Advanced 15's

[Gopher04]

I'll admit that I don't know a whole lot about the Advanced 15 process, but things seem a little out of whack here. I'm by no means bashing anyone, and the girls that made it congratulations to each and every one of you, and good luck the rest of the way! I just don't understand the disparity between Districts. D5 finished last in the 8 team tournament, but they placed 16 players on the Advanced 15 Final 102? District 1, although in the 4 team tournie but won it, placed the lowest amount of players on the team (3)? I'm not sure what these young ladies were critiqued on during the games, but I somehow don't understand how the 7th, 8th, or 9th, forward on any team can be that much better than a 2,3,or 4 on another team. Why not spread the wealth a little bit, or just take the whole team from D5 and be done with it? What about D11? Every other District had at least 1 "D" taken except for them....does that make sense when some had 5 or 6 taken? Can someone help me understand what I may be missing or don't understand?

[capitalist]

I don't think you're missing anything and you make some great points and suggestions. I'll also try to be diplomatic, but......
I don't have a relative in this age-group, but I did watch some games. And yes, the D5 situation is mystifying. And yes, the D1 situation is also. A girl I know who is not a '95 but plays with and against many of the girls in this tournament, said that some of the selections and omissions were an 'outrage'. I don't think USA or Minnesota hockey gives much of a damn about the bottom half--they just want to make sure the evaluators get the top 25 or so and then they can quit paying attention.

[hockeya1a]

I'll admit that I don't know a whole lot about the Advanced 15 process, but things seem a little out of whack here. I'm by no means bashing anyone, and the girls that made it congratulations to each and every one of you, and good luck the rest of the way! I just don't understand the disparity between Districts. D5 finished last in the 8 team tournament, but they placed 16 players on the Advanced 15 Final 102? District 1, although in the 4 team tournie but won it, placed the lowest amount of players on the team (3)? I'm not sure what these young ladies were critiqued on during the games, but I somehow don't understand how the 7th, 8th, or 9th, forward on any team can be that much better than a 2,3,or 4 on another team. Why not spread the wealth a little bit, or just take the whole team from D5 and be done with it? What about D11? Every other District had at least 1 "D" taken except for them....does that make sense when some had 5 or 6 taken? Can someone help me understand what I may be missing or don't understand?

This has happened in previous years too, where the team that can dominate wins the whole thing and they only have 3-4 girls go on. and the team that takes 5th or 6th sends 13 or more. I believe the problem lies in the fact that it is the coaches that do the choosing, they choose who they are comfortable with or a particular name that is attached to the player or your you scratch mine and Ill scratch yours type of thing. It can be pretty obvious with some of the choices that are made. I know that it is always easy to choose the top and the bottom girls but the ones in between are a bit more difficult and I think that is where you get more of the comfort pick.

[MNHockeyFan]

This has happened in previous years too, where the team that can dominate wins the whole thing and they only have 3-4 girls go on. and the team that takes 5th or 6th sends 13 or more. I believe the problem lies in the fact that it is the coaches that do the choosing, they choose who they are comfortable with or a particular name that is attached to the player or your you scratch mine and Ill scratch yours type of thing. It can be pretty obvious with some of the choices that are made. I know that it is always easy to choose the top and the bottom girls but the ones in between are a bit more difficult and I think that is where you get more of the comfort pick.

I always thought that in these tryout situations the evaluators will inevitably favor the players who "stand out" as individuals at the expense of kids who know how to play more of a team game. In the process the evaluators will tend to overlook the "little things" that some players just know how to do to help their team win, especially defensively. If one team has more than its share of this kind of player, they may win most of their games but have their players overlooked.

Unfortunately, it's all about the individual.

[Silent But Deadly]

I'll admit that I don't know a whole lot about the Advanced 15 process, but things seem a little out of whack here. I'm by no means bashing anyone, and the girls that made it congratulations to each and every one of you, and good luck the rest of the way! I just don't understand the disparity between Districts. D5 finished last in the 8 team tournament, but they placed 16 players on the Advanced 15 Final 102? District 1, although in the 4 team tournie but won it, placed the lowest amount of players on the team (3)? I'm not sure what these young ladies were critiqued on during the games, but I somehow don't understand how the 7th, 8th, or 9th, forward on any team can be that much better than a 2,3,or 4 on another team. Why not spread the wealth a little bit, or just take the whole team from D5 and be done with it? What about D11? Every other District had at least 1 "D" taken except for them....does that make sense when some had 5 or 6 taken? Can someone help me understand what I may be missing or don't understand?

Nah....this was totally a make-up call. Last year D5 only got 2 players into the Advanced 15 Final 102!

[OntheEdge]

This has happened in previous years too, where the team that can dominate wins the whole thing and they only have 3-4 girls go on. and the team that takes 5th or 6th sends 13 or more. I believe the problem lies in the fact that it is the coaches that do the choosing, they choose who they are comfortable with or a particular name that is attached to the player or your you scratch mine and Ill scratch yours type of thing. It can be pretty obvious with some of the choices that are made. I know that it is always easy to choose the top and the bottom girls but the ones in between are a bit more difficult and I think that is where you get more of the comfort pick.

I always thought that in these tryout situations the evaluators will inevitably favor the players who "stand out" as individuals at the expense of kids who know how to play more of a team game. In the process the evaluators will tend to overlook the "little things" that some players just know how to do to help their team win, especially defensively. If one team has more than its share of this kind of player, they may win most of their games but have their players overlooked.

Unfortunately, it's all about the individual.

Good post MNHockeyFan. I agree. I don't know the evaluators but from what I've observed it seems to me that its all about the individual and the individual factors such as (first and foremost) an overall skill set, past reputation (sometimes in spite of a lousy tryout players with big reputations get picked anyway), size (i.e. everything else being equal, size does matter), where you are from (for regional parity), etc. And as with anything in life, this process has some politics. If you have watched NDP long enough you know winning and losing only matters to the parents. The evaluators could care less.

[Cobber]

The 24 teams that participated in 14U, A, and AA state tournaments only 16 of the 102 girls participated in state tournaments.

[OntheEdge]

The 24 teams that participated in 14U, A, and AA state tournaments only 16 of the 102 girls participated in state tournaments.

That makes sense to me since I think the majority of the 102 would have played either JV or Varsity hockey. There are very few schools with big enough programs (i.e. like Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata, etc.) that can avoid taking eighth and ninth graders at the JV/Varsity. Most other schools need to take their best players from the younger levels (7th-9th grade).

[Cobber]

The 16 of the 102 that played in the state tournaments 5 played in the 14u state tournamnent and 11 played in the high school state tournament.

[joehockey]

As a parent with a daughter through the process and graduating HS in 2 weeks......a little perspective -

1) Enjoy every event - if you take that approach your daughter will enjoy and play better
2) Don't sweat each outcome - if your player loves the game and works hard they will do well. Here is an example of the right focuse - as a U16 Bethany Brausen was not selected to National Camp (she was as a U15 & U17) - she was MS Hockey, and the only two time Prep Female Hockey Player of the Year by the Pioneer Press - she was signed early by MN and will be a Great Golden Gopher because she loves the game.
3) The best players today will not be the best players by the time they are seniors - injuries, jobs, school, boys, growth, strength - will all determine the outcomes - it is tough to train and stay at the top and the girls do make sacrifices.
4) Parents determine Youth Hockey - they fall off at HS, U15, U16, U17, and the Upper Midwest Fall Elite League - apply your focus on helping your daughter be her best.

Have fun the ride goes by in a BLINK!