No Politics

1 hour ago, Huskies_Director said:

Huskies have gotten commitments from several players wishing to compete at the AA level.  With that being said, I am now seeking a few more skaters (already have goalies) for the roster. Pleas reach out to me immediately if you are interested. 

Which age(s)?

2 hours ago, TeamRamRod said:

I always thought it'd be nice if teams made offers before tryouts to the players they wanted to keep in order to dial down on some of the chaos.  I know baseball clubs that do that and it works out for everyone.  Then you see parents signing up their kids for 3-4 tryouts because off their own paranoia of being 'left out' if everyone else leaves.  I always felt bad for the kids getting dragged around to multiple tryouts, especially the ones who got cut a few times and had to keep going.  

That's a very interesting thought.

The only drawback I can think of is that a lot of organizations/coaches may not have the heart/balls to tell the kids they don't want to keep.

16U Yetis tryouts start this evening (Friday the 26th) at 5:30pm.  Registration is still open.

Info can be found here, then by clicking on the "MIDGET 16U (08/09) - NATIONAL BOUND TEAM" tab.

Last season's team was A Major Black, and they are shooting for AA this season.  They had fourteen '08s on that team, and ten of them are returning.  

According to the board member I spoke to, they are hoping to have TWO teams at the 16U level, and already have over thirty kids signed up for tryouts.  

So if you know any 16U kids still looking for homes, there is still time to register.

I watched the game against Slovakia today, and that kid has acceleration like a freaking rocket!

I didn't see that, but kudos to them.  We need more of that.

10 hours ago, aaaahockey said:

The best kids don't stick around for Pens at 18U. Mooney played up through 16U.  Humphries last played for Pens when he was 13 then went to prep school I believe. 

Bishop Kearney

Everyone this time of year thinks they become a mastermind.  Organizations, parents, and players.  We all make it the free-for-all James Gatz mentioned, and everyone wonders why there are so many disgruntled people out there.

There has to be a better system than this one.  You have organizations saying "come play for us, we're AA" without returning anyone or even knowing who will be on their team!  Silly.

However, they do that because a parent won't let their kid play there if that organization was honest and said "we won't know our level until kids come to tryouts, accept, AND STAY on the team."  Why?  "Maybe there is a higher level team out there you get on, Billy."

To the "staying on the team" part, I don't know why organizations just don't charge a higher, non-refundable commitment fee to dissuade players from jumping after accepting.

Yeah, so more well-off family may be willing to eat that fee, but it's less likely to happen if it really hurts.  A $300 deposit is chump change compared to what this sport costs anyone on an annual basis.  And more and more people are willing to eat that fee no matter the cost.

James Gatz, I like any of those options better than this crapshow, but good luck getting anyone to jump on them.  What about having a fourth option where independent organizations go first, then have a week off, then PAHL AA, then PAHL A/B, THEN supplementals?

 PAHL can't regulate the independents, but they can regulate their members.  Logically, it should be AAA, then AA, then A, then supplementals for teams that need players to fill teams.

I agree with the original premise, though:  This overlapping (especially with supplementals taking place before other organizations even have tryouts) is bunk.

Thoughts?

I hear you, guys.  I was just asking because it seemed out of place.  I understand now.  Thanks.

5 minutes ago, James Gatz said:

As they replace them, other returning families assume there will be a drop-off and then one or two more pull out.  At some point there is a run on the bank as more leave what they see as a sinking ship to find a chair somewhere else before the music stops.  

True.  And the flipside to that the numbers get so low that the parents of the kids (and the kids) trying to get onto that AAA team view it as "if there aren't a lot of kids trying out, we can sneak onto that higher-level team" instead of thinking of what it actually means to play on a higher-level team.

It's not about "sneaking" onto a team, and so many organizations are willing to accept that sneaking as long as it brings in the cheddar.  Then people leave.  It's a vicious cycle that feeds itself into the sh*t we are watching.

9 minutes ago, Corsi said:

There are always going to be "enough customers" and that isn't just for hockey, people will buy into anything.  I've said this in prior posts, but the 2009's are now hitting that age where USA Hockey historically sees a drop in registration numbers regardless of the reason (jobs, significant others, booze, etc).  Also, it has been stated before that some of these players are needing to decide about PIHL vs. travel hockey and everything else going on in their lives.   

SO true.

Maybe I'm not understanding this team, but why is this posted under the "Western Pennsylvania YOUTH Hockey" thread?

It is a shame to see these programs disappear.  And it's the kids who ultimately suffer for it.

From what I was told, the Vipers were scheduled out of there, but played at McKnight Arena.  They are gone.  I heard from Vipers folks that some Vipers Stars players went to the Foxes, and a lot of the regular Vipers went -- or were going -- to the Arrows.

The Aviators left Alpha and went to McKnight.

A buddy of mine and I laughed last week because we said "wouldn't it be nice if we just had districts like they did in The Mighty Ducks"?  You just play for the team in the district where you live.  Simple.  Ha Ha!

5 hours ago, nemesis8679 said:

There is in fact some overlap with Vengeance 16u NB and Mixed Year skates/tryouts.

No overlap with Vengeance 16U NB tryouts.  The Vengeance 16U NB team tryouts are 4/21, 4/22, and 4/24.  The Yetis tryouts are 4/26, 4/27, and 4/28.  

There is an overlap with the non-NB Vengeance tryouts on 4/28, but their first tryout date (4/25) does not overlap.

5 hours ago, nemesis8679 said:

There is some overlap with Vengeance 16u tryouts.

Vengeance 16U's tryouts are 4/25 and 4/28.  Yeti tryouts are 4/26, 4/27, and 4/28.  So there is an overlap of the last day (4/28).

Reminder that the Yetis are looking to field a 16U National Bound team and are having two free pre-tryout sessions (TOMORROW and Tuesday) for any '08 or '09 skaters.  Those dates are:

Sunday 4/21 from 2:30pm - 3:50pm

Tuesday 4/23 from 5:50pm - 7:00pm

The link to the Google form to sign up is HERE.

Some additional information that may help your decision:  

- Their 16U team last year played A Major Black and had a great season overall.

- They were made up of almost all first-year ('08) players -- fourteen of them.  Most of those players should be coming back, as it was a tight-knit, friendly team.

- They are hoping to make the jump to AA National Bound.  Whether or not they do depends on what talent they get to replace the three or four '07s that aged out.  

- If they are able to make that jump, they plan on having paid, non-parent coaches.

- There is no overlap because they have the last tryouts locally (4/26 to 4/28), so any high-level player looking for an opportunity to play at a higher level will still have that chance.

I am just sharing this.  Not looking to debate the organization, location, dates, coaches, etc.  If you or someone you know can use it, great.  If not, great.

Reminder that the Yetis are looking to field a 16U National Bound team and are having two free pre-tryout sessions (TOMORROW and Tuesday) for any '08 or '09 skaters.  Those dates are:

Sunday 4/21 from 2:30pm - 3:50pm

Tuesday 4/23 from 5:50pm - 7:00pm

The link to the Google form to sign up is HERE.

Some additional information that may help your decision:  

- Their 16U team last year played A Major Black and had a great season overall.

- They were made up of almost all first-year ('08) players -- fourteen of them.  Most of those players should be coming back, as it was a tight-knit, friendly team.

- They are hoping to make the jump to AA National Bound.  Whether or not they do depends on what talent they get to replace the three or four '07s that aged out.  

- If they are able to make that jump, they plan on having paid, non-parent coaches.

- There is no overlap because they have the last tryouts locally (4/26 to 4/28), so any high-level player looking for an opportunity to play at a higher level will still have that chance.

I am just sharing this.  Not looking to debate the organization, location, dates, coaches, etc.  If you or someone you know can use it, great.  If not, great.

Reminder that the Yetis are looking to field a 16U National Bound team and are having two free pre-tryout sessions (TOMORROW and Tuesday) for any '08 or '09 skaters.  Those dates are:

Sunday 4/21 from 2:30pm - 3:50pm

Tuesday 4/23 from 5:50pm - 7:00pm

The link to the Google form to sign up is HERE.

Some additional information that may help your decision:  

- Their 16U team last year played A Major Black and had a great season overall.

- They were made up of almost all first-year ('08) players -- fourteen of them.  Most of those players should be coming back, as it was a tight-knit, friendly team.

- They are hoping to make the jump to AA National Bound.  Whether or not they do depends on what talent they get to replace the three or four '07s that aged out.  

- If they are able to make that jump, they plan on having paid, non-parent coaches.

- There is no overlap because they have the last tryouts locally (4/26 to 4/28), so any high-level player looking for an opportunity to play at a higher level will still have that chance.

I am just sharing this.  Not looking to debate the organization, location, dates, coaches, etc.  If you or someone you know can use it, great.  If not, great.

12 hours ago, Tendymom said:

Yep, that would be my kid that got cut because we would not get on board with NC/ Excel. Logistically not feasible for our family but hey, as we were told they never cut kids for not doing Excel. 🤷🏻‍♀️ and to sweeten the experience the rest of the team knew by 5:30 who had made it but we had to reach out to the coach at 9:45 pm to get an answer. What. A. Joke.

Sorry, as well.  I know other PE players, and have heard that story before regarding NC/Excel.  I never heard of someone being cut for it, though, so -- again -- sorry to hear that.

If that is true, I would seriously hope they reconsider.  Every season girls teams have to fold for a lack of players.

Not discounting what you are saying, and I say this half-jokingly:  Walt Disney didn't blindly play the lottery to build his empire -- he had a well thought out plan -- and Wayne Gretzky said that he didn't mean for us to take shots from our own defensive end.

"Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the present." -- Qui-Gon Jinn 

😉

2 minutes ago, sadday4hockey said:

I simply can't fathom how far people will go to chase something that's not happening in 99.5% of the cases.

And blindly.

But... "That only happens to other people.  We'll be different."

To help kids find homes, I'd like to start a topic for Supplementals only (separate from the general Tryouts topic).  I know the Arrows posted some supplementals to the Tryouts page, but those might get lost there, and we know more will come from other organizations.

I try helping players find homes every year, and I know how much anxiety there is this time of the year, so anything we can do to make it easier for them...

On 3/28/2024 at 11:53 AM, McCartyMonster said:

So I would say, don’t bash an organization you really don’t know anything about

I can appreciate what you are saying MCM.  However, when did your player start at the Aviators?  

Would you say that it is unfair to tell someone who left the Aviators organization that they don't know anything about the Aviators because they weren't there this past season?

I know numerous families who were at the Aviators -- from all locations -- and left.  And I know why.  Some had legitimate reasons, and some didn't.

The 2010 teams are rocking.  There is no doubt about that.  But just a couple years ago the Aviators had their 16U team implode and go 0-20 on the season.  If I recall correctly only two of those 16U 2007s returned, and ALL the 2008s from the 14U team left.  And just this year I had a parent from the 14U A Major Black team tell me they were angry because that team was sold as a AA Major team.

None of that sounds like happiness to me.

I know some of the folks heading up the Aviators now, and I know they are good people.  I sincerely hope that even better days are ahead.  I'm also happy that your player and your family are happy there.  What is better than that, right?  I would just caution that if you feel you can praise the organization -- or ANY organization -- because of your positive experiences, then you need to respect the fact that some people have the right to "look down" on an organization because of their own, personal negative experiences.

It is the parents.  I tell families with mite players to find a team your kid is happy on and stick with it.

Every season it's the same thing.  Some people call it "A chasing," but I call it lack of foresight, as well.  If your kid leaves a team where they are happy -- so they can play for a team with an extra A -- that doesn't mean they're locked in for life.  The next season they might not make that team, it may have been a bad experience, or the team/organization could even fold.  Then they're stuck and desperate to find a home.

Can't move down a level, though, right?

Multiply that by 80% of the folks out there, and you get what we are seeing right now.

It's absolutely stupid, and the sad part is that parents only realize they goofed after their kid's time is done and they're playing beer league.

The sadder part is that they took other kids with them.