Another Bantam Coaching Change

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Im_all_that
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Another Bantam Coaching Change

Post by Im_all_that »

FROM: Centennial Bantam "A" Job opening
puckboy wrote:anyone hear of any other new bantam A coaches for the upcoming season.
I heard from someone on our coaching committee that Oseo Maple Grove pushed out their Bantam A coach (oh ya, it was he that quit). I'd heard while his people skills were a little rough, he got the most out of the kids. This will be good news for the team that gets him and the teams will play OMG, and bad news for the OMG kids that were left behind.

The funny thing is the association obviously felt guilty enough their president put a letter out on their web site with their their side of the story. Why do these boards need to chase off good coaches? Maple Grove used to have a horrible reputation for how they treated their coaches to the point that no one wanted to coach there. Guess their leaders want to go back to those days. Funny. Guess we're not the only association that's messed up
Chuck Norris Fan
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Post by Chuck Norris Fan »

That is too bad Fleming is a good "hockey" guy. Did he quit or forced out?

Is this another Stillwater situation, were association boobs make poor hockey decisions that ultimately cost the kids of the association.


Any word on where Fleming is going?
Chuck Norris Fan
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Post by Chuck Norris Fan »

gretzguy
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Post by gretzguy »

I heard they targeted non-parent coaches like Fleming and wanted to keep them out of the pre-tryout camps. Considering most of the kids that do these camps are B2 and B1 players, I think it's great a Bantam A coach would even want to take the time. It would surely have to be frustrating for the coach.

From a parent's standpoint, you'd think they'd want their kid to have as much time on the ice with the head coach as possible. Some kids aren't great 'tryout kids' and the coach may really see something he likes. He's also going to coach it the way he wants to see it when he's evaluating. Reading the letter it sounds like the their board changed the rules this year for pretty weak reasons and then baited the coach into quiting. Pretty sad. Clearly these guys don't have their association's best interests in mind. No idea what motivates them.
osseohockey
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Post by osseohockey »

This is crazy. I have been surfing this forum for years and this is the first topic that got me riled up enough to sign in and post a reply. My kid played for Jake back when he was the Osseo Bantam A coach before they merged with MG. We didn't have much talent or big numbers like MG, but Jake got the most out of those kids and made us respectable. Jake was the best thing that ever happened to my son, both on and off the ice.

To think that they ran such a great teacher out of our Assn for such a trivial matter is beyond comprehension. This reminds me of the Stillwater thing a few years ago. Good luck scheduling any games against top quality competition.

I feel bad for the kids. Why do parents always have to spoil it for the kids?
Im_all_that
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Post by Im_all_that »

Just heard tonight that the District 3 Coach-in-Chief tried to talk these idiot board members into reconsidering. Guess they know better. Now instead of a former Gopher with a minor degree in coaching from the U of M they can put some dad in there. Maybe a B2 or B1 coach.
iwearmysunglassesatnight
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Post by iwearmysunglassesatnight »

[quote="Im_all_that"]Just heard tonight that the District 3 Coach-in-Chief tried to talk these idiot board members into reconsidering. Guess they know better. Now instead of a former Gopher with a minor degree in coaching from the U of M they can put some dad in there. Maybe a B2 or B1 coach.[/quote]

perhaps they need to merge with another association and make themselves even larger.
Was a duster and paying for it?????
puckboy
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Post by puckboy »

i just read the posting on the OMGHA website- not sure if I agree with the boards decision to not have the coaches on the ice- BUT it sure seems like it was Fleming's choice to quit- why would anyone quit over that. I can understand not agreeing with the decision- but come on- quit? give me a break.
Daulton911
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Post by Daulton911 »

Mpls Park has made some changes
Last edited by Daulton911 on Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
MaxSnatch
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Post by MaxSnatch »

A perfect example of a board jumping at a couple parent complaints. Unfortunately this happens all over the place. This is completely ridiculous. OMGHA was trying to provide an opportunity for all the players to get some ice time before tryouts and even get some time with a high quality coach. Not all parents can afford to have their kids in AAA, Hockey Camps or other summer training options.

OMGHA Board of Directors - you made a big mistake
InigoMontoya
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Post by InigoMontoya »

I have 2 questions:
Where does he live?
How far is he willing to drive?
puckboy
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Post by puckboy »

Max- you can disagree with the boards decision- but didnt' he quit?
mngopherfan
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Post by mngopherfan »

It's a shame, Jake is a great coach. He's tough but it was obvious the kids respected him and played hard for him. The thing with Association hockey is that if you're involved in coaching for an extended period of time you will undoubtedly get involved in their politics. Politics make the good non-parent coaches hate being involved. Kids, especially at a Bantam A level need people other than dad pushing them to better themselves, not to mention a good role model (like jake) to look up to. Shame on OMG for their actions...but the losers in this situation are the kids.

best of luck to Jake.
gretzguy
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Post by gretzguy »

puckboy wrote:Max- you can disagree with the boards decision- but didnt' he quit?
Look, this president is a professional lobbyist in St. Paul. His entire job is spin and getting people to do what he wants. He succeeded here on both counts.

Lobbyist - 1
Association- 0
Kids- 0
stupidiswhatstupiddoes
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Post by stupidiswhatstupiddoes »

After reading the post by the OMGHA president it is too bad that both sides could not have worked it out. I am sure the Bantam A coach is a good coach and a good person but there are times where you don't always get to dictate the rules.

I can see the point about not having him on the ice as other players may chose not to participate in a tryout camp that will force parents to pay extra $$$. I would guess there are Fall activities that would interfere with this camp and a significant number of kids cannot attend the camp due to those activities (i.e. football) - it is human nature to derive opinions about kids when you are on the ice with them. My interpretation is that OMGHA was trying to keep the tryout process fair for their constituents and was less about doing whatever a coach wants.

The coach in this instance needs to understand who is in charge, who is responsible for making the decisions for the betterment of the whole and not specific individuals...I am pretty sure we all deal with that at some point in time in our careers/occupations - it is just life.

He can be disappointed, but to quit over it, not so sure the boards decisions parallels the coaches reaction. Hopefully they can work it out.
puckboy
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Post by puckboy »

did the entire board vote on this policy or was it a decision make by 1 or 2 people?
Fire and Ice
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Post by Fire and Ice »

First of can you say black balled
secondly omg will go back to the stone age after just making there first state tournament last season.
Would someone put the current omg schedule on here past and present. Mr president you are not in charge. Have a great season.
Centennial AA State Champions 2004
gretzguy
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Post by gretzguy »

puckboy wrote:did the entire board vote on this policy or was it a decision make by 1 or 2 people?
There was nothing on their August agenda related to this. I assume their executive committee circumvented the full board and just decided themselves.
puckboy
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Post by puckboy »

fire and ice- im not taking a stand one way or another but why would OMGHA black ball him. It would be great to hear your reasoning or facts behind your statement. Lets get it out there
InigoMontoya
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Post by InigoMontoya »

It took Todd and Tony 2 months to find time to meet with Jake because of their busy schedules, but it only took 4 days to gather the entire executive committee to can the guy. Nice. It smells like there was a lot more going on than Todd has shared. If the SOP at OMG is similar to many other associations, there is someone waiting in the wings with someone's personal agenda in his pocket.
Chuck Norris Fan
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Post by Chuck Norris Fan »

puckboy wrote:fire and ice- im not taking a stand one way or another but why would OMGHA black ball him. It would be great to hear your reasoning or facts behind your statement. Lets get it out there
I think fire and ice is saying that OMGHA bantam A's will be black balled similar to what happen to Stillwater a few years ago. Weather that is right or wrong, is yet to be determined.
puckfan
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Post by puckfan »

Conspiracy theory................? I guess when all else fails go with that thinking huh?

What do you think about the decision to not let the coach be on the ice for the pre-tryout skates?

Lets just say you have a "bubble" kid and he's in football/soccer or just can't afford the EXTRA $ so they can't make it to these skates. Do you think these skates will have an influence or not on the selection of the team if the coach is there?

Basically is the board acting in the best interest of the whole or not? I would love to hear how people feel about this part of it.
puckboy
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Post by puckboy »

thanks CNF- I took it as Fleming was being black balled.

If other coaches black ball OMGHA well- shame on them. They are the ones sayng the OMGHA board hurt the kids- well what are they doing by black balling a team?
Fire and Ice
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Post by Fire and Ice »

I think what you have missed over the past couple of seasons is the commitment of a few core coaches at this level and for most of them a decade of hard work and too be held hostage by a self serving board for lets face it no good reason is not very smart.

Jake would pick his team properly regardless of running clinics or not. Remember no one wants to lose so you wouldn't intentionally take the wrong player...would you?

And don't blame the Bantam A coaches that have stuck together against policy made by associations. These are the same coaches that don't generally get paid and commit entire years making the best schedules and practice plans to help your kid be a better citizen and hockey player. Please tell me what self service any of these coaches will receive from coaching Bantam A hockey?

OMG board made a bad decision let's just accept the fact.
Centennial AA State Champions 2004
puckfan
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Post by puckfan »

Jake would pick his team properly regardless of running clinics or not. Remember no one wants to lose so you wouldn't intentionally take the wrong player...would you?
Regardless of who the coach is, if they run the clinic and have been named the coach for that level, you don't think that would be some kind of "extended tryout" over the players who are not there?

If you have bubble kids and the coach sees them for say 10 hours of tryouts and others for 10 hours of clinics and 10 hours of tryouts, do they get an even look?
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