KUDOS to the Hill Coaches

[mnhockeydadof2]

for taking a stand and raising the bar for zero tolerance!

[pioneers]

Hill-Murray always has and always will have high standards for all of their students. I have always thought that the MSHSL penalties were too lenient. Lechner is a class act and runs a first class program. Hopefully these students will get the help that they need to move forward with their lives.

[Indians forever]

for taking a stand and raising the bar for zero tolerance!

Have to give the credit to the coaches. bottom line is who cares what the kids did!!! hopefully whatever it was they will get help!! Nice job Hill!!!

[nipeshow18]

i hate not hating hill murray. but gotta give credit where credit is due..

[johnnyquest]

there was a time when "doing the right thing" wasn't applauded - it was expected.
In today's world of corporate greed and political self-serving, doing the right thing has taken on a somewhat different meaning

[MNHockeyFan]

there was a time when "doing the right thing" wasn't applauded - it was expected.
In today's world of corporate greed and political self-serving, doing the right thing has taken on a somewhat different meaning

Great point. I also think of Hollywood and their influence on our culture and idea of what is right and wrong. Today all those "stars" who do stuff a lot worse than this not only get free passes but in some cases even benefit by getting all kinds of free publicity, and we just eat it up.

[Dazed&Confused]

So what was the right thing. Lets not help or educate or work with children that make mistakes. Lets destroy any chance of a normal future lets condemn them as people. Lets sweep them under the rug. My question is who failed here The Kids ? The Community? There Coaches? The Society we live in. I would really like to know. If any one thinks this isnt bigger than Hill Murray they are mistaken. Our culture and those who govern and teach and live within it are all equally responsible for the results. Shame on us all.

[Doglover]

I'm sure these decisions were not made lightly but in the players' long-term best interests. Kids make mistakes - all kids make mistakes. If they aren't held accountable and learn there are consequences to making bad choices, they will never learn the life lesson and improve as individuals.

We all know these aren't bad kids - they just made bad choices and they were held accountable. Kudos to all of those involved and my best wishes to the kids. Hard lesson but maybe they won't grow up to be a Tom Petters!! Better to learn the lessons of accountability at 17-18.

Good luck to Hill and all the families involved during this difficult season.

[youngblood08]

Good point. As an adult and Union member I know that if a a fellow employee has a problem or run in with alchol or drugs they get a 30 dryout session PAID FOR BY WORK. In this case they cut the legs out from under these kids. These KIDS are being treated like a piece of meat, the shcool makes money and continues to gain enrollment due to the fact there is high level athletes like these boys playing hockey there.
MSHSL has the 3 game policy so that kids can learn a lesson and then go back to being kids.

Look at how well the system worked for Hagemo, injured left by the wayside. Now struggling to get back to the only thing he has known ...........................Playing Hockey.

[wtbearlk1111]

I am not a lawyer but how can they hold a 17 yr old to something he signed,
it is not a contract. I do applaud coaches/administration for at least reporting this, this is not always done often covered up and discussed in private. I do not agree with kick them off team, I think all schools should abide by same rules.

[HSHockeyFan08]

All schools should abide by the same rules.

If Pitlick went to HM he would be out for the year as well. Not fair to the kids at HM.

[TheSniper09]

this wasnt the first time they all got caught. this is the second or 3rd time for some of them........ the coach gave them a second chance and they blew it.

[HSHockeyFan08]

[quote="TheSniper09"]this wasnt the first time they all got caught. this is the second or 3rd time for some of them........ the coach gave them a second chance and they blew it.[/quote]

If this is a legit source, then I agree with the coach. This is to bad for these kids.

[pucknutz]

I am not a lawyer but how can they hold a 17 yr old to something he signed,
it is not a contract. I do applaud coaches/administration for at least reporting this, this is not always done often covered up and discussed in private. I do not agree with kick them off team, I think all schools should abide by same rules.

My question is this, if this were the Hill Murray girls hockey team, volleyball team or track team...would the consequences be the same? Or is the school doing this because of the high profile status these players and their program have? Is this the Hill administration being "holier than thou?"

[davey]

I am not a lawyer but how can they hold a 17 yr old to something he signed,
it is not a contract. I do applaud coaches/administration for at least reporting this, this is not always done often covered up and discussed in private. I do not agree with kick them off team, I think all schools should abide by same rules.

In addition to the MSHSL rules, many coaches and teams have players sign a code of conduct sheet. Usually these codes of conduct outline additional expectations and rules for the players with the consequences for violating them. Now I am not familiar with the HM one, my guess is Coach Lechners is very specific with the penalties for violation of the code of conduct. These kids obviously knew of the consequences and simply chose to "test the waters". They got caught and now are paying for it. no one is throwing them under the bus. To me it is pretty simple. Teams have rules, when rules are broken you pay the price. These kids simply made a bad choice and are now paying for it. Kudos to HM for holding these players accountable. These are selfish actions by these four that unfortunately affect the other 16 teammates.

[mnhockeydadof2]

It wasn't like they got caught making a bad decision at a party.... it wasn't drinking and the coach gave the boys the choice.

for the record.. they werent taken off the team - they quit. their choice - not the coaches. they either had to submit to a drug test and pass - or quit.

[hockeyguy99]

Well I'm sure they could pass the drug test..there are ways around that. My guess would be they got caught with possesion on school grounds.

[King of the Pond]

All schools should abide by the same rules.

If Pitlick went to HM he would be out for the year as well. Not fair to the kids at HM.

Id say there is a big difference between drugs and drinking.

[youngblood08]

It wasn't like they got caught making a bad decision at a party.... it wasn't drinking and the coach gave the boys the choice.

for the record.. they werent taken off the team - they quit. their choice - not the coaches. they either had to submit to a drug test and pass - or quit.

Well your "for the record" is wrong.

[PuckPatrol]

"FAIR" I love that word... what is fair, what isnt? The fact is that a coach made each kid sign a letter of commitment and integrity. If the players choose to take it lightly, and the staff chooses to uphold these kids to the highest standard so be it. I think lets not forget that these kids play for one of the top programs in the state and took it for granted. I think thats a slap in the face to the program, the alum etc..... I applaud the coach and hope it sends a messg to all players and coaches around the entire state! My dad used to tell me the "FAIR" was in August!

[Scoutbanana]

I am very saddened the way people come on here and speculate what happened without knowing any facts and make this into something that it is not. As far as iam concerned to the previous post a chemical is a chemical no matter if it is drugs,alcohol,chew-its states this in the rules. I am a friend of a close source. One thing that is not clear is that not all the kids had multiple chances there are two of the kids that it was there first offense. Second they found nothing on them it was all speculation of someone coming forward that assumed that these boys did something wrong. 3rd they were not asked to take a drug test, they asked to be drug tested the school would not do that. The sheet they did sign stated the MSHL rules -1st offense three day supsension. WHen other post asked if all kids up there are treated equally? Well as stated many other from different teams have gotten first and second chances. So to answer that question no. Lets all not assume and throw out more rumours without knowing what is really going on lets let these families and the school handle this. For the families and the kids it must be devastating and all kids make mistakes, so lets not judge as I am sure all our kids have made mistakes. Life is not all about hockey or sports it is about growing into an adult and learning lifes lesson, if you learn by these lessons than even as adults should be forgiven. If you keep making the mistakes yes than the consequences should get bigger. So lets all look at our own lives instead of juding others?.

[hockeyfan2009]

And how do you know that they quit.....don't post unless you know what you are talking about, because they did not quit. I am so sick of people writing things on here that don't know what they are talking about. There are several kids on the team that should also be investigated and is tobacco in the same category, cuz I have seen many of them using tobacco on many different teams including this one.

[hockeyfan2009]

It wasn't like they got caught making a bad decision at a party.... it wasn't drinking and the coach gave the boys the choice.

for the record.. they werent taken off the team - they quit. their choice - not the coaches. they either had to submit to a drug test and pass - or quit.

Well your "for the record" is wrong.

You absolutely don't know what you are talking about and if it was your child, I wonder if you would be barking up the same tree NOT.....

[O-townClown]

I am very saddened the way people come on here and speculate what happened without knowing any facts and make this into something that it is not.

Scout, be saddened all you want. When details aren't provided, everyone is left to fill in the blanks.

I can think of a number of transgressions that would warrant being thrown off a team. Absent details, I'm left to wonder which one.

Speculation ends when facts are provided. It is that simple.

[hockeyfan2009]

I am very saddened the way people come on here and speculate what happened without knowing any facts and make this into something that it is not.

Scout, be saddened all you want. When details aren't provided, everyone is left to fill in the blanks.

I can think of a number of transgressions that would warrant being thrown off a team. Absent details, I'm left to wonder which one.

Speculation ends when facts are provided. It is that simple.

It's nobody's business, these are kids that made a mistake and there are probably over half of each hockey team or other sports teams that make the same one but they don't get caught or squealed on. And if you think any different you are pure ignorant.