politics

[Judgeandjury]

Wanted to know what everyone thinks about the politicians within associations? We have a Mom and Dad that does nothing but campaining for his kids to play on the best teams. They were a treat to watch at squirt tryouts this year. You would think the Dad was running for political office. Shaking hands, hugs and smiles all around. Another dad was holding the squirt A coaches baby during tryouts getting favorable points from the coaches wife. It was a treat to watch the _ss kissers at work.

This is all for fun. Any stories?

[hawkhockey]

well since you bring it up i have one that i'd like to sort of vent.
last year we fielded a bantam A and B team. we had somewhere around 30 players at the Bantam level. tryouts lasted for about 2 weekends. and the whole time i knew i was sort of a bubble player. but after seeing the two rosters after tryouts i knew i should have been on that A team. There were 3 or 4 players i know i was much better than and more reliable than. it ended up being the coach wanted one of the kids dads as a manager and the other he just wanted around as friends. hope you enjoyed.

[slapshot44]

i've been cut from the team that I really wanted to make 3 years in a row now. Each and every year I can pick out kids who made it over me that I am better than, they all have one thing in common. They all have parents that are really involved in the hockey association. my parents are not very involved, and I see no problem with that, but it has really hurt me in my tryouts. Associations need to start having outside people evaluate the players, because it has just gotten rediculous. I'm not saying that I was an obvious choice for those teams, I was on the bubble. However, I strongly believe that if the tryouts were fair I would have made all 3 of those teams. I guess life isn't fair, but we should try to make it as fair as possible in my opinion.

[inthestands]

A couple of guidelines clean that up nicely.

1- No parents in the arena during tryouts.
2- Non local people making the team selections, with local coaching input.

There will be politics in hockey as long as kids play. What many parents don't understand is when their player is a borderline from one team to the next, the experience of being a team leader on the next team down the line will most likely be better than bench time on the "good" team.

It's too bad many times it's the parents ego that impact hockey situations more than the players needs.

[muckandgrind]

A couple of guidelines clean that up nicely.

1- No parents in the arena during tryouts.
2- Non local people making the team selections, with local coaching input.

There will be politics in hockey as long as kids play. What many parents don't understand is when their player is a borderline from one team to the next, the experience of being a team leader on the next team down the line will most likely be better than bench time on the "good" team.

It's too bad many times it's the parents ego that impact hockey situations more than the players needs.

I absolutely disagree with this. Nothing good can come out of something that is done in secret. Parents can provide a lot of good feedback/advice to their kids, but can't if they aren't allowed to watch. I don't think that parents should have contact with the evaluators, and if there are windows that look into the arena, then the parents can stand behind those instead of inside the arena. But parents should not be shut out, no matter how politically incorrect that may sound. Remember, the "problem parents" make up an extremely small percentage of the overall group, don't shut out everyone because of the few obnoxious people. A coordinator with a strong backbone should just tell them to "bug off" if they get in their face.

Another thing, the association surveys ask the parents to grade the tryout process. How can parents grade the tryout process if they aren't allowed to watch???

[inthestands]

A couple of guidelines clean that up nicely.

1- No parents in the arena during tryouts.
2- Non local people making the team selections, with local coaching input.

There will be politics in hockey as long as kids play. What many parents don't understand is when their player is a borderline from one team to the next, the experience of being a team leader on the next team down the line will most likely be better than bench time on the "good" team.

It's too bad many times it's the parents ego that impact hockey situations more than the players needs.

I absolutely disagree with this. Nothing good can come out of something that is done in secret. Parents can provide a lot of good feedback/advice to their kids, but can't if they aren't allowed to watch. I don't think that parents should have contact with the evaluators, and if there are windows that look into the arena, then the parents can stand behind those instead of inside the arena. But parents should not be shut out, no matter how politically incorrect that may sound. Remember, the "problem parents" make up an extremely small percentage of the overall group, don't shut out everyone because of the few obnoxious people. A coordinator with a strong backbone should just tell them to "bug off" if they get in their face.

Another thing, the association surveys ask the parents to grade the tryout process. How can parents grade the tryout process if they aren't allowed to watch???

Nothing is done in secret at tryouts, and parents aren't part of that process.

What valuable information can a parent provide during tryouts? Once the season starts, we need to fill a role of support to the players.

If there were areas that needed improvement, that should have been taken care of prior to the season starting. Once teams are selected each parent can help their player with weaknesses. During the selection period, those "problem" parents create too much confusion and put too much pressure on the players.

If we as parents could just step back from some of these situations, the kids would be much better off.

At the end of the day, who is it more important to which team the player is on? I don't think the answer is the players..

"Most" parents have too much invested, financially and personally to give unbiased information related to hockey situations. Especially early in the season when team selections are being made.

[goinbardown]

what does everyone think that if a kid makes the A or B team as a 1st year should he be grandfathered in for the next season.

The reason I ask is one of our better players had a bad tryout and barely was eligible to get picked for his 2nd season on the A team.

[muckandgrind]

A couple of guidelines clean that up nicely.

1- No parents in the arena during tryouts.
2- Non local people making the team selections, with local coaching input.

There will be politics in hockey as long as kids play. What many parents don't understand is when their player is a borderline from one team to the next, the experience of being a team leader on the next team down the line will most likely be better than bench time on the "good" team.

It's too bad many times it's the parents ego that impact hockey situations more than the players needs.

I absolutely disagree with this. Nothing good can come out of something that is done in secret. Parents can provide a lot of good feedback/advice to their kids, but can't if they aren't allowed to watch. I don't think that parents should have contact with the evaluators, and if there are windows that look into the arena, then the parents can stand behind those instead of inside the arena. But parents should not be shut out, no matter how politically incorrect that may sound. Remember, the "problem parents" make up an extremely small percentage of the overall group, don't shut out everyone because of the few obnoxious people. A coordinator with a strong backbone should just tell them to "bug off" if they get in their face.

Another thing, the association surveys ask the parents to grade the tryout process. How can parents grade the tryout process if they aren't allowed to watch???

Nothing is done in secret at tryouts, and parents aren't part of that process.

What valuable information can a parent provide during tryouts? Once the season starts, we need to fill a role of support to the players.

If there were areas that needed improvement, that should have been taken care of prior to the season starting. Once teams are selected each parent can help their player with weaknesses. During the selection period, those "problem" parents create too much confusion and put too much pressure on the players.

If we as parents could just step back from some of these situations, the kids would be much better off.

At the end of the day, who is it more important to which team the player is on? I don't think the answer is the players..

"Most" parents have too much invested, financially and personally to give unbiased information related to hockey situations. Especially early in the season when team selections are being made.

Quite a bit actually. I do agree with the "support" role, but my kids also ask what I think, and I couldn't give them an honest answer if I'm not allowed to watch.

Again, you refer to "problem parents". Yes, I agree that there are some of those, but the VAST MAJORITY are not, and I don't think it's a good idea to shut everyone out of the process because of a few.

Like I said, parents need to be aware of how the tryouts are being done. Like it or not, the parents are the "membership" in the associations, and at the end of every season, the "membership" is asked to complete a survey, and part of that survey is the tryout process. How can parents be asked to grade something they are shut out from?

Transparency is always the best option. Figure out a different way to deal with the problem parents.

It's obvious that the politically correct thing to say these days is to say that "it's all about the kids", that "the parents need to stay out of it", and "the parents need to get some perspective". I agree, all of that's true, but that doesn't mean the parents should be completely shut out of the process. The parents, for the most part, are the ones who "drive" the associations. They are the ones who spend countless hours volunteering to make their association stronger for the kids. They are the ones who ultimately make the decisions that direct the future of the associations, and they should never be shut out. Come up with a different method of deaing with the few bad apples....

[inthestands]

I can see we are on different sides of the issue, no problem there.

Could you be more specific on what value you feel the players parents bring to the team selection process?

I'm not talking about our opinions of our kids, since that's not subjective. Our opinions of what or where our kids should be isn't relevant in the team selection process.

If they wanted real feed back, they need to ask the coaches and selection staff for their ratings or what ever information they rely on to pick the teams.

For the most part, 90% of players know which team they belong on. There are always the 5% to 10% that fill the "bubble", and can go either way. I understand that, since two of my three were in that gray area every year of their youth careers.

It's too bad we can't just leave the kids in the arena for a couple of hours alone. They'd probably do as good or better job of picking teams, with much less hoopla surrounding the process.

If your association really valued our opinion on try outs, we would be putting together time frame, drills and picking the teams. Just my opinion, but this is one area the parents need to steer clear of.

[muckandgrind]

I can see we are on different sides of the issue, no problem there.

Could you be more specific on what value you feel the players parents bring to the team selection process?

I'm not talking about our opinions of our kids, since that's not subjective. Our opinions of what or where our kids should be isn't relevant in the team selection process.

If they wanted real feed back, they need to ask the coaches and selection staff for their ratings or what ever information they rely on to pick the teams.

For the most part, 90% of players know which team they belong on. There are always the 5% to 10% that fill the "bubble", and can go either way. I understand that, since two of my three were in that gray area every year of their youth careers.

It's too bad we can't just leave the kids in the arena for a couple of hours alone. They'd probably do as good or better job of picking teams, with much less hoopla surrounding the process.

If your association really valued our opinion on try outs, we would be putting together time frame, drills and picking the teams. Just my opinion, but this is one area the parents need to steer clear of.

But why though? Everyone asks why should parents want to watch, but no one will answer why parents SHOULDN'T be allowed to watch. We read all the "feel-good" cliches like "it's all about the kids" (man, do I wish that was the case), but that still doesn't answer the question. Why is it so wrong for parents to watch their kids try out? Is it because the coordinators don't want to deal with upset parents? If that's the case, DON'T BE A COORDINATOR? That comes with the territory. But again, you are talking about a very small percentage of parents who would complain, so why shut everyone out?

How can parental feedback help? Here's a good example. A good friend of mine's son tried out for a traveling baseball team. He watch the tryout and noticed that his son never got an opportunity to bat or play the field, they only used him as a baserunner. After the tryout session, this parent walked up to the guys running the tryout and asked them why his son wasn't allowed to hit or field. They didn't even realize that had taken place. So they extended the tryout and gave him the opportunity...and guess what?? He made one of the B teams. If his parents weren't allowed to watch, things would have turned out very differently.

Parents can also provide feedback with regards to hockey tryouts and the coordinators should be willing to accept that feedback and discuss it with the parents. That's part of the job. Not all parents are dolts when it comes to hockey, the coordinators don't always know best. Some parents have a lot of experience when it comes to stuff like this. Some coordinators have no experience.

Again, keep it open and transparent. Secrecy only breeds distrust.

[inthestands]

Why not? - Because parents are not subjective. What we see in our kids is biased to the relevance of the process.

If you have experienced parents, they should get involved with the association and have a positive impact. If not, they should allow the people in place to handle the task.

Selecting teams for youth hockey is one of the most pressure filled times of the season. Putting parents, even the good ones in the middle of that doesn't work. Overall, the less parental involvement the better.

[muckandgrind]

Why not? - Because parents are not subjective. What we see in our kids is biased to the relevance of the process.

If you have experienced parents, they should get involved with the association and have a positive impact. If not, they should allow the people in place to handle the task.

Selecting teams for youth hockey is one of the most pressure filled times of the season. Putting parents, even the good ones in the middle of that doesn't work. Overall, the less parental involvement the better.

Of course, parents are not subjective. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be given the oppotunity to watch the process. They shouldn't be able to talk to the evaluators, but they should be able to watch.

By allowing parents to watch, you aren't putting them "in the middle of that" process, as you say. Like the example I used before, no harm will come from parents watching...the only harm that is created is by doing tryouts in secret and allowing a sense of distrust and trickery to grow....

[inthestands]

Go back to the original post, that is what my reference was about.

I try to keep on message with the thread..

[Papa Bergundy]

I haven't read one post on this topic and I already know it's the same ish as always. Parents whining and complaining about other parents/board members screwing their kid. What good are you doing bringing your personal affairs on this board? Take care of it in private I am sick to death of this topic coming up 10 times a year.

[muckandgrind]

Go back to the original post, that is what my reference was about.

I try to keep on message with the thread..

I re-read your post, and it makes my point even more valid. You're talking about one or two dads...where ALL the dads doing the same thing? My guess is they weren't.

95% of parents are rational when it comes to stuff like this....there is nothing wrong with them wanting to watch their kids go through the tryout process.

People need to quit branding the whole group of parents due to the actions of the few. Sure, banning everyone is the easy solution, but not the right one. By banning everyone, you only breed more distrust.

[inthestands]

Go back to the original post, that is what my reference was about.

I try to keep on message with the thread..

I re-read your post, and it makes my point even more valid. You're talking about one or two dads...where ALL the dads doing the same thing? My guess is they weren't.

95% of parents are rational when it comes to stuff like this....there is nothing wrong with them wanting to watch their kids go through the tryout process.

People need to quit branding the whole group of parents due to the actions of the few. Sure, banning everyone is the easy solution, but not the right one. By banning everyone, you only breed more distrust.

I don't have the same great experience with the 95% of good parents you did. That said, good, bad or indifferent, parents don't need to be involved in the team selection process. Just my opinion. That's based on 3 kids going through programs, 25 years of coaching and other things.

While I don't begin to think I "know everything", there are a few consistent areas that haven't wavered over those years. One of them is try out times, and the pressure on kids to "make the A team".

Your need to be included is interesting..

[muckandgrind]

Go back to the original post, that is what my reference was about.

I try to keep on message with the thread..

I re-read your post, and it makes my point even more valid. You're talking about one or two dads...where ALL the dads doing the same thing? My guess is they weren't.

95% of parents are rational when it comes to stuff like this....there is nothing wrong with them wanting to watch their kids go through the tryout process.

People need to quit branding the whole group of parents due to the actions of the few. Sure, banning everyone is the easy solution, but not the right one. By banning everyone, you only breed more distrust.

. That said, good, bad or indifferent, parents don't need to be involved in the team selection process. Just my opinion. That's based on 3 kids going through programs, 25 years of coaching and other things.

While I don't begin to think I "know everything", there are a few consistent areas that haven't wavered over those years. One of them is try out times, and the pressure on kids to "make the A team".

Your need to be included is interesting..

Watching is not "included"...is it that difficult to understand the difference. I'm not asking to be in the room when the teams are picked and I also don't badger the evaluators. I am interested, however, to see what happens on the ice, so when I grade the tryout process every year (which we are asked to do), I can do just that...grade the process.

I've given examples of why it's a good idea to keep the process open, so I don't feel like I need to go through it again...maybe you should re-read that post about the baseball tryout. It's examples like that one that reinforces my belief that it's never a good idea for evaluations do be done in secret.

You say that parents "don't need to be involved", that's your opinion and you are entitled to it. I disagree. Parents ABSOLUTELY need to be involved. One of the problems with youth sports, in general, is that parents don't get involved enough.

I don't have the same great experience with the 95% of good parents you did

That's too bad you aren't surrounded by as many good parents as I am. We have very few parents in our associations that could be labeled as "problem parents". Sure, they are loud and can be annoying, but the overwhelming majority are good people. That being said, if put to a vote, I can guarantee that overwhelming majority of parents would object to a few "know-it-all" people telling them that they are not welcome to watch their kids skate during a tryout session.

[whockeyguy]

muck and grind . do you take this role in your kids at school when they take a test, are you there to challenge the teacher to make sure it adminstrated properly, I doubt it, ,
why do parents think they know more about what is happening in sports but dont give a rats a-- about other things in the kids life, why is it it is only in sports, maybe another thread

[SECoach]

Loud and over zealous parents do make up a small percentage of youth sports parents. They are also easy to identify and help.

Far greater harm is done by the parents that want to provide their opinion to their child regarding tryouts, games, practices, etc under the disguise of support and parenting. It's easy to say that "my son asks". That may be, but all too often its offered without being asked, and when they do ask it's seen as an invitation to coach away. There are some parents that would reply giving positive feedback as to how they felt they performed. You may be one of them but there are not many. Most will rant on about things their son or daughter should do better, or worse yet, compare them to others. They don't have to yell or negative. It still becomes white noise.

Muck, when you say there are a few bad apples, I would say this is where I disagree. I believe MANY parents become too involved with THEIR opinion and I've witnessed many players close their eyes and ears to coaching because they just can't take any more than they get on the ride home and at the dinner table.

The only thing closed tryouts take away is the parents ability to be uninformed and pollute the child with it. Oh yea, and they can't do an evaluation at the end of the season. I've never seen a hockey tryout where a kid missed the drills and only picked up pucks. I suppose the remote possibility outweighs the dramatic benifits of closed tryouts.

One last thing. Players clearly have a better practice and ENJOY their time on the ice when dad reads the paper and has a cup of coffee. Closed practices should be next.

[muckandgrind]

Loud and over zealous parents do make up a small percentage of youth sports parents. They are also easy to identify and help.

Far greater harm is done by the parents that want to provide their opinion to their child regarding tryouts, games, practices, etc under the disguise of support and parenting. It's easy to say that "my son asks". That may be, but all too often its offered without being asked, and when they do ask it's seen as an invitation to coach away. There are some parents that would reply giving positive feedback as to how they felt they performed. You may be one of them but there are not many. Most will rant on about things their son or daughter should do better, or worse yet, compare them to others. They don't have to yell or negative. It still becomes white noise.

Muck, when you say there are a few bad apples, I would say this is where I disagree. I believe MANY parents become too involved with THEIR opinion and I've witnessed many players close their eyes and ears to coaching because they just can't take any more than they get on the ride home and at the dinner table.

The only thing closed tryouts take away is the parents ability to be uninformed and pollute the child with it. Oh yea, and they can't do an evaluation at the end of the season. I've never seen a hockey tryout where a kid missed the drills and only picked up pucks. I suppose the remote possibility outweighs the dramatic benifits of closed tryouts.

One last thing. Players clearly have a better practice and ENJOY their time on the ice when dad reads the paper and has a cup of coffee. Closed practices should be next.

Closed games after that??

I love how people want to tell others what is best for their children. I tell you what, if you don't want to watch your kid skate....DON'T!! Just don't tell the rest of us that we can't.

"Players clearly have a better practice" when dad is reading his paper, huh? And you know this HOW??? This is your opinion and is based on nothing more than that. Do you have any evidence that this is true?

In all honestly, I watch very few practices and to be really honest, I have not watched every tryout session my sons have been part of.....but I don't want someone telling me or other parents that we aren't allowed to watch OUR KIDS skate. The more someone tells me that I shouldn't watch, the more I want to watch. I ask myself, what are they hiding?

A good association will have a tryout policy in place. Most use independent evaluators, some use non-parent coaches to fill the teams. Most policies state that all placements are final and not subject to discussion. If all this exists, what is the harm with parents watching? Like I said before, as a parent, I'm ask to fill out a survey at the end of every season. As part of that survey, they are about five questions that pertain to the tryout process, if I'm barred from watching, how can I answer those questions? If enough parents provide low grades to the process, than it should be changed. What is wrong with that?

Personally, I don't have an issue with our tryout process, and I've never had an issue with how my kids have performed or which team they were placed on. But that doesn't mean that I believe the parents should be locked out. I have heard of many shenanighans that have occurred during the tryouts, and like I said before locking out the parents only breeds more mistrust that actually makes things worse.

[c-bar_and_in]

Closed tryouts breed mistrust and makes it worse? Are you joking me? Maybe it does for parents like yourself.

The organization that I coach for has closed tryouts and I will tell you that they are great! There is no need for the parents to be around. The kids dont need your help in telling what they need to do better. They already have enough pressure as is during this time frame. You standing in the rink only adds to it. Let the kids make the team they are supposed to make. The parents need to trust the coaches that they will put their son on the team that is best fit for them.

We open up the tryouts when we will scrimmage other teams and to be honest, I feel that it is nothing but chaos. Parents always sitting over your shoulder, parents buying you coffee or hot coco, parents screaming at their son from the stands. Trust the people who are a part of this, it is best if the doors just stay closed.

Let me also explain to you what it is like from a coaches standpoint. That 2 week period is the only period of time during the season that i dread. If you think it is fun for us, your dead wrong. We have plenty of pressure in trying to pick the "right" kids. Parents standing in the rink watching your every move only adds to all of that. The best thing that we can do is to have a parents meeting before tryouts start and lay out what our plans are for picking the teams and leave it at that. If the parents have any questions, that is the time to ask. Then when tryouts are over, you either A, sit down face to face with the players and go over their evaluation form or B just give them the evaluation form with some comments on the bottom. I went with the 1 on 1 meeting this year and thought that it went great and as a result, we didn't have 1 single parent meeting.

Muck, I hear what you are saying and I do understand your point, but sometimes its just best for the parents, players and the coaches if tryouts are done when the parents are not around. My personal feeling is that the players do better when the parents are not there, I know I sure did when I was going through tryouts. I also hear your point about your organizations questions about tryouts on the end of the year evaluation. The only real way to give a proper evaluation is to be there and see it first hand. Even though I dont agree with the questions on the evaluation, i do understand.

Muck, does your organization have any rules in place about parents going to tryouts?

[Doglover]

I've been there as a parent - tried to "casually" watch tryouts to "support" my kid, but it doesn't work. It always backfires and you inadvertently say something you shouldn't to your son/daughter about their tryout or to other parents. It's best to leave it up to the evaluators. They will make the final decisions anyway. Trust the process. There will be mistakes but it's just youth hockey. My advise - keep it all in perspective. Close tryouts.

[Judgeandjury]

Closed tryouts breed mistrust and makes it worse? Are you joking me? Maybe it does for parents like yourself.

The organization that I coach for has closed tryouts and I will tell you that they are great! There is no need for the parents to be around. The kids dont need your help in telling what they need to do better. They already have enough pressure as is during this time frame. You standing in the rink only adds to it. Let the kids make the team they are supposed to make. The parents need to trust the coaches that they will put their son on the team that is best fit for them.

We open up the tryouts when we will scrimmage other teams and to be honest, I feel that it is nothing but chaos. Parents always sitting over your shoulder, parents buying you coffee or hot coco, parents screaming at their son from the stands. Trust the people who are a part of this, it is best if the doors just stay closed.

Let me also explain to you what it is like from a coaches standpoint. That 2 week period is the only period of time during the season that i dread. If you think it is fun for us, your dead wrong. We have plenty of pressure in trying to pick the "right" kids. Parents standing in the rink watching your every move only adds to all of that. The best thing that we can do is to have a parents meeting before tryouts start and lay out what our plans are for picking the teams and leave it at that. If the parents have any questions, that is the time to ask. Then when tryouts are over, you either A, sit down face to face with the players and go over their evaluation form or B just give them the evaluation form with some comments on the bottom. I went with the 1 on 1 meeting this year and thought that it went great and as a result, we didn't have 1 single parent meeting.

Muck, I hear what you are saying and I do understand your point, but sometimes its just best for the parents, players and the coaches if tryouts are done when the parents are not around. My personal feeling is that the players do better when the parents are not there, I know I sure did when I was going through tryouts. I also hear your point about your organizations questions about tryouts on the end of the year evaluation. The only real way to give a proper evaluation is to be there and see it first hand. Even though I dont agree with the questions on the evaluation, i do understand.

Muck, does your organization have any rules in place about parents going to tryouts?

This is youth hockey we're talking about. Nothing more. Parents should not be excluded from watching tryouts. With respect, we all know that there's favors given out in any association. I just saw it in our squirt tryouts this year. The squirt A coach took a kid that isn't even close to being an A player. It was very obvious to all the parents and some other coaches too.
If any association wants to close tryouts then they're trying to hide some thing. With that said each and every coach knows what they're getting themselves into when they agree to coach youth sports. As long as the process is fair to each and every athlete then nothing should go wrong. If the pressure from the parents are too much then don't volunteer. The worst thing to do is close tryouts. Once an association starts with the favortism then they'll lose all credibility.

[inthestands]

The squirt A coach took a kid that isn't even close to being an A player. It was very obvious to all the parents and some other coaches too.

And the conspiracy theory continues..

It's really too bad the kids would have little to no problem with the tryout process if the parents left it alone.


Closed games after that?? Off subject again, but changing the focus when opposing points of view are given is right in line. I don't recall anyone talking about anything other than the try out process, and the pressures created by the parents of players involved.

Let's not invent more issue to the main focus. As some can see by this thread, that two week period in most every youth hockey association is probably the least enjoyable part of the season for many involved.

It's not the players or coaches that create the tension, where do you suppose it comes from?

[muckandgrind]

The squirt A coach took a kid that isn't even close to being an A player. It was very obvious to all the parents and some other coaches too.

And the conspiracy theory continues..

It's really too bad the kids would have little to no problem with the tryout process if the parents left it alone.


Closed games after that?? Off subject again, but changing the focus when opposing points of view are given is right in line. I don't recall anyone talking about anything other than the try out process, and the pressures created by the parents of players involved.

Let's not invent more issue to the main focus. As some can see by this thread, that two week period in most every youth hockey association is probably the least enjoyable part of the season for many involved.

It's not the players or coaches that create the tension, where do you suppose it comes from?

I said "close games" in response to the guy who said in addition to tryouts, all practices should be closed to parents as well.

All the cliches HAVE to stop, my head is hurting!!!! "It's about the kids", "keep it in perspective", blah, blah, blah. OF COURSE< WE ALL KNOW THESE THINGS TO BE TRUE!!.

Keeping things "in perspective" and having open tryouts are not mutually exclusive!!!! Both can be done. Why is it so hard for people to grasp that.

Our tryouts are open. The rules are that the parents are not to approach the evaluators, they must stay behind the glass and not cheer. We have never had an issue with a parent at tryouts in the 15 years that I've been a part of this association. The only problem we had was a coordinator attempting to talk an evaluator into adjusting the final rankings so a particular player of a friend of his (and someone he wanted to coach the team) could get on to the A team. This was not a rumor, nor was it heresay. As a matter of fact, that coordinator was voted out this past spring due to that very reason.