Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/112773
J O N ES B a rb e r "Jason Terry kind of worked with Dirk a lot and they worked so hard behind the scenes. No one knew about it, but it showed on the court that they were among the best players." Jones also had a close-up view of the extremely competitive nature of the business. As Jones put it, he had a behind the scenes look at an ever-dwindling pyramid of roster spots. "The pyramid gets smaller. Each level you get to, there are [more] great players and you have to keep working until you get to the top of the pyramid where you're in the .1 percent of those players that get a career in the NHL," Jones said. "That's motivation for me and [my dad] taught me a lot about that." Housley said parents who played sports professionally, in general, put less pressure on their children. A parent who has been on either side of a roster cut or a late season call-up knows that it's incredibly difficult to become and establish a career as a pro athlete. Photos By Images on Ice (4); Getty Images (4) "The pyramid gets smaller. each level you get to, there are [more] great players and you have to keep working until you get to the top of the pyramid." — seth jones "They let the person or the child evolve," he said. "They don't put too much pressure on them. They understand that in any sport you play you have to have fun, that's what keeps you coming back and what motivates you." Murphy agreed. "They see what kind of kids make it and what kind of parents they have. They say you can over coach, but I think you can over parent and over control things," he said. Biggs said while his father ultimately coached him in hockey, there wasn't a parental directive to play the same sport. "My dad didn't just push me to hockey," Biggs said. "I had the opportunity to play whatever sport I wanted to. I had the opportunity to play football, basketball, soccer and lacrosse. I was fortunate, and I think it helped me along the way." Although Jones' father played a different sport, he can answer his sons' questions about being drafted, signing contracts, dealing with training camps and so many more topics that cross the boundary between the court and the ice. "It's great being able to ask him about anything. [It's a] different sport but the same background, and it's still difficult in both sports," Jones said. "My mom has been through all of that, and she's doing the same thing for me. Whenever I have a question about anything I can go to them and they are a great help to me." N Cameron Eickmeyer is the manager of Internet Content and Development for USAHockey.com. USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM March. 2013 21