Rochester Youth Hockey. Development 1st.

[Sioux Fan]

Obviously, Hockey has not become an attractive opportunity for a majority of the youth in Rochester. I think that less traveling and more coaching for the mites squirts and 1st year pee wees and more intercity competitions for neighborhood teams may lower costs per player and increase the number of players in the community and increase the chances of good athletes being attracted to hockey.

I think after a sufficient pool of players maybe 300 per each age group are involved you may be able to develop the talent necessary to feed 4 very competitive High School teams.

I don't believe the kids have changed I think the demands of the travel and cost to the individual player is the main difference. I am wondering how and who is looking at making the necessary changes to Rochester Youth Hockey to get the numbers up and the talent level raised.

I think if you only have parents of players and players that are deemed the talented few, little change will occur. I think the High School coaches should get more involved and just have development programs for each High School district. Let them stand on their own. that would currently be the 3 public schools.

I am a firm believer that with hard work and good athletes that hockey can be taught and is not an item that you are born with. I think that if you don't even get the top kids involved you don't get the top athletes.

I think you need to get the top athletes involved or at least a high percentage.

All programs that have success get the talented athletes involved at a early age and give them good coaching and lot's of ice time. This does not require traveling and staying in hotels. I would rather that we look at having open hockey all weekend for the younger players and get them going skating clinics in the fall and summer shooting passing stickhandling skill clinics could be done on weekends at the Graham complex and the kids could be playing hockey all day. Evening Bantam A and Pee Wee A games would follow on Sunday. So the kids could play all morning and afternoon and then they could watch the top kids from thier neighborhoods play on Sunday evenings...

Could have open ice every night of the week in each rink for the different neighborhoods. I think this could be done and equipment exchanged for less economically advantaged players to get a shot to play and if they are good they will be supported all the way thru the program. Fund raisers should be arranged so that the funds will allow all interested kids to play if they work hard and follow the rules.

All I know is that 100 or so bantams is not enough to feed 4 high school teams. Any other ideas or what the current hockey association opinion is as to making hockey an attractive alternative for more young players in rochester particularly the top athletes would be interesting to know about to me.

[Pucknutz69]

100 bantams = 25 per high school. Plus the fact you have 10th, 11th and 12th graders all together that equals 75 per high school. There are a lot of schools that would love to have that many skaters tryout for the team.

[Sioux Fan]

That is not enough for two years worth. JV and HS should have about 20 to 25. That is the total in the whole rochester program A B C's

This will never feed 4 high schools successfully.

[Pucknutz69]

How many moved up from A, B and C level? Also Include your Jr Gold team/teams. Look at the numbers they have enough. You have 3 age groups to pick from.

Or is it just about being successful? Because that is what they are doing with the bantam level, by making just 1 strong A team. Maybe they don't have the program headed in the right direction. Guys worrying about their own kids instead of the development of the whole program.

Coming from a small association looking at Rochester. I see plenty of kids, 4 rinks and enough hockey experiance that success shouldn't be a question of when or why not, but how often. Maybe the players just don't want it bad enough, maybe being away from the cities they don't have the natural rivals. Like White Bear/Roseville, Edina/Eden Prairie, Woodbury/Cottage Grove/Hastings and a few others. They are isolated down there and think they are good even before they step on the ice.