Elvis wrote:Lakeville would be a good example to follow. It will take time, but the numbers and quality will improve, and hopefully all three high school programs will be competitive. Will probably take five years or so to see it, but there are a lot of good athletes who are late bloomers who will now get a better shot to play high school hockey.
Agreed. It will be good to see more kids get the opportunity to play high school hockey. Remember that the game is about the kids and giving them experiences that they will take forward into their "real" life. It's not about having winning programs so that alumni can gloat.
Like it or not, high school sports are all about winning. Schools (and not just private ones) recruit good players and coaches. Coaches get fired after just a few bad seasons. Entire families are willing to move so their kids play for a winning program. Great athletes get benefits in the classroom just so they're academically eligible to play. Believing that HS sports are about participation and not winning is delusional.
ya who ever said, "its not whether you win or lose, its how you play the game" probably coached a 5th grade girls soccer team. Id like to quote a real champion, mr Vince Lombardi. "winning isnt everything, its the only thing"
I don't get it. Why would Woodbury and CG suddenly need 3 new sheets? Same number of hockey players, just 33% will wear a different color jersey.
The high schools, who practice during icetimes that youth associations won't use, will take slightly more ice for games (assuming the girls teams can even field full varsity and JVs). However, the youth teams will lose about the same number of kids in bantams, junior gold and U14s to the high school programs.
If I'm a coach at Eastridge, I certainly want my kids playing together and developing their own traditions.
Whatthe wrote:I don't get it. Why would Woodbury and CG suddenly need 3 new sheets? Same number of hockey players, just 33% will wear a different color jersey.
The high schools, who practice during icetimes that youth associations won't use, will take slightly more ice for games (assuming the girls teams can even field full varsity and JVs). However, the youth teams will lose about the same number of kids in bantams, junior gold and U14s to the high school programs.
If I'm a coach at Eastridge, I certainly want my kids playing together and developing their own traditions.
When Bielenberg, Woodbury's home ice, was built, the youth program had between 450-600 kids. Today, there are over 900. Two years ago the Bantam "A" team had only 1 or 2 practices on the home ice and did not have a home tournament. Approximately 40% of the ice time for the entire association was purchased in other locations so the demand is there and will be growing. The high schools are not the programs that need the additional ice.
Whatthe wrote:I don't get it. Why would Woodbury and CG suddenly need 3 new sheets? Same number of hockey players, just 33% will wear a different color jersey.
The high schools, who practice during icetimes that youth associations won't use, will take slightly more ice for games (assuming the girls teams can even field full varsity and JVs). However, the youth teams will lose about the same number of kids in bantams, junior gold and U14s to the high school programs.
If I'm a coach at Eastridge, I certainly want my kids playing together and developing their own traditions.
When Bielenberg, Woodbury's home ice, was built, the youth program had between 450-600 kids. Today, there are over 900. Two years ago the Bantam "A" team had only 1 or 2 practices on the home ice and did not have a home tournament. Approximately 40% of the ice time for the entire association was purchased in other locations so the demand is there and will be growing. The high schools are not the programs that need the additional ice.
Yeah Woodbury has grown into one of the largest youth hockey organizations in Minnesota. They field about 50 teams through the junior gold level. Woodbury has a population of almost 60,000 and 2 sheets of ice is just not enough.
komada77 wrote:
Yeah Woodbury has grown into one of the largest youth hockey organizations in Minnesota. They field about 50 teams through the junior gold level. Woodbury has a population of almost 60,000 and 2 sheets of ice is just not enough.
Just curious. Is Woodbury a bedroom community mostly (i.e., people commute to the Twin Cities for work), or does it have a significant business base: factories, high-tech, medical, whatever, for local employment? Same question goes for Cottage Grove. Seems like it is one of the high-growth areas of Minnesota now.
komada77 wrote:
Yeah Woodbury has grown into one of the largest youth hockey organizations in Minnesota. They field about 50 teams through the junior gold level. Woodbury has a population of almost 60,000 and 2 sheets of ice is just not enough.
Just curious. Is Woodbury a bedroom community mostly (i.e., people commute to the Twin Cities for work), or does it have a significant business base: factories, high-tech, medical, whatever, for local employment? Same question goes for Cottage Grove. Seems like it is one of the high-growth areas of Minnesota now.
Woodbury has a large population that is employed by the 3M company. But for the most part due to it's location people travel to work. Used to have 2 large insurance companies no "factories". They have a small hospital also.
Cottage Grove is definately a "Bedroom Community" has a few small factories like Anderson Windows Renewal plant and 3M Chemolite plant (which is almost empty)
The other piece to this is that there are a chunk of kids that actually live in Woodbury but are in the Tartan or Stillwater school boundary. You can live 4 miles from Bielenberg but have to truck all the way to Stillwater to play because of the school borders. Fun fun fun!!
Any early thoughts on who might want to be head coach at the new high school in woodbury/cottage grove. I heard rumours that wes walz wants to coach there, but might need to work out visa issues.
Also, any comments on how the boundaries will change the make up of hockey in this area, who will make out better, woodbury, east ridge, or park?
Wes Walz was an assistant coach for east ridge at the Eagan tournament this past weekend, he has also been coaching on ice for the east ridge summer program.
Any early thoughts on who might want to be head coach at the new high school in woodbury/cottage grove. I heard rumours that wes walz wants to coach there, but might need to work out visa issues.
Also, any comments on how the boundaries will change the make up of hockey in this area, who will make out better, woodbury, east ridge, or park?
Wes Walz was an assistant coach for east ridge at the Eagan tournament this past weekend, he has also been coaching on ice for the east ridge summer program.
The Walz family has moved into the ER attendance area. IMO the bigger news/rumor is that his son, Kelvin, will play for ER this winter. He played in florida the past two seasons i believe, where obviously the talent is no where near the same as it is here, but that kid can flat out play.
Whatthe wrote:I don't get it. Why would Woodbury and CG suddenly need 3 new sheets? Same number of hockey players, just 33% will wear a different color jersey.
The high schools, who practice during icetimes that youth associations won't use, will take slightly more ice for games (assuming the girls teams can even field full varsity and JVs). However, the youth teams will lose about the same number of kids in bantams, junior gold and U14s to the high school programs.
If I'm a coach at Eastridge, I certainly want my kids playing together and developing their own traditions.
Because you are adding 2 nights a week used up by High school games vs 5-6 hours of youth games or practices. CG used to have peewee and bantams practicing 3 days a week at Uni of River Falls and both Woodbury/CG used the Harding, West Side arenas alot. and that is just to makeup for the boys now add girls Var and JVar thats 2 more nights. Not a big deal until you also consider that squirts and peewee have curfews by MN Hockey that they cant start games or practices after certian times during the week.
So you say skate them outside!!! Have you seen the ice quality at the outdoor rinks the past few years?
Whatthe wrote:I don't get it. Why would Woodbury and CG suddenly need 3 new sheets? Same number of hockey players, just 33% will wear a different color jersey.
The high schools, who practice during icetimes that youth associations won't use, will take slightly more ice for games (assuming the girls teams can even field full varsity and JVs). However, the youth teams will lose about the same number of kids in bantams, junior gold and U14s to the high school programs.
If I'm a coach at Eastridge, I certainly want my kids playing together and developing their own traditions.
Because you are adding 2 nights a week used up by High school games vs 5-6 hours of youth games or practices. CG used to have peewee and bantams practicing 3 days a week at Uni of River Falls and both Woodbury/CG used the Harding, West Side arenas alot. and that is just to makeup for the boys now add girls Var and JVar thats 2 more nights. Not a big deal until you also consider that squirts and peewee have curfews by MN Hockey that they cant start games or practices after certian times during the week.
So you say skate them outside!!! Have you seen the ice quality at the outdoor rinks the past few years?
It's not because of the new high school that more sheets are needed. It's the growth of the youth programs. Woodbury's youth program which feeds both Eastridge and Woodbury has over 900 skaters. When my son last played youth hockey 4 years ago, there were slightly over 750 and the Bantam A team only skated at home for Dist games. All practices and scrimmages were on other sheets like Lily Lake in Stillwater. It was also the first year the Bantam A did not have a home tournament. If you want kid's to stay at their home schools, you need to at least have them skate on home rinks. East Ridge finally got a locker room in which to leae their gear this year. Woodbury's varsity, while they have lockers to store their gear, still shares it with Youth players and which makes it hard to air out when it goes in a little cage. The need is real.
