting the services of a family advisor, but two reasons standout. First, connections. Good advisors have lots of connections and can find the right team for your player. Second, they are a personal coach. Good advisors are not concerned about fielding the best possible roster of players for the local club (like a team coach or manager is), they are looking out for what's best for the player. The good ones can actually provide great hockey suggestions like how to improve your one-on-one defensive techniques or create more turnovers with your forecheck, but also help with off-ice workouts, college prep and more.

Locating the right family advisor is more difficult than it might seem. There are family advisors who work for major player rep agencies and focus on finding future pros. If your player is not a future pro, don't hire one of these guys. You want a family advisor who is placing kids who are playing at the same level as your player. Ask for a list of kids under contract and/or "graduates". Consider calling references. Ask around.

To get a little deeper into the subject, MYHockey has asked David Maciuk of JDM Consulting to answer a few questions about the business of family advising. We hope you find this helpful in determining if such a service is right for you.


1) Can you explain what it is that you do as a family advisor?

Answer: What I do as an advisor is first, find out the goals of the player and family. I then evaluate the player to get a feel if the goals are realistic with the players skill set. For bantam and midget age players the goal would be a tender, draft pick and or feed back from junior teams on the level of interest so I could appropriately solicit teams in the players ability to find a home.For junior players we solicit the colleges for the right fit at the right time depending on what they are graduating. I work with my clients on improving their game,set them up on training routine, give honest feedback so improvement can be made, explain the way they can work their way up the lineup and what things are important to show coaches your willing to do and how to do it. I have relationships with coaches and teams at every level of hockey that I use to find the right fit for my clients, my credibility is second to none, if I describe a player to a club he does what I say or I can't place him. So to put it in a nut shell we evaluate, mentor, solicit, market and talk parents of the cliff through the rough patches. It's a game, it should be fun, but players that can't handle the mental abuse will not make it through the process.

2) Who needs a family advisor?

Answer: Players looking to get to the highest level they can and have to work ethic can use our services, I get questions like, who would be the best coach for my son, what AAA club should I play for, who should I use for off ice work, USHL or OHL college or pro. Serious players wanting to put the work in will always get something out of the game, that is my job.

3) How much does your service cost?

Answer: Our company charges a flat one-time fee of $2500. That fee gets them my services until they get to college or major junior.

4) I have heard of a family advisor a charging nothing, how does that work and does that maintain the players NCAA eligibility?

Answer: To maintain NCAA eligibility parents are allowed to hire a paid advisor, getting the services for free could hinder that status.

5) At what age should a player (family) look at obtaining an advisor?

Answer: Players retain advisors at different ages, when difficulty deciding which path to take, people giving advice that are trying to recruit you, it's time, because all parents need to make a decision is truthful information that's what we can obtain for them.

6) Are there players who shouldn't consider the services of a family advisor?

Answer: Players not willing to put the time in to constantly get better I cannot help.

7) How is J.D. Maciuk Consulting different (or similar) to other family advising services out there?

Answer: JDM consulting differs from most because of my playing experience, coaching, running a AAA club, running showcases and relationships developed over 35 yrs on both sides of the border to the highest level of hockey.

8) If you could only give players and families one piece of advise, what would it be?

Answer: The most important piece of advice I would give would be to go where they want you they will make it work for you.