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Don't discount CHOICE either. Today kids have SOOOO many choices of things to do. Hockey used to be THE thing and its not anymore. Sports used to be a huge thing, but the idea that sports rule kids landscapes is in the past. Cost is important, but choice is (I would guess) equally important.

I was reading the other day the VIDEO GAME SPORTS (competitive video gaming) would be as big as the NHL in about 5 years. Its got a feverishly growing base of players AND paying fans. The NBA and NFL already have video game spinoff "leagues" and the article was looking for the NHL to add one asap. Its a different world now-a-days. And this article was on an NHL website, not a video game website.

Don't think of video game leagues as 20 year olds playing in their mom's basement either. In these "leagues" the players travel across the country and compete in "arenas" (don't know exactly what venue they hold these in). Each NBA/NFL team has a player or players that competes on the team's behalf. They compete against other cities' sponsored players live in front of fans and live to fans watching on tv or streaming online.

This is just one example of a million things that kids have the ability to be in-to with modern technology.

Whether you're in Roseau, St Cloud or the cities. There are two main reason parents are avoiding hockey - Time and money. Whenever I'm talking to a non hockey family those two points come up 100% of the time..."Isn't that sport expensive?" or "wow how do you find the time for all that". The bad PR this sport has gotten has gone up 10,000% in the past 5 years.

1. Time - It's now a year around sport. Most of us grew up playing multiple sports and the only hockey we did was maybe a camp here or a camp there. Today kids play all winter then from April - September they can easily find a weekend tournament somewhere. Paranoia hits these parents and most are so afraid to be left behind. So they sign up for this team and that team.Then comes the private lessons, and the camps and and and. I knew parents who had the same kids play on 2 sometimes 3 teams in the spring. They would go from one practice to the other by leaving the gear on and only changing the jersey. Years ago it was rare for a Minnesota team to leave Minnesota to play a tournament. Now it's the norm. I feel for the Northern teams who's closest game is an hour away. The amount of time the families have to take off work just to travel is amazing

2. Money - Whether it's the entrepreneurs promising the world (if you just keep giving them money) or that $300 hockey stick that makes all the difference in the world to a 9 year old, the typical family cannot afford this sport any longer. Most cities and schools shun the "rich hockey community" by avoiding investing in resources for us yet have no problem buying up more land to build more soccer fields and tennis courts. It's all on us hockey parents to fund these hockey arenas costs.

Minnesota Hockey has to start managing this process. They have to step in and figure out away to grow the sport AND make it more affordable. They have to step in and try and "limit" how much kids need to play. Right now the rich are getting better and the poor are getting out. Minnesota hockey needs Roseau more than they need 15 Edina Mite teams (and please understand I'm not knocking Edina). My point is simple. The more expensive this sport becomes and the more family time it consumes the greater the risk we have in it becoming a sport that only the top 1% can fully enjoy.

I saw somewhere that the numbers are actually up. If that's the case, that is great news.

LASERBLUE135 wrote: Don't think of video game leagues as 20 year olds playing in their mom's basement either. In these "leagues" the players travel across the country and compete in "arenas" (don't know exactly what venue they hold these in). Each NBA/NFL team has a player or players that competes on the team's behalf. They compete against other cities' sponsored players live in front of fans and live to fans watching on tv or streaming online.

Paul Bunyan Communications out of Bemidji has hosted these events that last two years at the Ballroom at the Sanford Center. I haven't been, but it must do pretty well if they continue to do it.

https://gigazonegaming.com/

I think we need to find a way for sports to be fun for all kids again. (Especially at the young age level)

I honestly believe that making early age all star teams creates a serious lack of interest. Not only for those left behind immediately but the burnout factor for those involved in those teams. If you win at the mite and peewee level that's great. Just don't make it the main focus.

We all have our entire adult lives to be miserable. Let the kids enjoy a few years.

The issue that Roseau and other northern teams run into really falls across four issues.

1) Geography - Roseau's closest AA opponent is 2.5 hours away (Bemidji). Even if they were in class A, they would still have to travel great distances to play quality opponents, short of TRF and Warroad.

2) Declining student bodies - Schools in the north are only getting smaller. Most "high schools" consist of grades 7-12 or K-12 with class sizes less than a hundred per year. It's hard to generate any type of sustainable depth in any activity across the years.

3) Cost - Organized hockey is expensive. No matter how much we thing an emphasis on playing on the free outdoor rinks would help, it doesn't. The simple reason is that there is a more immediate, warmer, and less physically demanding activity that is in every kid's hands at all times. Which leads me to:

4) The institutional driven focus on electronic devices providing all of their educational, recreational, and emotional fulfillment. "Likes" have become more rewarding than personal engagement.

ShakestheClown wrote:The issue that Roseau and other northern teams run into really falls across four issues.

1) Geography - Roseau's closest AA opponent is 2.5 hours away (Bemidji). Even if they were in class A, they would still have to travel great distances to play quality opponents, short of TRF and Warroad.

2) Declining student bodies - Schools in the north are only getting smaller. Most "high schools" consist of grades 7-12 or K-12 with class sizes less than a hundred per year. It's hard to generate any type of sustainable depth in any activity across the years.

3) Cost - Organized hockey is expensive. No matter how much we thing an emphasis on playing on the free outdoor rinks would help, it doesn't. The simple reason is that there is a more immediate, warmer, and less physically demanding activity that is in every kid's hands at all times. Which leads me to:

4) The institutional driven focus on electronic devices providing all of their educational, recreational, and emotional fulfillment. "Likes" have become more rewarding than personal engagement.

All very good points, ShakestheClown. I would say however that your No. 4 affects all players/programs across the state, not just the northern communities.