How many A's ???????????????

[mp#99]

Does it really matter how man A's are on the team name
Its still just a game for your kids to play
Don't they play for the love of the game??????????????

[stromboli]

Does it really matter how man A's are on the team name
Its still just a game for your kids to play
Don't they play for the love of the game??????????????

Okay, I'll bite.

No, it makes no difference to most kids how many A's are on the team name -- assuming it's just a game and they play only for the love of the game. Team names and designations for the most part don't matter (except to parents with expectations).

However, there are different personalities -- so different experiences appeal to different kids.

Some kids just want to play. Having fun, enthusiatic coaches, and kids they enjoy seem to be of higher importance.

Some kids naturally compete hard all the time and hate losing. They're always trying to outwork others in drills, thrive under more aggressive/disciplined coaching, and want to be a part of a team that wins. For some of these kids, yes, the level the team competes at is important, and that can be tied to the number of A's and the team name -- but not always, and not even for all type-A personalities. Some kids will compete hard and thrive no matter what team they're on.

And then there's a whole bunch of kids in between the just-have-fun kids and the compete-to-the-wire kids.

The nice thing about summer hockey is it's easier to match kids and what drives their interest in hockey with a good team fit (just for fun vs. compete, low committment and hours vs. sole focus, etc.). For winter association hockey, it's more luck of the draw, both in terms of what coaches are selected to run the teams and the other kids that make the team.

As long as a kid enjoys hockey based on whatever makes him/her tick, they'll keep skating. Once they're not enjoying it anymore, they move on -- or at least when their parents let them move on... Sometimes sad but true.

If a parent's ego drives the interest in the number of A's or the team name, then that's a bad ending waiting to happen. My opinion.

[MNM JMH]

Well said stromboli

[goldy313]

Does it really matter how man A's are on the team name
Its still just a game for your kids to play
Don't they play for the love of the game??????????????

In Minnesota high school football used to go by 9-Man, C, B, A, and AA....I could figure out who was in what class pretty easily now we have 9-Man, A, AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA, and AAAAAA. I get a headache looking at the newsprint trying to figure out what team is what class.

Kids don't care by what their team is called unless they'd rather be the Eagles instead of the Sparrows, parents seem to care a great deal though.

I wonder when the letter grades A, B, C, D, and F our kids receive in school are replaced by A, AA, AAA, AAAA, and AAAAA. That way every parent can have a straight "A" student.

[skipperj]

Four A's is definitely the max, who has ever heard of AAAAA hockey.

[DrGaf]

Four A's is definitely the max, who has ever heard of AAAAA hockey.

... yet

[BodyShots]

Does it really matter how man A's are on the team name
Its still just a game for your kids to play
Don't they play for the love of the game??????????????

In Minnesota high school football used to go by 9-Man, C, B, A, and AA....I could figure out who was in what class pretty easily now we have 9-Man, A, AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA, and AAAAAA. I get a headache looking at the newsprint trying to figure out what team is what class.

Kids don't care by what their team is called unless they'd rather be the Eagles instead of the Sparrows, parents seem to care a great deal though.

I wonder when the letter grades A, B, C, D, and F our kids receive in school are replaced by A, AA, AAA, AAAA, and AAAAA. That way every parent can have a straight "A" student.

[JSR]

Does it really matter how man A's are on the team name
Its still just a game for your kids to play
Don't they play for the love of the game??????????????

In Minnesota high school football used to go by 9-Man, C, B, A, and AA....I could figure out who was in what class pretty easily now we have 9-Man, A, AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA, and AAAAAA. I get a headache looking at the newsprint trying to figure out what team is what class.

Kids don't care by what their team is called unless they'd rather be the Eagles instead of the Sparrows, parents seem to care a great deal though.

I wonder when the letter grades A, B, C, D, and F our kids receive in school are replaced by A, AA, AAA, AAAA, and AAAAA. That way every parent can have a straight "A" student.

It sort of is already happening. Our school district, for grades K-6, went to a "number system" so kids wouldn't see Ds or Fs anymore, now they get 1, 2, 3 or 4 (4 is the best), and they've made a 4 nearly impossible to achieve. Example, my son got 100% on a big math test, the teacher even called to tell me what a good job he did on the test and that he was the first kid to get 100% on that particular test in over 3 years.... he still received a "3" on the test..... point being the "libs" of the world are trying to eliminate anybodies want to excel because excellign makes other kids who don;t work as hard feel bad....

[wannagototherink]

This whole program is a joke. AA teams don't want to play A teams...the A programs were suppose to be for smaller towns/communities & programs, giving those kids a better chance to get to a state tournament. Does anyone see that coming? Essentially you have done nothing but change the level from B-1 to A, that's it, an alpha-numerical change...well except for the confusion that is. For this type of thing to actually work an association would need to choose between A OR AA, not be allowed to have both. How has it improved Sleepy Eye's (just an example) chances of getting to a state tournament when they still need to get by "mega-associations" like Edina, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, etc? If Minnesota Hockey was smart, they'd scrap it now and just go back to the old way!