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SEPTEMBER 2018 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 21 talking about the good, the bad and the ugly of youth sports in America, he often holds up USA Hockey as the gold standard of what can happen when a national organization and grassroots volunteers work together. " O t h e r s p o r t s n e e d a n e x a m p l e o f a n N G B [national governing body] and people at the com- munity level who are embracing reforms that make the sport a better experience for kids," the executive director of the Aspen Institute's Sports & Society program told a packed house at USA Hockey 's recent Annual Congress. In the next breath, Farrey challenged those in the room to think about the next stage of the game's growth and development. And the answer he pro- posed was a return to the game's roots by bring- ing the hockey experience closer to home with a renewed emphasis on creating and supporting house league programs. Farrey called house leagues a "treasured American institution" that many have forgotten due to a com- mon misconception in all youth sports that equates opportunity to money paid and miles traveled even at a young age. "As a parent, it could be tough because you don't want to deny your child opportunities," Farrey said. "But we have to really think about what we really want sports to do for our children." An ardent supporter of USA Hockey's American Development Model, Farrey said that starts with finding out what's important to a kid and not just the parent holding the checkbook. "If you listen to kids, they would prefer to play with classmates in an experience where fun is the priority," he said in reference to studies conducted by the Aspen Institute's Project Play initiative. "Certainly, at the 12 & Under level, kids need that social experience, and house leagues have been great at fostering that." As Tom Farrey crisscrosses the country