BACKCHECKING

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)

It is because PPE thinks they are above everyone. Look at 66pensmom24 comments, kids playing PAHL are not on a real hockey team.

Correct me if I am wrong. Tier rankings do not start until Peewee that is why the Vengeance only play 1st year squirts in PAHL as well as an independent schedule.

1st year squirt teams play an independent schedule as the Vengeance and a PAHL AA schedule under the SCIR logo. Other than that, I do not believe that they have any other affiliation. I have heard that the new 2011 Vengeance BY team will not be playing a PAHL schedule this year.

By: Topher Scott It has been about a month since I took over as the Hockey Director of a AAA program here in Central NY. It has been an interesting process to say the least, and I feel like I’ve learned more about the youth hockey industry in the past month than I have in all the years I’ve been involved in the sport combined. Throughout the past month I have been doing a lot of listening…and have held back from doing a lot of speaking. Rather than come in and impose a plan right away, I wanted to talk to as many people as I could to get a sense of where things were at and where people wanted them to go. One of the toughest things about going this route is that people want answers right away. Since we have to run tryouts literally the week after the season is over (rule mandated by the State), people are in a frenzy right now trying to figure out what they’re going to do next year. It’s painful. But there’s a difference between doing things quickly…and doing them right. I want to do them right, and that takes time. It takes time and it takes a whole lot of feedback. And boy, feedback is what I have gotten. And honestly, it’s a bit troubling. Because in my conversations with many parents, coaches, kids, and others…there is a certain word that gets brought up with a disturbing intensity: FEAR. The youth hockey model…and the youth sports model in general…operates and feeds off of fear. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Fear of Judgement. Fear of the Unknown. The parents feel it. The coaches feel it. The kids feel it. The administrators feel it. The fear factor is crazy…and it’s everywhere. So I’ve put a lot of thought into where this fear comes from. Why does the youth hockey industry make so many good people go crazy? And how do we get to a place where people can enjoy the experience rather than always looking over their shoulder? I’ll try to answer both these questions below. Where does the fear come from? In my opinion, the fear factor in youth hockey comes from two places: 1. The too-early professionalization of youth hockey. 2. The disconnect between parents and coaches. Too often, and too early, we treat kids like professionals. We treat them like professionals before they are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to handle it. At too young of an age, KIDS: Play 70-80 game seasons. Are being ranked on how they play, for the whole internet to see it. Are being recruited to “Exposure” camps and “All-Star” teams. Are being recruited to college and/or junior camps. Are being coached like adults whose purpose is to win at all costs. These things certainly affect the kids. Imagine being 14 years old and reading negative reports about your play on the internet. Seriously, for the people reading this that write those reports, imagine your 14 year old self. I’m sure you were mature enough to handle what people said about you, who knew NOTHING about you but saw you play a hockey game or two. I’m sure you were mature enough to let it slide and not let it affect your self-worth. It’s pretty easy for 14 year olds to do that, right? Or imagine being told that if you don’t make a certain team at 14 years old, your dreams of playing college or pro hockey are done. Yes, that happens. And unfortunately, our industry perpetuates it. These kinds of things affect the kids for sure…but honestly I think it affects the parents more because it creates the biggest case of FOMO that I’ve ever seen. Parents want what is best for their kids. And most will go to the end of the earth to try and provide those opportunities for them. The problem is, the early-professionalization of our sport drives the parents to feel like if they don’t do “X”, it will ruin their kids chances at “Y” way too early. There is so much information out there trying to persuade them that the grass is greener on the other side. If your kid doesn’t play on a top ranked team… If your kid doesn’t make this tournament team… If your kid doesn’t apply to this camp… If your kid doesn’t get seen at this showcase… If your kid doesn’t have an advisor… The list goes on and on. And if you look at the long list of the “If your kid doesn’ts…” very few actually have an impact on a kid’s goals and dreams. 99% of them are pure fluff centered around adults making money off of FOMO. The one statement that should really matter is this: “If my kid plays for a good coach with a good culture…their chances at getting to “Y” are GREATLY increased.” I know because I’ve seen it as a college coach…and I know because I lived it. When I was younger, my parents kept me with the good coach of the not-so-talented team rather than having me play for the “All Star” team that was heavily recruited and had a coach with the wrong intentions. Three years later, the All Stars came to play for the good coach because our rag-tag group of kids that loved to play began beating them and they were having a miserable time with all of the pressure to win that was put on the kids and the families. It was a great experience having gone through it, and looking back it was a PhD of what hockey development looks like. Half our team went on to play college/pro hockey. And as a college coach, it’s easy to see what the kids that really make it have in common: They have a passion for the game. They love to play. And through that love to play comes a love to get better. And the better you become, the better your chances of achieving your goals and dreams. That ever-important passion is something that can be sucked out of kids if you treat them like adults too early. I’ve seen too many talented kids go through it. Way too many. Seriously, way too many. So parents, please, if you want to help your kid achieve their dreams of playing hockey at a higher level…keep that in mind. The best thing that you can do for your kid is to put them in an environment where that passion can flourish. But here’s where it gets interesting. Because the feedback that I get from the coaches completely flips the script. You certainly have coaches and admins perpetuating the FOMO in the parents by professionally coaching their kids at too early of an age. But you also have parents putting the fear into coaches for NOT coaching their kids professionally enough. All youth coaches will empathize with the following scenario: They catch heat from the parents of the more talented players if their kid doesn’t play all game and thus not coaching to win. They are threatened by the best players’ parents that if they don’t play their kid all the time, they’ll leave and find some other coach that will. Their kid needs to win so they can be on a top ranked team so they will be scouted. Oh yes, this happens. Again…at way too young of a level. But on the other side, coaches will also catch heat from the parents of the kids on the bottom end of their team if they do shorten the bench. They will hear from those parents that their kids are losing their love for the game because they don’t play enough. So… They have one quarter of their team’s parents upset at too little coaching to win and not playing their kids enough. And they have another quarter of their team’s parents upset about too much coaching to win and not playing their kids enough. It’s lose-lose and we are losing a lot of good coaches in our sport because they just don’t want to deal with this kind of madness. These scenarios…they happen EVERYWHERE. This dynamic between some parents (especially parents of the more talented kids who have FOMO) and the coaches is extremely unhealthy and it toxifies team cultures. So again, let me reiterate: *I played for teams with a great coach, great culture, and bad talent. We ended up being better than the team with the bad coach, bad culture, but great talent. Over time, coaching and culture won out. The talent/ranking didn’t. *As a former coach in college, PASSION is a huge differentiator between kids that make it and kids that don’t. If the culture you are generating within your team (whether you are a parent or a coach) is creating an environment that doesn’t foster passion…you need to take a look in the mirror and make some changes. At the end of the day…the fear of judgement, the fear of missing out, the fear of the unknown…these are real fears in the youth hockey world. And if we don’t take steps to address them, our game will continue to suffer. So how do we change it? There are two ways to reverse the fear that permeates our youth hockey world. 1. Proper parent and coach education 2. Reminding people to reflect upon their “Why” Very few organizations invest time and effort into coaching or parent education. And in my opinion, those are the two things that are most important to building a good team or organizational culture. Coaches need to be prepared to better themselves not only about the game of hockey, but about teaching, leadership, communication, etc… Organizations should be holding drill shares, putting on seminars, encouraging their coaches to be on the ice with other teams, and much, much more. The better we can educate our coaches, the better our players will be. And parent education…this is an absolute must. We need to educate the parents about the youth hockey journey, what it entails, and what lies at the end of the ride. Education can minimize the FOMO that so many feel as it provides expectations and knowledge about the process their kids (and themselves) will go through. At the Hockey Think Tank, we put together a Parent Guidebook to help hockey parents out there. Hopefully it can help any of you trying to navigate the youth hockey journey. Click here to download: https://thehockeythinktank.com/parent-guidebook/ And what is the first section in the Guidebook? “What is your Why?” Parents: Why did you put your kid in youth hockey? I would guess that 90% of you put them in there to make friends, build character, exercise, and learn life lessons. Coaches: Why did you want to coach youth hockey? I would guess that 90% of you started coaching to make a positive impact on kids. When we take a step back and remember our why, the stress and insanity seem so juvenile. We get so caught up in the craziness that we often forget the noble reasons we chose to put our kids into sports in the first place. That fear we once felt…for many it just dissipates because our kids becoming good people is what really matters…not them becoming superstars. My hope in writing this piece is that people involved in youth hockey can be encouraged to take a breath. Take a step back and remember what youth sports should be about. Only then can we process what makes us fearful about the journey we’re in and begin to take the steps necessary to mitigate it. And only then can we begin to change the culture so more kids, coaches, and families can enjoy the greatest game on the planet. For more, we are putting on a virtual “Back to Hockey” Conference on August 19th as well. It’s a great way to get more educated and get some perspective on the hockey process…and we’ll provide TANGIBLE ideas and actions to make your hockey life easier. It’s a few hours on a Wednesday night, and the reward will be amazing for those players, parents, and coaches that make it. The diverse set of topics are from some of the top minds in the game…including: -The Actual Keys to Getting Scouted/Recruited -Becoming an Elite Athlete/Hockey Player -Performance Nutrition -Forming Hockey Habits -Mental Toughness/Resiliency Training -Boys vs. Girls Hockey

Has anyone else heard that Beaver county ice rink was sold to a group from Youngstown.

The Pittsburgh Vengeance Hockey Club exists to provide youth players with a pathway to college and professional hockey. Our youth teams play independent AAA schedules against the top competition at their age level, culminating in our U16 and U18 age groups in the USPHL Midget divisions. The Vengeance Junior A team plays in the USPHL Premier division, allowing players to showcase their talents to NCAA programs, as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 Junior teams. COACHING STAFF SEAN BERKSTRESSER HEAD COACH USPHL PREMIER VENGEANCE This is from the Vengeance website

Vengeance have BY teams - 2011 to 2006 First year squirt players also play a PAHL AA schedule under the Renegades.

I understand that some PPE players from each age group have left this year for the Vengeance and some other organizations. I was told that it was due to either the clowns, cost, parents, or a combination of all three. I am curios if this will be a new trend the next couple of years.

(Hearsay) I have heard that they use a local AAU team to play in some AAU tournaments in MI. Why do they only play each other?

PPE is already making a killing off of AAA Mites.

Am I the Jacka$$ or are you for believing anything that PPE tells You? My guess is that you are angry that you couldn’t brag to your friends that your daughter played for PEE anymore and that’s why you felt the need to share her hockey resume with everyone on here. Bottom line is if your kid is good enough, they will make the team no matter what anyone else does. Stop making accuses for why they did not make it and teach them to work harder and come back and tryout again next year.

“They'll drop a local kid quicker than a snap to pick up someone better out of town.” The balls that PPE must have to take a kid that is more skilled even though they do not live as close to the rink as your less skilled player. They need to ask everyone who tryouts to provide how faraway they live from the rink. I hope that they at least gave your kid a participation award for trying out.

THIS IS GOING TO SOUND CRAZY!!!! How about everyone worry about their own kid!!!! Most of the parents who are raising issues about this are jealous and are the same types of parents that openly complain to their child about the coach or teammates. The supposed favorites are usually the kids that works harder than everyone else, loves the game, wants to be at the rink, and listens, which is the reason why their one of the better players on the team and getting more ice time. It’s not the coach’s fault, it’s the players, because I guarantee the player isn’t working hard, goofs around, doesn’t listen, isn’t skilled enough and causes the team problems. Rather than worry about what other kids and organizations (that your kid isn’t skilled enough to make) are doing you should worry about teaching your kid how to take responsibility for themselves and not shift blame.