ctil20

IF they were being forced to drink then that’s bad.  I could also see where strippers would make someone uncomfortable.

The question lies in whether they were being forced to consume alcohol OR if it was some party where everyone participated willingly and stripper shenanigans happened. 

With that said, I was expecting much worse than that. 

Does this warrant nuking a program though? 
 

Noticed a real uptick in players using their sticks like this. What happened to it being taboo.

I have no affiliation with the guy but say what you want about coaching or an incident that has happened between a coach and player... if applicable. 

The other stuff... no business calling out someone’s personal life like that, especially when it’s a family dynamic and a kid is involved. Let’s not act like we’ve all navigated life with perfection either. I don’t know the details, who was wrong, but that kind of shit really doesn’t have a place on this board.

The rankings are a rough estimate of where you stand... in regards to what teams your manager should be scheduling games against. That’s about it. 
 

I would also like to touch on the ACHA and Beer league comments. That crap is on the same spectrum as the mite parents who think their kid is destined for glory... just opposite ends. 
 

If everyone bought into this doomsday approach, there would be no junior, college or pro players. And while it’s true that the higher you go up the ladder, the harder it becomes, there are some who will climb it. So take that jaded shit somewhere else. 

Pens don’t need to. The price tag comes with a certain allotment of games and I know most parents there would rather be playing the likes of Chicago Mission or Mid Fairfield than the Vengeance or driving to Castle Shannon to see how their kid stacks up... often against players they have played with or against for years. 
 

No, back to normal would be all of the 01-03 BY parents at each other’s throats but most have seemingly moved on as their kids have aged out of amateur. Those were the glory days. 

3 minutes ago, Big Earn said:

Since this is a discussion board and we like to ask questions, ctil20, are you speaking from experience or through the lure of hockey hearsay like pucks11?  

I’ve been around for a while and just know what’s what. You will have to take my word for it. Didn’t want to get involved with the Vengeance/Pens debate.... but this subject seems to come up ad nauseum with Vengeance people. Giving a little hard core but factual feedback. 
 

again... 08 group is great. Coach and kids deserve all credit they get. 

The rankings aren’t even worth paying attention to this year for AAA. There are more than a few programs trying to fly under the radar by not reporting scores due to their states COVID protocols. I’m sure some don’t want to hear that. You see your kids team a top others and want that validation, especially if it’s another local team your squad is ahead of. I’m painting with a broad brush across most birth years, and this is not a shot at the Vengeance 08’s. They are obviously the deeper group. In a regular season, they would be ranked high(er). The coach and squad absolutely deserves any and all credit they get. 

As far as the vengeance being the new hornets. This is clown talk from a vengeance parent. The Vengeance mission statement may as well be “look at us, we are better than the pens, we do x and o and we do it the right way, we are different, look at us, our coaches played pro hockey”. 

That program is the most insecure program in youth hockey. I’ve watched livebarn across hundreds of rinks, I have never seen one completely locked down like Alpha is, due to Vengeance. 

There are also portions of that program that can be bought and sold with the worst of them. Parents with deep pockets running the show with some birth years etc. There are portions that aren’t on the up and up. Keyword portions. They have good people involved too, but things aren’t very consistent across the board. 
 

Danner could probably weigh in on this better than I could. But everyone is tired of hearing the Vengeance talk about the Vengeance. If you aspire to be the hornets, great, but you better start weeding out the turds and shadiness before you start making that claim about the program as a whole. 
 

1 hour ago, nemesis8679 said:

How about charging the bullies with harassment? Fire the coaches. Like mentioned above, suspending the program 4 years does nothing but take away opportunity for innocent people.

 On the topic of picking up pucks, carrying water bottles, etc. - everyone should be doing it. As a coach, the whole team would be doing these things. Nobody being singled out. A real Captain wouldn't allow it, either. 

 

Exactly.

2 minutes ago, sadday4hockey said:

Picking up pucks is hazing? Anyone who believes that should melt away with the rest of the snowflakes from last week.

How about teach them to have the respect for the upperclassmen and offer to pick them up?

Upper classmen... this is a fairytale. A 16 year old is supposed to “respect” an 18 year old because the 18 year old is two years older? 
 

Give me a break. Respect for seniority is applicable in honorary settings such as the military. Not fucking hockey, or youth sports in general. 

Hazing was never anything but a reason for meatballs to get their rocks off, and dopamine hits, from the embarrassment of others. It always was a stupid practice, it still is a stupid practice. It is truly nothing but bullying under the guise of shenanigans. 
 

Even making someone carry water bottles is stupid. Why don’t you all take turns and all pick up pucks - that’s real team building. 
 

Teach your kids to lift others up. 

1 hour ago, BeaverFalls said:

This will further the separation between the haves and have nots in hockey. It’ll be interesting to see the results years down the line in each age group. 

Stop being dramatic. 
 

3 weeks isn’t separating anything. 3 months isn’t separating anything. Talent is talent and it will rise to the top once everyone is caught up to speed. 

This is the type of non-sense that leads to the toxicity within the hockey community and this board. Giving unknowing parents anxiety. 
 

There are kids who slow down considerably over the off season, and come the 3rd week of practice in August they’re back to the top of the crop. 
 

On 12/1/2020 at 7:26 AM, twoboys said:

If you child wants to start playing hockey I would get him or her into an ADM program this season.  No reason to  do another learn to play session it just puts of his or her development a season.  The reason I say this is that most ADM programs are 2 days a week and at the end of the day your child has to get on the ice to start developing.

At this point, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the 3 programs.  Pick one that fits your schedule and has a spot for you.  At the end of the season you can reevaluate the situation.  The only thing that can hinder your player’s development is if you wind up in a situation where he or she isn’t having fun.  
 

And the Jamborees were fun for the kids.  To the kids they seem like a big deal.

This is the best advice. Any of those 3 are suitable options. At this age, when you are just trying to gauge interest, I would choose the program that best fits your life/work schedule. You don’t want to rush home,  then do 90mph across town to get to one of these places because it starts at X time... For your kids enjoyment, and yours. Just find what works best for the schedule. 
 

I don’t want to entertain the negativity here, but some people involved with other rinks/programs have a full blown side gig of bashing and trashing anything and anyone at Lemeiux. And don’t get me wrong, Lemeiux hasn’t been perfect over the years, but MOST of it is nonsense. 

In regards to coaching, are the coaches not engaged? Or are they not dictating decisions for the players on the ice? I will take a coach who is reserved and speaks minimally over a coach who looks engaged, but is literally calling out orders to the players on the ice... go left, go right, shoot, move the puck etc. 

4 hours ago, Wes said:

Give me a F*** break. There is NO STATISTIC that shows masks do ANYTHING.  This is 100% politically driven.

The “droplet” projectiles coming from coughs, sneezes, breathing in general are deterred by mask wearing. It is a layer of deterrence that is better than nothing.  

So the masks are doing something. I don’t think we need a statistic to believe that putting something in front of our mouth and nose is going to help stop droplets from shooting straight out of our mouth and nose. 

The best evidence for this is to watch a video of a sneeze shown with infrared, or even breathing in general. 

A mask, coupled with 6 ft of distance significantly raises your chances of avoiding the virus. It’s not fail proof by any stretch, but it’s a lot better then no mask. 
 

Really though, we have to stop viewing it as our mask protecting us. Our mask is protecting everyone else, and others masks are protecting us. 

34 minutes ago, fafa fohi said:

I thought we were talking about LiveBarn at Alpha.  What does the Vengeance have to do with Alpha not using LiveBarn?  Do you have an insider tip or know something others don't?

As far as @Jack Handey stating Alpha was hosting "super spreader events" I recall PPE kids going in and out of Alpha once the rink opened when Allegheny Cty turned to yellow phase because UPMC was shut down.  And wasn't your son an active participant in skating sessions at Alpha during that time?  And as far as those "super spreader" events I haven not seen any data that there has been COVID outbreaks within those that were skating at Alpha.

Lockdown over, turn the cameras on! Like every other rink with a LiveBarn set up! 

The thing is... I don’t even think the cameras were installed there, or they were not turned on when “Alpha was open during the shutdown”. I’m not really buying that excuse. 
 

There is currently no valid excuse to be blocking out paying LiveBarn subscribers from games/ice time their children are participating in at Alpha. 

1 hour ago, aaaahockey said:

Actually there are people out there crazy enough to watch other team practices. I have met them.  That being said as Paul mentioned it's a complete waste of time. 

Well, the weird thing is... I can watch a professional, D1, junior teams practice on LiveBarn... so if they aren’t concerned about others viewing their practices... I don’t know why Alpha or it’s tenants would be. 

Again, I’ve viewed a ton of rinks around America since the inception of LiveBarn. I have not come across any that have restrictions on every event, like Alpha does. 
 

Maybe someone needs to contact LiveBarn. Alpha can certainly make the decision not to have it, that’s their call, but if they’re going to have it... they need to let LiveBarn subscribers utilize it. 
 

I do have my suspicions on what it’s really about but I’m patiently waiting for someone from Alpha, and we all know a few of you are here, to speak up and maybe indicate it’s a technical issue or mishap. And fix it. There’s no reason why people who are paying for livebarns service should be locked out of viewing their kids play at this particular rink. 
 

I can pretty much guarantee that nobody cares to watch any practice that’s happening at Alpha or any other amateur hockey organization. 
 

Knowing some of the individuals I know, in regard to Alpha... I can completely see it being on purpose and a result of paranoia. 

24 minutes ago, Pucks11 said:

My kid doesn't play at either rink and who said anything about a secret? Just stating facts, the big Pens shut the building down for the restart and no one was allowed in but the PPE didn't have a problem asking for their $$$$. We know 30+ families that are up there. 

I know some rinks have put passwords on their livebarns so they don't get flooded with people watching and then the video lags. 

 I’ve never once had video lag, and I’ve watched USHL games on LiveBarn. 
 

I can’t help but think you are involved there. Seeing how you are turning a conversation about them, around to the pens. That’s the MO of some at Alpha/vengeance.
 

Anyway, what do you think the reasoning is behind the secrecy on LiveBarn is? It’s not bandwidth. 

1 hour ago, Pucks11 said:

UPMC is run by the big Pens and they want to make sure that when training camp starts in December that they can shut the whole building off AGAIN without any problems beforehand. 

All that money dropped by parents up there and some teams have only played 2 or less games so far while other local organizations are 10, 15 or 20 games in already. 

 

Ahhh here is the Alpha/Vengeance associate. 
 

What’s the big secret? 

I’ve viewed many rinks over the years via LiveBarn. And by that, I mean probably around a hundred across America. 
 

Alpha and/or the Vengeance are literally the only rink I’ve seen lock their games. As I delved deeper, everything is locked outside of one or two time frames a day. Mite skates. 
 

Anyone from Alpha care to explain? I’d like to give someone the benefit of the doubt and let them explain why they’re seemingly the only rink in America who requires a code to watch anything. 
 

Now, I know that rinks/organizations will occasionally black out try outs, private lesson sessions etc. However, to view anything at Alpha, you need a code. If I want to go back and watch my friends kids games, or view my own kids games played there, I have to hunt down a security code to view. 
 

Individuals with a LiveBarn subscription would like to watch family and friends play hockey, without having to contact people for codes to watch. 

14 hours ago, AngryKid001 said:

 

 

No.

6 hours ago, fafa fohi said:

Sorry but this is a load of crap.  Wolf mishandling this does not define the Democratic Party nor serve as their litmus test.   You are calling this episode a circus?  What in the hell would you call the last 3 1/2 years?  
 

Your comment of Wolf “converting Democrats to Republicans in hoards” is a joke.  As a Democrat that believed Wolf failed miserably in his handling of the outbreak, I don’t know of a single Dem changing parties because of his missteps.  65% of the voting public polled this week say Trump and his task force mishandled the outbreak.  Get real.  
 

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/516180-almost-2-in-3-americans-disapprove-of-trumps-handling-of-pandemic

Hey Chief,

I voted for Obama.

I’m sorry that you cannot see the forest from the trees. I couldn’t either. Say what you want about Trump. The reality is he is an effective president, who can’t get out of his own way due to his ego. 
 

The Democratic Party though? Buddy, take a look at the cities being torched to the ground. Take a look at the crime rates in Dem run cities. Take a look at how fucking unhinged and wacky that party has become. 
 

You want Biden in the whitehouse sympathizing for all of the social misfits burning and looting cities? Wait until it shows up on your doorstep- you’ll change your tune very quickly. 
 

My advice to you is that you take a hard look at what is going on with “the Democrats”. Donald Trump, this virus, and the rioting/looting etc have exposed them for what they really are.

The party of delusion. This isn’t Bill Clinton’s Democrats anymore Chief. This is AOC’s Democrats, aka the clown car. Furthermore, that party could give fuck all about you... you don’t fit their agenda. 
 

Wake up. 

Wolf “appealing” this right now screams hurt ego. The numbers don’t warrant the restrictions anymore. 
 

If there are no significant issues that arise from a more relaxed approach (via federal judge).. and Wolf continues to try to appeal - not only will Pennsylvania be a landslide towards Trump but it will remain red until the generations who dealt with this fiasco are not voting anymore. 
 

The issues that separated democrat and republican are minute now. There are larger fish to fry, and one party is handling those fish a lot better than the other. One party is gaining new customers, while the other is toiling away in crazy town - and lacking the self awareness to stop the spiral. 
 

Tom Wolf is a major asset for Trump. He is converting Democrats to Republicans by the hoards.  He is not alone, this is happening everywhere. From letting cities burn, to telling everyone to stay in their house. 
 

It’s not even Democrat and republican anymore. It’s the circus versus’s somewhat normal, but better than the clown car. 

3 hours ago, 66PensMom24 said:

We stopped by to see how they are running it. It is BS that our kids can’t play but they are packing them in there and playing. I’m so glad we are at Pens and we take pride in our organization and have class. 

This has to be a trolling attempt because most parents up that way feel very differently. 
 

Alpha letting the kids play with regular rosters is fine. 
 

Alpha letting all of those parents in was just misguided and stupid. That is what the argument should be over, the parents coming in. That is what will sink any attempt at getting get normalcy on the ice, by way of the states rules... is CAN we have youth sports without parents hovering as closely to the action as possible. 
 

I promise you, whenever the decisions are made about youth sports they are taking into consideration the parents as the primary risk. 

Let your children go play the sport without having to be in there with them. It is not about you. It has nothing to do with you.