Fairytale Continued

[nahc]

The biggest problem I see with hockey (Parents?) is that it is all about how much my child plays. Every skater needs to play "up" a level and of course all should be first line Varsity skaters. There are some very good "Teams" out there this year........but continually see players who really can't compete at the varsity level and are not team players......yet the coaches play these kids. Is it because of parenteral relationships with the coaches? Not sure but this seems to be a hughe challenge with many programs. And have no idea how to resolve the issue. Hockey is supposed to be a team sport yet I don't see any posts about the young man who plays his heart out, does all the little things like getting the puck our of the defensive zone under pressure, gets the puck deep in the oppositions zone so that line changes can take place, hustles from the time he is on the ice till he takes himself off (even early) if he is tired, goes into the corners no matter how much punishment may be waiting for him to fight for the puck, etc... The TEAM is supposed to succeed. We talk about "team players" in every aspect of the business world yet we can't teach this in our hockey programs?

Will get off the soap box. Every team has these types of players and we should celebrate THEIR contributions.........!!

[northern_guy]

just like highschool football....the lineman are needed to get the job done but its the quarterback who gets to sleep with the prom queen lol. if you want to be a grinder get used to not getting the recognition.

[DekeDangler]

inthestands and nahc;

Great input!

[nahc]

NG:

Very true however even in highschool, the o linemen are recognized via all-conference, all-metro, and all-state. The hockey grinders get zip except the knowledge from their team that they truly are the guts of the team..........

[inthestands]

An uneducated fan base, along with unrealistic parent groups all too often take the fun out of high school sports for their kids.

Every fan/parent that has spent sleepless nights worrying about playing time, been red faced beating on the glass mad at an official, or berrated your player after what you feel is a poor game showing, need to take a step back... Then refocus on what's most important for your family and child.

When it comes right down to it, just about everything that makes "us" mad would have very little impact on the kids if we acted appropriately and supported the proper veiws..

[nahc]

inthestands:

"Acting appropriately". If that means no banging on the glass and swearing at players/officials, I agree. If that means sitting on your hands and being quiet as a mouse at games, I totally disagree. Cheering, etc at games is part of the experience!! The "grudge" games are the best!! People get VERY fired up and are loud!!!! If a team is playing bad, let them know........if a team is playing well, let them know.........if a ref makes a bad call let them know...........if the refs make a bunch of good calls/no calls, there should be a cheer for that too!!! Lets not take the fun out of attending a game!! I would much prefer teams saying that they HATE going to a particular arena because the fans are so roudy, loud, and LVOE their home team rather than going to arenas that are like churches during the week..........

Lets get the hometown bases back in the game!!!!!!!!

[inthestands]

Not at all nahc..

That means being just a bit educated in the manner in which we complain.. Cheering, jeering, clapping, yelling is all good..

BUT, when the stands are filled with people bitching and complaining about this that and the other thing, it takes the fun out of attending for some. "me"

Root for your team, let the opponents know who you want to win, but at the end of the day tell your player you're proud of them for their effort.. Too often our kids hear how they got screwed by the officials or coaches or something else.. Might as well prepare them for the real world.. It certainly isn't MTV after high school is done.

[urban iceman]

inthestands:

"Acting appropriately". If that means no banging on the glass and swearing at players/officials, I agree. If that means sitting on your hands and being quiet as a mouse at games, I totally disagree. Cheering, etc at games is part of the experience!! The "grudge" games are the best!! People get VERY fired up and are loud!!!! If a team is playing bad, let them know........if a team is playing well, let them know.........if a ref makes a bad call let them know...........if the refs make a bunch of good calls/no calls, there should be a cheer for that too!!! Lets not take the fun out of attending a game!! I would much prefer teams saying that they HATE going to a particular arena because the fans are so roudy, loud, and LVOE their home team rather than going to arenas that are like churches during the week..........

Lets get the hometown bases back in the game!!!!!!!!

'And the silence you hear"... At some schools it has to do with some school admin.'s aka- AD and AD's secreatary, who tell the fans, ( mostly the students) to sit down and shut up during the games so not to "offend'opposing teams and their fans. It's really sad for the players!!

[DekeDangler]

[quote="inthestands"]Not at all nahc..

That means being just a bit educated in the manner in which we complain.. Cheering, jeering, clapping, yelling is all good..

BUT, when the stands are filled with people bitching and complaining about this that and the other thing, it takes the fun out of attending for some. "me"

Root for your team, let the opponents know who you want to win, but at the end of the day tell your player you're proud of them for their effort.. Too often our kids hear how they got screwed by the officials or coaches or something else.. Might as well prepare them for the real world.. It certainly isn't MTV after high school is done.[/quote]



I get your point and it's important to inforce the positive. I'm sure we can all agree that the real world isn't that kind. To simply say "you're proud of their effort" will not prepare them for the real world. I believe it is our job to model how to have a voice and respectfully address the things that we don't agree with. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said "That means being just a bit educated in the manner in which we complain". Some will succeed at this while others will not. We can only hope that we succeed while fighting for the kids and they learn something along the way. That's how this original thread came to be. Some concerned parents were upset and were looking for a way to vent and find answers. Unfortunately, the complexity of their issue is a little more than some can handle and address in a civil manner.

[bestpopcorn]

Think about the chirping at the refs that you hear around you. How much of it is based on a solid understanding of the rules? Do you shout at the ref when he makes a call that you consider bad against YOUR team?

Most of the stuff I hear is bogus BS. None of what I hear is of any value.

[bestpopcorn]

The biggest problem I see with hockey (Parents?) is that it is all about how much my child plays. Every skater needs to play "up" a level and of course all should be first line Varsity skaters. There are some very good "Teams" out there this year........but continually see players who really can't compete at the varsity level and are not team players......yet the coaches play these kids. Is it because of parenteral relationships with the coaches? Not sure but this seems to be a hughe challenge with many programs. And have no idea how to resolve the issue. Hockey is supposed to be a team sport yet I don't see any posts about the young man who plays his heart out, does all the little things like getting the puck our of the defensive zone under pressure, gets the puck deep in the oppositions zone so that line changes can take place, hustles from the time he is on the ice till he takes himself off (even early) if he is tired, goes into the corners no matter how much punishment may be waiting for him to fight for the puck, etc... The TEAM is supposed to succeed. We talk about "team players" in every aspect of the business world yet we can't teach this in our hockey programs?

Will get off the soap box. Every team has these types of players and we should celebrate THEIR contributions.........!!

In a close contest the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins. Johnny Superstar can't possibly understand the cost of that turnover at the blue line that is of result of him trying one more time to dangle it into the zone instead of dumping the puck. Or, maybe he doesn't care...maybe he was just looking for one more point in his column. Maybe his Dad was screaming "skate it!!!" from the stands.