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STMA

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 11:51 am
by alcloseshaver
The NWSC voted Friday to only accept Rogers into the league for 2019-20. Keeps it at a 14 team league as Irondale drops out of the league.
Would think the Lake is the only league that would take them? Buffalo also applied and was turned down.

Re: STMA

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 1:45 pm
by Stang5280
alcloseshaver wrote:The NWSC voted Friday to only accept Rogers into the league for 2019-20. Keeps it at a 14 team league as Irondale drops out of the league.
Would think the Lake is the only league that would take them? Buffalo also applied and was turned down.
Interesting turn of events. Rogers isn’t exactly a powerhouse in most sports, but I guess it makes sense to pair them in the same conference with district mate Elk River. Presumably Irondale will be heading to the Suburban East?

The Lake seems like an odd fit for STMA in terms of geography and demographics, but they have also clearly outgrown the Miss 8. Those two schools moving may set off a chain reaction of realignment among the remaining teams in the Miss 8.

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 1:52 pm
by alcloseshaver
Very interesting turn of events. Lake has said they would take STMA leaving Buffalo screwed.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 10:26 am
by WestMetro
Looking forward to seeing more of STMA!

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 10:58 am
by kniven
WestMetro wrote:Looking forward to seeing more of STMA!
So so what section is STMA in now?

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 11:19 am
by alcloseshaver
kniven wrote:
WestMetro wrote:Looking forward to seeing more of STMA!
So so what section is STMA in now?
Knivsey, we are just talking conferences here and not until 2019-20.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 11:31 am
by kniven
alcloseshaver wrote:
kniven wrote:
WestMetro wrote:Looking forward to seeing more of STMA!
So so what section is STMA in now?
Knivsey, we are just talking conferences here and not until 2019-20.
Ok

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 1:50 pm
by alcloseshaver
The growth of the STMA school district is hard to keep up with. They probably should have had a little more foresight and been looking to move a few years ago. The NWSC would a perfect fit and would have kept some good rivalries and with an enrollment of 1800 they are skipping a step in the progression and jumping to the only league that will take them. The only comp I can think of is when Eden Praire exploded.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 2:25 pm
by Stang5280
alcloseshaver wrote:The growth of the STMA school district is hard to keep up with. They probably should have had a little more foresight and been looking to move a few years ago. The NWSC would a perfect fit and would have kept some good rivalries and with an enrollment of 1800 they are skipping a step in the progression and jumping to the only league that will take them. The only comp I can think of is when Eden Praire exploded.
The STMA administration has been (overly?) cautious regarding their growth projections largely because being aggressive with the projections burned them in the past. During the housing boom and bust of the previous decade, STMA went on a school building spree to accommodate major projected growth, but then ended up with several half-empty schools after the foreclosure crisis hit the area hard. That said, I agree that the district lacked foresight in trying to find a new home for their athletic programs before things hit crisis mode recently.

The EP comp is a good one. I remember them moving from the Metro West Conference to the Lake back in the mid-80s. EP was one of the smaller schools in the conference at the time, and the transition was a bit rough, but it seemed like they were planning for the future with the move.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 6:49 pm
by kniven
STMA hockey is going to be huge, or is huge already. The next "superpower" in AA Minnesota State High School Hockey.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 7:19 pm
by MNHockeyFan
kniven wrote:STMA hockey is going to be huge, or is huge already. The next "superpower" in AA Minnesota State High School Hockey.
While the population growth in that area is bordering on explosive, with lots of new young families building homes and moving in, most of the residences you see going up are of the "no frills" variety. Not necessarily 'tract homes', but most of what you see do not shout "wealthy, we can not only afford our home but we also have lots of money to put our kids in expensive off-season travel teams and training, no matter what the cost".

Then again, perhaps the sheer number of growing young families in the exurbs is the key, and they will find ways to spend what it takes to make their kids competitive with the likes of established programs like Edina, Wayzata, EP, the top privates, etc.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 7:34 pm
by ThatMNHockeyGuy62
kniven wrote:STMA hockey is going to be huge, or is huge already. The next "superpower" in AA Minnesota State High School Hockey.
We thought that about Farmington a few years ago as well. Not saying it never happens (look at Elk River), but the exurbs seem to have a much harder time sustaining success than the middle-outer suburbs.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 7:50 pm
by alcloseshaver
At this rate in a few years we will be wondering what section to put Ostego HS in.

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 10:35 pm
by goldy313
alcloseshaver wrote:The growth of the STMA school district is hard to keep up with. They probably should have had a little more foresight and been looking to move a few years ago. The NWSC would a perfect fit and would have kept some good rivalries and with an enrollment of 1800 they are skipping a step in the progression and jumping to the only league that will take them. The only comp I can think of is when Eden Praire exploded.
Bloomington went from 1 school to 3 in about 10 years, then closed one, but had 3 for a few years.

Rochester went from 1 high school with under 1000 kids in ~ 1960 to 2 with a total ~ 3500 in 1975. Not often mentioned but when JM won the state title in 1977 they were one of the largest schools in the state. I believe Rochester still had more kids in grades 10-12 in the 1970's with 2 schools than the have now with 3 schools.....and the population has doubled.

Lakeville and Apple Valley probably fall into this category as well as both came from the Now defunct MissOta (spellchecker won't allow me to spell it correctly 😠) conference.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 8:51 am
by blueline_6
ThatMNHockeyGuy62 wrote:
kniven wrote:STMA hockey is going to be huge, or is huge already. The next "superpower" in AA Minnesota State High School Hockey.
We thought that about Farmington a few years ago as well. Not saying it never happens (look at Elk River), but the exurbs seem to have a much harder time sustaining success than the middle-outer suburbs.
Elk window of opportunity might have 1-2 more years, then drop off hard. Youth coaching pipeline took a serious hit the last couple years, plus a community that seems to have no interest in replacing the failing ice rinks.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 11:53 am
by kniven
Difficult to imagine 7AA without an ElkRiver squad in the top 3 every year along with Duluth East and Grand Rapids. Looks like Hermantown will take their place routinely on top. Elk River will have fight for table scraps with the rest of us not East, Rapids, and Htown.

Posted: Wed May 09, 2018 9:07 pm
by karl(east)
MNHockeyFan wrote:
kniven wrote:STMA hockey is going to be huge, or is huge already. The next "superpower" in AA Minnesota State High School Hockey.
While the population growth in that area is bordering on explosive, with lots of new young families building homes and moving in, most of the residences you see going up are of the "no frills" variety. Not necessarily 'tract homes', but most of what you see do not shout "wealthy, we can not only afford our home but we also have lots of money to put our kids in expensive off-season travel teams and training, no matter what the cost".

Then again, perhaps the sheer number of growing young families in the exurbs is the key, and they will find ways to spend what it takes to make their kids competitive with the likes of established programs like Edina, Wayzata, EP, the top privates, etc.
I think this is a key point. History shows pretty clearly that as student populations grow and new suburbs develop, the hockey programs surge. It's quite likely that STMA will continue to be good as it continues to grow, and for some time thereafter. The programs that can sustain themselves beyond the population surge, though, are the ones who are wealthy enough that they won't lose their allure when the housing stock starts to show a little age. (Having a lot of homes on lakes, rivers, and golf courses also helps here.) That's why places like Richfield and the Brooklyns surged and had their moments, but then declined (sometimes into nonexistence) while the likes of Minnetonka and White Bear Lake have stayed relevant. It's not a perfect process, of course, but the broad brush trends aren't hard to see.

Posted: Wed May 09, 2018 9:57 pm
by goldy313
ThatMNHockeyGuy62 wrote:
kniven wrote:STMA hockey is going to be huge, or is huge already. The next "superpower" in AA Minnesota State High School Hockey.
We thought that about Farmington a few years ago as well. Not saying it never happens (look at Elk River), but the exurbs seem to have a much harder time sustaining success than the middle-outer suburbs.
Farmington had a good couple of years but that has been it and that group had been pretty good all along. While Farmington is growing on the Northwest side it is still pretty outstate/rural, probably more akin to Hastings or Owatonna than Lakeville or any other school in its conference. The South Metro schools that have had dominant runs in hockey have also had really good runs in other sports.....Jefferson, Kennedy, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Lakeville. Farmington has not fallen anywhere near that mix yet.

FWIW 5 of the 9 1AA teams still have FFA as a school activity; Farmington, Hastings, Kasson, John Marshall, and Owatonna.

Posted: Thu May 10, 2018 8:30 am
by ThatMNHockeyGuy62
goldy313 wrote:
ThatMNHockeyGuy62 wrote:
kniven wrote:STMA hockey is going to be huge, or is huge already. The next "superpower" in AA Minnesota State High School Hockey.
We thought that about Farmington a few years ago as well. Not saying it never happens (look at Elk River), but the exurbs seem to have a much harder time sustaining success than the middle-outer suburbs.
Farmington had a good couple of years but that has been it and that group had been pretty good all along. While Farmington is growing on the Northwest side it is still pretty outstate/rural, probably more akin to Hastings or Owatonna than Lakeville or any other school in its conference. The South Metro schools that have had dominant runs in hockey have also had really good runs in other sports.....Jefferson, Kennedy, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Lakeville. Farmington has not fallen anywhere near that mix yet.

FWIW 5 of the 9 1AA teams still have FFA as a school activity; Farmington, Hastings, Kasson, John Marshall, and Owatonna.
Agreed. I wasn't trying to compare Farmington to the other schools in its conference, but to STMA. They are both about the same distance from Minneapolis (just a bit further than the likes of Lakeville, Stillwater, Prior Lake, Chaska, Orono, etc). Albertville, Farmington, Waconia, New Prague, etc have all seen housing growth. With that comes a short surge in success, but to say they will be a state power might be a bit premature given their distance from the metro. Only time will tell!

Posted: Thu May 10, 2018 9:59 pm
by alcloseshaver
karl(east) wrote:
MNHockeyFan wrote:
kniven wrote:STMA hockey is going to be huge, or is huge already. The next "superpower" in AA Minnesota State High School Hockey.
While the population growth in that area is bordering on explosive, with lots of new young families building homes and moving in, most of the residences you see going up are of the "no frills" variety. Not necessarily 'tract homes', but most of what you see do not shout "wealthy, we can not only afford our home but we also have lots of money to put our kids in expensive off-season travel teams and training, no matter what the cost".

Then again, perhaps the sheer number of growing young families in the exurbs is the key, and they will find ways to spend what it takes to make their kids competitive with the likes of established programs like Edina, Wayzata, EP, the top privates, etc.
I think this is a key point. History shows pretty clearly that as student populations grow and new suburbs develop, the hockey programs surge. It's quite likely that STMA will continue to be good as it continues to grow, and for some time thereafter. The programs that can sustain themselves beyond the population surge, though, are the ones who are wealthy enough that they won't lose their allure when the housing stock starts to show a little age. (Having a lot of homes on lakes, rivers, and golf courses also helps here.) That's why places like Richfield and the Brooklyns surged and had their moments, but then declined (sometimes into nonexistence) while the likes of Minnetonka and White Bear Lake have stayed relevant. It's not a perfect process, of course, but the broad brush trends aren't hard to see.
Elk River has a couple rivers but is typically a blue collar bedroom community that has maintained a high level of success for close to 30 years. Will have to work hard to sustain it but not a bad run.

Posted: Thu May 10, 2018 10:04 pm
by alcloseshaver
STMA joining the Lake conference, it has been agreed upon.
Maple Grove would like to join the Lake also I'm sure but admin won't let them split from from Osseo and PC.

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 8:31 am
by blueline_6
alcloseshaver wrote:
karl(east) wrote:
MNHockeyFan wrote:
kniven wrote:STMA hockey is going to be huge, or is huge already. The next "superpower" in AA Minnesota State High School Hockey.
While the population growth in that area is bordering on explosive, with lots of new young families building homes and moving in, most of the residences you see going up are of the "no frills" variety. Not necessarily 'tract homes', but most of what you see do not shout "wealthy, we can not only afford our home but we also have lots of money to put our kids in expensive off-season travel teams and training, no matter what the cost".

Then again, perhaps the sheer number of growing young families in the exurbs is the key, and they will find ways to spend what it takes to make their kids competitive with the likes of established programs like Edina, Wayzata, EP, the top privates, etc.
I think this is a key point. History shows pretty clearly that as student populations grow and new suburbs develop, the hockey programs surge. It's quite likely that STMA will continue to be good as it continues to grow, and for some time thereafter. The programs that can sustain themselves beyond the population surge, though, are the ones who are wealthy enough that they won't lose their allure when the housing stock starts to show a little age. (Having a lot of homes on lakes, rivers, and golf courses also helps here.) That's why places like Richfield and the Brooklyns surged and had their moments, but then declined (sometimes into nonexistence) while the likes of Minnetonka and White Bear Lake have stayed relevant. It's not a perfect process, of course, but the broad brush trends aren't hard to see.
Elk River has a couple rivers but is typically a blue collar bedroom community that has maintained a high level of success for close to 30 years. Will have to work hard to sustain it but not a bad run.
If the city of Elk River doesn't figure out how to replace the ice rinks they won't have a hockey program.

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 9:25 am
by ThatMNHockeyGuy62
alcloseshaver wrote:STMA joining the Lake conference, it has been agreed upon.
Maple Grove would like to join the Lake also I'm sure but admin won't let them split from from Osseo and PC.
I'm guessing since most team's schedules are already finished or mostly finished they will not be starting the conference schedule until 2019/2020?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 11:39 am
by kniven
ThatMNHockeyGuy62 wrote:
alcloseshaver wrote:STMA joining the Lake conference, it has been agreed upon.
Maple Grove would like to join the Lake also I'm sure but admin won't let them split from from Osseo and PC.
I'm guessing since most team's schedules are already finished or mostly finished they will not be starting the conference schedule until 2019/2020?
Moorhead ‘s rein of terror is over. STMA is the new boss in 8AA- long term.

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 1:54 pm
by 7TIMECHAMPS
kniven wrote:
ThatMNHockeyGuy62 wrote:
alcloseshaver wrote:STMA joining the Lake conference, it has been agreed upon.
Maple Grove would like to join the Lake also I'm sure but admin won't let them split from from Osseo and PC.
I'm guessing since most team's schedules are already finished or mostly finished they will not be starting the conference schedule until 2019/2020?
Moorhead ‘s rein of terror is over. STMA is the new boss in 8AA- long term.
This just isn’t true. STMA bantams and peewees are simply average. Moorhead is better at every level down to squirts. Projecting out farther than that would be just foolish.