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He put those numbers up in the crappy lake conference.

Must have been the coaching.

Lets focus on Lakeville North kids. Bringing Lakeville South kids opens up a whole new conversation.

[quote="stumeat"]Below is a list of lakeville players who moved on to different modes of development prior to attending the lakeville public high schools. The reasons for their defection I am sure are as diverse as the list itself, but I am confident each would agree that the high schools in lakeville did not meet their hockey development wants/needs. It is a massive list, off the top of my head. Please feel free to add


But lets look at the list...How many of them left for their parents were living the dream...They are better than they are?

So, before we slam the coach...perhaps we should analyze this list and rate the parents mentallity....
If we are going to rate the coach...perhaps we should rate the parents realistic mentallity on their kids ability? Hmm...

LHS(one school) Matt Laatsch USHL
LS Jordan Schroeder STA
LS AJ Reid STA
LS Zach Schroeder STA
LS Matt Kroska STA
LS Matt McNeely STA
LS JP Graveline STA
LS Kyle Osterberg NTDP
LS Clint Lewis Shattuck
LS John Haeg AHA
LS Tony Haeg AHA
LS Will Reedy Prior Lake
LS Adam Peterson STA
LS Eric Peterson STA
LN Aaron Crandall STA
LN Jon Schreiner STA
LN Tony Mergens STA
LN Justin Crandall STA
LN Brady Skjei NTDP
LN Nate Arentz USHL
LN Bryan Brutlag AHA
LN Charlie Lindgren USHL
LN Andrew Lindgren Eagan
LN Matt Perry STA
LN Will Dupont AHA

OK, Brady Skjie...I'll take a team full of slightly better than average players like that.

keepyourheadup wrote:He put those numbers up in the crappy lake conference.

The bottom 5 teams that year had a combined record of 17 wins and 68 loses. It was a crappy lake conference!

Good lord, what do you suppose the records added up to for the top 5 teams? If I'm not mistaken both EP and Jefferson spent most of the year in the top 5, joined by Burnsville, Apple Valley and Eagan in the top 20. Wow, what a crappy conference!

keepyourheadup wrote:Good lord, what do you suppose the records added up to for the top 5 teams? If I'm not mistaken both EP and Jefferson spent most of the year in the top 5, joined by Burnsville, Apple Valley and Eagan in the top 20. Wow, what a crappy conference!

Not saying those teams were bad(68-20), but when you have 9 games against 5 horrible teams you are going to put up some big numbers. Not the kids fault they play those teams.

Nope its not, so you can only judge the numbers against those that played in the same conference and I think you'll find he did a little better than above average.

Stumeat,

Matt Laatsch never played any hockey for lakeville. He grew up playing in the burnsville youth program and started going to STA as an 8th grader I believe. He played hockey there his freshman and sophomore yrs and then left for the USHL.

Keepyourheadup, my point is even BEFORE the split when it was just one school, his teams always played like that: one or two guys that could flat out play, a goalie who would always stand on his head, then an entire team of confused players who don't know the game.

Fair enough, I didn't see them much in those days.

I must admit I do agree with a lot of what is being said. Randy has been on the hot seat for a long time with parents and players a very long time.(Sats1981) Maybe it was finally time for Lakeville to move in a different direction. However, the rumors regarding how his coaching career was terminated is beyond me. After all he did bring his team into state for the last 2 years (regardless of how weak the section is). Lakeville south was a much better overall team in both section final games, but North seemed to find a way to pull it off on both occasions. (largely due to great goaltending and a coach the road his kids to the ground).

Regardless of other examples of parent player coaches, I do side again with sats. most of the examples were kids that were studs and this is not the case in Lakeville. whether your a forward coach or defense coach, there is always going to be some bias.. And from my perspective you can only judge people based on previous experiences/attitudes. and well, players related to the coaching staff did/are getting opportunities that no other player would ever even get a sniff of... if you want more examples let me know...

and right in the early 2000's players were ready to terminate the season if Randy did not step down... My question is why the heck did it not happen then.. That would have been reasonable cause to terminate a coach. In addition, the boldness of that group of kids is unparallel to any group of kids that came after them.. and if they felt like giving up their season and so many other feel that Randy is incapable, then maybe its time to end his career.. but let him go out with a little dignity, like letting him finish one more season javascript:emoticon(':oops:')

I think you guys are funny. You talk like it’s the NHL or something. These aren’t professional coaches, and the smart ones don’t pretend to be. For the most part, they are teachers. That’s what they do for a living and it’s a good thing. They’re dealing with children (of ALL ages!). A H.S. coach should never be “in the hot seat” because he “can’t win the big one”. We’re talking about kids playing a game!

Think about it. High School sports did not come into existence to be a feeder program for anyone. They don’t pay out bonuses to the kids who win the AA tourney. 85% of the players in the state won’t move on to anything other than pick-up games. The MSHSL exists for far more than the few “elite” players that some of you seem so worried about. Thank God for the coaches who get that! Schmitz, Rutt, & Weber are three of them. And why should anyone expect they will always agree with a coach’s decisions or methods or strategies? It’s impossible to find four hockey dads in one rink that agree on anything! (not taking into account the case of the loudest of the four, who only hears himself talking and just thinks everyone else agrees with him). These three coaches like the kids. They like the game. They do their best and they play to win. It’s a fair amount of work and they don’t get much for it. It doesn’t seem reasonable, to me, to expect anything more.

A.D.s need to listen, they have a job to do, but generally they should have the coach’s back. It should be very hard to displace a coach. The transgression has to be serious. There has to be a process more thorough and formal than a group of kids or their parents “complaining” to the A.D. I don’t know anything about the particulars here, but even if a change was in order, it sounds like it was handled poorly. That’s disappointing.

Finally, anyone who can’t see that Kyle would have been a stud, on ANY team, in ANY conference in the state is nuts.

mulefarm wrote:

keepyourheadup wrote:He put those numbers up in the crappy lake conference.

The bottom 5 teams that year had a combined record of 17 wins and 68 loses. It was a crappy lake conference!

If the Lake Conference was so crappy that year, I'm just curious, were there any conferences that weren't crappy? If so, what were those conferences?

Classic Lake

Well here is what I can see from the last two seasons:
09-10
Regualr season - 8-15-2
Sections - 3-0 (won champ game 5-0)
* Apparently south was supposed to be the better team, oops. *
State tourney - 0-2
* losing to Minnetonka and D. East*

10-11
Regular season - 10-14-1
* Not sure if there were even any studs on the team *
Sections - 3-0
* Apparently south was again the favorite *
State tourney - 2-1
* losing to EP, and than beating Moorhead and WBL *
* Without Arentz and Skeji (sp?) *

This looks like a prime case for parents thinking someone is better for the system because its Ryan Kraft. Why? Because he played for the gophers and in the AHL. So, parents run a guy out at this time of the year. Unbelievable.

I am not from Lakeville, thank god, but I see a coach getting his team prepped and ready to go for the sections.

Did anyone expect anything different from last season? You beat Moorhead and WBL!!

This doesnt surprise me to see what they did with the girls coach. Lakeville parents - Relax and enjoy life!

This isnt your whole life!

Did the coach ever beat a kid? Did he ever use the F*** word out of control? The a, b, and even s word doesnt count. Swearing is actually a funny thing these days, because kids swear around their parents or vice versa more than any coach does. However, the F word should not be used. Was the coach a bad role model? Examples - smelling of booze, drinking at out of town tournaments, smoking in the locker room, doing drugs, criminal record, etc.

mulefarm wrote:Classic Lake

So, only one conference in the state that wasn't crappy? What other conferences were stronger than the lake? Or was every other conference in the state crappy?

Neuuman wrote:

mulefarm wrote:Classic Lake

So, only one conference in the state that wasn't crappy? What other conferences were stronger than the lake? Or was every other conference in the state crappy?

You are right, the lake conference was the strongest conference from top to bottom.

Tigers33 wrote:Well here is what I can see from the last two seasons:
09-10
Regualr season - 8-15-2
Sections - 3-0 (won champ game 5-0)
* Apparently south was supposed to be the better team, oops. *
State tourney - 0-2
* losing to Minnetonka and D. East*

10-11
Regular season - 10-14-1
* Not sure if there were even any studs on the team *
Sections - 3-0
* Apparently south was again the favorite *
State tourney - 2-1
* losing to EP, and than beating Moorhead and WBL *
* Without Arentz and Skeji (sp?) *

This looks like a prime case for parents thinking someone is better for the system because its Ryan Kraft. Why? Because he played for the gophers and in the AHL. So, parents run a guy out at this time of the year. Unbelievable.

I am not from Lakeville, thank god, but I see a coach getting his team prepped and ready to go for the sections.

Did anyone expect anything different from last season? You beat Moorhead and WBL!!

This doesnt surprise me to see what they did with the girls coach. Lakeville parents - Relax and enjoy life!

This isnt your whole life!

Did the coach ever beat a kid? Did he ever use the F*** word out of control? The a, b, and even s word doesnt count. Swearing is actually a funny thing these days, because kids swear around their parents or vice versa more than any coach does. However, the F word should not be used. Was the coach a bad role model? Examples - smelling of booze, drinking at out of town tournaments, smoking in the locker room, doing drugs, criminal record, etc.

Right on

Classic Lake 2009-10
Edina, Minnetonka,Wayzata....good
Hopkins, Armstrong.....?
Every league has their bottom teams. What would those standings have looked like if they had 19 conference games instead of 8.

keepyourheadup wrote:Classic Lake 2009-10
Edina, Minnetonka,Wayzata....good
Hopkins, Armstrong.....?
Every league has their bottom teams. What would those standings have looked like if they had 19 conference games instead of 8.

Unless you wanted to play each other 4-5 games, having 19 conference games wouldn't make sense. The point that was being made, when you play 8-10 games against the bottom teams in the lake, it will definititly increase your point total. Nothing can be done about it because you have to play conference games.

You missed my point, even the mighty Classic lake had lesser teams. Yes, like I said, you can only compare point totals against those that played in the same conference. I think you'll find the player in question was 2nd in the league. Just me, but as a 9th grader that likely qualifies him as slightly better than average.

Sorry all, its seems we got off topic....this is about the coach.

Laatsch lived within the Lakeville school boundries but chose a different route, which is why he is on the list.

Lakeville hockey has been a rudderless, leaderless mess for a long time. From the youth to the high school ranks. That responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of the high school coaches. Lakeville hockey has been, and continues to be a gold mine in terms of talent. However the list will continue to grow until someone, the high school coaches, makes the program compelling enough for the players that they want to stay. The compelling part is the job of the high school coaches. The current coaches have failed miserably in creating this kind of culture in Lakeville.

Mulefarm....I contend that the list is far from "above average" as you state. Unless your definition of above average is playing d1 hockey as many on the list have or will.

Stumeat -

They just beat Moorhead and WBL. What else do you want? Your little kid not play enough? Love him for what he does off the ice, not what happens on the ice.

You people think the high school coach runs everything from the youth on up. Come on. Yes the high school coach should be involved with things, and sit in on things. However, you cant blame a high school coach for a poor youth association. Look to your board members, who you appointed there!

This is high school hockey people. Not the end of the world!