Blacksheep13

Allegheny? 

On 12/13/2018 at 8:11 PM, ArnoldSlick said:

I am not a regular on this forum. I read every once in a while. I saw this post and had to sign up to post a response. 

You are correct, the Mustangs were the elite Tier 2 organization in PA for a long time. Under the direction of coaches like Dave Weaver, Glen and Garrett Barbosa and Mike Bowman, the organization dominated and won three USA Hockey Tier 2 National Championships. They produced some very good hockey players, with Sam Lafferty being the pinnacle (now playing for Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins). Players drove from all over Western PA for the honor of putting on the Mustang jersey. Not any more.

A few years ago Dave Weaver left to run a rink in Bozeman, Montana, and coach the MSU Hockey Club. Mike Bowman left a few years before Dave and is now the Director of Business Operations/Associate Head Coach of the Wilmar Warhawks of the NA3HL. Glen Barbosa was pushed out last year as President of the Mustangs and did not return this year as a coach. Garrett helped coach the U16 team last year, but the organization did not have enough players to put together a U16 team this year. This was the first time ever that no U16 team could be iced. So, Garrett is also likely not ever coming back. Garret and Glen were an integral part of the development system and consistently delivered solid hockey players to Weaver. As you can see, there was some significant hockey pedigree that all walked away from the organization in just a few short years because of poor management and internal board fighting. The U18 team from last year was very good and went to Nationals. That was the last you might ever see a successful Mustangs team.

The downhill slide really started when Dave Weaver left. Dave, in addition to running the Mustangs and coaching the U18 team, also ran Galactic Ice in Altoona. When he left, they hired one manager that did not work out. After that, they brought in a complete moron from Johnstown. He had previously been in charge of Planet Ice in Johnstown. As I understand it, he ran that rink into the ground and they closed their doors just prior to him coming to Altoona. He was heavily involved with the Johnstown Jets. Everyone knows just how successful that PAHL team has been . He has no pedigree at all. In fact, his claim to fame is having played High School hockey in Johnstown back when nobody really played hockey and every kid made the team ?. He coaches the U14 team - which has had no success whatsoever since he took the team on. This is despite having one of the single most talented teams a few years ago in AA PAHL (Altoona Trackers), where I believe they ended up with a roughly 50/50 record and did not even make the playoffs. This team had some really strong kids, including some that are now playing Prep hockey. Each year he has coached Mustangs, he has lost 3, 4 or more of the best players to other teams. Kids have repeatedly even left mid-season. The elite talent from Altoona is now all playing elsewhere for AA and AAA teams like Esmark, Armstrong, etc. Where solid coaching had at one time kept these players local, the dismal current coaching has forced players to find better places to play. The Mustangs do not have anything close to AA, let alone even A Major - at any level. The board is laughable with parents of mediocre kids running the organization and making decisions that are best for their child, rather than the organization as a whole. They turned the Mustangs from a AA only program into a program that caters to average, and below average, hockey players so that their kids got ice time. Where those average kids formerly only played Altoona Trackers and High School hockey before, they now play Mustangs. I have only touched on the surface regarding the problems with the moron from Johnstown. Currently, they are only worried about selling ice at Galactic. They will put together a team with scraps just to balance the budget. Like sadday said, the U18 group is put together with duct tape and band-aids. Dave Weaver used to say, "AA or nothing." The new motto must be, "Anything is good enough for the moron." 

I highly doubt that any U8 or U10 teams will save the organization. Those parents will get a clue eventually and go play for competent coaches elsewhere. The current crop of coaches are mostly all Johnstown Jets transplants from what I heard. Again, bring in coaches that have had no success elsewhere and somehow expect them to be successful ?. The highest ranked Altoona Trackers team is A Major Gold and none of the Altoona teams appear successful at these lower ranks of PAHL. Sad. I highly doubt that you will see any Mustangs team going forward in any legitimate AA tournaments any time soon. Unless of course, they clean house in Altoona and try to rebuild with some of the younger kids. The main problem is the moron from Johnstown. Get rid of him and there might be hope. My guess is that the program is dead within 5 years. 

Really is sad when you think about it.

Boy you seem to have a lot to say for not being a regular. I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t behind all of the other screen names posting on here as well. Lol. Wanna meet up?

35 minutes ago, Hky05 said:

Basically Sean McTighe is a coach on the Appalachian elite, mid state mustangs, Altoona trackers (A Major Gold u14)  and Hollidaysburg and all the rosters have a lot of the same kids on all 4 teams 

This doesn’t answer my question about the legendary Barbosa’s. I want my son trained by the absolute best but 0-8-2 makes me nervous!  He has a long career in the ACHA I need to ensure!

On 12/15/2018 at 2:24 PM, ArnoldSlick said:

I agree. My sons also played for the Mustangs. They were lucky enough to move through the program when Weaver and the Barbosas were there. I just do not understand how the moron ever got into the position he is in. Since he runs the rink, he does not care one bit about the quality of play. He only cares about selling ice. They lost at very least a girls team and a 16U team this year, maybe more. It was then a scramble to put whatever they could on the ice to sell slots that normally go unused in the summer off-season. The board is a bunch of hockey moms and the moron. How does this happen to the premier Tier 2 program? How does the rink manager get a spot on the board anyway? How can you possibly negotiate ice costs when the rink manager is on the board? The incompetence is laughable. 

Is this the same legendary Barbosa who is winless in 10 games in low A major 16U?