garytheconquer

51 minutes ago, The King said:

Ok good we agree on the parents being the problem here. Didn’t you say on another thread that your son played 1 year for PPE? So was that 1 year in squirts? Or is this a conflicting narrative I’m noticing? Just curious. And if you’re clever use of emojis is meant to imply my kids played or play for the Pittsburgh Vengeance, I would recommend you take your advice and use reading comprehension while you’re going back and studying my posts. I’ve never once initiated conversation about that club but they have been called out on this board quite a bit. I have only sought to educate the folks that read these threads and debunk the bad info that folks out on here. I have no agendas other than that and  years and years of experience in the sport at all levels. 
Keep reading and you might get the help you need, buddy.

I admitted I should have held one of my kids away from aaa in squirts and peewee so I am a problem ? Buddy you are delusional. It’s clear you’re a cheerleader for the vengeance. In a different thread you stated esmark is “mid level” and wouldn’t consider their teams successful,  yet in this thread you state the vengeance youth teams are competing well. Let’s go look up the rankings. 

esmark 

18’s #20 out of 142 teams 

16’s #42 out of 150 teams 

15’s #76 out of 122 teams 

vengeance 

06 #65 out of 97 teams 

08 #19 out of 84 teams 

09/10 are not even worth looking at, kids are still learning to skate at this age, they barely understand the game. 
 

let’s take a look at last year when the vengeance fielded midget, thus comparing apples to apples. 
 

18s 

esmark #23 out of 139 teams 

vengeance #129 out of 139 teams I would call this team “faux” AAA. The predators are #64!

16s

esmark #48 out of 151 teams 

Vengeance #107 out of 151 teams

here is the kicker, the biggest “faux” program in wpa, pha icemen are ranked above the vengeance at #87. 
 

numbers don’t lie, try to spin it however you want. 

41 minutes ago, The King said:

As far as the rankings, MidAm(the Pittsburgh area specifically) didn’t seem to be very strong This year so middle of the pack isn’t very impressive. Is it true they were adding players to the bottom of the Esmark rosters from teams that posters in this board have deemed “faux AAA”? That’s the feedback I’m getting. But if your kid had a good experience at any camp that’s a good thing. Is there a reason why if it was that great if an experience, you wouldn’t have your son tryout and play for Yuri?  Just looking for specifics if anyone is going to give others recommendations on how to spend their hard earned money. 

It’s just to far, we live in Crawford. Cranberry was a hour when we played for ppe.  I couldn’t answer who they add / cut or whatever. Looking at the rankings I wouldn’t call the esmark teams “mid level” the 18s are #1 in the district and #20 overall. The 16s are #3 in the district And #42 overall. I’ll agree the 15s look middle of the pack at #6 in  The district and #76 overall but they still are qualifying for the district tournament, anything can happen in one game. I’m not telling people how to spend their money, I am giving input that my son had a good experience at Yuri’s summer camps, it’s that simple. 

9 minutes ago, The King said:

Just a couple issues here-

If one player burns out by 14 (yours by your own admission), that automatically assumes all kids burn out? And is that the sports fault? I think it’s entirely possible that the individual kid may not be cut out for it. Or (my personal belief) the parents had a big part in the player rejecting the competition? I get why someone would find it easier to blame the sport, organizations, coaches for their child falling behind or failing. It’s difficult to admit as a parent you might have something to do with creating adversity for your kid. 
Anyway, from what I gather, @Tacks05 was correct that the youth teams at the Vengeance are competing well. I do believe he has a point about the original poster having an agenda but that’s something for @RegDunlop7 to clarify.  So I’m not sure why it’s an issue for these kids and families. Seems to be working out well for them.  As far as The comment “curious why they have chosen to field Tier 1 at the younger ages only”, I’m sure your curiosity is fueled by a lack of knowledge on the process at their organization. Probably should learn more before casting judgement but as always, just my opinion. 

Hey buddy. Reading comprehension. It’s your friend. I blamed the burn out for one of my kids on myself. I let him play AAA since he was a squirt. He got burned out. I truly believe if he just played AA in those years It might not have happened. Traveling every other weekend across the Midwest & east Coast for years burned him out. He never got to ha g out with friends much, he never got to goto the middle school dances, many things missed.

Looking at some of your previous posts, you really seem to support the vengeance but your kids never played in Pittsburgh ??????????

16 minutes ago, Tacks05 said:

The Vengeance younger teams are competitive in the AAA forum. I think many would agree they are a viable option and that’s a good thing for hockey in Pittsburgh. 
 

OP’s post makes his agenda pretty clear, I just hope he’s getting paid for his online  lobbying. 
 

 

At that squirt age AAA hockey is not needed and causes burn out. It burned one of mine out by the time he was 14. I didn’t take the advice from some parents that had been through it, looking back I would have waited until pee wee major to put my kids in AAA. as for the vengeance youth teams, they had some success at the 04 birth year with the old steel city ice renegades team but they all broke up. Some went to Lebo, others to esmark, some back to Pahl others stopped playing (burn out) Last season the vengeance 18U team was almost dead last in the rankings, the 16U team didn’t fair much better, it doesn’t look like they had 15U.  Curious why they have chosen to only field tier 1 at the really young ages now. Maybe because that’s when parents are new and really gullible. 

6 hours ago, The King said:

Is anyone of Yuri’s followers able to give any specifics on why his camp is best? I would think if your relying on the coach to motivate the kid and make him work hard, you might want to ask the kid if he’s still Interested in competing. Most of you would be shocked and disheartened of their answer. From what I have been told, the team he coaches is struggling this season and were hurting for players. Of course that’s not an indictment on his abilities as a skills coach. I just think more specifics would be helpful. And having a skills coach does not ensure success. The players need to have motivation themselves. Most of the time, they reflect the failings of the parent that is pushing them to do what they couldn’t. But allow them to find their way themselves and let the experts teach them, they’ll find their own level. How long has your player been training with Yuri? 

My son doesn’t play for Yuri, we live 90 minutes from their rink but he’s done Yuri’s summer camps in the past. My son played for PPE one season and I give a lot of credit to Yuri for the tryout preparation. Beyond skills training my son learned a strong work ethic. You have to do work away from the rink. As for his teams struggling, just look at my hockey rankings, the results are there. They don’t seem to be struggling at all. 

If you want your kid to work hard and get better take him to yuri. If you are just looking for a baby sitter then do one of the out of state camps. 

2 hours ago, discodan said:

Its crazy how these rumors change. I heard from a parent on the 16u aa team that the goalie threatened to quit because the player was suspended and the rest of the team wanted the kid back. Who knows? Unless your kid is on that team does anyone know the truth ? Bottom line is the preds were once a good organization but now its all about the money. If they let the aaa kids play on aa where they belong they would still have good teams. As it is now the are not very good in PAHL. Their best team came from the icemen and most of their other top teams are average at best.

Their captain also quit for the same reason the goalie did. 

12 minutes ago, The King said:

The organization and named coaches may deserve criticism but man, is this the most pathetic post I’ve ever seen on this board. And if you know my feelings based on my posts, that’s saying something. Assuming you are an adult (if your a kid, carry on) to be this happy about a coach looking bad over their teams failure or a lack of discipline is such a WPA hockey parent thing to do. I still hold true to my belief that this area does not deserve the sport competitively. I long for the day parents are held accountable due to their behavior. Sorry if this is hurtful you guys.

Sorry to hurt your feeling bud, I do not think anyone is truly HAPPY about how bad the predators organization has become. As parents, it’s good to be educated! Hockey is expensive to play! Your true colors are starting to show, involved with wpa hockey yet you don’t have any kids that play ?  I’m going to guess you are a coach, you bash USA hockey left and right, most of us parents don’t care what USA hockey does, the only people that care about that sort of thing are coaches and club presidents. 
 

party on! 

10 minutes ago, dropthepuck said:

What's left isn't good.  Making MidAms is going to be difficult

They still have two high end players who have carried the team to this point. If you look at the standing they will make it. 

16U and another one gone another one gone another one bites the dust! I was told the team voted not to let one of the suspended players return, King Ralph, in all his glory and worry of falling out of the district tournament didn’t care what the players thought and brought the kid back. Now one of the goalies left due to this player returning. Kudos to that goalie parent I wouldn’t want my kid around that stuff!!!
 

party on!!!

I agree with everything you said, guess what the new extra A is ? Tier 3 junior hockey! The usphl has 65 teams now! Look at the roster of some of these teams it’s a complete joke. 

49 minutes ago, dazedandconfused said:

He's the Coach? I just assumed it was his kid.

Nope! King Ralph is the head coach! 

On 1/10/2020 at 7:47 AM, HereWithPopcorn said:

The key issue I believe is the fact that the 16U team is now weakening other teams and making them worse than they already are.  The reason for the 15's and 18's being that bad easily starts with the bench and the common theme between both teams.  Then Daddy Warbucks comes along and has influence to get them to pull kids from 15UAAA and 16UAA as mentioned to strengthen their team.  I can't confirm for sure, but I am mostly certain that these kids that moved weren't unhappy in their current spot and were asking for the change.

The 16s are not hurting any other teams. When the ship started to sink and kids bailed, they added two kids who were only playing for their school teams. They Pulled a kid up from 15U (I would bet this kid is happy to get away from that garbage team) and pulled a kid up from the 16U aa team that was already at the bottom of the pahl standings. 

$$$$ Gary’s Gong Show $$$

the predators could fix their tier 1 teams by dumping gary. This man is making a quality living off youth hockey. He’s a complete joke of a coach (when he decides to show up). Hey there is always someone willing to pay the money I guess. Gary picks his teams based off who takes lessons with him $$$ and if you play for the school team he coaches. let’s take a look at both team’s Gary coaches down there, both who were out of the rankings for the tier 1 district tournament before October came around. That’s embarrassing. 
 

18U a few decent players but a quick look at my hockey rankings and the 18U AA teams have done better against the same opponents!!!! What does that tell you ? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

15U there was a topic at the start of the season saying this team would be a absolute joke, well it turned out to be true. All the parents from this team came raging into the forums to defend it. Crickets now, how did that work out for all of you ? That sales pitch starting to sting now ? There is not one kid on this team with the ability to play tier 1 and by the looks of it none of these kids developed, they have got even worse as the season has gone on! how’s that big gym fee going ? Does Gary even show up to train the kids ? You parents should have left your kids on the PAHL A major teams they made but there is always a crazy daddy that wants that extra A. 

Ohhhh 16U I didn’t forget about you! The crown jewel for the predators! Recruited a few legit tier 1 players, cut fee’s, yet this team is now 6th in the district and in danger of not making the tournament. With all that talent what happened you may ask ? Well King Ralph is the coach. I’m not even sure this guy can skate! I’m sure everyone has heard why a few kids were recently kicked off the team. The inmates are running the asylum! 
 

party on!