OntheEdge wrote:MNHockeyFan wrote:ghshockeyfan wrote:
I guess I'm very naive as to what goes on, as I haven't witnessed this over the last 4 years we've been involved. I would hope that what you describe is the exception rather than the rule, and not the other way around.
MNHockeyFan,
It is probably somewhere closer to what GHS describes unless you are a top team. New and struggling teams experience players jumping ship to better teams. Middle tier teams probably cut players to try to compete with top tier teams. Top teams cut players or don't invite them back and top teams stay dominant by raiding the best players from the competition each year. It all adds up to cutthroat tactics which is bad for good competition.
I apologize in advance for the LONG rant, but I believe AAA hockey is a good thing, as would be "AA" and "A" hockey if we as parents could find patience and contentment that our daughters participate in a great sport. Unfortunately, WE tend to mess it up. AAA hockey used to be one thing, now it is something quite different.
AAA Hockey, as the name implies, was undoubtedly created to provide a showcase of the "best" talent in a given region to compete against similar teams in other regions. How many and who constitute "the best" is open to debate-- I would say an NDP invite would be a good starting point, but NDP phase II would be more accurate. As with everything else, new talent emerges, some diminish, and various teams vie for the affections of the best players to 1) compete and 2) enhance the reputation and visibility of their team. Politics certainly exist and have existed. However, were it not for politics, we wouldn't have the number of teams that have sprung up and most players would not have an opportunity at all.
On many teams, a player must be dedicated and perform in order to be asked back next season and that is understood. If players are cut mid-season on a team for non-disciplinary reasons, every parent on that team should consider whether this is the situation they would like their child in. New teams spring up out of the ashes of teams where people have been treated poorly.
Players aren't "hoarded", they are not prisoners and no one is forced to participate. Players who are deemed worthy are invited and can decide for themselves where they would like to play. Successful teams can attract the most talented players but the cost is uncertainty of maintaining a spot on the team vs. an enduring relationship as a hero on a perhaps less accomplished team, among other things. If your kid is on a top team, one of two things is true: she is either truly elite, or she is looking over her shoulder. This is "the price". It comes with the territory as it does at any high level of competition, sports or otherwise.
Some teams are low-key and offer the ability to compete in other demanding sports like club soccer or softball, or allow you to go to your summer cabin. Other teams aren't so forgiving. Some teams travel extensively and are expensive, other teams enter a few local tournaments and that's it. For some it's about fun, for others it's about generating D1 exposure and is quite serious indeed. Some teams might win but can't tolerate each other, while other teams might not do as well but are best friends. Choose wisely.
The bottom line is that teams, coaches, organizations and especially parents need to understand and agree upon the objectives of the team, the commitment level, and foremost be brutally honest with themselves and objective about the level at which the team is able to compete. Parents need to let the coaches coach and if you can't stand the situation you shouldn't be there at all. Envy, ego and unrealistic expectations are a bigger problem than politics, and that's why you hear words like "cut-throat" "raided" "hoarded" and "traitor" associated with something so insignificant as teenage girl summer hockey teams.
If a kid leaves (i.e. gets raided or stolen) from my daughter's summer team for a higher level team (i.e. traitor), I am proud (i.e. jealous) of her accomplishment (i.e. politics) and hope my daughter can find inspiration (i.e. push her up early) in her friend's success, or had some hand in it (i.e. ego).
If your kid is a committed, elite-level talent, then you will probably have several teams asking her to join them. This is incredibly obvious, but if she isn't getting invited you might have to seek out a team and it probably won't be a top team. If you still find no takers, then you may realize she isn't ready for AAA hockey. If you feel that's unfair, she is a victim or overlooked, or you subscribe to the theory of elevating her level of play by surrounding her with better talent, then start your own team-- many have.
Finally, if you are wise enough to understand your kid hasn't attained elite skill level and you can put aside your pride to do what's right for her, forget the AAA team and spend your money on good training instead. I read in the paper that the top girls hockey player in the state this year still takes weekly skating lessons during the season. Hmmm...
but can appear that way sometimes due to the circumstances.