McCartyMonster

17 minutes ago, Happy Hockey Fan said:

If you are referring to the Airport, there were more than 3 teams when they closed down. And they could have had more if the owners weren’t  such idiots. 

Semantics at this point.  I'm referring to the point they signed a new contract with Alpha around 2020ish.  I should have said "After" vs. "When".  Regardless, I'm referring to the point in time we were fortunate to be asked to come aboard. 

54 minutes ago, Happy Hockey Fan said:

You can definitely just declare that you are “AAA”.  Not sure about the tier 1 designation. But any team can claim to be AAA. And the Aviators have a long history of doing just that. I know. I have been part of the Aviators organization in the past and they have had a number of teams declare AAA. And it was always a reach and the teams struggled dearly. Somehow one of those teams got a game with Pens Elite, got blown out and it was ugly. 
 

I am not saying your new AAA team will be as bad. I hope that they are competitive. I saw the AA teams play last year and they were good. Not sure if they have enough kids that are AAA fast. But they were good. Good luck with your season, I hope they are competitive and I look forward to seeing them play. 

Certainly you can declare AAA anytime you want.  Hell, you can declare AAAA for that matter(jokingly), but you cannot declare Tier 1.  Bunch of hoops and requirements in order to do so.  As I mentioned, the Aviators of old had dwindled down to only 3 teams when they lost their home.  That's been a while now.   A lot of great people put their hearts into rebuilding this organization and are continuing to work to build it even bigger.  I appreciate your well wishes toward our future, I am excited too.  They can certainly compete right now, but you are correct, speed is king.  The fortunate and unfortunate side of tryouts will ensure an increase in speed.  These boys/girls will do great moving forward.  All of the teams will do nothing more but continue to get better and better.  Again, I appreciate the well wishes.  

22 hours ago, Hockey247 said:

I’m new to this forum, but I’m hoping to get some information.  Although I know not everyone is in favor of the AAA teams, I am looking to get some sort of comparison between the teams.  There seems to be more discussions that include Esmark, but I haven’t seen too much said about Vengeance.  Can anyone throw out some pros/cons?  Thoughts or knowledge about the new Aviators AAA?

Since many have chosen to look down on the Aviators, I figured I would post a little upside (truth) for you about the Aviators.  Full disclosure, I'm a parent.   Yes, a few years ago they were down to only a small handful of teams.  Two, maybe three teams left including their 19u ladies team.  They secured a home at Alpha and since then have grown to 8 teams, with 4 this past season competing in PAHL AA division.  Two of those teams competed in the PAHL 14u AA minor(2010) division and both were playoff teams.  A bounce either way could have had both teams playing for the championship.   One of those teams won the regular season and playoff championship.  It was actually their second consecutive championship in that division.  In fact, over the past 2 seasons that team has compiled a record of 86-15-4 with a goal differential of 518-201.   They played everyone who would play them.  The record alone should show they need to be playing higher level competition. 

The problem is, without the 3rd "A", they can't get those games.  The only local AAA organization that would agree to play them was Vengeance.  Yes, the Vengeance won the game 5-1 (for those who wish to find out what the final was) however, it was a tight game (2-1) through two periods.  The Aviators wore down, plain and simple.  It was their second game of the day vs. the Vengeance only game of the day.  So for those to say can't even field a decent AA team, or it’s one “Dad Coach” who is recruiting, well those are just ignorant statements.  They had 4 this past season with 2 fantastic teams in the 2010 group alone. 

 Next, to say it's a money grab, again that's simply just ignorant. The kids earned their rights to play higher competition and as I stated before, they can't get those games without the 3rd "A".   I was happy to see someone explain Tier 1 for those unaware, and I just learned the true difference this year.  No, you can't simply declare Tier 1 AAA.  Doesn't work that way, and as far as Tier 1 or Tier 2 goes, there are tons of 2010 Tier 1 AAA teams out there ranked well below the lowly 2010AA 14U 1 Aviators.  Many teams ranked above them are there simply because of strength of schedule.  Because they are "AAA", they can get those games and benefit greatly from it when it comes to MHR, which drives everything in youth hockey. 

Not gonna argue what “true AAA” is and what is not.  Is PPE the top team? Yep. Quite honestly it doesn’t matter. It’s nothing more than a snap-shot in time.  Where they are today.  None of the A’s indicative of their collective hockey futures or futures in general.  There are kids playing at that “top level” today who may trade it all in next year and play something else, or simply never develop beyond where they are today and there are “A” kids today who may develop into a highly recruited kid in 4 years.  None of us know what will happen.

As I disclosed earlier, I am an Aviator parent, and proud to be one.  We drive an extremely long distance, not to “chase a third A” but to be with an organization that we are happy with. A place we have fun. A place where our kid is happy and healthy.  The organization is an extended family for us.  We have relationships with families from just about every team in the organization.  It’s those types of things that attract people to the organization, which is why it has grown so much in the past 3 years.  At the end of the day, we as parents make huge commitments and sacrifices for our kids, shouldn’t it be fun for all of us?  So I would say, don’t bash an organization you really don’t know anything about, or at least preface your statements with, “I really don’t know anything about the Aviators today, but……”.   This is really a great organization to be part of.  Great kids, great families, great coaches.   Let’s Fly Boys!!!