2006 Coaching Vacancies

[ghshockeyfan]

In alphabetical order (order of opening in ())

1 Benilde (9) - Dave Herbst
2 BETSE (25) - TBA (Babbitt-Embarrass/Tower-Soudan/Ely)
3 Bloomington Jefferson (33) - Dave Irvin & Aaron Schram
4 Buffalo (32) - Ray Dahlof
5 Burnsville (3) - Bruce Anderson
6 Chisago Lakes/Pine City (34?) - Jason Mahlen
7 Dodge County Wildcats (12) - TBA
8 Eastview (10) - Herb Harvey
9 Fairmont (20) - Darin Hoefker
10 Fergus Falls (16) - Jim Conrad
11 Henry Sibley (7) - Dave Langevin
12 Holy Family/Waconia (21) - Corey Martin (JV only 1st year, split from Mound-Westonka)
13 International Falls (28.) - Bruce Elson
14 Lakeville South (17) - Perry Wilkinson
15 Mankato East (1) - Nate Fuller
16 Moose Lake (30) - Joe Mohelsky
17 Mounds View (4) - Tom Foley
18 North Metro Stars (22) - Jack Gravel (Park Center/Osseo/Tri-City)
19 Park (23) - Darren Reiter
20 Princeton (5) - Steve Bratulich
21 Prior Lake (15) - Nick Leach
22 Red Wing (19) - Scott Haley
23 Redwood Valley (13) - Blair Wassengeso
24 Robbinsdale Cooper (18.) - Chris Johnson
25 Rochester Century (26) - Dan Maidl (split from Century/JM)
26 Rochester John Marshall (27) - Steve Russell (split from Century/JM)
27 Rogers (29) - TBA
28 Rosemount (8.) - Tracy Engstrom
29 Roseville (14) - Vic Brodt
30 St. Louis Park (2) - Corey Clarks
31 St. Peter/Le Sueur-Henderson (31) - Sarah Moe
32 Thief River Falls (24) - Corey Poole
33 Totino-Grace (11) - Sanya Sandahl
34 Warroad (6) - Derrick Comstock & David Marvin

If this is right 30 of 126 jobs opened this year (23.8%). I don't count the co-op splits/combines & "New Programs". I only count/post verified (MSHSL/District/Team Website/Newspaper posting) positions...

Past years:

2005 = 25 of 122 jobs opened this year (20.5%).
2004 = 21 of 122 jobs opened this year (17.2%).

[ghshockeyfan]

Sounds like Babbitt dropped their team.

[ghshockeyfan]

It appears that Little Falls coach changed this year too... Brad Hubred

[ghshockeyfan]

http://www.startribune.com/332/story/808447.html

[ghshockeyfan]

St. Paul "Saints" (Concordia Academy/St. Agnes/St. Bernards/St. Croix Lutheran) had a coaching change this off-season as well hiring Jeff Hauer.

I'll be updating the list above to reflect all of this soon... There were more changes than I had realized.

[ghshockeyfan]

I believe this is now final - although there may be some outstate coaching changes that I have missed... I don't know when Eveleth changed hands (sometime in the last couple years), and there may be others too...

In alphabetical order (order of opening in ())

1 Benilde (9) - Dave Herbst
2 Bloomington Jefferson (33) - Dave Irvin & Aaron Schram
3 Buffalo (32) - Ray Dahlof
4 Burnsville (3) - Bruce Anderson
5 Chisago Lakes/Pine City (34?) - Jason Mahlen
6 Dodge County Wildcats (12) - Jeremy Gunderson
7 Eastview (10) - Herb Harvey
8 Fairmont (20) - Darin Hoefker
9 Fergus Falls (16) - Jim Conrad
10 Henry Sibley (7) - Dave Langevin
11 Holy Family/Waconia (21) - Corey Martin (JV only 1st year, split from Mound-Westonka)
12 International Falls (28.) - Bruce Elson
13 Lakeville South (17) - Perry Wilkinson
14 Little Falls (??) - Brad Hubred
15 Mankato East (1) - Nate Fuller
16 Moose Lake (30) - Joe Mohelsky
17 Mounds View (4) - Tom Foley
18 North Metro Stars (22) - Jack Gravel (Park Center/Osseo/Tri-City)
19 Park (23) - Darren Reiter
20 Princeton (5) - Steve Bratulich
21 Prior Lake (15) - Nick Leach
22 Red Wing (19) - Scott Haley
23 Redwood Valley (13) - Blair Wassengeso
24 Robbinsdale Cooper (18.) - Chris Johnson
25 Rochester Century (26) - Dan Maidl (split from Century/JM)
26 Rochester John Marshall (27) - Steve Russell (split from Century/JM)
27 Rogers (29) - Dave Hamlin
28 Rosemount (8.) - Tracy Engstrom
29 Roseville (14) - Vic Brodt
30 St. Louis Park (2) - Corey Clarks
31 St. Paul "Saints" (??) - Jeff Hauer (Concordia Academy/St. Agnes/St. Bernards/St. Croix Lutheran)
32 St. Peter/Le Sueur-Henderson (31) - Sarah Moe
33 Thief River Falls (24) - Corey Poole
34 Totino-Grace (11) - Sanya Sandahl
35 Warroad (6) - Derrick Comstock & David Marvin

If this is right 31 of 123 jobs opened this year (25.2%). I don't count the co-op splits/combines & "New Programs". I only count/post verified (MSHSL/District/Team Website/Newspaper posting) positions...

Past years to this year comparison:

2006 = 31 of 123 jobs opened this year (25.2%)
2005 = 25 of 122 jobs opened this year (20.5%).
2004 = 21 of 122 jobs opened this year (17.2%).

[ghshockeyfan]

I've been asked about this enough, so here it is... - Current list of coaches:

TEAM FIRST LAST
Academy of Holy Angels --- Jaime Grossman
Albert Lea --- Steve Falk
Alexandria --- Mitch Loch
Andover --- Tom Maeckelbergh
Anoka --- Pete Hayes
Apple Valley --- Chuck Scanlon
Austin --- Dennis Bray
Bemidji --- Matt Menne
Benilde-St. Margaret's --- Dave Herbst
Blaine --- Steve Guider
Blake --- Brano Stankovsky
Bloomington Jefferson (C) --- Dave Irvin
Bloomington Jefferson (C) --- Aaron Schram
Bloomington Kennedy --- Dennis Wineberg
Brainerd --- Jim Ernster
Breck --- Rob Little
Buffalo --- Ray Dahlof
Burnsville --- Bruce Anderson
Cambridge-Isanti --- Joe Washleski
Centennial --- Mike Diggins
Champlin Park --- Bob Grandner
Chaska --- Andy Brink
Chisago Lakes/Pine City --- Jason Mahlen
Cloquet --- Richard Bartholdi
Coon Rapids --- Rob Potter
Cretin-Derham Hall (C) --- Jeff Keys
Cretin-Derham Hall (C) --- Steve Williams
Crookston --- Tim Moe
Detroit Lakes --- Dan Maloney
Dodge County --- Jeremy Gunderson
Duluth Central/East/Denfeld --- Amber Fryklund
Eagan --- Scott Darwitz
East Grand Forks --- Chad Grassel
East Range Lady Knights-(Babbitt-Embarrass/Tower-Soudan/Ely) --- Stan Skelton
Eastview --- Herb Harvey
Eden Prairie --- Tim Morris
Edina --- Mark Stephan
Elk River --- Joe Heasley
Eveleth-Gilbert --- Ron Hendrickson
Fairmont --- Darin Hoefker
Faribault --- Steve Gravgaard
Farmington --- Keith Revels
Fergus Falls --- Jim Conrad
Forest Lake --- Paul Kendrick
Grand Rapids/Greenway --- Pat Rendle
Hastings --- Jeff Corkish
Henry Sibley --- Dave Langevin
Hibbing/Chisholm --- Peter Hyduke
Hill-Murray --- Shane Krey
Holy Family/Waconia --- Corey Martin
Hopkins --- Vin Paolucci
Hutchinson --- Mitch Fabel
International Falls --- Bruce Elson
Irondale --- Tom Rodefeld
Lake of the Woods/Rainy River/Indus --- Mike Mosher
Lakeville North --- Buck Kochevar
Lakeville South --- Perry Wilkinson
Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato --- Brian Johnson
Little Falls --- Brad Hubred
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville/Wadena-Deer Creek (C) --- Ryan Hanson
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville/Wadena-Deer Creek (C) --- Scott King
Luverne --- Dave Siebenhaler
Mahtomedi --- Shannon Jacobson
Mankato East --- Nate Fuller
Mankato West --- Michael Sipe
Maple Grove --- Jim Koltes
Marshall --- Kevin Schroeder
Minneapolis Novas --- John Wareham
Minnehaha Academy --- Evan Ziegler
Minnetonka --- Eric Johnson
Moorhead --- Jim MacFarlane
Moose Lake --- Joe Mohelsky
Morris/Benson/Hancock --- Jeff Mahoney
Mound Westonka --- Chris Erickson
Mounds View --- Tom Foley
New Prague --- Dan Gullickson
New Ulm --- Jason Seidl
North --- Bill Halbrehder
North Metro Stars-Park Center/Osseo/Tri City-(Fridley/Brooklyn Center/Columbia Heights) --- Jack Gravel
North Wright County River Hawks --- Tim Hanson
Northfield --- Brent Bielenberg
Orono --- Mollie McQuillan
Owatonna --- Tim Hunst
Park of Cottage Grove --- Darren Reiter
Park Rapids --- Chris Albee
Princeton --- Steve Bratulich
Prior Lake --- Nick Leach
Proctor/Hermantown/Marshall --- Glen Gilderman
Red Wing --- Scott Haley
Redwood Valley --- Blair Wassengesso
Richfield --- Chris Peterson
River Lakes Stars --- Kirby St. John
Robbinsdale Armstrong --- Joel Zejdlik
Robbinsdale Cooper --- Chris Johnson
Rochester Century --- Dan Maidl
Rochester John Marshall/Lourdes --- Steve Russell
Rochester Mayo --- John Gamble
Rogers --- Dave Hamlin
Roseau --- Brian Bergstrom
Rosemount --- Tracy Engstrom
Roseville --- Vic Brodt
Sartell/Sauk Rapids --- Gary Clafton
Shakopee --- Dereck Grosskurth
Silver Bay/Two Harbors --- Troy Paulseth
Simley (C) --- Pat Abernathy
Simley (C) --- Brian Goski
South St. Paul --- Dave Palmquist
Spring Lake Park --- Tom Kulenkamp
St. Cloud Apollo Icebreakers --- Mark Chamernick
St. Cloud Tech --- Joel Heitkamp
St. Francis/North Branch --- Joe Frederickson
St. Louis Park --- Corey Clarks
St. Paul Blades --- Tom Gutterman
St. Paul Saints (Concordia Academy/St. Agnes/St. Bernard's/St. Croix Lutheran) --- Jeff Hauer
St. Paul United --- Ted Cheesebrough
St. Peter/LeSueur-Henderson --- Sarah Moe
Stillwater --- Tony Scheid
Tartan --- Glen Anderson
Thief River Falls --- Corey Poole
Totino-Grace --- Sanya Sandahl
Warroad (C) --- Derrick Comstock
Warroad (C) --- David Marvin
Waseca --- Kyle Collins
Wayzata --- Amber Hegland
White Bear Lake --- Jon Anderson
Willmar --- Ross Dahl
Windom --- Bill Fredin
Winona/Winona Cotter --- Tom Sanvik
Woodbury --- Bay Shock
Worthington --- Tom Ahlberg

[ghshockeyfan]

I only count 6 or 7 females on the list of 124 teams above (123 V, 1 JV). This number needs to increase long term.

[xwildfan]

I see BSM lost a game; has a search committee been formed to find a new coach?

[trilogy]

Not only one but two this weekend BSM goes 0-2 in thier home tourney

[Rocketwrister]

Hey GHS--

Babbitt/Embarass/Tower/Soudan-Ely still has a team. It's up on the high school league website.

[ghshockeyfan]

Hey GHS--

Babbitt/Embarass/Tower/Soudan-Ely still has a team. It's up on the high school league website.

RW - indeed you're right!!! I had bad info. on this one...

An update coming soon!

[ghshockeyfan]

I believe this is now final - although there may be some outstate coaching changes that I have missed... I don't know when Eveleth changed hands (sometime in the last couple years), and there may be others too...

In alphabetical order (order of opening in ())

1 Benilde (9) - Dave Herbst
2 Bloomington Jefferson (33) - Dave Irvin & Aaron Schram
3 Buffalo (32) - Ray Dahlof
4 Burnsville (3) - Bruce Anderson
5 Chisago Lakes/Pine City (34?) - Jason Mahlen
6 Dodge County Wildcats (12) - Jeremy Gunderson
7 East Range Lady Knights (??) - Stan Skelton (Babbitt-Embarrass/Tower-Soudan/Ely)
8 Eastview (10) - Herb Harvey
9 Fairmont (20) - Darin Hoefker
10 Fergus Falls (16) - Jim Conrad
11 Henry Sibley (7) - Dave Langevin
12 Holy Family/Waconia (21) - Corey Martin (JV only 1st year, split from Mound-Westonka)
13 International Falls (28.) - Bruce Elson
14 Lakeville South (17) - Perry Wilkinson
15 Little Falls (??) - Brad Hubred
16 Mankato East (1) - Nate Fuller
17 Moose Lake (30) - Joe Mohelsky
18 Mounds View (4) - Tom Foley
19 North Metro Stars (22) - Jack Gravel (Park Center/Osseo/Tri-City)
20 Park (23) - Darren Reiter
21 Princeton (5) - Steve Bratulich
22 Prior Lake (15) - Nick Leach
23 Red Wing (19) - Scott Haley
24 Redwood Valley (13) - Blair Wassengeso
25 Robbinsdale Cooper (18.) - Chris Johnson
26 Rochester Century (26) - Dan Maidl (split from Century/JM)
27 Rochester John Marshall (27) - Steve Russell (split from Century/JM)
28 Rogers (29) - Dave Hamlin
29 Rosemount (8.) - Tracy Engstrom
30 Roseville (14) - Vic Brodt
31 St. Louis Park (2) - Corey Clarks
32 St. Paul "Saints" (??) - Jeff Hauer (Concordia Academy/St. Agnes/St. Bernards/St. Croix Lutheran)
33 St. Peter/Le Sueur-Henderson (31) - Sarah Moe
34 Thief River Falls (24) - Corey Poole
35 Totino-Grace (11) - Sanya Sandahl
36 Warroad (6) - Derrick Comstock & David Marvin

If this is right 32 of 124 jobs opened this year (25.8%). I don't count the co-op splits/combines & "New Programs". I only count/post verified (MSHSL/District/Team Website/Newspaper posting) positions...

Past years to this year comparison:

2006 = 32 of 124 jobs opened this year (25.8%)
2005 = 25 of 122 jobs opened this year (20.5%).
2004 = 21 of 122 jobs opened this year (17.2%).

[hockeygod]

There is nothing wrong with turnover in any profession, At General Electric, one of the best run companies in america they fire the Bottom 20% of there employees every year so they can bring in fresh blood to push the remaining people to achieve the best they are capable of. Coaches changing jobs should be looked at as a good thing, they are trying to find places that fit there needs better and the schools are looking for people that fit there needs, I would be concerned if there were no job openings and the pool of coaches was allowed to turn stagnant, we would have no growth in the sport and the same schools would be winningand losing[/b]

[ghshockeyfan]

There is nothing wrong with turnover in any profession, At General Electric, one of the best run companies in america they fire the Bottom 20% of there employees every year so they can bring in fresh blood to push the remaining people to achieve the best they are capable of. Coaches changing jobs should be looked at as a good thing, they are trying to find places that fit there needs better and the schools are looking for people that fit there needs, I would be concerned if there were no job openings and the pool of coaches was allowed to turn stagnant, we would have no growth in the sport and the same schools would be winningand losing[/b]

Well said, but some of what is great for corporate america isn't applicable when the compensation isn't reflective of the job requirements. these people work for nothing and out of love of the game. I don't think that the same is true @ GE or in corporate america.

Also, I think we're missing the idea that a coach that has an incentive to dig in and build is best. With "at will" setup that can remove a coach at any time, there is no incentive to build a program, and with G Hockey in its infancy, we need builders, not "removal of the bottom 20%" each year.

We also aren't seeing coaches jump from program-to-program, we're seeing them leave altogether. That isn't good. Corporate america is very concerned about the losses taken and the knowledge that goes with it due to huge boomer retirements. Losing those payrolls may be good and replacing them with cheaper younger workers may be great for the bottom line, but is it? With the knowledge/expertise lost, so too is a lot of value that can't be measured in typical metrics like salaries, etc.

Bottom line, coaching turnover is bad for the sport.

[hockeygod]

It's not like that at all, I work in corporate america and I could very well retire tommorrow but I do it because I love what I do. there are some tremendous coaches out there, far better than I imagined and if they are getting run out of the game it is a tragedy, there are also alot of boarderline coaches, that are a bad fit for where they are for many different reasons who don't change to improve there styles and those coaches should move on...in my opinion what we need is to train coaches better in communicating there knowledge, bring in more women coaches and give them the support (maybe a pr person to deal with parents) in there early years of coaching so that they can develop the skills they need to be successful. maybe even have a pool of good coaches that are available to put togeather clinics for other coaches.... the best 2 coaches i have seen have been Jeff Whisler at Mahtomedi and the JV coach at Wayzata, they both are constantly talking behind the bench and when you see them after the game they are still talking to the girls...comunicating is the key and if a coach can't comunicate then he shouldn't be coaching

[ghshockeyfan]

I agree with all of what you say in the last post, but for clairification and to break this up a bit... I too work for the love of what I do in my non-coaching work. I think my point is that it makes sense to force 20% turnover of worst when you're paying them a real salary and they're not performing, but not when you're paying them nothing and relying on their love of the game in coaches.

this brings up a better point... How do you measure a "good" vs. a "bad" coach? If you do this on winning % alone, I believe you'd lose a lot of the "best" to "Bottom 20% go" GE mentality...

[hockeygod]

the top coaches are difficult to find, the bottom coaches stand out, a bad coach is one that does nothing to make himself a better coach, one that isn't respected by his team, one that is plugging players into slots rather than teaching his team....the bad coaches teams will stay the same throughout the season because he(or she) is not teaching, the good coaches teams will get better....were not talking winning championships as a yardstick, but we are talking about having kids set team and individual goals and working tword acheiving them and those teams will win there share of games. Because they will have grown as a group.

[ghshockeyfan]

Agreed. I'd also like to think there is a difference between telling a kid what to do, and teaching them "why" & "how" to do it on their own so they don't need to be told to do it again & again. This may seem like a comical point/realization, but often if we can explain why we ask what we do of players in situaitons/systems/etc. that extra step is very critical to them executing on their own, but also important I think in a step towards creating future coaches. I was blessed to have coaches that were secure/strong enough in their knowledge and confidence that they could communicate the game in a manner which facilitated that deeper understanding of why & how vs. just "go do this."

When you always tell a kid what to do, and never explain the rationale or the "why" & "how," that gets the kid nowhere for the future. This may seem so basic to all coaches, but as a young coach, I often just told kids what to do and didn't feel like I needed to "justify" the "why." Then, it hit me, that the why wasn't justification, but instead what enabled the kids to think for themselves. That is a small but important part of what defines well-coached teams I think, and many coached made this realization immediately - but this is critical. I guess it's really the difference of "teaching" vs. "telling" kids how to play the game, and why the need to do what they should...

We talk about this with the kids - the philosophy of coaching, and the teaching vs. telling, early on in our season so they unnderstand why we take the time to ensure a full understanding, and not just tell them to do things with too basic of info. The best example I give is that I could tell them to run across the street & back, but if I don't teach them to look both ways, they could very well get run over in the process. This is why the "how" and "why" is so important if that makes any sense...

[hockeygod]

Once Schools place as much importance on the girls program as they do on the boys program they will demand (and pay for) quality coaching, they will become an asset that they will fear losing and as a result they will protect that asset from leaving. right now there are very few schools that feel there girls hockey coaches are worth fighting for......like all of us Athletic Directors must pick there battles and in that 25% of schools that have new coaches the AD's decided that the coach wasn't worth fighting for. even if a coach has had it, if he has the support of the administration he will ussally come back, but standing alone is hard, if your getting no support from below and no support from above you have to either really believe in the program that your putting togather or you take the hint that maybe your not good enough.

[hockeyrube7]

There is nothing wrong with turnover in any profession, At General Electric, one of the best run companies in america they fire the Bottom 20% of there employees every year so they can bring in fresh blood to push the remaining people to achieve the best they are capable of. Coaches changing jobs should be looked at as a good thing, they are trying to find places that fit there needs better and the schools are looking for people that fit there needs, I would be concerned if there were no job openings and the pool of coaches was allowed to turn stagnant, we would have no growth in the sport and the same schools would be winningand losing[/b]

You are looking at youth hockey as a business. I understand the theory and even agree in a lot of ways, but if you are going to take it to the coaches and cut the bottom 20%, you are also saying you need to cut that same % of the kids, as coaches are only as good as the kids, as GHS says, "Love of the Game". And some of the best coaches would concidered in the bottom 20% also. Common on now, these are kids, and girls hockey at that. It is hard to find 20 kids in a community to that "want" to play at most high schools, let alone the coaches to coach them. Your idea here and GE's, it to make an elitist community. Is that what this is leading to, maybe a AAA type of format. Only the strong shall survive. Is this why BSM, amongst others, cut their coach after last year, they were bottom 20%, in who's mind? I agree that there are some coaches that just should not be there, but what would you propose to measure that with, parent opinion, wins vs losses, tourney births, I don't think any of that would be a good base. GE is motivated by the all mighty dolar, what is the motivation here? Just curious.

I know this is getting away from this thread a bit, but we need to find kids that want and love to play the game, and focus on that. Not hard to do with the greatest sport in the world. Yet there are many factors that go in to that, money, time, other sports, so on and so on. And from that then we need to start finding that love at a younger and younger age. This will all pan out when the base begins to broaden, and the pyramid will get taller. As of right now there are too many people willing to stand at the top, and look down upon the rest, and this is all do to how young hockey still is to girls. I really believe that the elitist mentality is what hurt boys hockey as it is, and you can see the decline in numbers as a result. Let's not try to make the same mistakes with the girls.

[ghshockeyfan]

Once Schools place as much importance on the girls program as they do on the boys program they will demand (and pay for) quality coaching, they will become an asset that they will fear losing and as a result they will protect that asset from leaving. right now there are very few schools that feel there girls hockey coaches are worth fighting for......like all of us Athletic Directors must pick there battles and in that 25% of schools that have new coaches the AD's decided that the coach wasn't worth fighting for. even if a coach has had it, if he has the support of the administration he will ussally come back, but standing alone is hard, if your getting no support from below and no support from above you have to either really believe in the program that your putting togather or you take the hint that maybe your not good enough.

It's tough when we see things like coaching jobs taken and used as a tool in filling other teaching positions (although I understand this need). Aother hard thing to see is if a coach is told that it's best to have a person of another gender (discrimination) as key in "going another direction" I also can't believe it when I see situations where the choice is made to fire & then hire a "high-profile" person that has no intentions of building a program long-term (as should be quite obvious in such situations). Another favorite is parents that complain due primarily to playing time or other biases/issues/grudges and get admin to act against even the best coaches due to being ignorant. I've seen all of these transpire all too often.

I would agree that retention of good G Hockey coaches may not be high on the priority list for a plethora of reasons. It is what it is unfortunately.

[ghshockeyfan]

There is nothing wrong with turnover in any profession, At General Electric, one of the best run companies in america they fire the Bottom 20% of there employees every year so they can bring in fresh blood to push the remaining people to achieve the best they are capable of. Coaches changing jobs should be looked at as a good thing, they are trying to find places that fit there needs better and the schools are looking for people that fit there needs, I would be concerned if there were no job openings and the pool of coaches was allowed to turn stagnant, we would have no growth in the sport and the same schools would be winningand losing[/b]

You are looking at youth hockey as a business. I understand the theory and even agree in a lot of ways, but if you are going to take it to the coaches and cut the bottom 20%, you are also saying you need to cut that same % of the kids, as coaches are only as good as the kids, as GHS says, "Love of the Game". And some of the best coaches would concidered in the bottom 20% also. Common on now, these are kids, and girls hockey at that. It is hard to find 20 kids in a community to that "want" to play at most high schools, let alone the coaches to coach them. Your idea here and GE's, it to make an elitist community. Is that what this is leading to, maybe a AAA type of format. Only the strong shall survive. Is this why BSM, amongst others, cut their coach after last year, they were bottom 20%, in who's mind? I agree that there are some coaches that just should not be there, but what would you propose to measure that with, parent opinion, wins vs losses, tourney births, I don't think any of that would be a good base. GE is motivated by the all mighty dolar, what is the motivation here? Just curious.

I know this is getting away from this thread a bit, but we need to find kids that want and love to play the game, and focus on that. Not hard to do with the greatest sport in the world. Yet there are many factors that go in to that, money, time, other sports, so on and so on. And from that then we need to start finding that love at a younger and younger age. This will all pan out when the base begins to broaden, and the pyramid will get taller. As of right now there are too many people willing to stand at the top, and look down upon the rest, and this is all do to how young hockey still is to girls. I really believe that the elitist mentality is what hurt boys hockey as it is, and you can see the decline in numbers as a result. Let's not try to make the same mistakes with the girls.

Well said.

[hockeygod]

Finding the kids is easy, there are tons of girls age 10 to 14 that love the idea of playing hockey, but when I see coaches (and I see this at once a week) who send a kid out for 1 or 2 shifts a game or decide to "go for the win" by playing 2 lines most of the game there is no reason for the girls to want play hockey the next year, so you lose numbers. When we talk about expanding the base of the pyrimid, we should do this by having a resavior of trained quality coaches ready to take the helm when there is an opening, It is hard to do this on a youth level. Alot of the old phiosiphy must be changed, on the high school level it can be easier to accomplish by recruiting larger staffs to help with the team, involving parents, bringing in short term coaches to work with the girls for captains practices, summer programs and weekend clinics. the people are out there and willing to help, esspecially on the high school level. we just have to get better about asking

[ghshockeyfan]

Finding the kids is easy, there are tons of girls age 10 to 14 that love the idea of playing hockey, but when I see coaches (and I see this at once a week) who send a kid out for 1 or 2 shifts a game or decide to "go for the win" by playing 2 lines most of the game there is no reason for the girls to want play hockey the next year, so you lose numbers. When we talk about expanding the base of the pyrimid, we should do this by having a resavior of trained quality coaches ready to take the helm when there is an opening, It is hard to do this on a youth level. Alot of the old phiosiphy must be changed, on the high school level it can be easier to accomplish by recruiting larger staffs to help with the team, involving parents, bringing in short term coaches to work with the girls for captains practices, summer programs and weekend clinics. the people are out there and willing to help, esspecially on the high school level. we just have to get better about asking

What I've found is that if you're honest, open, caring, considerate, and good communicator, etc. you can play the players that should in certain situations at the HS level and still retain the respect, support, and relationships needed of parents, coaches, players, and admin.

It's all about approach. I've often learned to "agree to disagree" and many parents, players, etc. question my decisions even now, but I know how to deal with these issues now better as explained above, and it goes a long way to removing drama.