Will there be high school hockey for 2020-2021?

[elliott70]

It is going to get far more political as time goes on. Roseau is not Roseville. Caledonia is not Champlain Park. It will get ugly come August.

The district 16 associations - northwest Minnesota- are concerned about starting anything too soon.
We are on a different time line, as some of our counties just recently experienced their first cases.

The guide is for how it will work, not when.

[goldy313]

I understand. You have to make guidelines, everyone does, hospitals, schools, restaurants, shops, etc. I feel really bad for kids, we adults are taking things away from them. Most rinks are municipally owned, it will be interesting to see when the cities or counties that run them allow them to open, most municipalities are coming up far short in tax revenue (food and beverage along with sales tax) and are cutting where they can. Where does opening an ice rink in the summer fall in the list of priorities?

This pandemic may be a death blow to football in places, it may be to youth sports in others. AAU and the like will continue but what about neighborhood baseball teams? I worry for the “house” leagues in all sports, the leagues most kids start out in. Hockey, in many places, has been decimated by the explosion of cost, making playing beyond squirts unreasonably expensive. I hope that baseball and basketball don’t follow the model.

I appreciate what Minnesota Hockey has put forth, it is thoughtful and reasonable. I t is not easy, my fear is sports from professional down to elementary kids will take place while students are not allowed in class, this bothers me.

One other thing, if I misread it or do not understand it forgive me or better yet correct me. Why is Minnesota Hockey requiring players to register with USA hockey for the 2020-2021 season to participate in summer camps when there is no guarantee there will be a 2020-2021 season? I am caught up with this with MSHSL, I paid and registered to umpire baseball and am now out that money. Maybe let the 2019-2020 registration fees cover summer camps until we know the 2020-2021 season will happen. Minnesota has to have enough pull to make that happen doesn’t it?

[goldy313]

If it weren’t for politics I would agree with you. You make sense, the problem is this pandemic has a whole lot less to do with medical science and a whole lot more to do with political science. I am struggling to figure out how a Governor who claims to base on all his decisions on science still has policy to put sick people in LTC facilities. No medical science advocates that.

[elliott70]

I appreciate what Minnesota Hockey has put forth, it is thoughtful and reasonable. I t is not easy, my fear is sports from professional down to elementary kids will take place while students are not allowed in class, this bothers me.

MH is not affiliated with schools, but if school is not in attendance, our programs will not take place or at least not as usual and in a limited manner.

One other thing, if I misread it or do not understand it forgive me or better yet correct me. Why is Minnesota Hockey requiring players to register with USA hockey for the 2020-2021 season to participate in summer camps when there is no guarantee there will be a 2020-2021 season?

If, IF, there is any program to happen with USAH or MH for the summer (HP or others) registration is mandatory. If someone registers and the program does NOT take place a refund would be forthcoming.

I am caught up with this with MSHSL, I paid and registered to umpire baseball and am now out that money. Maybe let the 2019-2020 registration fees cover summer camps until we know the 2020-2021 season will happen. Minnesota has to have enough pull to make that happen doesn’t it?

Minnesota Hockey does NOT have as much say at USAH as people may think.

[jg2112]

Just my .02 and probably all it’s worth. We’re gonna play. Every sport will play. I don’t think any of the worst case scenarios are going to happen. I think we’ll all look back and wonder why we got so crazy over everything. I do not have a degree in Epidemiology or Infectious diseaseailogy or any other ology. I’m just going with my gut, that’s all I have. It’s served me well at times and failed me on a few other times. But that’s what I believe right now. Play ball, play Hockey. Life has to to go on. The cure can’t be worse than the disease is not just some dumb saying. It has some merit, and needs to be considered.

The fact that the worst case scenarios have not yet played out are because of what we have all done the past 80 days, not because we all got crazy. For all that we've done to stay apart, the fact we've had 1.7 million infections and 100,000 dead in 80 days should cause us all to be horrified. It should also serve as a lesson as to how bad it COULD have been and still COULD be if America decides to forget what it's gone through the past 3 months. Without a vaccine, we all need to be smart.

[ShakestheClown]

I've stayed out of this, but I thought it is worth pointing out that rinks may not be opening up in some areas any time soon. Our rink is now set up for overflow from the hospital if the need arises. That means there is absolutely no hockey here until the pandemic passes. I'm sure we aren't the only town that is using muni space to offset a potential shortage of beds.

[MNHockeyFan]

The fact that the worst case scenarios have not yet played out are because of what we have all done the past 80 days, not because we all got crazy. For all that we've done to stay apart, the fact we've had 1.7 million infections and 100,000 dead in 80 days should cause us all to be horrified. It should also serve as a lesson as to how bad it COULD have been and still COULD be if America decides to forget what it's gone through the past 3 months. Without a vaccine, we all need to be smart.

All true, but if we're talking about having - or not having - our kids play hockey and other sports we should at least consider that of the 899 people who have thus far died from this dreadful disease not a single one has been under the age of 30. Hope the format comes through as this is a copy/paste from the Minnesota Department of Health:

Age Group No. of Cases No. of Deaths
0-5 years 369 0
6-19 years 1,442 0
20-29 years 4,020 0
30-39 years 4,397 4
40-49 years 3,486 9
50-59 years 3,209 44
60-69 years 2,014 102
70-79 years 1,203 183
80-89 years 1,126 305
90-99 years 651 236
100+ years 37 16
Unknown/missing 6 0

Not saying that age is the only factor that should enter into the equation but it should at least be considered.

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases ... html#ageg1

[Hunters1993]

Let’s have a little bigger focus. Less egocentric on your kids playing hockey. Think about the kids interactions with others.

Yes the kids may not get real sick. They might. They might not die but they could get really sick.

And let’s do an association trend. So the kid who picks something up at the rink gets sick and takes it home and infects parents, grandparents. Then secondary associations. Then those getting sick might get severely sick. Grandparents die so your kid can play some hockey!

And might want to go to the World Health Organization or CDC and see deaths for under 30 in those places. I bet you might find substantial numbers in those locations.

Remember for the Better for All, Best for Society. Not the best for your kids hockey career!

[MNFinn]

I believe there should be and will be high school hockey in 2020-21.We should have had a trap and golf season in high school this spring.

What is the value of high school sports? For 99% of the players, it is not to make big money in the pros in their sport. It is the leadership skills, the teamwork, the experience of the changes that happen within a team during the season or from team to team each year, etc.This is especially true for seniors in high school in a sport they have become pretty good at playing. Previously maybe you were the talented young player who a senior took under their wings and taught you how to play the game the right way. Now, though you may not have wanted it, you see that you are one of the seniors and these other kids need someone to lead them. It is a big change when that happens on your sports team at this age and forces you to step up, especially for those who may not be natural leaders or are more on the quiet side.

Later in life, you may use these lessons in college, when getting married, having that first child and having to step up, moving up within your job or organization. For many, it was that one season, that one sport is what gave you confidence, gave you experience, and now you know you can handle this as well. You have done it before.

I personally think sports was of great value to me in high school and that the value of playing far outweighs the risk of playing in this current environment. Ask the grandparents as they have the knowledge of many years of experience. My mom loves to attend her grandson's games but she just wants the kids to be able to play. She will sacrifice so her grandson and others can play.

We see the coronavirus numbers every day but we don't see the numbers of heart attack deaths, the strokes, the undiagnosed cancer, the depression, the suicide numbers that experts all say in general are rising as a result of staying at home and avoiding everyone for long periods of time.

For those who say "don't play," when will you say it is okay to play sports - when a vaccine is available? What if that is difficult and it takes four years, do we not attend any school physically or play any sports during that time (other states are playing high school sports in June and playing youth sports)? Some may say to wait for the peak to pass but some constantly talk about 2nd and 3rd waves. If we wait until everything is perfect before leaving our house, we will die in our house.

[7TIMECHAMPS]

For those interested in comparing COVID19 deaths to other causes of deaths this article has some good data modeling that really kind of contextualizes things (and does so by age). This is a few weeks old now but I am guessing most of the takeaways from the article are still fairly accurate. You could use data from this to support an argument either way but the one that I found the most interesting was the comparison to transport accidents. For kids and young adults you are more likely to be killed in a transport accident than COVID19 even under worst case scenarios (for kids the ratio is shocking, at least it was for me). There is also a comparison to the seasonal flu and other good analysis as well. It gets a little dense but is good information. I encourage anyone that is trying to make informed decisions on this sort of topic to take a look.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... fatalities

[jg2112]

I believe there should be and will be high school hockey in 2020-21.We should have had a trap and golf season in high school this spring.

What is the value of high school sports? For 99% of the players, it is not to make big money in the pros in their sport. It is the leadership skills, the teamwork, the experience of the changes that happen within a team during the season or from team to team each year, etc.This is especially true for seniors in high school in a sport they have become pretty good at playing. Previously maybe you were the talented young player who a senior took under their wings and taught you how to play the game the right way. Now, though you may not have wanted it, you see that you are one of the seniors and these other kids need someone to lead them. It is a big change when that happens on your sports team at this age and forces you to step up, especially for those who may not be natural leaders or are more on the quiet side.

Later in life, you may use these lessons in college, when getting married, having that first child and having to step up, moving up within your job or organization. For many, it was that one season, that one sport is what gave you confidence, gave you experience, and now you know you can handle this as well. You have done it before.

I personally think sports was of great value to me in high school and that the value of playing far outweighs the risk of playing in this current environment. Ask the grandparents as they have the knowledge of many years of experience. My mom loves to attend her grandson's games but she just wants the kids to be able to play. She will sacrifice so her grandson and others can play.

We see the coronavirus numbers every day but we don't see the numbers of heart attack deaths, the strokes, the undiagnosed cancer, the depression, the suicide numbers that experts all say in general are rising as a result of staying at home and avoiding everyone for long periods of time.

For those who say "don't play," when will you say it is okay to play sports - when a vaccine is available? What if that is difficult and it takes four years, do we not attend any school physically or play any sports during that time (other states are playing high school sports in June and playing youth sports)? Some may say to wait for the peak to pass but some constantly talk about 2nd and 3rd waves. If we wait until everything is perfect before leaving our house, we will die in our house.

I completely agree with your first four paragraphs.

The answer to your last one - if we don't have a vaccine, we surely need testing, tracing and isolation, right? And if not, then what, just chance it?

The reality is without a vaccine, the hockey season probably depends on the football season. It could be as simple as one football parent, spreading COVID to his / her son, asymptomatically spreading the virus throughout one team, then playing another team, sending those kids back to their home city, and spreading it around town to parents, grandparents, teachers, etc. By the time any cases are confirmed from the first weekend of games on September 3 (cases would show up, when, September 15?), we could have a huge problem as there are 120+ games every weekend.

IF THAT HAPPENS just once, I suspect football will be shut down, students will return to distance learning, and hockey will be in trouble. After all, if a "super spreader" event occurs at an outdoor game, what could happen at a sold-out Braemar or Aldrich on a cold winter evening?

Is the answer games with no fans? Could high schools afford that, in the case of losing football attendance? I don't know the answer to that.

[goldy313]

Some positive news, the California Interscholastic Federation (their version of the MSHSL) cleared Northern California schools outside of the Bay Area to start football and cheerleading activities on May 27 pending each school districts approval.

[Hunters1993]

So when a kid brings home virus. Grandparents that are so excited about the kids playing go to watch games or come over to hear about practices, games, elite league games and gets sick. Won’t the kid feel so great about getting their grandparent sick and possibly dying.

But little Johnny got his chance to skate!

Guys the trick is to think outside the four walls of your home. Think about those the kids associate with and could infect. The kids may. It get sick but how about grandpa, grandma, or baby brother or sister. Come on think about others for just one moment. The kids can start practices when CDC says. That’s the source to look at.

[grindiangrad-80]

Grandma and Grandpa need to stay isolated if they feel they are at risk. If they go to the kids games or visit other people they are putting themselves in a vulnerable spot. I think it sux that the world is what it is but everyone can’t isolate forever.

I think it would be shame if kids play hockey and then go home and give someone the flu or pneumonia too. 60,000 people die every year from that also.

We can’t live in a glass case forever. Again, anyone who feels the risk is to great should stay home.

I don’t want to die from anything. Unfortunately, that is what we all face everyday of our lives.

[ClassAGuy]

Regardless your stance on this issue none of us will have a final say on this. It will fall in the hands of the MSHSL. The Star Trib has an article up tonight about summer which looks very restricted and the predictions on Fall Sports.

Its late in the month of May we are lucky hockey is a winter sport but lots of hurdles yet but again hoping for the best many might like to see the most recent news from the MSHSL:

After more than two months without high school sports, the Minnesota State High School League on Wednesday provided the first concrete step toward possibly resuming competition when it approved a June 15 starting date for summer training by coaches and athletes.

The decision, pending final approval Monday by the league’s board of directors, likely will bring clarity to what’s allowed this summer across Minnesota high school sports. Achieving clarity for the next season — the fall sports calendar — will take more time.

The summer waiver period, when coaches can work with their athletes, still is scheduled to end Aug. 7, with fall activities scheduled to begin Aug. 17. League Executive Director Erich Martens said the league “will look at the results of the summer programs” and follow the guidelines set by Gov. Tim Walz before considering any delays or cancellation of fall activities because of the coronavirus pandemic.

With summer coming into focus and fall still hazy, metro-area activities and athletic directors said in recent conversations with the Star Tribune that they are moving forward with plans for fall athletics. The reason, in short: It’s easier to plan now and pause later, if necessary, than to sprint at the end of summer.

“We’re moving forward as if we’re going to have a season,” said Antony Fisher, athletic director for Minneapolis Public Schools. “We’ve found it’s much easier to cancel on short notice than to schedule facilities, officials, those sorts of things.”

Most stressed that planning doesn’t equate to an expectation of competition this fall, acknowledging there are still too many variables to project that far in advance.

The MSHSL has taken its cues from the Minnesota Department of Health and the governor, but the situation’s fluidity has kept it from devising a definitive timeline for the possible resumption of activities. That unpredictability trickles down to athletic offices, which fall back on normal routines with the understanding that things could change quickly.

“It might be helpful for planning to know what fall practices and sports would look like,” said Troy Urdahl, St. Anthony athletic director, “but that decision can’t be made in May when we don’t know what the next two, three months will look like.”

Last week Martens addressed more than 300 activities directors via video call and expressed hope for a regular start to fall sports.

Some concerns were shared regarding possible June starts to the summer training at high school facilities run by coaches. Martens stressed that such activities are outside of the league’s direct purview, that schools have the discretion to determine when they begin, and that many schools might need more time to develop plans for preventive measures such as screening, temperature checks and cleaning of facilities.

Martens said “schools always have the ability to be more restrictive” than the guidelines and that schools “have the opportunity to choose your own opening date” for summer training.

At many schools, closed campuses would affect such workouts. For example, Blake has closed down its campus until at least July 6. Elk River’s school buildings are closed until the end of June. At Edina, the plan is to open outdoor spaces June 1, but a date for reopening indoors facilities has yet to be finalized. Similar restrictions are in place at other schools.

Having a set starting date is still far removed from actual training, Elk River football coach Steve Hamilton wrote in a text message.

“We will not be doing anything [other] than Google meets and possibly working on outside speed work,” he stated. “We can start on June 15, but can’t throw a ball to someone, can’t hand one off. There’s still a limit of 10 [people].”

For now, activities directors are fielding an endless stream of questions from parents and athletes wondering what the future holds.

“You can’t believe the questions that come all the time,” Rosemount activities/athletic director Mike Manning said. “I’m empathetic, and I tell them, ‘When I can, I will get you a response.’ ”

Blake AD Nick Rathmann said most of his callers have been understanding with the lack of predictability: “Parents have been respectful of the situation and are OK with pivoting when things change.”

When, or rather if, a fall sports season is approved, most agree changes are to be expected. Many sports are attempting to devise a plan for resuming play while adhering to health department guidelines about social distancing and sanitation.

For some districts having access to facilities is a concern. Minneapolis schools use a number of nondistrict owned sites, such as ball fields, tennis courts at city parks, and municipal golf courses. The Minneapolis Park Board recently reopened the parks on a limited basis, restricting gatherings of more than 10 people and requiring users to maintain social distancing.

“The MSHSL needs to address equity,” Fisher said. “For example, if our tennis players can’t practice, but opponents have the ability to train, that puts us at a disadvantage.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge for most activities directors will be convincing some parents, athletes, coaches and even themselves that it’s safe to resume play.

“The thing we fear the most is ‘Are we going to make things worse if we hurry back out there?’ ” asked Hopkins’ AD Dan Johnson. “We can’t really know short of testing every person, disinfecting every soccer ball, every football, every handrail. There’s going to be some apprehension about going back.”

Johnson said he expects to see “a decrease in participation’’ when play does resume. “Some people are going to be uncomfortable signing that participation slip.”

Until a plan for resuming competition is firmed up, activities directors will continue with a business-as-usual approach.

“Part of the frustrations of not having information available is that it’s no one’s fault,” Urdahl said. “Everything is based off of, and triggered by, government announcements. We all just need to be very understanding and appreciate any information we get about the next steps.”

[Jeffy95]

Gov. Waltz is a politician by definition. He is on speed dial with the DNC and they will reward him. If you don’t believe me, then for God Sakes do some research on your own and make up your own mind instead of listening to what you see on Facebook.

The Democrats didn’t create the Coronavirus. That’s just a dumb conspiracy theory. But it was an absolute gift that they were not going to waste. They hate Trump so bad that they will do ANYTHING to get him out. They would shut down the economy until November if they could. It was only pushback from we the People that moved anything forward as far as opening the economy.

If anyone agrees at all, then I suggest they take a screen shot, because I just violated every one of Lee’s rules about making it political. Lee has always deleted first and asked questions later. He enjoys it. Karl on the other hand has been way more level-headed. You’ve all seen that.

Please Delete my account Lee, I cant figure out how to do it on my own. After seeing that we have State Legislators trying to make it easier for kids to transfer for sports, the writing is on the wall. HS Hockey was already going to s h i t, now they’re trying to accelerate it.

Hermantown and Eden Prairie gained a huge victory today, because this Politician obviously has nothing better to do.

I’m out. I will miss a bunch of you guys, but it’s time. My boy’s played Hockey their entire lives, but they aren’t encouraging their kids to play. I don’t blame them for a second, and that’s sad. Peace out!

[Hunters1993]

So look at the far left and the last seasonal flu deaths and then compare that to COVID. We should just go back to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc ... report.gif

COVID deaths on timeline

CC03F4FF-8BDF-4B42-8D7E-D688250D2309.gif (40.75 KiB) Viewed 7446 times

The COVID makes other respiratory illnesses deadly. Also found list of comorbidities and obesity was listed as 50% of cases. So how many of us on here might be a tad overweight. Think about it!
Look on CDC.

Slow The Spread!!!!!!!!!!

[blueblood]

How about we shut this one down too Lee?

[Wise Old Man]

How about we shut this one down too Lee?

Blueblood, what's your rationale for shutting this thread down? Other than Jeffy's last post, there hasn't been any overtly political posts. This IS an important topic. Maybe THE most important topic as we go thru this summer. As long as we don't get overtly political, this is a great opportunity to relay information, along with discussing the various points that are raised. You know, the very reason these types of forums were started...

[goldy313]

I read an article earlier in month talking about a probable decline in participation numbers, the virus being a cause but economics and disinterest being among a host of others. How willing are parents going to be to sign kids up for a sport season that may not happen or may get canceled part way through?

How willing are schools going to be to fund athletics when they need to figure out how to get kids safely in school? The changes will not be cheap or easy.

For every example I can think of that is a positive I can just as easily find a negative.

[elliott70]

Somewhat on this topic but more so for youth hockey...
Minnesota Hockey District Directors are planning to meet on June 20th/ If there is anything you would like discussed please add here, or the youth hockey page or private message me or email me.

elliottm@paulbunyan.net

[goldy313]

No.

We will not have school, we may not have a functioning state or State.
High school sports are irrelevant here now, at least in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area. Roseau and Caledonia do not matter to the MSHSL.
Go to juniors or AAA or Junior Gold.

[Wise Old Man]

No.

We will not have school, we may not have a functioning state or State.
High school sports are irrelevant here now, at least in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area. Roseau and Caledonia do not matter to the MSHSL.
Go to juniors or AAA or Junior Gold.

Tragically, the events of the last three nights in the Twin Cities (and potentially the next few), combined with future Covid challenges, may make having any kind of high school sports season, at least a fall/winter sports season, extremely difficult.

[goldy313]

The AFT American Federation of Teachers has already declared the 2020-2021 in school year not attainable. How will any union agree to in school education possible when full pay is guaranteed for online learning is financially equivalent? We are done. Unions rule.

[goldy313]

Kids do not matter, political goals rule. My frickin God we are about to have Federal troops in our state because our Government is so poor. Hockey has become so irrelevant.