NO Bantam A team for Mounds View

[Gryff]

Chime in with your thoughts with the decision from the HS coach to pull up all the 9th grade bantams and the subsequent effect it will have on the MVYHA bantam team.

Just looking for thoughts and opinions for a civil discussion - not looking to roast anyone!

[old goalie85]

That shortens our D2 season. Should be a huge district tourny.

[observer]

Unfortunate. His title is high school hockey coach so not surprising that is his interest. Also sounds like a dip in numbers. This is a decision for the players and families to make but hopefully most select playing Bantam.

[MrBoDangles]

Leaving the talented 8th graders to play B-1? MV has some very talented 8th graders and I"m not so sure the families will buy in to this.

[Hansonbrother]

Chime in with your thoughts with the decision from the HS coach to pull up all the 9th grade bantams and the subsequent effect it will have on the MVYHA bantam team.

Just looking for thoughts and opinions for a civil discussion - not looking to roast anyone!

MV has been pulling up bantam eligible kids for years. IMHO, one of the main reasons their HS program has suffered over the years. When do those talented kids ever get a chance to learn how to win? The last time they did was Peewee's because that was the last year they were all together. Some go to privates, and then the other talented 8th graders or 9th graders go to JV and get beat by other schools who have JV rosters of 10th and 11th grade laden teams. Imagine how good some of those HS teams could have been if they would leave the young ones alone and let them win at the youth level...Just an opinion from an outside observer.

[Tigers33]

What is the estimated number he will have at high school? Lets just say maybe it's 20-21. for the sake of this discussion...what do you "experts" think he should do?

[SCBlueLiner]

If the coach needs to pull a few kids up just to round out the rosters at the HS level I don't have a problem with it. If he is cutting upperclassmen or pulling 8th graders up so he can have a deep bench and then those 8th graders don't see regular ice then I would have an issue with it.

[observer]

what do you "experts" think he should do?

Skate a split squad and then work with the youth program to increase the new mite numbers. This is indicative of some poor recruiting years and a slump in youth numbers. MV needs 30 new mite boys this year.

Other than financial hardship, which the youth program can help with, a youth player should never give up his bantam years unless he's skating top two lines of varsity. It's up to the players to ban together and let it be known all of them will play bantam. More ice, more games and a couple travel tourneys to end their youth hockey years. Those are 2 years of outstanding hockey they'll never get back. And, better development so the HS Coach needs to be patient and stay out of the youth program.

The HS Coach should have nothing to do with the decisions of MV Youth. A plea, yes, but hopefully it falls on deaf ears.

[1parent]

I posted the other day and will post again as I know coach Thomas from when he was coaching in the youth at MV.
He flat out told me he is just offering the opportunity to them and that they need to show up on November 11th and try to earn a spot just like others in the program.
Coach Thomas told me if a 9th grader and 10th grader are equal he will send the 9th grader back to youth hockey. If the 9th grader is head and shoulder above a 10th grader and the staff does not feel the 10th grader is ready for HS hockey they will offer a spot to the 9th grader. I cannot argue with that thinking. Why place a kid in HS hockey that is not ready for it. Why not place a player into the HS program that is ready right if it can help develop that player.
He also said if a 9th grade player or parent does not want their child to play HS hockey he completely understands and will continue to support those kids during youth hockey.
I asked him what the bantam coach thought and he said as far as he knows MVYHA doesn't have one. Really? I’m sure that’s not a good sign from the youth for those potential second year bantams.
As a parent of a former player, many things factor into moving up to HS or staying back. It's not a cut a dry answer. I think if he stands by his guns and the 9th grader is head and shoulders above the 10th grader its fine. Especially if the player and parent are okay with it. Might actually improve the competitiveness within his HS program. From my talk with him it doesn't seem he is forcing their hand. I’m not sure he would be the only coach that places 9th graders into his program. I can think of many HS programs that and some of these programs are considered your top HS programs.



Hanson, when my kids played bantams they won the D2 league and if I heard correctly that might have happend 3 out of the last 4 years. I think they have had some very solid bantam team over the past 10 years

[dlow]

It should be the players choice if he/she wants to try out for jv or varsity, but I would agree that for almost all kids, riding it out in bantams is a better hockey choice.

I know some families that could not stomach the cost of bantams again and the kids played jv...worse things have happened. Another thing that comes up is if bantams has a lot of goalies and the hs is lacking there.

[RMWCHOCKEY]

I posted the other day and will post again as I know coach Thomas from when he was coaching in the youth at MV.
He flat out told me he is just offering the opportunity to them and that they need to show up on November 11th and try to earn a spot just like others in the program.
Coach Thomas told me if a 9th grader and 10th grader are equal he will send the 9th grader back to youth hockey. If the 9th grader is head and shoulder above a 10th grader and the staff does not feel the 10th grader is ready for HS hockey they will offer a spot to the 9th grader. I cannot argue with that thinking. Why place a kid in HS hockey that is not ready for it. Why not place a player into the HS program that is ready right if it can help develop that player.
He also said if a 9th grade player or parent does not want their child to play HS hockey he completely understands and will continue to support those kids during youth hockey.
I asked him what the bantam coach thought and he said as far as he knows MVYHA doesn't have one. Really? I’m sure that’s not a good sign from the youth for those potential second year bantams.
As a parent of a former player, many things factor into moving up to HS or staying back. It's not a cut a dry answer. I think if he stands by his guns and the 9th grader is head and shoulders above the 10th grader its fine. Especially if the player and parent are okay with it. Might actually improve the competitiveness within his HS program. From my talk with him it doesn't seem he is forcing their hand. I’m not sure he would be the only coach that places 9th graders into his program. I can think of many HS programs that and some of these programs are considered your top HS programs.



Hanson, when my kids played bantams they won the D2 league and if I heard correctly that might have happend 3 out of the last 4 years. I think they have had some very solid bantam team over the past 10 years

The problem here is . . . apparently coach Thomas has already met with two 9th grade kids and he promised them varsity spots BEFORE the tryouts and then JV spots to the rest of the 9th graders (the MV coaches can deny this all they want but EVERYONE knows it's out there) WHICH in turn effectively destroys the Bantam A team and FORCES the MVYHA to declare that they will only put together B and C teams. He is basically forcing the youth program to abandon an A team even after they declared that they would move back to single A.

Regardless of ANY circumstances - it makes ZERO sense to sacrifice your bantam team to help out your JV team - ask ANY coach of a successful HS program and there will be one answer to the question. Make any and all the arguments you want but it is a terrible, short-sided move made in the 11th hour and leaves many of the kids at the 8th and 9th grade levels with few, if any, options. Seriously, not that it would have been much better but if this decision was made in the spring BUT at least those bantam aged kids would had have some options and some time to make arrangements. As it stands - they are basically screwed because the high school coach didn't evaluate what he had at the end of the varsity season last year and what was in the youth system and then failed to act on it in a timely manner. Flat out failure.

The youth program got hosed in a big way and even more importantly, the HS did also and the coach is too naive to realize it.

[thespellchecker]

I posted the other day and will post again as I know coach Thomas from when he was coaching in the youth at MV.
He flat out told me he is just offering the opportunity to them and that they need to show up on November 11th and try to earn a spot just like others in the program.
Coach Thomas told me if a 9th grader and 10th grader are equal he will send the 9th grader back to youth hockey. If the 9th grader is head and shoulder above a 10th grader and the staff does not feel the 10th grader is ready for HS hockey they will offer a spot to the 9th grader. I cannot argue with that thinking. Why place a kid in HS hockey that is not ready for it. Why not place a player into the HS program that is ready right if it can help develop that player.
He also said if a 9th grade player or parent does not want their child to play HS hockey he completely understands and will continue to support those kids during youth hockey.
I asked him what the bantam coach thought and he said as far as he knows MVYHA doesn't have one. Really? I’m sure that’s not a good sign from the youth for those potential second year bantams.
As a parent of a former player, many things factor into moving up to HS or staying back. It's not a cut a dry answer. I think if he stands by his guns and the 9th grader is head and shoulders above the 10th grader its fine. Especially if the player and parent are okay with it. Might actually improve the competitiveness within his HS program. From my talk with him it doesn't seem he is forcing their hand. I’m not sure he would be the only coach that places 9th graders into his program. I can think of many HS programs that and some of these programs are considered your top HS programs.



Hanson, when my kids played bantams they won the D2 league and if I heard correctly that might have happend 3 out of the last 4 years. I think they have had some very solid bantam team over the past 10 years

The problem here is . . . apparently coach Thomas has already met with two 9th grade kids and he promised them varsity spots BEFORE the tryouts and then JV spots to the rest of the 9th graders (the MV coaches can deny this all they want but EVERYONE knows it's out there) WHICH in turn effectively destroys the Bantam A team and FORCES the MVYHA to declare that they will only put together B and C teams. He is basically forcing the youth program to abandon an A team even after they declared that they would move back to single A.

Regardless of ANY circumstances - it makes ZERO sense to sacrifice your bantam team to help out your JV team - ask ANY coach of a successful HS program and there will be one answer to the question. Make any and all the arguments you want but it is a terrible, short-sided move made in the 11th hour and leaves many of the kids at the 8th and 9th grade levels with few, if any, options. Seriously, not that it would have been much better but if this decision was made in the spring BUT at least those bantam aged kids would had have some options and some time to make arrangements. As it stands - they are basically screwed because the high school coach didn't evaluate what he had at the end of the varsity season last year and what was in the youth system and then failed to act on it in a timely manner. Flat out failure.

The youth program got hosed in a big way and even more importantly, the HS did also and the coach is too naive to realize it.

Placing 1st, 2nd line or top 5 defender on varsity should not be your gripe.
Taking bantam A players to play JV without some reason from the family seems odd. Is the high school feeling pressure because that is the norm at privates? Or is MV taking B/C bantam players to field a JV team?

Burnsville had two 9th graders that were eligible for bantams last year play JV, perhaps having that option was best for the player/family involved. Is a ninth grader at MV schools in high school? Talk to those parents that are considering it and that may answer or eliminate many of your concerns.

Hope it works out for the kids involved.

[hockeygoof1]

Big mistake pulling away all those kids. In two more years when he needs more, where will his new players come from? A B team? Is that really preparing the kids you'll need? This approach will eventually backfire.

[Gryff]

The MVYHA board and HS coach double back - see communication below. Looks like the board really got it right with the words in the 4th paragraph to protect the youth association and force the HS coach to think ahead!

Update on Bantam Team Declarations

Dear Bantam Parents, players, and members of MVYHA,

The Mounds View Youth Hockey Association Board (MVYHA) and the Mounds View High School Hockey staff met for several hours last evening and agreed to disagree regarding inviting an abnormally large group of 9th graders / 2nd year bantams to have the opportunity to tryout out to play up at the JV level. In the end, we all agreed we are on the same team and we will work together to make the 2013-2014 season a great one for the kids.

The MVYHA Board has decided to declare an “A” team for District Two play in 2013-2014. Chris McAlpine had previously volunteered to spear head securing our head coach, and a new Bantam “A” coach has been offered a position. We expect an announcement of a coach shortly after Labor Day. The Bantam “A” team will have a full schedule and three tournaments have already been reserved. In addition, the MVYHA will have the other Bantam team play at the B2 level. We may have a few growing pains playing at these levels but the kids will be s tronger for it in the long run.

Bantams must try-out with the MVYHA to be considered for the Bantam “A” even if they try out for high school hockey. A player that does not try out, under Minnesota Hockey rules, must be assigned to the lowest level club. As Coach Thomas has pointed out during our discussions, nobody is guaranteed a spot on the High School Varsity or Junior Varsity and families are welcome to make their own decisions on high school or bantam level hockey. We do not want to see a bantam “A” level player playing below their level because they did not register and tryout with MVYHA. It is also important to note Coach Thomas stressed that if a 9th grader does not want to try out for the high school program, or the family would rather have their child play at the Bantam level, Coach Thomas will continue to support that player while playing in MVYHA.

The MVYHA Board will also take action to be sure we do not put Bantam families in this difficult situation again. We will create guidelines that will push our High School coaches, boys and girls, to forecast their intentions of taking 8th and 9th graders for the High School Club by the end of May each year. We will also review the forecasted player numbers for the Bantam, Peewee, U14, and U12 players. This will give the MVYHA and MVHS ample time to explore co-ops and oth ers arrangements for our players. Also, the MVYHA board will look for opportunities to co-op and merge with natural hockey partners in the near future.

We are proud that we will be fielding A, B, and C boys teams at the Pee Wee and Squirt levels. Our numbers are excellent at the Mite level. We will be merging our girl’s teams with Irondale this year to ensure a positive playing experience for the kids. We are a very financially sound organization.

Coach Rick Thomas has agreed to co-sign this letter in a spirit of cooperation and moving Mounds View hockey forward. If we are going to be successful in the future, we need both MVYHA and MVHS to work together, toward a common goal. We appreciate your input over the past week. We have heard concerns from many of you, pro and con, and your voice is important to us.

As a Bantam parent, you have many choices in the upcoming weeks. Always feel free to contact us with any questions and concerns.

Thank you,

MVYHA

[wonderer]

Just wondering who this is good for?

The 5-8 kids (that are in HIGH SCHOOL) that have told their buddies they are going to play High School Hockey? Now have to tryout for youth team also, knowing full well they are going to High School once that starts up.

The next 8 kids (that get to say they are on an A team) that will start the season as a very competitive A team and then when the 5-7 players leave will have a very difficult time being competitive? But they are playing "A"

The adults that have agreed to disagree?

The Board to say that they are fielding A teams at every level?

The Parents of the 5-8 who have had this on their mind since last year?

Seriously, just wondering about this situation? Is this really just breaking news, nobody saw this as potentially happening?