HighSchoolHockeyForums.com

Re-enroll Jeff Taffe and Dan Welch. If he cannot do that, I'm sure Al Secord(sucks) would suggest stepping down.

AY

As iv'e stated before i could care less if Hastings wins or loses. I'm not from there. But i do have friends with children in the program. I understand their frustration. Before you state your opinion, put yourself in the shoes of the good fans of Hastings. There hands are tied. The A.D seems to lack the biscuts nessessary to do a good job. Hastings is a nice commmunity. Their passionate about their hockey. When Mr Welch took over down there in the 90's they happend to have 1 superior class of kids. 4-5 kids went on to play D-1 hockey including his son i believe. They had A pro football player and a Pro baseball player in this group. At least 2 of those kids came from other communities. A group of kids like this comes along every 25 year's maybe. He still couldn't win a championsip...He's done nothing since than including no nurturing of the youth program. Thus the lack of talent at the youth level as Mr. Rocket man from Roch. stated earlier. I have never Bashed Russ Welch the MAN. I'm sure he's a great guy. But Russ Welch the COACH needs to get out. I've seen this scenerio before. I don't buy that he's passionate. If he were passionate and really cared about the future of his program he would spend more time working with the youth program so when they get to HS they had the skills needed to compete. He could care less at this point. His kids are gone now it's about the $/Pension.

Hastings still has its in-house program, which is down to only 5 teams. They have decided to have a full time A squirt team, which in my opinion is not the way to go. The reason being is simple, your taking for the most part the best coaches from the squirt program and putting them on one team. Now instead of the coaches being distributed throughout the program and working towards one common goal "To make the kids better" there making one team better. We all know that kids peak at different levels, so the kids in the in-house program might be the ones filling roster spots at the high school level.

When Hastings made its run they had a well developed mini-mite program all way up to the in-house program. Russ tried working with the board to keep it going in the same direction, but they didn't want to hear it, They thought there way was better.

In my opinion there is three things working against Hastings, 1) The numbers are down, 2) They are going through a cycle that plagues every community, and 3) To much ORGANIZATION.

Russ Welch will be the first one to tell you that todays hockey players are one-hour hockey players. If you don't tell them where to be, what time to be there, and what to do when they get there, they want nothing to do with it.

If kids don't want to go out and do it on there own, no coaches, no whistles, just good old fashion pond hockey, they sure the hell aren't going to go out and work there tail off for some coach, regardless of who he is.

Tuffy although you make some very good points, are we to believe Hastings is the only community with 1 hour hockey players. How in the world do you lose 23 games in a row?? Is that too all the players problem?
When is coach Welch going to stand up and take at least a some of the blame? This is HIS program. He has allowed HIS program to crumble.

Tuffy04 wrote:Hastings still has its in-house program, which is down to only 5 teams. They have decided to have a full time A squirt team, which in my opinion is not the way to go. The reason being is simple, your taking for the most part the best coaches from the squirt program and putting them on one team. Now instead of the coaches being distributed throughout the program and working towards one common goal "To make the kids better" there making one team better. We all know that kids peak at different levels, so the kids in the in-house program might be the ones filling roster spots at the high school

Would this not also be the case in all other communities that have these teams. Why does it work for them? Or maybe it does'nt.

Just got done breastfeeding..................... AL(sucks)SECORD name 1 coach that has taken an "average team" anywhere? Maybe it's Curt Giles this year that Edina team is pretty average or maybe Centennial, Hill maybe, how about Roseau way average there.