minnesota made squirts vs mite gold talent level

[lkool]

What is the overall talent level of the squirt group compared to the mite gold group?

I would think that many of the top mites would move back to their associations to play traveling. Is that the case?

[HockeyDad41]

What is the overall talent level of the squirt group compared to the mite gold group?

I would think that many of the top mites would move back to their associations to play traveling. Is that the case?

Seemed like there were more 1st year squirts than 2nd year. I think you are probably right.

[dogeatdog1]

What is the overall talent level of the squirt group compared to the mite gold group?

I would think that many of the top mites would move back to their associations to play traveling. Is that the case?

Seemed like there were more 1st year squirts than 2nd year. I think you are probably right.

I am sure that they will be moving back to the associatons and taking spots from kids on the B teams ( just had to get my Made bash out of the way for the day)

[Pucksahater]

Thanks for spewing your hate, as usual. Maybe that why you hate the made, your little guy got beat out by a made kid coming back to association. Makes sense now.

[HockeyDad41]

What is the overall talent level of the squirt group compared to the mite gold group?

I would think that many of the top mites would move back to their associations to play traveling. Is that the case?

Seemed like there were more 1st year squirts than 2nd year. I think you are probably right.

I am sure that they will be moving back to the associatons and taking spots from kids on the B teams ( just had to get my Made bash out of the way for the day)

Like in Edina right?

[dogeatdog1]

Seemed like there were more 1st year squirts than 2nd year. I think you are probably right.

I am sure that they will be moving back to the associatons and taking spots from kids on the B teams ( just had to get my Made bash out of the way for the day)

Like in Edina right?

Good point. I was just trying to get the debate going again as if we haven't beaten this topic to death. I was not serious in my bash. once again you culties take the word of the BM and think that your son will automatically get a spot on the A team when he returns to the association. In our association it aint happenin. I realize that Edina is a bit differen with 5,000 kids that are looking for ice and the made in their back yard. Heck I probably would have sent my kid their for the ice timeif I lived there. In our association we have only had three kids come back from MM and NONE have made the A team in their first year back. To that I will say those kids did improve their skills but IMHO they would have done the same staying within our system.

Oh and by the way My kid didn't get cut by BM. We didn't get beaten out by a Choice kid. and I have coached teams that have won and lost to the machine and other MM teams... So if you want to through out any more MM talking points please leave these out.

[Pucksahater]

Looks like a nerve was hit, you left out that you played juniors in Canada. Most know it alls on here did at some time, anyone can hide behind their moniker and make up stories of how great they are.

[dogeatdog1]

Looks like a nerve was hit, you left out that you played juniors in Canada. Most know it alls on here did at some time, anyone can hide behind their moniker and make up stories of how great they are.

Nope never played juniors went straight to college. Never make up stories and don't hide behind a moniker. Just love the way if someone disagrees with you on this board they always say that your kid got screwed or you got beat. I am actually very happy with the development of my kids, Don't have the jaded view that a lot of people have and think my kids are superstars and they too realize that they are very lucky to be forunate enough to have played on high end teams and travel the country meeting good people. If you read into my previous posts on all this AAA stuff you would realize that I am the voice of reason on this board that doesn't care for the people that are selling a dream and making $ off of the kids. There are great opportunities out there if you look to develop your kid for a lot less $ and a lot less stress on your 7-15 year old kids. Finally and I have said this many times. I do not have an issue with the MM concept and think that they provide a great service to many top end kids and they are good for AAA hockey at the the top end in this state. I also have an opinion that they water down the AAA lower end pool and over sell that to make $. Is that bad. not if you know what you are getting into and realize that it is your money to spend as you see fit.

[HockeyDad41]

Just trying to figure you out dog. You came on here and took a shot at MM Choice league and just trying to figure out why. The original question was not a real controversial one and you decided to stir the pot.

There is no doubt in my mind that some association mite programs have coaches and a plan that make considering Choice league unnecessary. You don't hear the parents at Choice league bashing them or taking shots at them do you? If you have one of those rare gems of an association, why the negative energy towards the Choice league? Just enjoy it. There are many paths.

[Pucksahater]

Ihave looked at your previous posts, you bash the machine and minnesota made in alot of your posts. Now you are being called out on it , and you don`t like it . Trying to proclaim yourself as a voice of reason you say, to the contrary i would say. All you do is bash bernie and his programs, there is no form of debate in your words. If you are so proud of what you stand for then tell us who you are, you state you are not hiding behind a moniker, than reveal yourself Dog!!

[old goalie85]

Ikool- In FL yhe kids that have went down to Mn made have all come back and made A or B squirts. Only one played squirts down there and he came back and made A, I think he would have anyway.[my opinion] One thing to consider is the fact that people willing to jump into the made "program" tend to be pretty commited folks, so they probably have kids that are of the same mind set. Skating w/the same types of kids.

[HockeyDad41]

Ikool- In FL yhe kids that have went down to Mn made have all come back and made A or B squirts. Only one played squirts down there and he came back and made A, I think he would have anyway.[my opinion] One thing to consider is the fact that people willing to jump into the made "program" tend to be pretty commited folks, so they probably have kids that are of the same mind set. Skating w/the same types of kids.

Are there many kids from FL that participate? That seems like it would be a very long drive.

[Shortsidegoal]

Just my Two cents.

[dogeatdog1]

Just trying to figure you out dog. You came on here and took a shot at MM Choice league and just trying to figure out why. The original question was not a real controversial one and you decided to stir the pot.

There is no doubt in my mind that some association mite programs have coaches and a plan that make considering Choice league unnecessary. You don't hear the parents at Choice league bashing them or taking shots at them do you? If you have one of those rare gems of an association, why the negative energy towards the Choice league? Just enjoy it. There are many paths.

I think you get me ,,,, I do like to stir the pot and have done so on many occasions. I have ripped on other programs in the past including the other AAA associations that water down AAA and make it AA. I'm not saying that the whole AAA cult out there is bad for summer hockey. I just find that they oversell themselves and that it is really expensive for what you gain from it. MM is what it is and I have repeatedly stated that I believe they oversell to the low end kids and parents. it is just a business for them and for the millionth time if that is where you spend your $ I am not going to bad mouth you as long as you are informed. In the past my kids have done the gammet of AAA from showcase to MASH to Blades. All have good and not so good things about them but in the end we have had a good experienc. SOOO you will continue to see me stir the pot but don't get too hung up on my opinions they are just that. I will leave you with one thing about BM that I do find interesting and maybe this is because the kid is a good kid and a top talent. He has softened on his baseball/hockey playing issue this year and allowed a Machine kid to miss some due to baseball.... maybe he is coming around and will develop more top talent if he decides that he needs athelets. My two cents.

[old goalie85]

No not many. Two or three a year the last five or so years. None last year. Long drive and alot of us grew up in FL and played w/ or knew Bernie. So we are not interested!! No pucksa-they haven't come back and beat out my kids so save it. Like I said, I think it has alot to do w/the parents and how they feel about hockey. And of course the amount of ice they get down there compared to FL. Now we have two sheets so less kids will be making that 4.00 a gallon drive.

[dogeatdog1]

Ihave looked at your previous posts, you bash the machine and minnesota made in alot of your posts. Now you are being called out on it , and you don`t like it . Trying to proclaim yourself as a voice of reason you say, to the contrary i would say. All you do is bash bernie and his programs, there is no form of debate in your words. If you are so proud of what you stand for then tell us who you are, you state you are not hiding behind a moniker, than reveal yourself Dog!!

Go back and read again I do not bash the machine! They are what is good about MM! your 5th team grinder player/parent that think they are AAA are being sold a bag of dung. And I assume that is where your kid plays. Give it up and go play lacrosse in the summer it will be money better spent See there I go stirring the pot again.

[irish skater]

Having experienced the MM winter league, I think a lot comes down to who your coach (es) is/are. My son was there for two years. First year as a mite. Had an unbelievable winter. Great coaches, great kids, hard practices. Couldn't wait to come back. Came back as a squirt, head coach wasn't as driven as the first year coaches. Still a positive experience. Not a lot of second year kids. It seemed like a lot left after one year in squirts. The "organization" liked to move up the younger Machine kids to play with older kids. It was okay. They were good, but very small. There was only one second year kid on the team. There were a lot of mites that played in the squirts. We left after one year of squirts. Had I been guaranteed we would have had the same coaching my son had the first year, I probably would have put him back.

I met some great parents there. There seems to be some mystique about that place. There was no magic. Just age appropriate drills for the kids to work on. All they did was skate and stickhandle. No systems. No power play lines, nothing. Looking back, the squirt level was probably a strong B level. It's hard to say. There wasn't any griping by the parents. There were no volunteer hours to put in at the snack bar. No raffle tix to sell. It wasn't cheap, but it was turnkey. I heard a lot of reasons why people were drawn there and a lot had to do with the current associations they were members of. Believe me, the winter program there is not some elite factory as some might suggest. I noticed people were comparing Edina's A Squirt team and their time at MM. The kids I met were good regardless if they were at MM or not. I'm sure it did help their skating though.

[HockeyDad41]

Just trying to figure you out dog. You came on here and took a shot at MM Choice league and just trying to figure out why. The original question was not a real controversial one and you decided to stir the pot.

There is no doubt in my mind that some association mite programs have coaches and a plan that make considering Choice league unnecessary. You don't hear the parents at Choice league bashing them or taking shots at them do you? If you have one of those rare gems of an association, why the negative energy towards the Choice league? Just enjoy it. There are many paths.

I think you get me ,,,, I do like to stir the pot and have done so on many occasions. I have ripped on other programs in the past including the other AAA associations that water down AAA and make it AA. I'm not saying that the whole AAA cult out there is bad for summer hockey. I just find that they oversell themselves and that it is really expensive for what you gain from it. MM is what it is and I have repeatedly stated that I believe they oversell to the low end kids and parents. it is just a business for them and for the millionth time if that is where you spend your $ I am not going to bad mouth you as long as you are informed. In the past my kids have done the gammet of AAA from showcase to MASH to Blades. All have good and not so good things about them but in the end we have had a good experienc. SOOO you will continue to see me stir the pot but don't get too hung up on my opinions they are just that. I will leave you with one thing about BM that I do find interesting and maybe this is because the kid is a good kid and a top talent. He has softened on his baseball/hockey playing issue this year and allowed a Machine kid to miss some due to baseball.... maybe he is coming around and will develop more top talent if he decides that he needs athelets. My two cents.

So basically just another blades parent bashing the Machine program? Why the hate dog, why the hate?

[MrBoDangles]

Having experienced the MM winter league, I think a lot comes down to who your coach (es) is/are. My son was there for two years. First year as a mite. Had an unbelievable winter. Great coaches, great kids, hard practices. Couldn't wait to come back. Came back as a squirt, head coach wasn't as driven as the first year coaches. Still a positive experience. Not a lot of second year kids. It seemed like a lot left after one year in squirts. The "organization" liked to move up the younger Machine kids to play with older kids. It was okay. They were good, but very small. There was only one second year kid on the team. There were a lot of mites that played in the squirts. We left after one year of squirts. Had I been guaranteed we would have had the same coaching my son had the first year, I probably would have put him back.

I met some great parents there. There seems to be some mystique about that place. There was no magic. Just age appropriate drills for the kids to work on. All they did was skate and stickhandle. No systems. No power play lines, nothing. Looking back, the squirt level was probably a strong B level. It's hard to say. There wasn't any griping by the parents. There were no volunteer hours to put in at the snack bar. No raffle tix to sell. It wasn't cheap, but it was turnkey. I heard a lot of reasons why people were drawn there and a lot had to do with the current associations they were members of. Believe me, the winter program there is not some elite factory as some might suggest. I noticed people were comparing Edina's A Squirt team and their time at MM. The kids I met were good regardless if they were at MM or not. I'm sure it did help their skating though.

Wondering if I could ask you a few legit question........?

What did it cost for a season of mites and squirts?

How many times a week were they on the ice?

Sounds like the young Machine kids were being challenged by moving up.. Were the other kids being challenged?

Did you feel like your child was missing out by not being involved in association type tournaments with his schoolmates? Was it boring?

Sounds like you're saying the only difference is more INDOOR ice time. Is this true?

Are you saying that coaching at the Made is luck of the draw and the only benefit is more indoor ice?

Thanks in advance!

[dogeatdog1]

Just trying to figure you out dog. You came on here and took a shot at MM Choice league and just trying to figure out why. The original question was not a real controversial one and you decided to stir the pot.

There is no doubt in my mind that some association mite programs have coaches and a plan that make considering Choice league unnecessary. You don't hear the parents at Choice league bashing them or taking shots at them do you? If you have one of those rare gems of an association, why the negative energy towards the Choice league? Just enjoy it. There are many paths.

I think you get me ,,,, I do like to stir the pot and have done so on many occasions. I have ripped on other programs in the past including the other AAA associations that water down AAA and make it AA. I'm not saying that the whole AAA cult out there is bad for summer hockey. I just find that they oversell themselves and that it is really expensive for what you gain from it. MM is what it is and I have repeatedly stated that I believe they oversell to the low end kids and parents. it is just a business for them and for the millionth time if that is where you spend your $ I am not going to bad mouth you as long as you are informed. In the past my kids have done the gammet of AAA from showcase to MASH to Blades. All have good and not so good things about them but in the end we have had a good experienc. SOOO you will continue to see me stir the pot but don't get too hung up on my opinions they are just that. I will leave you with one thing about BM that I do find interesting and maybe this is because the kid is a good kid and a top talent. He has softened on his baseball/hockey playing issue this year and allowed a Machine kid to miss some due to baseball.... maybe he is coming around and will develop more top talent if he decides that he needs athelets. My two cents.

So basically just another blades parent bashing the Machine program? Why the hate dog, why the hate?

What don't you get? I just had a great post back to you that got wiped out by this server that glitches... Machine=good AAA team Blades = Good AAA team. Some of my best friends are and were Machine parents. some of the best games and scrimmages that we played were against the Machine teams. (We won a few and lost a few that is what made them great.)It was hard to find other competition in the state so both teams travel.... No hate here, just think that the watering down of AA hockey in the state is a joke. $$$ making scam that sells a dream. don't get me wrong I realize that kids are not all superstars and have to have a place to play but be realistic with how you market it.

[HockeyDad41]

I think you get me ,,,, I do like to stir the pot and have done so on many occasions. I have ripped on other programs in the past including the other AAA associations that water down AAA and make it AA. I'm not saying that the whole AAA cult out there is bad for summer hockey. I just find that they oversell themselves and that it is really expensive for what you gain from it. MM is what it is and I have repeatedly stated that I believe they oversell to the low end kids and parents. it is just a business for them and for the millionth time if that is where you spend your $ I am not going to bad mouth you as long as you are informed. In the past my kids have done the gammet of AAA from showcase to MASH to Blades. All have good and not so good things about them but in the end we have had a good experienc. SOOO you will continue to see me stir the pot but don't get too hung up on my opinions they are just that. I will leave you with one thing about BM that I do find interesting and maybe this is because the kid is a good kid and a top talent. He has softened on his baseball/hockey playing issue this year and allowed a Machine kid to miss some due to baseball.... maybe he is coming around and will develop more top talent if he decides that he needs athelets. My two cents.

So basically just another blades parent bashing the Machine program? Why the hate dog, why the hate?

What don't you get? I just had a great post back to you that got wiped out by this server that glitches... Machine=good AAA team Blades = Good AAA team. Some of my best friends are and were Machine parents. some of the best games and scrimmages that we played were against the Machine teams. (We won a few and lost a few that is what made them great.)It was hard to find other competition in the state so both teams travel.... No hate here, just think that the watering down of AA hockey in the state is a joke. $$$ making scam that sells a dream. don't get me wrong I realize that kids are not all superstars and have to have a place to play but be realistic with how you market it.

Don't sweat it dog - I was just stirring the pot a little.

[irish skater]

Having experienced the MM winter league, I think a lot comes down to who your coach (es) is/are. My son was there for two years. First year as a mite. Had an unbelievable winter. Great coaches, great kids, hard practices. Couldn't wait to come back. Came back as a squirt, head coach wasn't as driven as the first year coaches. Still a positive experience. Not a lot of second year kids. It seemed like a lot left after one year in squirts. The "organization" liked to move up the younger Machine kids to play with older kids. It was okay. They were good, but very small. There was only one second year kid on the team. There were a lot of mites that played in the squirts. We left after one year of squirts. Had I been guaranteed we would have had the same coaching my son had the first year, I probably would have put him back.

I met some great parents there. There seems to be some mystique about that place. There was no magic. Just age appropriate drills for the kids to work on. All they did was skate and stickhandle. No systems. No power play lines, nothing. Looking back, the squirt level was probably a strong B level. It's hard to say. There wasn't any griping by the parents. There were no volunteer hours to put in at the snack bar. No raffle tix to sell. It wasn't cheap, but it was turnkey. I heard a lot of reasons why people were drawn there and a lot had to do with the current associations they were members of. Believe me, the winter program there is not some elite factory as some might suggest. I noticed people were comparing Edina's A Squirt team and their time at MM. The kids I met were good regardless if they were at MM or not. I'm sure it did help their skating though.

Wondering if I could ask you a few legit question........?

What did it cost for a season of mites and squirts?

How many times a week were they on the ice?

Sounds like the young Machine kids were being challenged by moving up.. Were the other kids being challenged?

Did you feel like your child was missing out by not being involved in association type tournaments with his schoolmates? Was it boring?

Sounds like you're saying the only difference is more INDOOR ice time. Is this true?

Are you saying that coaching at the Made is luck of the draw and the only benefit is more indoor ice?

Thanks in advance!

---------------------------
I'll do my best, but my memory was left in the '70s.

When he was there the cost was somewhere around $1,800. Maybe a little less as a mite, maybe a little more as a mite, but about that.

They were on the ice always Saturday and Sunday for either an hour and 20 or an hour and a half. As a mite they were on one night during the week and as a squirt maybe one or two nights a week. A lot of times they had the ice to themselves. Not always, but a fair amount. Their season, I believe, started a little earlier than association hockey and I think went through the third week in March. So it was definitely longer.

As per the Machine kids -- yes, they were being challenged. They were good littlle hockey players. I guess there was a size difference, but they seemed to overcome it. I wished they were bigger. Most of them handled themselves. Overall the mites they moved up were good. In retrospect they could play, but as I said, I wished they would have been a little bigger kids. Talent-wise, they were good.

As per missing out being at my own association: Yes, I feel he did miss out some. He wasn't playing with the kids he had learned to play hockey with. I would ask him and he liked going to MM. As I had stated, we really did meet some great folks there. The problem was, we didn't live very close and it wasn't really practical distance-wise for my son to hang out with kids he met there. He did a few times, but it was an ordeal driving back and forth. Going to MM was more a decision on our part, not our son's. When it comes down to it, we were/are just trying to do what we think is best for him. Do I think he'll be playing for the Gophers? No, I don't. I would like him to get the best training he can get though. Say your son or daughter took piano lessons, would you want them to go to lessons and have fun and semi horse around because they're never going to be concert pianists? Or would you want them to get the best lessons they can knowing full well it's never leading to anything? You do what you think is best for your child.

They do have more ice and, as I said, a lot of times it's solo ice. The practices were all about skating and stickhandling. They really skated the kids hard and they really practiced their edges and backwards skating, etc. I'm not sure what the squirts' requirements were, but I think the mites only had 12 drills they could do, then the last 10 or 15 (a guess) minutes of practice the coach could do their own drills. I think this prevented someone from getting too far afield.

Yes, I hate to say, but to some extent the coaching was luck of the draw. I'm sure the coaches had to pass some sort of Bernie test. But let's face it, some people are more into it than others. Personally, I like seeing my kid leave practice with wet hair. As I said, we haven't gotten any calls from Don Lucia and I am actually saving a little money for college rather than letting it ride. That being said, I would like him to be the best he can be. The same with golf. He's going to a golf camp this summer during his summer hockey break. He'll be playing golf a lot longer than he'll be playing hockey.

I know going to the winter program at MM might seem a bit over the top considering we live quite a ways away. I don't regret it at all. We really met nice people. All summer whenever my son is at a tournament it seems like we know somebody from some team. And the best part, I had my son captive for about an hour where he had to listen to all my unsolicited advice. I think he really liked that

God, I hope I don't stand in the golf gallery and scream out like it's a hockey game. "DRIVE!"

[old goalie85]

Where do you think he had the "best all around" fun,development, coaching, parents whatever? suirts in FL last year or the made???

[irish skater]

Where do you think he had the "best all around" fun,development, coaching, parents whatever? suirts in FL last year or the made???

Well, he was happy to see familiar faces again. The decision to go to MM was all mine. He and I did enjoy his time there. It was probably kind of hard on him because we lived quite a ways away. He made a few play dates, but the distance just wasn't practical. The practices there were great -- especially his first year. I think he definitely became a better skater. It's just set up differently than association hockey. Overall, I am glad he's back home among kids he knows. I still want him to be pushed and I still want him to become the best he can be. I think I have my feet on the ground. I know he's not reading this. So I can safely say I'd be thrilled if he could play high school hockey. He'd like to play for the Wild. Sorry to say he came from the wrong gene pool.

[mnhockey2019]

I would agree with the assessment that the Squirt league was a high B level league. With alot of final year Mites playing up at Squirt, the Mite Gold league was also watered down. My son played Silver two years ago and Gold last year, but the level of play did not increase that much due to the number of top end Mites playing up. I think the reason so many of the 02 Machine kids played up was because not enough Squirt aged kids chose to play Choice. From being around MM last season, I can't recall if their were any 01 Machine players playing Choice, so they must have played in their associations vs. Choice. Will be interesting to see if the same thing happens this year with the Machine kids returning to their associations versus staying at Choice.