BACKCHECKING

I know it was the reason half of the 2010 team left and half will leave again.

I agree going to skating and skill lessons as much as possible will help. The speed of the game that the AAA kids are playing at can not be developed by private lessons or playing the same AA teams that have maybe 1 kid who can play AAA, 3 kids that are AA and the rest that should be playing house. I am not saying its right, but its reality.

The kids who start playing squirt and peewee for PAHL are at a disadvantage to the kids who start out playing for PPE, Esmark and Vengeance. A player who only gets (2) 50 min of shared ice practices a week and 30 games a year in PAHL will not develop the same as a player who get (2) hour + practices and 60 games a year.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The United States Hockey League (USHL) and Pittsburgh Penguins announced Thursday the DICK’S Sporting Goods USHL Fall Classic, which features the best junior hockey across the United States, returns for the fifth time to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pa. “The Fall Classic has become a top-tier hockey event in the United States for scouts and fans alike,” said USHL President and Commissioner Tom Garrity. “With all 16 USHL teams in attendance, and a plethora of youth teams, scouts from every level of hockey and every type of hockey fan will find something to interest them at this event. Our partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins for this event is always top notch and we anticipate another amazing event to kick off next season.” The event is currently scheduled for September 23-27 and will feature all 16 USHL Member Clubs playing a pair of regular season games to open the 2021-22 season at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, as well as a youth event expected to draw roughly 80 teams from across the country. With the best junior and youth hockey talent in the country all in one place, the event continues to attract more and more scouts from the National Hockey League, NCAA and junior teams. The only local AAA teams to play in the USHL Fall Classic Youth Tournament are the Pens Elite and Cleveland Barons. How are teams selected, and do the other local AAA teams get invited?

Pittsburgh hockey divisions – ( REALITY ) PPE – AAA ( FAUX / INDEPENDENT TEAMS ) – AA PAHL – A Major and below

Don’t the AA teams usually play 15 to 20 more games a year compared to A major teams? Do organizations / parents want the BY teams to have a larger schedule? Last year NP AA played 50 games and NP A major played 35. Steel City AA played 70 and Steel City A major played 29.

http://www.rutschhockey.com/article_is-elite-hockey-really-better.php The difference between town league hockey and elite hockey can be summed up in one word. Floor. That's the difference. Every single Tier 3, town level, everyone-makes-the-team program out there has excellent players with amazing skill. No question. The ceiling is identical for all hockey programs. Top end talent exists at all levels and the sky truly is the limit. It's the floor that's different. VERY different. Talent aside, on the teams that my kids currently play for, there isn't a single kid on the roster that doesn't want to get better, isn't working on getter better, or that isn't getting better. I've found that isn't the case with town league travel teams. Yes, of course, there are kids working their tails off on those teams too...but there are also a handful of players that are, for lack of a better description, just showing up. It's like real life -- go to any workplace and you can quickly pinpoint those that are just collecting a paycheck. Elite hockey, in most cases, cuts that group out. They're not there. The floor is raised. That's the difference and it really comes down to just one more word -- commitment. Not talking about exorbitant time or financial commitments of "AAA" hockey -- it's the players. It's tough to find a kid on an elite team's roster that doesn't want to be there. Same, sadly, can't be said for the town leagues. It's the added commitment of the kids that raises the floor. And, while we're slipping into the depth of commitment debate, we're drifting dangerously close to the year round hockey argument... The Level of Hockey Doesn't Matter Did I just Read that Right? Here's a little snippet from an article titled the "Ultimate Hockey Parent Guide" that ran in the August 2018 issue of USA Hockey Magazine. It was written by Christie Casciano Burns, who often pens the Hockey Mom column in USA Hockey Magazine. As you might expect, this touches a nerve with me. I will openly admit that I almost always disagree with the stance she takes in her columns but on this small snippet, I agree, whole-heartedly...well, until the final quote is thrown in. The Alaska hockey mom's statement, "It doesn't make a particle of difference until Midgets" is kind of ignorant, in my opinion. I mean, look, if your son or daughter is having a great time playing rec level hockey on the weekends, you're in the right place already. There is absolutely no need to look in to or consider AA or AAA hockey. Elite hockey probably isn't for you, anyway. And that's not a slight on your son or daughter's talent at all. I've found that most families in that setting, doing the weekends only from October to February thing, while still having the exact same unrealistic NHL dreams as *every* other hockey parent, elite or otherwise, are blind to the fact that Tier 1 teams even exist. They're the sorts that have the "they'll find you if you're good enough" myth engrained. But if your son or daughter really seems to love playing the game, regardless of their current talent level, then maybe, just maybe, you should spend some time deciphering the "Alphabet Soup" to supply them with more of what they love...but way, way, WAY before Midgets (age 15). The way Diane Firmani's quote is placed in article gives it context that may or may not have been her intention or what she was actually trying to say. I'm sure it's just a small piece of what she actually said in full and it probably is out of context, though who am I to say? "It doesn't make a particle of difference until Midgets." I can't be totally certain what "it" is referring to here, but if it's the level of hockey (like the article implies), she's way off base. Stats do not matter until Midgets. But if you're not already in AAA program long before Midgets, you're not going to be properly prepared to play at a AAA level as a Midget. It's kind of like saying academic performance in school doesn't really matter until high school. Realistically, it doesn't. Universities don't care how great of a student you were in 5th grade just as elite Midget programs don't care how great you were as a Squirt. But can a poor student suddenly "turn it on" in high school? Pretty unlikely. I mean, I've never seen it happen. Ever. Hockey is the same -- good habits, gained early, stay with you all the way through the journey. You don't just wake up one morning as Wayne Gretzky or as Valedictorian. That kind of success, athletic or academic, takes years of work and dedication. "At younger levels, it's merely bragging rights for parents and instant martyrdom." Okay, yes, for some parents, this is true. There will always be parents that go out of their way to talk about how their son or daughter plays on some exclusive Tier 1 AAA Premier summer tournament Selects team. Normally, I'm not a fan of braggarts or really anyone who's super arrogant about their achievements. It's annoying, right? I mean, everyone has that one co-worker whose kids seemingly can do no wrong and are awesome at everything... I roll my eyes too. But at the same time, you almost have to smile that they're so darn proud of their kids. Do I think my sons, who play AAA hockey, are better hockey players than the kids that don't? Yes, yes I do. And here's why... My two oldest, (ages 7 and 9) just recently competed in a summer "rec" league with kids between the ages of 6 and 10. Over the 10 game season, in which my kids only played in 8 of the games, they combined for 73% of their team's offense. Two players scoring 73% of the points...while missing games. Further, their offensive output made up 31% of the scoring for the ENTIRE league. Not to brag or anything (ha-ha) but Duncan's league leading scoring total was three times that of the next closest player...and he played in two fewer games. So, yeah, I think my kids are better than the typical player at their age level and I attribute that entirely to playing AAA hockey cause they weren't always this good. Oh, and the kid that finished second behind him in scoring...also a AAA hockey player. Hardly a coincidence. Circling back around, the AAA players at the Mite and Squirt level will undoubtedly be prepared and ready to play at the AAA Midget level if they choose to. Do I consider myself a martyr for all of the time spent each week shuttling them all over the place? No way. Not for a second. People rib me all the time for "always" being at a rink somewhere here or there, hundreds of miles from home. It's like it's a joke or some sort of torture or something but you know what? I love it. Christine says that "AAA hockey can build players and families" and she's right. Time at the rink for practices, the idle time before or between games, and time spent in hotel lobbies is all time spent with my kids' friends whose parents are my friends too. I'm not a martyr. There's isn't an ounce of suffering. I enjoy arriving 90 minutes prior to every game. I'm filling my free time surrounded by a few dozen friends...and we all get to include our kids too. Heh, now that might be something to brag about! ;0) Oh, and while I said up top that I rarely agree with the stance Christie Casciano Burns takes in her monthly Hockey Mom columns, I must say that her "Puck Hog" book should be standard reading for every single mite and squirt hockey player - especially the stand out players that make it all not-so-fun for everyone else. I mean, on those, she nailed it. Not surprisingly, AAA programs coach the exact same thing she's subtly teaching kids in those books.

My son left a couple of years ago due to the distance from our home, but I have a couple of friends with kids on the younger teams. I was told that the 2010 and 2011 teams had multiple players leave because of coaching (Big time dad coach) and some left because some of the decisions made by the organization. Do not make your decision based on anything you read on this or any other forms. I would suggest that you contact the organization, talk to the coach and if possible, contact some of the parents from last year’s team. Wherever you decide to take your son, AA or AAA make sure that the coach genuinely wants to develop every one of the team and not just his kid or his kid’s buddies. At the younger ages, the number of A’s should not matter as much as finding the best coaching.

Good articles from 200x85.com https://200x85.com/what-every-parent-player-should-know-about-tryouts/ WHAT EVERY PARENT/PLAYER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TRYOUTS April 30, 2019 by 200x85admin comme nts (0) With Team Tryouts fast approaching we hope all clubs will run a thorough and fair selection process. This can be a time of happiness or complete disappointment for families. There is stress, pressure and even politics with some unsavory clubs. Will mistakes be made? Only time will tell – but if a process is in place then the mistakes should be minimized. Of course, there are players & parents who may not be happy with some of the choices but that goes with the territory. Believe it or not, there are a lot of coaches who also dread this time of year, knowing they will break a young persons heart and that from time to time they will get it wrong. The write up below was mostly from John Verdon, President of the Oakville Rangers in 2016. I believe most of these points are all relative today and I have tweaked parts of the write up and updated age levels and wording where relative to USAH and Hockey Canada. The majority of the tryout process is completed before on-ice tryouts begin. This shouldn’t be some dirty secret. It is not a negative. It makes sense. If you are a coach and you are going to rely solely on a few 1 hour sessions to decide who is on your team, then you are a poor coach. Most coaches will/should have a number of ‘for sure’ kids in mind and 3 or 4 kids in mind for each remaining spot before on-ice tryouts begin. How? Because… Tryouts officially started the day each coach was announced. Next year’s coaches should now be out watching games all over the place; they should be taking and placing phone calls; they should be responding to and sending emails; they should be talking with current and incoming coaches to establish depth charts, etc. Next year’s coaches should be highly visible around the rinks and ready to talk to parents. AAA tryouts should become “invite only”. This change will not make AAA tryouts highly restricted. It is just meant to prevent 50-100 kids from being on the ice for the 1st couple of tryouts which is ridiculous and a waste of time/money. All players who the AAA coaches believe are candidates for the team should only be accepted or invited. Those players from the AA, A teams who they currently think may become candidates should simply be told they need additional development time. Coaches may not pick who YOU think are the best 17-20 players. That is because coaches have to build TEAMS and that involves a mix of left and right shots; offensive and defensive kids; fast kids and grinders; creative/flashy players and steady/dependable players. They also may have to keep body checking in mind, work ethic, which way a kid is trending and coachability. Finally, AAA/AA teams generally have between 110 and 180 events over the course of an 8-9 month season with team chemistry being an important component for success, so if you don’t think parent behavior/attitude and player behavior/attitude have a role in selections then you are mistaken. Don’t be the reason your kid doesn’t make a team. If you suspect that you may be a crazy hockey parent, please read this and calm down and just enjoy. Coaches/Clubs should develop local talent. Most programs should have stated objectives to transform their clubs into an Elite AAA or AA program with highly competitive, successful teams at every level- every year. I believe the preference should be to accomplish this with local residents whenever possible. Most clubs will not become an Elite AA or AAA program overnight just by saying so and changing the uniforms. Of course not, but they should make the decision to create the environment and programs by which that can happen. The alternative is just stupid. Keep losing your top players every year after having subsidized time and resources into their development. No thanks! Picking teams is not an exact science – coaches will make mistakes. They are not doing it on purpose – they want to win. But maybe they see some potential in a kid vs. a kid who may have plateaued. Maybe they think they can improve the decision making of a kid who can skate and shoot like lightening. Maybe it doesn’t work out. It doesn’t mean the coach is an incompetent idiot who should be publicly or anonymously insulted. He/she was taking a chance to improve the team and it didn’t work out. Oh well, get over it. So, with all of this in mind, what should you do to maximize your chances of achieving your goals? If you are a player – work hard in games and practices – do the little things – be a great teammate who is easy to coach. You never know who is watching. If you are a parent, be realistic. If your child is in B or A hockey then the chances of them making AAA or strong AA teams right away are very low. Target the appropriate level and contact the coach via email or if you see him around the rinks. Make sure they know who your child is and why you think your child is a strong candidate for the team. Also, behave yourself – everyone is watching. If your child is coming over from another club, understand that they will usually have to be clearly, noticeably better than incumbents in order to make the team. That is not ‘not fair’ that is just human nature.

I have noticed that 90% of kids that have played AA hockey and tryout for a AAA team, including the teams that some people feel are “FAUX” have a hard time adjusting to how much faster the game is played. I am sure given a chance to develop during the season they can adjust to the speed, but it is not going to happen during tryouts. I have also noticed that the new players to a team have been contacted in advance and have been invited to practice (tryout before the tryouts) with the current team.

How about we give credit to both programs. Both programs have teams ranked in the top 20 in the (11s,10s,09s,08s). That is great for Pittsburgh Hockey. The next discussion will probably be about the difference in each programs team cost to play per year VS the teams ranking.

I wonder who they will have coach. Coaching has to be getting watered down in Pittsburgh as well.

Has anyone else heard that Esmark is trying to start a 09 and 10 birth year team next year?

MID-AM TIER 1 PEEWEE TEAMS. Recent Scores 2020-21 USA 09 - Tier 1 Listing Top of Form Select Different Listing---------------USA Midget 18U Tier 1USA Midget 16U Tier 1USA Midget 15U Tier 1USA Bantam 05 Tier 1USA Bantam 06 Tier 1USA Peewee 07 Tier 1USA Peewee 08 Tier 1---------------Canada Midget AAACanada Min Midget AAACanada Bantam AAACanada Peewee AAA---------------Ontario Midget AAAOntario Midget 04 AAAOntario Bantam 05 AAAOntario Bantam 06 AAAOntario Peewee 07 AAAOntario Peewee 08 AAAOntario Atom 09 AAAOntario Atom 10 AAA---------------USA Midget 18U Tier 2USA Midget 16U Tier 2USA Bantam 05 Tier 2USA Bantam 06 Tier 2USA Peewee 07 Tier 2USA Peewee 08 Tier 2USA Squirt 09 (All)USA Squirt 10 (All) Bottom of Form Top of Form District: ALLAtlanticCentralMassachusettsMichiganMid-AmMinnesotaNew EnglandNew YorkNorthern PlainsPacificRocky MountainSoutheastern Bottom of Form Rank Team Record Rating AGD Sched Links n/a Cleveland Barons 09 AAA (OH) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 n/a Indy Jr Fuel 09 AAA (IN) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 n/a Ohio Blue Jackets 09 AAA (OH) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 n/a Pittsburgh Penguins Elite (Conway) 09 AAA (PA) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 n/a Pittsburgh Penguins Elite (Nelson) 09 AAA (PA) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 n/a Pittsburgh Vengeance 09 AAA (PA) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 Alphabetic Recent Scores 2020-21 USA 08 - Tier 1 Listing Top of Form Select Different Listing---------------USA Midget 18U Tier 1USA Midget 16U Tier 1USA Midget 15U Tier 1USA Bantam 05 Tier 1USA Bantam 06 Tier 1USA Peewee 07 Tier 1USA Peewee 08 Tier 1---------------Canada Midget AAACanada Min Midget AAACanada Bantam AAACanada Peewee AAA---------------Ontario Midget AAAOntario Midget 04 AAAOntario Bantam 05 AAAOntario Bantam 06 AAAOntario Peewee 07 AAAOntario Peewee 08 AAAOntario Atom 09 AAAOntario Atom 10 AAA---------------USA Midget 18U Tier 2USA Midget 16U Tier 2USA Bantam 05 Tier 2USA Bantam 06 Tier 2USA Peewee 07 Tier 2USA Peewee 08 Tier 2USA Squirt 09 (All)USA Squirt 10 (All) Bottom of Form Top of Form District: ALLAtlanticCentralMassachusettsMichiganMid-AmMinnesotaNew EnglandNew YorkNorthern PlainsPacificRocky MountainSoutheastern Bottom of Form Rank Team Record Rating AGD Sched Links n/a Cleveland Barons 08 AAA (OH) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 n/a Indy Jr Fuel 08 AAA (IN) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 n/a Ohio Blue Jackets 08 AAA (OH) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 n/a Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 08 AAA (PA) 0-0-0 0.00 0.00 0.00 n/a Pittsburgh Vengeance 08 AAA (PA) 0-1-0 0.00 0.00 0.00

From myhockey rankings. 2020-21 Rankings Association Rankings USA Youth USA Midget USA Girls Ontario Youth Ontario Girls USA Boys USA Midget 18U Tier 1 USA Midget 16U Tier 1 USA Midget 15U Tier 1 USA Bantam 06 Tier 1 USA Bantam 07 Tier 1 USA Peewee 08 Tier 1 USA Peewee 09 Tier 1 USA Midget 18U Tier 2 USA Midget 16U Tier 2 USA Bantam 06 Tier 2 USA Bantam 07 Tier 2 USA Peewee 08 Tier 2 USA Peewee 09 Tier 2 USA Squirt 10 (All) USA Squirt 11 (All)