AAU HOCKEY

[old goalie85]

I agree. And if the kid wants- take him or her to the outdoor rink.

[JSR]

JSR, this makes a whole lot more sense than the "Tier I" case brought forth by several folks on this board 18-24 months ago.

We don't have any AAU in Florida that I'm aware of, but the threat of it is there and that may rein in the USA Hockey or local affiliate's actions.

OT, you are truly right.... if you put aside the "emotions" of the traditional way of doing things for a moment, you can see the logical possible merit that this AAU stuff as a compliment to current models brings in any state, yes even MN.... I know this, I have a considerable network of hockey friends and coaches (real hockey people) and I run alot of respected programs in our area of southern WI and I know we have some serious hockey people looking at this and saying "Hey, why can't we put together an in season AAU team to play on in addition to our association teams. This could be our way of the higher end kids playing better competition in the season and we could do it for a fraction fo the cost of Tier 1 AAA hockey.....". I know at the very least I am intrigued by the idea. I mean I have a younger son too, he is a 2005, he loves playing hockey with his friends in his association but I also know based on track record he's going to be alot better than most all of his buddies and he's going to likely want to play at a high level like his older brother, the reality is where we live and the way the current model in our area works he cannot do both, but with this idea he could and I like that part of it.... I am not saying that it's "perfect" and there could be some pitfalls but these people are looking at it at all age levels not just mites..... Could be great could be the downfall of everything or it could just be another good option but neither aweful or great, no one knows yet but I defintiely see where the potential COULD be..........

Based on what you say I can understand why this might appeal to you in your area. I am assuming that your winter Association schedule is not as intensive as ours because there is no way we could find the time for this in our area. I have a 2005 as well. Last year we practiced Mon, Tues, Thurs. League games on Wednesdays and jamborees/scrimmages or practices on Saturdays and Sundays. We had most Fridays off and that was it. There was a stretch where we had 26 days straight of practice or games. This was already too much and you could see a lot of the kids getting burnt out at times. They needed each and every one of those days off to rest physically and mentally and more importantly to do other things that healthy kids need to do.

I realize Hockey is big and we're always looking for the next opportunity to find better competition for our kids, but at the Mite level this is really alarming. I love hockey and our family has chosen to make it our lives in the winter, but when do kids get to Sled, Play in the Snow, Ski, Snowmobile, Ice Fish, Sleepovers, Birthday parties, etc? I think kids need that stuff too.

I'm only speaking in regards to Mites here. I don't have an older kid so I'm not qualified to speak on what they can and can't handle as far as scheduling, but I'm guessing Squirts would be in the same boat. I know we could easily find 25-30 top end 7-8 year olds in our area whose parents would be willing to do this but would it really be the right choice? I think not. And it would be the parents driving the bus, not the kids. Does anyone honestly think there are any 7-8 year olds out there saying to themselves, "Boy, I wish I could play even more and against high end competition?" Kids that age don't think that way. More hockey is the last thing we need at the Mite level in MN.

Just to clarify, for my own 2005 son, I am projecting out a few years down the line where this could have merit for him when he's a old enough to truly decide thigns for himself like my older boy. My older son we stayed with association hockey until his second year of Pee Wee's, which he at that time came to us and asked us to help him find better coaching and competition because he wanted to try and do more with hockey beyond high school if he could. He now plays Tier 1 AAA hockey (last year and this year as a first year bantam) and he loves it. But it's also very expensive and the overall financial and time committment take a toll on the family, if we could have the same experience more locally for less money it would be a god send for us.....

[O-townClown]

JSR, fyi if you are curious...

We moved to a part-time Tier I model this year. I guess it's the Youth equivalent of a "before & after" team for HS. Our 2004 are #1 in the MyHockey and our 2003 are #9. Yes, I realize this is only Squirts. As kids age the real Tier I hotbeds of Chicago and Detroit get more serious and much more efficient at funneling the top kids onto the same teams.

It led to a big increase in the number of kids trying out because of the reduction in cost. Half the trips, half the cost.

These kids must also play on a Tier II team to be eligible. Our league takes weekends off, kind of like the NHL does for the Olympics. Not everyone plays in the Olympics, but you need to stop to led the minority go do their thing.

My son will be in Chicago this weekend and was in Detroit last. In a month the Tier I stuff is done and they go back to being Tier II kids with less travel and practice close to home.

It took a lot of cooperation to make this happen.

[JSR]

JSR, fyi if you are curious...

We moved to a part-time Tier I model this year. I guess it's the Youth equivalent of a "before & after" team for HS. Our 2004 are #1 in the MyHockey and our 2003 are #9. Yes, I realize this is only Squirts. As kids age the real Tier I hotbeds of Chicago and Detroit get more serious and much more efficient at funneling the top kids onto the same teams.

It led to a big increase in the number of kids trying out because of the reduction in cost. Half the trips, half the cost.

These kids must also play on a Tier II team to be eligible. Our league takes weekends off, kind of like the NHL does for the Olympics. Not everyone plays in the Olympics, but you need to stop to led the minority go do their thing.

My son will be in Chicago this weekend and was in Detroit last. In a month the Tier I stuff is done and they go back to being Tier II kids with less travel and practice close to home.

It took a lot of cooperation to make this happen.

That is very interesting. Wonder what the reception would be if we tried something like that up here??....... Side note my oldest boy (the 2000) will be in Chicago this weekend for the Nike/Bauer as well....