hockeyisgreat

You shouldn't have baited us without the announcement same day! Is that trolling?

It appears the Renegades have 3 teams at 18U this year. We are not even sure which one @FNFA is referring to! We just assume it is the U16 National Champ team moving up!

To all the guys who make it happen for their kids!

Great article! Thanks for sharing.

Who thinks Pittsburgh is a Hockey hot bed? If it weren't for Lemieux twice Pittsburgh wouldn't even have Hockey. What would you like Pittsburgh to offer them that they don't have? Pennsylvania will never be Minnesota or Michigan or New England when it comes to Hockey! For one thing it's not cold enough long enough for kids to play real hockey on frozen ponds and lakes. Listen to Crosby talk about how he was out on the ice from the time he got home from school till dark every day in the winter.

Is that a good or bad thing? I wonder if they will be moving forward with the Hunt Armory Ice. I heard that they were thinking of making it a permanent rink!

I agree with that 100% Maybe the tournament made them play A to have enough teams, I know the Westmoreland team really challenged themselves in the AA bracket.

BANTAM A GAMES TOTAL SCORE TOTAL POINTS JOHNSTOWN RED WINGS '09 8 2 FIRST LINE EVENTS '09 CIOCCA 3 0 FR MIDDLE SCHOOL 4 2 AVERAGE JOE'S 2 0 AVERAGE JOE'S 2 0 JOHNSTOWN RED WINGS '09 6 2 FIRST LINE EVENTS '09 CIOCCA 3 0 FR MIDDLE SCHOOL 5 2 AVERAGE JOE'S 4 2 FIRST LINE EVENTS '09 CIOCCA 2 0 FR MIDDLE SCHOOL 2 0 JOHNSTOWN RED WINGS '09 3 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Total AVERAGE JOE'S 0 0 2 2 FIRST LINE EVENTS '09 CIOCCA 0 0 0 0 FR MIDDLE SCHOOL 2 2 0 4 JOHNSTOWN RED WINGS '09 2 2 2 6 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SCORE O.T. S.O. FINAL FR MIDDLE SCHOOL 2 2 JOHNSTOWN RED WINGS 0 0 I can only assume that you are talking about this bracket in the tournament. It looks like Franklin Regional Middle school won the tournament. Obviously a Middle School can have a wide range of talent from B to AAA. But even they lost to Johnstown. Looks like all the games were fairly close also. First line didn't win any games but 2 of their 3 were close. Just trying to figure out what your big issue really is!

Nice job of taking that last sentence out of context! If you would have read the whole thing you would see that I was trying to make the point that spring summer hockey is more about trying to improve! And where is the acceptance of mediocrity in that?

Is it that they weren't very good or the other teams were "Very good"? I think the 06 AA/AAA Badgers team was there. Did they win the 16U Bracket? Spring summer hockey is about getting better. What better way to test your team than playing above your level. The Westmoreland team got some good games in. It will help in the long run. Ultimately no wone really cares how bad you got beat in a summer tournament.

Spring summer hockey gets a pretty wide range of kids. Some kids just want to play. Maybe the kids you saw have improved that much since the end of last season. What age group were the kids you saw? I'm sure the teams they were playing for didn't want to pass up the fees for playing spring hockey. Was there a AA/AAA division in that tournament?

Is the journey through Hockey any different than the journey through youth Football, Baseball, Basketball? Everyone wants their kid to wind up in the pros right? Although I must admit the path to College Hockey is much different than the path for any other sport. At least in my opinion. Not sure how to educate parents on that without it being seen as a money grab.

Thanks for your response. Your input and perspective are appreciated.

Very nice to hear your perspective. You offered some sage advice! Thanks

What are you talking about! Don't put words in my mouth! You have no ide! Did your kid burnout and you are bitter at the world? Where does your kid play? Does he play at the highest level you can pay for?

Mine has tried Baseball, Football, Soccer and Dek Hockey. He played, he was competitive but he didnt love it. He loves and has a passion for Ice Hockey. I will give him every opportunity within his skill level till he ages out or burns out! I'm hoping he always has a passion for a sport!

So you are saying that kid can't find anywhere to play? If he had a passion for the game he would find a place to play is what I am saying. Go research who has the lowest fees for his competition level and play there if money is such a big deal. Seems like you always make excuses and tear down Hockey in general. And you are dead wrong. I don't play, but I encourage mine to play at the highest level his skill will allow!

That kid must not have a passion for the game! He might as well get out now and save his family a whole lot of money! The kids that have the passion will play in PAHL or wherever their family can afford and then play in the beer league for fun when they are 25 to 50 because they love the game.

What are the fees at Esmark? Anybody know the total cost to play at Preds AAA and SHAHA AAA. Just trying to get an idea of what AAA costs other than the Pens. Does the cost go up the older you get? Is 6 to 8 thousand all in about right?

I bet it is the same everywhere not just Pittsburgh! Bottom line is how hard the kid is willing to work. Most kids don't understand constructive criticism. Also I think good coaches will have kids go to their programs. Not always about wins and losses. I still think a good skills coach is most important!

How about the best ones! Are there any good coaches out there? It seems that there must be a lot more bad coaches than good ones? Why is everyone always so negative on this board? I guess there are a lot of people who had a bad experience! More bad than good!

I would pay an extra 500.00 for a good non parent coach at 14U and above. Do most AAA teams have a separate fee for coaches? Don't some of them build it into the season fees so you don't see how much a coach is getting paid.

Yes I have been told more than once I am confusing! From people who know me so you are not alone! I've been involved with other sports for years and they seem straight forward. You play High School sports. If your good enough you get a scholarship straight to D-1, D-2 or you pay to play in D-3! No Juniors etc. Anyways first and hopefully last trip through the Hockey maize. I really do appreciate the advice from people who have lived it!

Saucey, You went straight back to the Negativity! Corsi had some very constructive things to say as well as Mr Freeze! Never once did I say how do I get my kid noticed! What I said was how do I get him evaluated by someone who is good and just doesn't want to take my money! Not one person here has a name of someone so I guess I will just figure it out myself! He turned down the faux AAA this year and we are going to continue to put our money into lessons. I have tried to listen and take advice from people here who have been in this a lot longer than us. Please don't respond unless you have something positive to say!

Thanks, finally someone with some constructive comments and no negativity!