Corsi

I feel like I understand what you are saying, but keep in mind that development that that young of an age takes place in practice and the games are just a way for the players to demonstrate that development. Regardless of the placement, I would be intent on making sure that practices are geared toward development and that they are high paced and intense. The players will get more out of that in the long run than they will out of playing a game regardless of where they are placed.

I used to do games for years, and I have actually seen more instances than you would think of the score keepers recording the numbers incorrectly, especially if it is the same person running the clock. I'm not sure how much more efficient it is with the iPads now, but having 1 person running the clock and the other person doing the scoresheet always seemed to work best as far as accuracy. Teams already supply someone for the penalty box, and clock... it shouldn't kill another parent to volunteer to do the scoresheet. My guess is that the same parent that is going to complain about a mistake on the scoresheet is also going to be the same parent who complains about having to volunteer to do it.

I heard they had 4 players from last season decide to not come back.

THIS!!!

I don't think that "cherry pick" is the right way to look at it, those players chose to go to those programs. I'm not sure if they don't allow their players to also play PIHL, but I know that with what seems like the majority of tournament and showcases starting on Friday mornings (occasionally Thursday nights) it makes it difficult to do both without the players risking burnout. I would also have to assume that the chance of injury has to increase.

Assuming you mean players on teams that are expected to perform really well?

I think this is asking for lawyers to get involved... So a player moves into a district on September 1 due to a parent's job transfer, that player cannot play PIHL hockey because a "roster freeze" went into effect on say August 1st even though the regular season won't start for over a month?

https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/mother-charged-with-assaulting-16-year-old-referee-youth-hockey-game/IKN7ZZKANZAYZPYHOK7JI6DYUI/?tbref=hp

The $40k number I have does not include travel for PPE. I have some friends that still have kids in the sport (16U and 18U) and they have shared that the expectation is that "AAA" with an academy, billet, coaches, and travel fees you should expect $30k on the low end and $50k+ on the high end. Most of that depends on the academy cost. They also mentioned that some organizations now include "travel" as an upfront cost. They said that the team books all travel (bus, airfare, hotel) for the players and then you are refunded what is left following the season. As far as Pittsburgh goes, PPE is the only program with an academy. Within MidAm, Blue Jackets and Barons have both billet programs and are associated in some way with an academy.

Pure Hockey in Canonsburg... Some of the best staff in the area.

I have been told that is in upwards of $40k...

This is 100% correct, especially if you are in home school district that is very strong academically.

Speaking of 16U, does anyone know why 16U is the only PPE team that doesn't have a roster posted for the 25-26 season yet?

Team officials (coaches, team managers, association officials, etc) submit a list of "nominated players" to MidAm. The deadline is usually at some point in January. After that a group from MidAm reviews the nominations and comes up with a list of players who are then offered spots at an evaluation camp (tryout) in May. In the past they have stressed the point that teams with higher rankings in MyHockey will receive more spots in the camp. Traditionally the vast majority of spots have gone to players on Tier 1 teams with a handful of Tier 2 players sprinkled in. I didn't do a deep dive, but I believe this year at the 2009 camp there weren't any Tier 2 players invited or in attendance.

There are far more players in travel programs between ages 14-19 (approximate ages to play varsity) than there are in HS programs. The player pool gives the travel programs an advantage over the PIHL teams.