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99% of what I read is geared towards AA school. Makes me feel like the redheaded step child.

KatoDad wrote:99% of what I read is geared towards AA school. Makes me feel like the redheaded step child.

The answer is a resounding YES! Many good college players come from 1A. More than that, is many good people come from 1A schools. Many of us have lived in larger cities, including the Twin Cities. Life here is so much better (stress levels, crime, noise, pollution, etc...) We need to support our programs from youth on up. Sports are a great outlet for our kids. Hope that answers your question. If you have anything to add..feel free to post it. Hope West kicks butt in their section. Look forward to seeing them next year a few times.

KatoDad wrote:99% of what I read is geared towards AA school. Makes me feel like the redheaded step child.

A rocks !!
West is a great team [AL just had their number this year].
Good luck in the Sections
T

It's a forum. Post stuff about the class A and it will get responded to. It is not a matter of caring more or less. The AA folks have just been more verbal. But I would also remind you that Roseau, Warroad, Alex are all class A teams. They have gotten lotsa love on here.

There are a handful of 1A teams that are certainly competitive with the top 2A teams.

Who do you see as section champs (besides Mankato) in 1A.
Does Wilmar have a chance with NP?
Can Blake do it?

KatoDad wrote:Who do you see as section champs (besides Mankato) in 1A.
Does Wilmar have a chance with NP?
Can Blake do it?

My best guesses are:

Blake has an excellent chance to repeat - IF they can get by Breck, which won't be easy.

This could be Alexandra's year!

Roseau or Warroad, whichever one makes it, could also go all the way. But whichever one makes it, they would have to beat Alex in the semi's, which is sure to be a great game.

Beyond these, I think everyone else has to be considered an underdog, at this point.

New Prague should be able to beat Willmar, but who is to say?
Mankato West should be able to beat Hutchinson too, but its never a done deal when 2 teams that have never met play.

If New Prague and West win their semi-final games I dont know who the stronger team will be in the finals. Would be an exciting game.

As to the thread's original question, I think the reasons why AA gets more publicity are:

1. They are bigger schools, and there are more of them, so they naturally have bigger followings.

2. Any A-sized school can choose to move up to AA, and some of the better ones (like Hill-Murray, BSM and Holy Angels) have chosen to take this route. This tends to dilute the number of Class A teams that can be considered to be amongst the state's best teams.

3. This leaves ony a handful of A teams - maybe a half-dozen - that you can honestly say can compete with the top AA teams. In the AA Top 20, there is way more balance than in the Class A top 20. Having better balance creates more excitement and therefore more "buzz".

4. Getting into and then winning the Class A State Championship is absolutely fantastic, but there is always that lingering doubt as to whether or not they are really the State's best. If you win AA, the presumption is that you probably ARE the State's best.

I don't mean in any way to diminish Class A, but that's my honest and best explanation of why most of the focus is on Class AA. It's the same thing with the boys. This year if you were to see the Roseau boys make the tournament and end up playing Edina for the Class AA Championship, then you will see a LOT of excitement and buzz.

New Prague will definately beat Willmar..

MNHockeyFan wrote:As to the thread's original question, I think the reasons why AA gets more publicity are:

1. They are bigger schools, and there are more of them, so they naturally have bigger followings.

2. Any A-sized school can choose to move up to AA, and some of the better ones (like Hill-Murray, BSM and Holy Angels) have chosen to take this route. This tends to dilute the number of Class A teams that can be considered to be amongst the state's best teams.

3. This leaves ony a handful of A teams - maybe a half-dozen - that you can honestly say can compete with the top AA teams. In the AA Top 20, there is way more balance than in the Class A top 20. Having better balance creates more excitement and therefore more "buzz".

4. Getting into and then winning the Class A State Championship is absolutely fantastic, but there is always that lingering doubt as to whether or not they are really the State's best. If you win AA, the presumption is that you probably ARE the State's best.

I don't mean in any way to diminish Class A, but that's my honest and best explanation of why most of the focus is on Class AA. It's the same thing with the boys. This year if you were to see the Roseau boys make the tournament and end up playing Edina for the Class AA Championship, then you will see a LOT of excitement and buzz.

I see nothing in this (4)pt. opinion that has anything to do with "caring about A Girls Hockey, which was the question. I personally "care" about 1A Hockey, it is exciting and has the same buzz(er) that ends all games.

The use of Old Rhetorical phrases from past when trying to explain your reasoning is quite diluting. The use of certain terminology shows little caring about A hockey at all. Comparing the Top 20 in A to the Top 20 in AA - Absurd and Ignorant. This leaves only a handful of A teams (only 5, OK maybe 6 in the state) that can compete against top (how many) AA teams. Let us not diminish from the exciting balance, nor linger away from the doubt that the persumption is in my opinion and best explanation for nothing important stated.

All Girls High School Hockey is Great and Exciting! Let us draw No Borders, it is a Game to watch and excitment in an opinion.

Good Luck to All Section Teams and Finalists. A and AA

Teams voluntarily moving up to AA dilute what's left at A?
The three teams you mentioned are all private schools that are a mecca for high talent kids (or the ones with the most resources.)

1A is about the small towns or schools playing hockey competitively with the other small towns or schools on an even playing field. Even some of the small northern towns have a drawing power (however it happens) that give them concentrated talent that rival AA. But for the towns or schools that don't, it doesnt mean they don't have kids (individual skaters or goalies) that are as good as AA.
And they are often overlooked. Perhaps because their SOS means that those looking don't know if they could play as effectively at AA, or more likely even that those evaluating for things like Ms. Hockey, Ms. Goalie simply don't get to enough games as the 1A level to feel comfortable to put their name forward?

In any case, 1 girl from 1A out of 10 finalists for Ms. Hockey was disappointing. Also only goalies from top teams were named for Ms. Goalie. So Hunter apparently had no shot on that basis. Not good.

ice29 wrote:I see nothing in this (4)pt. opinion that has anything to do with "caring about A Girls Hockey, which was the question. I personally "care" about 1A Hockey, it is exciting and has the same buzz(er) that ends all games.

In the original post KatoDad said, "99% of what I read is geared towards AA school" and he wanted to know why this is the case. In response I just listed four of the reasons why I think MOST of what we read is on AA schools. Feel free to disagree, I was just offering my opinions.

A 5th reason may be that this State's two biggest newspapers are located in the Twin Cities, and most of the teams here are in Class AA. So it's only natural that they write more about AA because that's where most of their audience is. It's not that people don't "care" about Class A hockey, it's that there are more people that follow AA than A, at least in the Twin Cities where most of the State's population lives. If you live in Alexandria, Crookston, Warroad, Roseau, etc. then I'm sure your local paper writes more about the local team than say, an Eden Prairie or a Roseville, and that the people living there care more about their team than other AA teams.

ice29 wrote:All Girls High School Hockey is Great and Exciting! Let us draw No Borders, it is a Game to watch and excitment in an opinion.

Sorry but I do not agree that all girls high school hockey is Great and Exciting. Nor do I think all boys high school hockey or all youth-level hockey is Great and Exciting. In order for any hockey game to be exciting, both teams need to have a fair amount of skill (skating, passing, stickhandling and shooting skills) and they also need to reasonably close, skill-wise, so that you're not sure who's going to win before the game starts. Watching two teams (AA or A, girls or boys) that don't have some level of skill or don't match up well just isn't exciting to me (blowout games are not much fun either).

We can all have our different opinions on this, but I suspect most would agree that not all hockey games are created equal, and some games are a lot more fun (exciting) to watch than others. If they are fun games people are just going to "care" more about them, it's as simple as that.

On the other hand, some class A players can rack up some monster points in comparison to kids playing in pure AA metro conferences, leading to a all-state selections depending on who is selecting.

The problem with A is, you have teams that are so dominant it isn't even funny. Too bad they can't move to AA based on domanance of a team. Blake and Breck should be AA. It is boring to watch these domanant teams massacre everyone else.

ice29 wrote: I see nothing in this (4)pt. opinion that has anything to do with "caring about A Girls Hockey, which was the question. I personally "care" about 1A Hockey, it is exciting and has the same buzz(er) that ends all games.

The use of Old Rhetorical phrases from past when trying to explain your reasoning is quite diluting. The use of certain terminology shows little caring about A hockey at all. Comparing the Top 20 in A to the Top 20 in AA - Absurd and Ignorant. This leaves only a handful of A teams (only 5, OK maybe 6 in the state) that can compete against top (how many) AA teams. Let us not diminish from the exciting balance, nor linger away from the doubt that the persumption is in my opinion and best explanation for nothing important stated.

All Girls High School Hockey is Great and Exciting! Let us draw No Borders, it is a Game to watch and excitment in an opinion.

Good Luck to All Section Teams and Finalists. A and AA

I'm going to come to the defense of MNHockeyFan here, though he scarcely needs my help...

Why the hostility ice29? I think MNHockeyFan responded to the post with a reasonable rationale as to why the AA programs might attract more interest and commentary. I don't think he should characterized as "not caring" about class A by trying to offer some insight. That's completely unfair. MNHockeyFan spend a great deal of time posting to this forum including collecting and updating scores for both classes, and also makes most of the coherent comments about girls high school hockey in general. In the void left by GHSHockey's absence, MNHF has become a caretaker in this forum and in that sense "cares" deeply about the girls game, no matter what class. I also agree with him that not all girls hockey is "great and exciting". That is quite absurd. And that's my opinion. Now, enough about that.

Many class A teams are well represented in the forum in a number of ongoing threads including the legendary 1A gang and a group from 8A that seems very energized this year as that section has heated up. Competition breeds interest both here and in the media. I see few AA fans carry on with the consistent exchange these threads have going, and that's because they have rivalries and a competitive balance within their conferences and sections. Also, just as with Roseau with the boys, I admire the 1A teams that can compete with the 2A teams. Strength comes and goes with the smaller programs, but there's no reason it can't be celebrated when a Warroad team ties Eden Prairie. Personally I would love to see a game between the A and AA champs after the tourney.

The fact we bother to read and post at all indicates most everyone here cares about girls hockey in general and will acknowledge great teams, highly skilled players, heroic performances, and great rivalries. All of us here are passionate about our own teams, some are about their conference and/or section rivalries, and a few are about the game as a whole. Not everyone can take in a game in Silver Bay, Warroad, Marshall or Albert Lea, but I for one do try to make an effort to see a number of outstate teams when they come in for the holiday tournaments. Only when I have seen a team play do I feel I might have something worthwhile to contribute to a thread, and I'm sure that's the case for many others.

If topics don't have enough class A interest, please feel free to bring it on.

bigred wrote:The problem with A is, you have teams that are so dominant it isn't even funny. Too bad they can't move to AA based on domanance of a team. Blake and Breck should be AA. It is boring to watch these domanant teams massacre everyone else.

I think the Alexandria folks, among others, might have a response to your statement

bigred wrote:The problem with A is, you have teams that are so dominant it isn't even funny. Too bad they can't move to AA based on domanance of a team. Blake and Breck should be AA. It is boring to watch these domanant teams massacre everyone else.

As you may recall, Alexandria shut out Breck, which is what I think keepitreal is referring to. IMO being classed as A or AA based on dominance of a team isn't even close to a common sense way of doing it. Perhaps in the foreseeable future we can go to a 3-class tier so that the REALLY small towns can compete with competition closer to their available player's skill levels. However, in outstate MN there is always the distance factor between towns for competition.

Having said that, I believe it is quite possible for any team to compete at any level if they have and take the opportunity to advance their skills. I don't think you'll see a 'Darwitz-type' coach in Wadena/Deer Creek, so the players have to go to where they will get the training. We certainly see players of all ages from all over at our Alexandria camps. Alexandria is a dominant team right now because our senior girls started playing with the boys when they were very young and a girls' team wasn't available. They were fortunate to receive excellent coaching. They have also made the effort to play on spring/summer/fall teams, and improve their skills on and off the ice. If that much effort was put in to place by a smaller school team they could make the competition much more interesting. I think we'll see closer competition between teams now that the younger players have all been playing the same amount of time year-wise.

keepitreal wrote:I think the Alexandria folks, among others, might have a response to your statement

I certainly can't/don't speak for the Alexandria players, coaches, or other fans. And I'm sure they appreciate me adding that!

As PondHockey notes, with the maturation of the girls sport, we will continue to see groups of players constituting the core of their HS team as they come through the ranks. Most often in the smaller schools it's a result of a group of dedicated coaches and parents who helped develop these pools of players at the youth level, and when they reach high school can emerge into a class power. If programs can keep the ball rolling it can become a tradition, though this is difficult if numbers drop or key coaches or advocates leave the girls youth program when their daughters move to the HS team.

While a three-class system for girls hockey will probably never happen, I will say that when class A powers emerge, they frequently seek out opportunities to test themselves against the better class AA teams and tend to be very competitive. Like Roseau in boys, it can be a great story.

Just as quickly, many teams coming off a strong run will often fall off the radar for a while, and this is especially true among the class A teams whose fortunes rise and fall very quickly compared to the AA schools. If for no other reason than numbers, success in class A can be very cycular and often tied two a couple of star players and a small supporting cast.

pondhockey wrote:

bigred wrote:The problem with A is, you have teams that are so dominant it isn't even funny. Too bad they can't move to AA based on domanance of a team. Blake and Breck should be AA. It is boring to watch these domanant teams massacre everyone else.

As you may recall, Alexandria shut out Breck, which is what I think keepitreal is referring to.

Warroad played Blake tough too as I recall. The only people who sell these teams short are ones who haven't seen them play. Alexandria alone has three seniors who are among the state elite in both classes. Virtually every other top class A team has a couple of players who also compare very favorably to the best of the AA schools, the only thing these teams lack is the 2nd and 3rd line depth.

Awesome exchange of ideas and comments; question do you see many under classmen playing on AA schools? I’m referring to 7th & 8th graders? What if she was an exception or a prodigy, would the AA coaches leave her at the youth level? We have no JV, no U14 in Kato. We ended up with three 7th graders on this year’s roster of which 2 have logged ice time and done very well. Does AA school need to steal from the U14’s?

KatoDad wrote:Awesome exchange of ideas and comments; question do you see many under classmen playing on AA schools? I’m referring to 7th & 8th graders? What if she was an exception or a prodigy, would the AA coaches leave her at the youth level? We have no JV, no U14 in Kato. We ended up with three 7th graders on this year’s roster of which 2 have logged ice time and done very well. Does AA school need to steal from the U14’s?

It depends. Hockey hotbeds like Edina and White Bear have multiple U14 teams plus a JV team. Other AA schools and associations must choose between hosting U14 and JV, co-op with other associations at U14, or run with a small JV squad and supplement with a swing line from varsity.

As for the prodigy, it all depends on the coach's philosophy and team situation, as well as the maturity of the player and the decision of the parents to put their 7th or 8th grader in a locker room with 18 year olds. There have been many young players who have excelled and every year there are a number of 9th and even 8th graders who are leading their teams in scoring. In a town like Mankato, I'm sure there is an annual debate dependent on numbers as to what's best to do with the players coming out of U12.

defently not., the better competition is in class AA

It's a simple yes. AA just gets more limelight because there are so many girls to choose from to make hockey teams. A is smaller. They work with limited player rotation so they work with what they have. They both play the same sport; hockey. They put on pads, they get dressed the same way as AA.