twoboys

I think I saw it on the PAHL facebook page.

The price charged isn’t outrageous. I bet U15 at the Pens is close to double. A guess is over 6000 plus a team fee. It is all about the ice slots. One slot a week it is outrageous. But 2 practices plus games and then you are paying the going rate at the bigger rinks. My kids fees are each over 3000 and they play PAHL. Most of my friends pay over 2000 without a paid coach or training.

I thought the Lebo team that won it basically stayed together and is now playing AAA?

From what I have heard the Peewee Husky team came from Butler Valley last year. They wanted to be an 07 team and Butler Valley said no. The Huskies said yes. Nice kids, nice parents and nice coach.

The way it was explained to me was that 2 06 kids made the 05 team. So, the 06 team is an 06 team but it is without two of their better players.

The fact that the PPE imports kids is proof that Western Pennsylvania hockey has progressed. Why would a kid come from out of town unless it is a strong program? Hockey is expensive. Then again, basically every sport is expensive. At some point you need sponsors to step up. It would be interesting to see how much money other corporations put into youth hockey teams. Just looking at Detroit. It seems as if they have a lot of corporate partners in comparison to here.

Can you elaborate on the Mid-Am second year peewee rule. I have head rumors but nothing concrete. Isn't it something like only 20% of the team can be second year peewee?

I agree that most parents, even parents on a house team, would be willing to pay for a "qualified" coach. This is not just limited to parents of kids on AAA teams. I know numerous parents that dreaded tryouts because they didn't want their child to end up with the same coach for the third year in a row. And the kids aren't AAA or AA kids. I do think it is unreasonable to limit a AAA team to only 3 away tournaments. In many locations, there are only one or two AAA teams. AAA teams are forced to travel to find games.

At the younger ages, SHAHA seems to have the better teams than the Preds.

I think you have a lot of hockey going on. It is okay to say no to some things. At some point you need to emphasize quality over quantity. The other thing to be aware of is that kids are starting to play full ice hockey on the side. They will likely head to Buffalo and Rochester a few times next season to play in some AAU tournaments. I get some parents are offended by this but most of the top mites are doing this. This will likely have no bearing on how your son ends up at 15 but will have a bearing on which team he makes as a first year squirt.

Question about the on-point criticism. How and when did you and your son receive it? Was it comments made to him during the tryout or did you contact the PPE and ask?

It isn't clear what age the goalie is, right? First year travel and looking at Esmark and Vengeance. Esmark means at least Bantams. I would think that most decent Bantam AA teams have two goalies. Same as PPE. Not sure how Esmark and Vegeance treat goalies but at the PPE they pay full price. A lot of PAHL oranizations give a discount. By Bantams, people have a clue as to which organizations have a strong team. If the OP has an 06 goalie and isn't up for PPE or the other AAA teams. Try the Renegades or SHAHA. They have quality teams that are trying to make the jump to AAA.

All members? Clearly, you are exaggerating.

06 is a pretty deep year. There will be the 2 PPE teams. A couple of AA teams trying to make the jump to AAA.

I think the Vengeance is different in that they practice on Friday nights and Sundays. This makes it easier for some families to make practice, particularly if you live far away. This, to me at least, is the difference between the two organizations. I also think this makes it easier to play a second sport in season. I have no idea how a kid plays tackle football and hockey for the Elite. I have been told that tackle football is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday. Off days are Friday and Sunday. And you aren't supposed to miss practices. As far as travel. I think the 08 did travel less when they played PAHL last year. This is what the 09 did this year. As far as tryouts for the Vengeance, one friend's son made the 08 team this year. So, they did take another kid. I think there really aren't that many kids in PAHL that can make the Vengeance. Same goes for the Elite. The Black is a different story. There is a difference in skating between PAHL AA kids and AAA kids. And who knows if these kids will actually tryout.