MAML Enrollment

[elliott70]

Trying to get a better understanding on this; I read the MSHAL rules on classifying teams.

Not knowing all the facts of MAML I have made some assumptions; school size of the 3 schools puts them in AA, somehow they managed to be placed in single A. The only way that happens is if they appeal. Appeal is granted based on the number of free and reduced meals are offered at the schools.
This has to be 50%. Again I don't know enough about the area (only what I see in driving by), but I have to assume MSHSL does know and therefore an appeal to play down was given based on them being in an area where the students receive free etc lunches.

On the surface it appears hard to believe, but it is only thing that adds up.

Doesn't Marshall MN bump up to AA size via co-op (at least on the girls' side) and get granted a play down, as well. I don't think it is school lunch related, but rather a 'come on guys, really?' situation. Based on the price of my raspberry rumple, I would think they're below 50%.

Being a parent of a middle schooler and high schooler ( non hockey players) I know that the schools actually kind of push all students to apply for reduced fee or free lunches. The case could be that a lot of people actually do this and it may inflate the numbers. More people than people would think actually can get reduced or free lunches, doesn't have to be a low income type area

Good to know, thanks/

[RRubberbeeskit]

What happens if you attend a school that doesn't have a sport you want to participate in and isn't co-oped with another school for that sport?

If it was that important, wouldn't you open enroll or move to a community that has the sport?

We lived the exact situation mentioned above. I contacted the AD in our school Dist. Pel. Rapids about a hockey co op w Fergus Falls since we did not have that sport. My boys were already playing in the youth program since termites.
To shorten my story PR was cutting the budget and other athletic programs per AD and not adding at this time 2009-2010. With that said we open enrolled our son in FF in 9th grade and met the bus in Erhard, MN every morn for school until his jr. yr when he could finally drive himself. Needless to say we had already been traveling 26 miles one way to the rink for youth hockey.
When all was said and done this certainly was not how we wanted to it to play out as we just had hoped that the boys could stay in PR school dist and play the other sports with their childhood friends. Its a big loss to a small school dist. having 2 kids leave and the only alternative was to have them quit hockey or never let them start in the first place.
Our entire family has met a ton of great people and enjoyed the heck out of it. Soon to be empty nestors what will we do with our time now 🕳. 🏖 🏝

[BSUBeaver]

I haven't read the whole thread, so forgive me if this has been discussed. But doesn't the high school league want to keep the AA tournament around the 64 number? When you read their criteria, they state that AA will be the top 64 enrollments and then any play ups. This year that amounted to 66 teams in the AA field if my quick browsing of the brackets was accurate. So, every time you bump a team up, there is the possibility that another large school may get bumped down.

[jpiehl]

Let's just do this:

2017- Move Hermantown up to AA due to being too good. Move MAML up because as the 14th ranked team in Class A they are too good. Class 5A should never have someone ranked in the top 20 in their section.

2018- State finalists Cathedral and Breck get moved up. Private schools, and you know, the too good thing.

2019- Delano is dominating, move them up. Blake stepped up their recruiting... move them up.

2020 - EGF has been to state 5 of 10 years... move them up, too good! SPA and Mahtomedi get moved up as they may win it all next year.

2021 - Alexandria, and Luverne each win a semifinal, gotta move them up.

2022- Princeton gets moved into another section and "runs the gauntlet" of mediocre teams. Faces North Branch in the state tournament. Yeah! What an accomplishment. Woo hoo!

As someone posted a while back: If you don't like losing, then make your program better. That's it. Endless whining on the forums, month after month after month accomplishes nothing. Is MAML a good team? Yes. But there are 20-25 other A teams that have an excellent chance in beating them when they meet on the ice. They are simply not good enough for the amount of angst being tossed around about it.

I almost get the angst on Hermantown, but if they were AA, I would have never had the pleasure to watch Luverne scare the crap out or them on Wednesday. My Bold Prediction: There are other A programs that are getting stronger and stronger and if Hermantown stays at A, I think they will find the gap is going to close on them pretty quick. The Greenways and Hibbings of the world are just as good, if not better than, Luverne. Keep getting better and knock Hermantown on their ass. That is the mentality that is missing

I have said that it doesn't really matter to me that MAML made the class A tournament this year, but the flaw in your statement is too glaring for me to ignore so I'm going to point it out. Where was the get better so you can knock them on their ass mentality with MAML when they were in AA? Or does this mentality only apply to whiny A schools and not whiny AA schools that opt down? Why couldn't MAML make their program better and beat the AA schools?

Excellent point, and not one I would argue with. My point is that the MSHSL agreed to move them down and there is nothing the rest of us can do about it. I personally do not want a watered down Class A field. Should the big time privates move up? Probably. Would I have moved MAML down? Maybe not. Should Cambridge/St Francis have been moved down before MAML? Probably. But I don't really know the criteria that the MSHSL truly considers. As teams get moved up into AA, teams move down to A. Should MSHSL set up Class A so that every mediocre small town team has a realistic chance to win it all? No.

My other point is that eventually, if Hermantown moves up, someone else will be in the crosshairs of the complainers and the top teams will always be screamed at to "move up". From what I read on this forum, MAML has this one year to do some damage in Class A, and then drops a bit in talent. This "one year magical" team was ranked 14th going into the tournament. If they were in most other Class A sections they would not have made the tournament. They are not the juggernaut that they are being portrayed as. They were the clear underdog against Delano and pulled off a great upset. Fun game to watch. In fact, all the Class A quarterfinal games were hard fought battles and that is good for hockey.

The Class A field is closing the gap and is getting stronger every year. I personally don't think the system is broken.

Well, it isn't like the well runs totally dry after this year. Bantam A team is in the state tournament next week too.