Positive Ways to improve Minnesota Hockey

puckheadx2 · Post by **puckheadx2** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:43 pm

lets make more rules thats more fun. mn hockey has A level, B1, B2, and C level do you think that maybe every level has a different mind set? some like the A because they want to be pushed. some want the B because it is possibly a more relaxed setting <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/frown.gif ALT=":(">

upucker · Post by **upucker** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:34 pm

Pucknutz How is the Hastings program working? Just curious because when our program (Albert Lea) was started we used the Hastings in-house program as an example. Do they still have all the kids play in-house or has it changed?

Pucknutz69 · Post by **Pucknutz69** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:04 am

We have now started a Squirt A team that plays District 8 schedule. The rest is still in-house. New blood haven't seen any differance in the long run. The group that started the in-house saw success at the high school level due to the athletes that they were, not because of the in-house program. They succeeded at Football, Hockey and Baseball. Again it was Coaching, and kids feeding off each others drive.

buddy · Post by **buddy** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:11 am

Stop patches might of had some impact when they were new-it was unusual and you noticed it- now they have become common and are not even noticed. There is no reason to have to continue putting them on new jersey's.

NateFranch · Post by **NateFranch** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 10:20 am

Great job on these posts. There is more than one kind of kid and therefore more than one way to let them enjoy hockey. We have three boys (a PWA, Squirt A and mini-mite) playing now and they basically like the games most - no future NHLers at our house - because they are "way more exciting and fun than practice". They may suffer somewhat in later years when competing with kids who now work more on skills, but they also will have more fun along the way. Then again, the positive experience now might make them more likely to work harder when they are older (as compared to kids that we all see sometimes who are just "going through the motions"). Parents and coaches have to figure out what kind of kid they have, and how best to serve that kid. As we have all seen, you can't make a hockey kid into something he/she is not just because the parent wants it. I also agree that the single most important factor on the ice for kids has to be the coaches - good ones make it a much better experience; bad ones (or at least bad player/coach relationships) can be a nightmare. Our association is always looking for quality coaches (and doesn't allow parents to serve as head coaches) but it is not always possible to come up with a great coach for every team (we have about 350 kids in the entire association). Time will tell, but at this point our kids are having a great time, playing games and making great friends and also memories. What other measure can we use?

Crazy7s · Post by **Crazy7s** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 3:07 pm

Do you think the Minnesota hockey reps get kickbacks from the stop patch manufacures? I think Maybe!!!!

Pucknutz69 · Post by **Pucknutz69** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 3:33 pm

Wait til they come out with a "Special Coaches Helmet" it will be flouresent orange and have a blinking light on top so the players will see you. I think it's special that the District President gets someting like $5 per kid he registers. But they do it for the love of the game.

slapshot 69 · Post by **slapshot 69** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 3:51 pm

I was going to vent about kickbacks but will hold my fingers. One way to improve hockey in minnesota would be to charge a fee to watch games and practices. say a buck or two for a practice. 5 bucks a game. 50 dollars a half hour to talk with the players coach or assistant. Minnesota hockey would have more cash then they could handle They could loan money to Trump. Lets see here Roughly 2 thousand players tiomes 150 hours of ice 25 meetings each never miss a game or practice. 250000 maybe 300000 extra revenue.

Crazy7s · Post by **Crazy7s** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 4:14 pm

If district presidents get that no wonder they keep making rules to fill their pockets. Ask Elliott he shoul know that answer and many others about Minnesota Hockey. Bet you would get the answer you expect.<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/laugh.gif ALT=":lol">

greybeard58 · Post by **greybeard58** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:08 pm

A clarification, you must mean District Directors rather than the district president and I believe the answer you will get is not a cent.

lxhockey · Post by **lxhockey** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:26 pm

District Registrars get paid per player registered in the district. The D8 Registrar happens to be the D8 District Supervisor also. Registration is a lot of time consuming work with lots of headaches.

FutureSeaWolve · Post by **FutureSeaWolve** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:38 pm

I think 1 way to make your assosiation more competitive is you could combine all squirts and 1st year pws and combine the 2nd year pws with all the bantams

elliott70 · Post by **elliott70** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:09 pm

Dsitrict 16 has no District President. So, no, the District President gets zero. The district has a Director, which, if lucky, gets most of his expenses reimbursed. That would include mileage, phone calls, postage, office supplies. Every year is not a good year, so a tleast for me, the postition has cost something in $. In hours, well let's see. Four district meetings a year at 4 hours each and about 3 hours of travel. Special meeting with individual associations or individuals - some on the road, some in my office face to face, some by phone at the office and at home and others by FAX or email. They probably account for another 100 hours dring the year. Reviewing rosters and registration material approxiamtely another 8 hours. 4 state meetings (Friday night to Sunday afternoon with about 8 hours driving. Committee meetings and office work say another 80 hours per year. About 280 hours per year or seven weeks of work. And since I check every one elses books for MN Hockey... nope, no District Director taking home any money. USA Hockey Affiliate Registrars - nope, they are volunteers. ***need to edit - they get nothing from MN Hockey. They are not MN Hockey District Registrars. They are emplyed by USA Hockey. Rebates on stop patches. Well, that would be illegal. And if someone is doing something illegal they generally don't talk about it much. So I hope no one is doing anything like that. And knowing the individuals I cannot see that happen. And to come on here and say they would brings to mind a few things, ignorance, cowardicy, scum... So, bottom line, not many on MN Hockey Board making any money at being a volunteer. Some take a little grief. Some (as in Me) don't take any. I enjoy it. I like the people in the local associations, I like the kids, I like walking into an arena and seeing old and young, fans and players, coaches and refs, enjoying hockey. And I like this forum and think this thread is great. So keep posting. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p100.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... liott70</A> at: 4/1/06 9:51 am

mnwild · Post by **mnwild** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:23 pm

THIS year I was at my local rink watching the Hep video with the parents of the parents that i coach and as I'm wathing the video I hear somebody on the video say that we need to keep kids involved in hockey "no more lines with kids standing in them get all the kids moving at the same time" at the same time on the ice is our squirts doing the hep skill challenge that needs to be sent into the state and what are they doing? 2 or three kids doing the skills while the other 25 stand and watch this kid do some skills that are going to be evaluated by the state get rid of the skills evaluation it is a joke it doesn't matter what kind of data the state gets it is not going to change a kids work habit. If a child wants to develop he will if he just wants to get by he will so quit wasting money on something that is so worthless and has no impact on a program.

lakerscoach · Post by **lakerscoach** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:00 pm

1. hep standards are a good thing and should be emphasized more. the testing should only be 1 or 2 sessions out of the season, at the beginning and the end. 2. touch up offsides brings back some strategy to the game and adds flow. 3. eliminate the 1 hour rule. meaning when the hour is up the game ends. changing the offsides rule should help this, but there is nothing more frustrating to everyone involved than to see the zamboni doors go up in a 2-1 game with less than 2 minutes on the game clock. 4. consider realigning boundries of associations or adding associations in largely populated areas. have youth association based on high schools no longer makes sense with the amount of private schools taking players. this also limits the number of potential 'a' players. large association have players that suffer because some of the more talented players don't play at the 'a' level and the smaller associations suffer because they have players playing 'a' hockey that should be on a 'b' team.

2AhockeyOldTimer · Post by **2AhockeyOldTimer** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:00 pm

Elliott- Can you explain to me this fair play points system and why it came about? Taylor Mattson-The Next Non-Mr. Hockey

elliott70 · Post by **elliott70** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:38 pm

I will do my best. Hockey Education Program was developed to be 3 fold - 1. Educate parents so bad behavior would go away or at least diminish. And in the same vain, get coaches to soften a little in treatmetn of referees so that they would stay around longer and get better. 2. Provide a vehicle for player development monitoring so what is working can be expanded and what is not canned. 3. Remove some of the aggresiveness of players from the game. (Don't shoot me, I am just the messanger). The HEP committee, working in conjunction with Mayo, needed a tool to measure the success of HEP (remember this is about educating and with education you have to pass the test). So Fair Play was stolen from a Quebec minor (youth) hockey league and adapted for MN Hockey's use. Fair Play was to be the measuring tool. If players ar taking less agressive penalties (the hooks, slashes, roughs etc...)and the coaches are not getting the boot (as well as parents); then the educating process must be working. Well, 12 board members had a little doubt about how this whole thing would work, but eventually went witht he flow. Well, now we know that Fair Play is not the measuring tool we had thought it would be, but the eduacating stick of old. Behave or you get whacked on the back of the hand. Fair Play is not fair, does not provide a measuring unit, is not doing what the Directors were told it would do, and maybe the worst thing is that it detracts from what HEP was meant to be origianally - Hockey Education Program (which is a misnomer because it is intended to be a social education program for the most part).

abantcaptain22 · Post by **abantcaptain22** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:40 pm

fair play is bad for the game, taking away points for too many penalties wut a joke

FutureSeaWolve · Post by **FutureSeaWolve** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:47 pm

ya getting a penalty is already a punishment. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/pimp.gif ALT=":hat">

windowpeeper · Post by **windowpeeper** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 6:55 pm

The people that make these rules probably never played the game or owe special interest groups. The do gooders of the world we a being taken over by them and they are shoving it down our throats. If you say anything your deemed negative. welcome to the wussey generation. Its like in the old day if you don't play fair I am tking my puck and going home. Now if you don't play fair i am taking your fair play point. How childish. Remember Elliott is one of these people that brought this enlighting revolation. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p100.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... wpeeper</A> at: 3/30/06 6:59 pm

Duluthhockeyfan · Post by **Duluthhockeyfan** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:29 pm

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>Remember Elliott is one of these people that brought this enlighting revolation. <hr></blockquote> I suppose you could continue to bash Elliott on here, or you could feel fortunate that at least out of the 27 or so members of MH, there is one that will listen if nothing else. I haven't agreed with him either on many ocasions but I think he really is one of the good guys in this process. Lets keep this positive and give suggestions that can improve things.

JLS 81 · Post by **JLS 81** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:09 pm

Duluthhockeyfan you are absolutely correct,Elliot goes out of his way to solicit ideas, opinions and feedback and you did well to credit hime for that. This proves he is wise in his understanding of what makes Minnesota hockey flourish and he is willing to tap into the rank and file in order to do so. That is a very sharp move to make.

windowpeeper · Post by **windowpeeper** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:04 am

Maybe we have finally found a way to get the bad reps out in the open, I can take Elliott off the bad list and go on to the next rep does anyone else want to start. Elliott I am sorry for my comments but it is frustrating knowing that there are at least 26 or so left that may be bad. Again I am sorry and from what people are saying at least you listen.<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/embarassed.gif ALT=":o"> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/embarassed.gif ALT=":o">

Hockeynut027 · Post by **Hockeynut027** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:37 am

Minnesota Hockey has to come up with a way to even the playing field if it wants to keep all of it's best players at home. I don't think there are any quick fixes out there but the powers that be had better take their heads out of the sand and pay attention to what is happening around them. If you happen to live within the boundries of one of the Mega associations or one of the small northern communities with a rich tradition Minnesota Hockey does a good job. But what if you happen to live in a smaller community that does not have much of a traveling hockey program. Our home association has only 9 skaters that will be second year Peewees, 4 of which are in house level skaters, and will only be fielding a B traveling team this year. We also happen to have one exceptional skater in that group. His family is left with no options through Minnesota Hockey. If he wants to continue to develop he cannot do it playing lower level B hockey. So he is left with the option of leaving for a "club" type team and being branded as a trader to Minnesota Hockey and being blackballed from Select Tournaments and the Advance 15 & 16 teams. What is Minnesota Hockey offering this family? Nothing. I hope the biggest positive impact that these "club" teams will have is forcing the local brain trust to open it's eyes and try to offer some more creative solutions for everyone. Not just the superpowers.

Duluthhockeyfan · Post by **Duluthhockeyfan** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 10:07 am

I agree, MH has done a poor job recently in taking care of its membership. (Elliott, this is not a shot personally at you or your coharts, rather a shot at some decision making) The HEP program, CEP cards, the new Helmet rule for coaches, and the new regional realignment. These are all examples of how MH has tried to come up with "quick" fixes to the problems facing MH. HEP has already been discussed so I won't break that down, and in reality I think the CEP cards are actually a USA hockey thing. But the biggest problem concerning hockey in Minnesota is a lack of qualified coaches at EVERY level. Too many parents coaching teams, to many parents having too much imput on how coaches run their teams. To much restriction placed on the coaches as to how they do their job properly. There have been too many rules created. Youth hockey has created so much Bureaucracy that people don't want to get involved anymore. It has also become a rich mans sport...Maybe if MH spent less time and money on these crazy programs it would have more money to get kids out to play that wouldn't or couldn't because of finacial means. There have been a number of good suggestions on here, the problem is they are too simple for MH. I'm sure those involved have their hearts in the right places, my personal opinion is there needs to be a surge of youth on that board to create some new idea's and some creativity in doing so.

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Positive Ways to improve Minnesota Hockey

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