Last time my son's team went to JP it was early in the season and we were able to sit outside the pool area and it was glorious to get out of the sauna.
Youth Hockey - catch all
- Thread starter tonyandpals
- Start date
Not happening here. It has been in the high 30's low 40's during the day so far. The pool outisde is open but has ice on it. Seems like someone messed that up.
Great place, definitely the best tournament experience we've had so far.
Although my room has become the designated knee hockey arena, which is less than ideal.
Great place, definitely the best tournament experience we've had so far.
Although my room has become the designated knee hockey arena, which is less than ideal.
We were in Lake Placid for less than 10 minutes when 6 boys were in my room knocking shit over. I poured a drink and went outside..
Tournament victory! My son had the GWG in their last pool game which was effectively a semi-final- the winner played for the championship. He got team MVP for the game and he was really excited. Such a great tournament experience. We enjoyed it far more than Waterville.
Funny story: one of the cooks at one of the restaurants was outside smoking a cigarette and he was joking around with one of the older brothers of one of the kids on our team who happened to be out there. The kid told him he shouldn't smoke cigarettes and the guy jokingly asked him if he wanted to try one. Well the kid told all my son's team that and they thought it was hilarious and took to calling him "Ciggy man." He became the unofficial mascot of the Flames and they chanted "ciggy man" as a team on the way out of the locker room and on the ice after they won the title. I'm sure the other teams parents were very confused.
Funny story: one of the cooks at one of the restaurants was outside smoking a cigarette and he was joking around with one of the older brothers of one of the kids on our team who happened to be out there. The kid told him he shouldn't smoke cigarettes and the guy jokingly asked him if he wanted to try one. Well the kid told all my son's team that and they thought it was hilarious and took to calling him "Ciggy man." He became the unofficial mascot of the Flames and they chanted "ciggy man" as a team on the way out of the locker room and on the ice after they won the title. I'm sure the other teams parents were very confused.
Those moments are great and that's awesome for your son, congrats!
Also the "ciggy man" thing is funny and something that just organically brings a team together. Our goalie situation has been...tough...this season. One of our kids was heading heading back to his room while walking with our goalie. They passed the goalies room on the way and it had his doorhanger thing that was made for each kid on the door. Our player was like, your last name is "insertpopularnoodlebrandhere" which he had no idea, I don't think anyone did. He quickly dubbed him "noodles" and an nickname was born and the team came together around it.
Thank you, it was really fun.
Ya, these kids are a lot of fun and they come up with the best stuff to rally around. Noodles is an excellent nickname.
Anyone part of BSHL or SSC? SSC has been painfully behind the times with scheduling, standings, communication, etc. BSHL has been adding more teams each year with the initial focus having been U6 teams and C and B teams at the U8/U10 level. Seems like BSHL is trying to pull in much more than that next season.
South Shore Conference veteran here- just a trash organization. Website is useless for any sense of accuracy, communication is piss poor, and no one seems to actually give a shit about the kids.
Hope I'm not insulting anyone's family here, I get running a large organization is tough, but they do a poor job of it.
Hope I'm not insulting anyone's family here, I get running a large organization is tough, but they do a poor job of it.
Seconded on the above and, if you can believe it, things are even worse for the SSC girls league. We moved our girls’ program to MYC this season and, while there are some complaints about travel and rolling scheduling, it’s been a far superior experience.
MYC actually emailed coaches at the start of the season for a list of SSC or VHL teams that girls on their rosters played on, with the intent of minimizing game conflicts. I was blown away by this.
MYC actually emailed coaches at the start of the season for a list of SSC or VHL teams that girls on their rosters played on, with the intent of minimizing game conflicts. I was blown away by this.
I've had really good experiences with the Manchester Flames youth organization. If people are in Southern NH/Northern Ma and looking for good value, they do a real good job.
BSHL has been great for my U6 guy. They quickly moved his team from Bronze to Silver and they’ll start in Gold in January. I loved that they were so proactive in making the games more competitive.
Only complaint I have is the opposing coach that instructed his goalie to lay down across the net in the playoff game over the wknd. The kids couldn’t lift the puck over him and just seemed out of touch with what the intent of hockey at the U6 level should be.
Only complaint I have is the opposing coach that instructed his goalie to lay down across the net in the playoff game over the wknd. The kids couldn’t lift the puck over him and just seemed out of touch with what the intent of hockey at the U6 level should be.
When I was coaching housmites a lot of coaches just had their goalies drop into butterfly and stay down...I hated that. It's 100% about development not winning. And for the record in 5 years of coaching U6/U8 and rotating goalies, I have 4 different kids who have gone on to become full time goalies.
Also- mean to pass a story along that I thought encompassed some of the challenges of youth hockey in MA today.
I've been very happy with the club team my son plays on...he's got a very knowledgeable coach who really appreciates him and the competition isn't going to get much better, even leaving our little island for a team somewhere off cape. I don't know that I love the program as a whole, but they do a pretty good job and my son's specific team makes it well worth it, despite the hefty price tag (that necessitated me getting a summer job...of course that job was working at my local rink driving the 'boni, so not terrible).
Last week my son's town team had a playdown game (for the uninformed, it's basically a one game playoff to qualify for the state tournament) at home on
Tuesday night. We have a few kids from the town team on the club team and we got a notice from the club team that we would be expected to attend the club practice that night over the playdown game...the contract we signed stated we pick club over all other events. I called the head of the club and he explained (understandably) that they need to hold people to the contract, otherwise what are they worth.
I said I get it, but we were playing in the game. I was told that next time this happened my son would be suspended- after all they couldn't make exceptions, otherwise everyone would skip. While I completely understand this perspective, I raised the point that we had attended every practice or game, and there were kids who miss a practice every week...or how about the kid that didn't go to Lake Placid and then spent 3 weeks in Florida? I was told that was fine, but what my son was doing was not. I get it, I really do, but that's so fucking dumb. These are 11 year olds, let's be reasonable here. But whatever.
My son had the GWG and got the empty netter to send our town to states in front of around 150 fans including friends, families, and the hockey community at large. It was everything that Massachusetts hockey is about.
I've been very happy with the club team my son plays on...he's got a very knowledgeable coach who really appreciates him and the competition isn't going to get much better, even leaving our little island for a team somewhere off cape. I don't know that I love the program as a whole, but they do a pretty good job and my son's specific team makes it well worth it, despite the hefty price tag (that necessitated me getting a summer job...of course that job was working at my local rink driving the 'boni, so not terrible).
Last week my son's town team had a playdown game (for the uninformed, it's basically a one game playoff to qualify for the state tournament) at home on
Tuesday night. We have a few kids from the town team on the club team and we got a notice from the club team that we would be expected to attend the club practice that night over the playdown game...the contract we signed stated we pick club over all other events. I called the head of the club and he explained (understandably) that they need to hold people to the contract, otherwise what are they worth.
I said I get it, but we were playing in the game. I was told that next time this happened my son would be suspended- after all they couldn't make exceptions, otherwise everyone would skip. While I completely understand this perspective, I raised the point that we had attended every practice or game, and there were kids who miss a practice every week...or how about the kid that didn't go to Lake Placid and then spent 3 weeks in Florida? I was told that was fine, but what my son was doing was not. I get it, I really do, but that's so fucking dumb. These are 11 year olds, let's be reasonable here. But whatever.
My son had the GWG and got the empty netter to send our town to states in front of around 150 fans including friends, families, and the hockey community at large. It was everything that Massachusetts hockey is about.
That's a stupid rule and I'm glad you said no.
Congrats to your son, that feels really fun. I wish we had town hockey here.
Congrats to your son, that feels really fun. I wish we had town hockey here.
I actually dont get the bolded part. Why are those other absences OK and your sons was not? Was it specifically because he was picking a different sporting activity over the club event?
Also, what does a "suspension" entail and is that clearly written out in the contract? If they're going to be "sticklers" to their contract, I'm pretty sure there are a few SoSH lawyers around who'd be willing to poke more holes in it than there are in a hockey net.
Glad he had a great game and nothing will seemingly come from it, but this kind of thing really bothers me.
I think the issue was we were missing the event for a different hockey event. I still think that’s dumb, but whatever.
And yeah, something like this bothers me too…I’m not going to raise a stink (although maybe I should). He’s got one more year left until he needs to switch to short season anyways, so we’ll see what next year looks like and go from there.
It’s all very silly though
And yeah, something like this bothers me too…I’m not going to raise a stink (although maybe I should). He’s got one more year left until he needs to switch to short season anyways, so we’ll see what next year looks like and go from there.
It’s all very silly though
Ugh, the kid in my daughter's Mayor's Cup game did this on Saturday, clearly instructed to, and to top it off, kicked the goal out every single time, costing us at least one goal. Really pissed my daughter off, though she did get our teams only two goals. Time for her to practice lifting that puck.
Youth hockey can be so petty. We were at a high level girls u14 tournament this past weekend and after a top 15 in the country team beat a top 5 team, they dropped out, screwing up the schedule for all the other teams, because they didn’t want to play some 30-50s ranked teams and risk dropping in the rankings if they didn’t beat them by enough. Like there were millions of dollars and a spot in the Rose Bowl on the line or something.
I don't blame the club team. It stinks for your kid and its dumb that the practice outweighs the game, but it's understandable for them.
This kind of stuff isn't just youth hockey. There are kids that will play for their town little league team just to ensure they get enough games in to qualify, and then bail on remaining games/practices and join more competitive regional teams trying out for the LLWS. While it's the inverse of your situation, I think it's a relevant example. Your son tried out for a club team and took a spot from another kid who wanted to make the team. Prioritizing that club over other hockey teams feels OK to me.
Yes this makes sense. Couple kids on my son's squirt team are out of control with it.
I never said it wasn’t understandable, in fact I repeatedly mentioned that I understood. I was just telling a story to demonstrate some of the serious flaws in the way youth sports are run.
My largest personal annoyance here is probably the lack of any flexibility or nuance. It’s very impersonal and corporate, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to cause me to rethink if this is really the values system I want my kids raised in.
@Dummy Hoy - One thing that stuck out in your other post that I forgot to come back to, you mentioned he's 11 and this is his last year before "shortened season". I'm curious what you meant by that. My son is 14 and playing his last year of full year bantams before planning to play a half year midget team prior to playing for the High School next year (and this is only because CT CIAC doesnt allow rostering for a HS team and any other team in the same "season").
What does a shortened season mean for 12 yr olds?
What does a shortened season mean for 12 yr olds?
Well. I never played hockey and was trying to get my kids to elevate their shot a few weeks ago. They weren't getting it, so I taught them to flip it. Now I'm immediately regretting that decision.
I meant one more year after this.
My son will be 12/13 next hockey season and in 7th grade. The following year he’ll be in 8th grade and that’s at the high school, so while he will be on JV, I may just have him do the short season…our JV gets a ton of ice time. Not sure yet what we’re doing next year either, so one step at a time
How's everyone's playoffs going/ looking?
We got bounced today by the one seed in a 5-0. Kept it scoreless through one and hit a couple parts early. Proud of the boys as the last time out against this team was a 14-0 loss, I believe.
Positive note, we got here by winning the 8/9 play in game. Was tight for a while but me made it 4-1 after an empty netter, then got the ultimate insult goal after they put the goalie back in. 5-1 against a team we were typically pretty even with through the season was a solid win for us.
Overall things got better as our season went along. Lots of closer games down the stretch against top teams in the state. Really all we could ask for.
Looks like we're turning over a couple of D spots and a forward or two. Losing one of our best players as the dad is sick of losing. Too bad as he's a good kid, goes to school with some of our guys, just leaving for the wrong reasons.
Looking forward to turning the page to baseball though!
We got bounced today by the one seed in a 5-0. Kept it scoreless through one and hit a couple parts early. Proud of the boys as the last time out against this team was a 14-0 loss, I believe.
Positive note, we got here by winning the 8/9 play in game. Was tight for a while but me made it 4-1 after an empty netter, then got the ultimate insult goal after they put the goalie back in. 5-1 against a team we were typically pretty even with through the season was a solid win for us.
Overall things got better as our season went along. Lots of closer games down the stretch against top teams in the state. Really all we could ask for.
Looks like we're turning over a couple of D spots and a forward or two. Losing one of our best players as the dad is sick of losing. Too bad as he's a good kid, goes to school with some of our guys, just leaving for the wrong reasons.
Looking forward to turning the page to baseball though!
Son's bantam team ended up sliding into Tier 4 towards the end of the season on the backs of a couple losses to a team way to good to be seeded below us in the rankings. Was likely a blessing in disguise as I think they would have really struggled as one of the bottom teams in a Tier 3 bracket, vs being one of the better ones in a T4. Their back half of season was tough in general with losing 2 kids to high school and another 2 to broken legs during the season.
The picked up a kid that plays for the Aces in MA (since you cant dual roster as a male in CT) just before rosters were locked to help fill out the roster, but he didnt make the 10 games needed to be eligible to play in states.
They were even playing one of their goalies out in some games towards the end of the season just to have an extra warm body to give a little rest. He hadnt skated out since doing it twice in Squirts, but he acquitted himself pretty well.
Son's team went 2-0-1 in opening round, then won their next 2 to get into the semis, but fell to the #1 seed in a tough OT loss where the refs called a pretty ticky-tack trip on one of our tiny kids when he tried to line up one of their kids. He did slightly stick his leg out when the other kid tried to sidestep him, but it's not the kind of thing I would have called in OT, especially with how much the refs had been "letting them play" all game.
They played the entirety of the playoffs with a roster of 10 skaters, and you could definitely see that in the 5th game in a few days, vs a full rostered team they were out of steam towards the end. My son was pretty devastated by the loss. He wears his heart on his sleeve (like his old man) and felt awful because he had collapsed towards the net to cover a winger who crept in to screen the goalie. Of course when the shot came in, it ever so slowly, pefectly rolled to the stick of the extra attacker who rotated to where he had just vacated. Puck just loves to find the open guy in those scenarios.
Super proud of them for putting up such a good fight with limited resources.
On to Tennis!
The picked up a kid that plays for the Aces in MA (since you cant dual roster as a male in CT) just before rosters were locked to help fill out the roster, but he didnt make the 10 games needed to be eligible to play in states.
They were even playing one of their goalies out in some games towards the end of the season just to have an extra warm body to give a little rest. He hadnt skated out since doing it twice in Squirts, but he acquitted himself pretty well.
Son's team went 2-0-1 in opening round, then won their next 2 to get into the semis, but fell to the #1 seed in a tough OT loss where the refs called a pretty ticky-tack trip on one of our tiny kids when he tried to line up one of their kids. He did slightly stick his leg out when the other kid tried to sidestep him, but it's not the kind of thing I would have called in OT, especially with how much the refs had been "letting them play" all game.
They played the entirety of the playoffs with a roster of 10 skaters, and you could definitely see that in the 5th game in a few days, vs a full rostered team they were out of steam towards the end. My son was pretty devastated by the loss. He wears his heart on his sleeve (like his old man) and felt awful because he had collapsed towards the net to cover a winger who crept in to screen the goalie. Of course when the shot came in, it ever so slowly, pefectly rolled to the stick of the extra attacker who rotated to where he had just vacated. Puck just loves to find the open guy in those scenarios.
Super proud of them for putting up such a good fight with limited resources.
On to Tennis!
My daughter just lost in the CT state 14U girls Tier 1 championship game yesterday. Tied 0-0 after 2 periods against a heavily favored team and then let in a few tough ones to lose 3-0. Gritty effort, though. Top 2 teams make it to regionals, so the season gets extended 2 weeks and we get to drive 5 hours to Burlington VT!
My Squirt minor son is headed to the semi-finals for the Fed at NESC on Saturday as the 1 seed. Swept through the prelims 3-0 and he played really well. I was very proud of him. They are the 1 seed so hoping to win some hardware before a challenging following tryout week. His team is looking to move up next year so the usual drama is inbound.
How's this for a weekend- My son's 2013 e9 team lost in the first round to a lower seed on Saturday and then he and I raced to my high school team's game (we got knocked out of the MIAA playoffs). Sunday morning my daughter's Squirt A team lost in the finals of Waterville (to a team they had beaten) and Sunday night my men's league team lost in the playoffs. What a weekend.
Both kids still playing town, including my son's Peewee A team playing in the State Tournament in a couple of weeks, so hockey season rolls on (tryouts for next year in the next few weeks too
)
Both kids still playing town, including my son's Peewee A team playing in the State Tournament in a couple of weeks, so hockey season rolls on (tryouts for next year in the next few weeks too
)My son’s team got a first round bye in their BHL playoffs and then lost their first game in a 4 seed - 5 seed matchup. They proved throughout the year that they could beat every team and lose to every team in the division. He still has some more town hockey to look forward to this season including tier 3 large program states.
Second year bantam (next year), is absolute madness. You have this mix of ages where some are going to be in 8th grade and some in 9th. So some want a half season next year, some want a full and the team offerings by program and the coach shifts are all over the place. It’s true chaos with everyone asking others what they have heard / are doing.
Second year bantam (next year), is absolute madness. You have this mix of ages where some are going to be in 8th grade and some in 9th. So some want a half season next year, some want a full and the team offerings by program and the coach shifts are all over the place. It’s true chaos with everyone asking others what they have heard / are doing.
Hope everyone wrapped up their playoffs well. Good luck during silly season this week. Let the chaos begin.
Yeah- club "tryouts" the last two days. It's kind of a scam seeing as the coaches had basically picked their team already (including my son, so...eh). Looks like his team will upgrade a bit though- 3 kids moving out and I saw two of the 3 replacements last night who looked a step up.
Town tryouts next week for both my kids then my son is off to states...
Town tryouts next week for both my kids then my son is off to states...
We had like 50 kids at tryouts last night w/ one spot (maybe...may not fill it) open on our "1" team. So they're all basically coming out for the "2" team and likely have a backup plan if they don't make the 1. Orgs are banking like 4-5k per age group. It's nuts.
There’s crazy, and then there is second year Bantam crazy. Half the kids are going into 8th, half into 9th. Parents and kids don’t know if they want full or half season teams, and programs aren’t always clear on how many of each they are going to have, never mind who the coaches are. Throw in a lot more movement as kids or coaches change things up based on going to a new school or what their high schoool plans are, etc. I’ve never seen so much uncertainty.
We are fortunate in that my kid already has a contract (what a stupid word for youth sports), right where he wants to be. But I feel for all these kids and families at tryouts w no idea how things are going to shake out.
We are fortunate in that my kid already has a contract (what a stupid word for youth sports), right where he wants to be. But I feel for all these kids and families at tryouts w no idea how things are going to shake out.
I've heard similar stories from a friend who coaches 2011's. He said he was offering almost 20 kids but only reasonably expects 9-10 because of all the flux. Sounds fun!
The drama in the 2015s is at all all time high. Rumors about Lovell pulling out of E9 all together, the Butler super team destroying a bunch of the other elite teams and the remaining elite railers leaving the organization the weekend before tryouts. Craziness! Even more than normal.
The drama in the 2015s is at all all time high. Rumors about Lovell pulling out of E9 all together, the Butler super team destroying a bunch of the other elite teams and the remaining elite railers leaving the organization the weekend before tryouts. Craziness! Even more than normal.
Do we think Lovell would try to get his programs into the Fed?
I know 2013s have some movement away from Winter Club (and Advantage too if rumors are true) as people want to get in on the Quebec tournament. Parents be crazy though. I have a friend whose kid will be on his 3rd program in 3 years...how is that helping anyone?
We lost a few kids that will be on their 3rd team in 3 years. Not sure what they are chasing. Fortunate to have six kids that are going on to their 5th year with our group, two more that are 4th year and three more that are 3rd year.
I had heard rumblings of a "super team" of 15s that will be playing up as 14s next year. Is that the Butler team out of Worcester above? Our 15 coach mentioned the Railers were keeping their top two goal scores, so that made me think Butler was staying put. But know, I am completely out of touch with these things. My knowledge is about as deep as the mass youth hockey FB group...
I had heard rumblings of a "super team" of 15s that will be playing up as 14s next year. Is that the Butler team out of Worcester above? Our 15 coach mentioned the Railers were keeping their top two goal scores, so that made me think Butler was staying put. But know, I am completely out of touch with these things. My knowledge is about as deep as the mass youth hockey FB group...
Well they don't exist anymore so problem solved. Most of those kids moved to the Flames elite.
I have no idea, I just know the chatter out there is they are leaving e9. That 2015 WC team is bananas so I imagine they want to go to Quebec in three years.
I know Lovell isn’t fully leaving e9 (if at all), as we’re playing on a Lovell e9 team next season. Lovell has a ton of teams. I don’t see any scenario where it would make sense for them to leave e9 to go to EHF.
Whatever year is Q eligible always results in some movement also.
Whatever year is Q eligible always results in some movement also.
I know a number of people involved with the 2015 kerfuffle directly (on both sides of it).
The Flames team had 12-15 kids committed via contract for next season. They were all told the Saturday before tryouts that a new coach was being brought in and that they were no longer guaranteed spot … but that they could go to tryouts. That team wasn’t particularly strong but was moving in the right direction after a few years of being non-competitive.
Some of those parents talked with a new coach of the team, who apparently was not Butler. However, he (Butler) played with the Flames organization growing up and, I assume knows the Flames owner (Larue Renfroe) personally. Take that for what it’s worth.
My guess is they (2015 Railers) were not given the ok to play up with the E9 2014s after having released their own organization’s team, and then moved on to a carcass that could be easily picked. Any way you slice it, it’s a shit move by Renfroe, an 86 year old multi-millionaire who does very little to maintain the dump of a facility that he owns. I can only imagine if the shoe were on the other foot.
The 2015 Railers were very good team by E9 standards. However, they were beat in tourneys by non-E9 teams quite regularly.
Youth / club hockey at its finest.
The Flames team had 12-15 kids committed via contract for next season. They were all told the Saturday before tryouts that a new coach was being brought in and that they were no longer guaranteed spot … but that they could go to tryouts. That team wasn’t particularly strong but was moving in the right direction after a few years of being non-competitive.
Some of those parents talked with a new coach of the team, who apparently was not Butler. However, he (Butler) played with the Flames organization growing up and, I assume knows the Flames owner (Larue Renfroe) personally. Take that for what it’s worth.
My guess is they (2015 Railers) were not given the ok to play up with the E9 2014s after having released their own organization’s team, and then moved on to a carcass that could be easily picked. Any way you slice it, it’s a shit move by Renfroe, an 86 year old multi-millionaire who does very little to maintain the dump of a facility that he owns. I can only imagine if the shoe were on the other foot.
The 2015 Railers were very good team by E9 standards. However, they were beat in tourneys by non-E9 teams quite regularly.
Youth / club hockey at its finest.
It never ceases to amaze me how different youth hockey is in MA versus here in CT. The town/club distinction, the different leagues, the rules...
Meanwhile, we kicked off the Tier III CHC Squirt state tournament yesterday with a win, so the two hour drives to Danbury and back this week feel a little less terrible.
Meanwhile, we kicked off the Tier III CHC Squirt state tournament yesterday with a win, so the two hour drives to Danbury and back this week feel a little less terrible.
The railers side is not quite correct. Bobby didn't go to the flames. He has been recruiting the best kids in the age group to play on an independent team called the Worcester Shamrocks that resembles the brick team. My guess is going 1-7 against Fed elite and 0-a billion against winter club was the reason. His move was the catalyst for all of this. He's still the head of the railers. That team is going to likely take the railers 2014 e9 slot, after he released the 2014 2nd team (informed speculation but have heard some conflicting info) but my guess is the long play is to get a team into the Fed for the Quebec Tournament in 3 years. He took only 2 kids off of the 2015 elite railers team and left the 12 others behind. Those kids had been recruited and brought in from other organizations for the last 3 years specifically to play with him. When he left, they were pissed and (rightfully imo) were disenchanted by staying with the organization.
2 of the 3 remaining coaches approached/were approached (not sure the order of events and not fair to speculate) about the Flames elite team, which had (hearsay) coaching issues and turnover problems. Those coaches said they wouldn't go without their team and the choice was made. I respect that they didn't want to also bail on a bunch of 9 year olds but can respect if people think its shitty that the flames kids were left with their hands up in the air. It kind of just is shitty for them, no matter how you slice it. 10 railers kids came over, I think a couple of the flames elite kids made that roster in tryouts, at least it looked that way, and another couple were there for the platinum team tryouts last night and did well. Most of them were not there, though, and went elsewhere. Who can blame them really? I would definitely leave. I don't know any of the flames parents, just see them around, but there is one kid who left the railers last year bc the rumor came out that Butler was going to do this when we were all at Waterville in January, and went to the flames for this season and now this. I just keep thinking about that poor kid, an excellent player who seems really nice and was nice to my son when he would run into him. That bums me out, I hope he ends up somewhere good and their team wins every game against the flames.
Never been so thankful to have a kid on a non-elite team than I was the last 7 days. But....the drama is compelling for sure. 10u baby.
It's so insane. I'm so tired of the system that caters to ladder climbers and grifters who have no compunction about using kids to bolster their own credentials. And it feeds right into the FOMO/one-upmanship that permeates much of upper middle class parents in MA. I'm sure other sports have their issues too, but hockey is ugly in a lot of ways. Greatest sport in the world but it attracts some of the worst people.
Advantage 13 coach is going to Breakers with a bunch of his players along with a couple Terriers and others. The Q isn’t the tournament it once was…any team that wants to go can write a check and go(see Top Gun). A lot of the teams in AAA are super teams that were formed specifically for the tournament, which makes what Mid Fairfield just did up there all the more impressive.
I agree, but in his defense, I will say that he is doing all of this for his son, who is an incredible player. Would I cause this much upheaval for my kid when he could just go play for the Islanders elite? Probably not, but everyone has their thing.
Oh, I wasn’t speaking to that case in particular, sounds like that family got screwed. My kid is at the program he is because of the coach…I know the coach well enough to know he’s not interested in shopping around but if he jumped, a bunch of people would too. It’s the way that shit works, but it’s a business, and that sucks when you’re talking about kids playing the most fun game.