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Just wanted to hear about peoples experiences with AAA hockey this summer. Who are the teams that are getting better, who is struggling. Are there any organizations that will challenge the blades/Machine. What to make out of the changes being made at made? What did yu like/dislike about your summer teams experience. ETC. I watched a lot more summer hockey than I thought I would and was impressed with some of what I saw, and depressed with other observations.

Thoughts...

First year of AAA for us and generally it was a great experience. Quite a bit disappointed in the lack of Regulation at some of the Tournaments. Generally accepted registrations rules being tossed out the window was a bit distressing and basically made me think we were back in the 70's at times. Refing is always a topic, but the WIDE disparity in competent Officials, and "Kids just learning" was tough to keep up with at times. I'll never complain about someone trying, but there seems that with a little better organization, a LOT of better fit's could have been made. Other than ONE game in which I don't think ANYONE in the Arena left happy, all of the competition was excellent, people generally behaved good, and the Hockey got better all Summer long. My kid made some friends, saw some great Arena's and took in some great sights traveling all over the state. It might not be for everyone, but I think we are pretty happy with the investment. IF, someone could pull in the reins a little bit on the deal, I think it could evolve into a very good thing. But, with so many different groups now, different levels of competition, and general aire of lawlessness, the potential is also there to blow up in everyone's face. I hope not.

Interesting to see the what happened to the older (95 & 96) Machine teams.

96 team, after all of the training and team accomplishments in the younger years, seemed to plateau and become a team that was not going to win automatically anymore.

95 team split from the program and became the "Breakaway" this year. This team never really lived up to the potential of it's roster, and could never win consistantly. After all of the training and dedication to just one sport, the team never accomplished the team goals that it trained so hard for individually.

These teams are at or near the end of their AAA run, and I just wonder if it was worth all of the time, energy, and sacrifice?

biggest dissapointment was paying alot of money and not getting what was advertised, shorted games, practice. The kid had alot of fun thought, made alot of new friends, even we did. Team improved over the year.

[quote="fastncrash"] but I think we are pretty happy with the investment. .[/quote]

Lowstickside wrote:Interesting to see the what happened to the older (95 & 96) Machine teams.

96 team, after all of the training and team accomplishments in the younger years, seemed to plateau and become a team that was not going to win automatically anymore.

95 team split from the program and became the "Breakaway" this year. This team never really lived up to the potential of it's roster, and could never win consistantly. After all of the training and dedication to just one sport, the team never accomplished the team goals that it trained so hard for individually.

These teams are at or near the end of their AAA run, and I just wonder if it was worth all of the time, energy, and sacrifice?

If you talk to those kids on Breakaway, my guess the answer would be a resounding "YES!".

noonespecial wrote:biggest dissapointment was paying alot of money and not getting what was advertised, shorted games, practice. The kid had alot of fun thought, made alot of new friends, even we did. Team improved over the year.

My son has been playing AAA 4 years now and we have been to places where we probably would have never gone. It's been a good experience for my son playing with players he will play against in winter association hockey. Yes, there have been shortfalls as noonespecial mentioned (cancelling of practices/scrimmages etc.) which were not rescheduled, but overall it is a experience my son will never forget

This was my son's first year of summer hockey. He made some new friends and went on his first out of town tournament. He had a very good time and enjoyed the ice and dryland practices. His skating skills improved and I believe he will enjoy winter hockey more because of it.

As a parent I enjoyed meeting the other hockey parents, coaches and owner of the program. These were very nice people and I hope that we will see them again.

As a consumer I only have a couple of very minor criticisms: The literature led me to believe we would participate in 4 tournaments and we only participated in 3. Our team was clearly an open level team and did OK in the open tournaments attended. The last tournament was an "invite" and our team lost every game but one by double digits. It was a new tournament so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one.

Overall a positive experience. Will we do it again next summer? Not sure at this point. I think we will look at the cost and time comittment of AAA summer hockey and compare it with some camps. If anyone has an opinion of AAA summer hockey(developmental level) versus camps, I'd love to hear them.

iwearmysunglassesatnight wrote:

fastncrash wrote: but I think we are pretty happy with the investment. .

And CYHA could not be any happier

My son has never skated in AAA hockey before. I'm curious of the commitment level. I know it varies between programs and levels (open vs. invite), but generally speaking, are kids who play AAA hockey also playing in other spring/summer sports like traveling baseball or traveling soccer? And, if so, approximately how much can a kid miss before it is frowned upon?

Lowstickside wrote:Interesting to see the what happened to the older (95 & 96) Machine teams.

96 team, after all of the training and team accomplishments in the younger years, seemed to plateau and become a team that was not going to win automatically anymore.

95 team split from the program and became the "Breakaway" this year. This team never really lived up to the potential of it's roster, and could never win consistantly. After all of the training and dedication to just one sport, the team never accomplished the team goals that it trained so hard for individually.

These teams are at or near the end of their AAA run, and I just wonder if it was worth all of the time, energy, and sacrifice?

What were the team goals?

would people be willing to grade their AAA team from this last summer, I know every one thinks theirs is the best, but their is got to be something that you would like to be changed or ran differently

noonespecial wrote:would people be willing to grade their AAA team from this last summer, I know every one thinks theirs is the best, but their is got to be something that you would like to be changed or ran differently

I wish we could keep the AAA team together year round rather than doing the standard association between Oct-March. For a variety of reasons.

Snowmass wrote:

noonespecial wrote:would people be willing to grade their AAA team from this last summer, I know every one thinks theirs is the best, but their is got to be something that you would like to be changed or ran differently

I wish we could keep the AAA team together year round rather than doing the standard association between Oct-March. For a variety of reasons.

Ditto...

I see that happening in 2-3 years
AAA is exploding and More teams are showing up EVERY Summer....

d10dad wrote:

Snowmass wrote:

noonespecial wrote:would people be willing to grade their AAA team from this last summer, I know every one thinks theirs is the best, but their is got to be something that you would like to be changed or ran differently

I wish we could keep the AAA team together year round rather than doing the standard association between Oct-March. For a variety of reasons.

Ditto...

I see that happening in 2-3 years
AAA is exploding and More teams are showing up EVERY Summer....

I wonder if Showcase has considered expanding their season?

Is it my imagination or are their more kids playing on a AAA team than not? It appears if you want to play "AAA", there's a team for you. Is AAA truly what it used to be? Are there really that many top quality players out there, or just deep check books and mis-guided parents?

d10dad wrote:

Snowmass wrote:

noonespecial wrote:would people be willing to grade their AAA team from this last summer, I know every one thinks theirs is the best, but their is got to be something that you would like to be changed or ran differently

I wish we could keep the AAA team together year round rather than doing the standard association between Oct-March. For a variety of reasons.

Ditto...

I see that happening in 2-3 years
AAA is exploding and More teams are showing up EVERY Summer....

I would put money on that NOT happening.

What is the purpose of going AAA "in season"? Spending thousands more for a sport that is already expensive? Pushing athletes away because families can't afford the costs of playing the greatest sport there is? Herb Brooks wanted to broaden the pyramid and allow more kids to play the game of hockey. Apparently, you want to turn the pyramid upside down.

Minnesota is unique at the youth and high school levels. Our systems offer an opportunity for a broad base of kids to play competitive hockey.

In Chicago, California, Arizona, etc. AAA hockey costs families anywhere from 10 to 15K per kid annually. That's ice time, paid coaches, etc. That doesn't include family travel. Add that to the AAA budget you already lay out. How many people can swing that?

I think AAA hockey is a good supplement for those families and players that are looking for additional competitive play in the "off-season". I hope those same families allow their kids to play other sports. At the end of the day, there are only a handful of kids each year from the state of Minnesota that will play D1 hockey. There will only be 2 to 3 kids each year from Minnesota that will ever play in the NHL.

breakout wrote:

d10dad wrote:

Snowmass wrote: I wish we could keep the AAA team together year round rather than doing the standard association between Oct-March. For a variety of reasons.

Ditto...

I see that happening in 2-3 years
AAA is exploding and More teams are showing up EVERY Summer....

I would put money on that NOT happening.

What is the purpose of going AAA "in season"? Spending thousands more for a sport that is already expensive? Pushing athletes away because families can't afford the costs of playing the greatest sport there is? Herb Brooks wanted to broaden the pyramid and allow more kids to play the game of hockey. Apparently, you want to turn the pyramid upside down.

Minnesota is unique at the youth and high school levels. Our systems offer an opportunity for a broad base of kids to play competitive hockey.

In Chicago, California, Arizona, etc. AAA hockey costs families anywhere from 10 to 15K per kid annually. That's ice time, paid coaches, etc. That doesn't include family travel. Add that to the AAA budget you already lay out. How many people can swing that?

I think AAA hockey is a good supplement for those families and players that are looking for additional competitive play in the "off-season". I hope those same families allow their kids to play other sports. At the end of the day, there are only a handful of kids each year from the state of Minnesota that will play D1 hockey. There will only be 2 to 3 kids each year from Minnesota that will ever play in the NHL.

$10-$15K/year? WHAT. That's because of all the travel involved. MN has so much in state talent that the only travel we need to do is for fun or maybe a single trip to Chicago or Canada. Those CA and Michigan teams have to travel weekly or monthly for any competition. AAA (atleast our experience) has so much less politics and BS. Plus longer games, tag up off sides etc... For the FUN factor (which it should be about) AAA beats organization hockey hands down. Think of all the silly rules/regulations/BS we put up with in a typical organization.

[quote="Lowstickside"]Interesting to see the what happened to the older (95 & 96) Machine teams.

96 team, after all of the training and team accomplishments in the younger years, seemed to plateau and become a team that was not going to win automatically anymore.

95 team split from the program and became the "Breakaway" this year. This team never really lived up to the potential of it's roster, and could never win consistantly. After all of the training and dedication to just one sport, the team never accomplished the team goals that it trained so hard for individually.

These teams are at or near the end of their AAA run, and I just wonder if it was worth all of the time, energy, and sacrifice?[/quote]
I'm wondering your opinion of the players as individuals, it sounds like you dont think the team is the best of all time but would you say the kids are going to be ahead of the curve from all the training or did everything kind of plateau?

The kids on these teams are all good players and will have much success in the years to come. I think the training they received and the program that they adheared to had a price to pay for them as individuals that was a pretty high one.

With all of the new AAA teams and training programs today, I have seen the overall AAA landscape change a great deal in the last 5 years and the training/development theories at MM and other programs have changed our MN summer youth hockey forever.

I look for more and more talented players coming out of our ranks and for a larger pool of talent. All adding up to a higher level of play at our upper levels(H.S.). The future should be exiting.

Snowmass wrote:

breakout wrote:

d10dad wrote: Ditto...

I see that happening in 2-3 years
AAA is exploding and More teams are showing up EVERY Summer....

I would put money on that NOT happening.

What is the purpose of going AAA "in season"? Spending thousands more for a sport that is already expensive? Pushing athletes away because families can't afford the costs of playing the greatest sport there is? Herb Brooks wanted to broaden the pyramid and allow more kids to play the game of hockey. Apparently, you want to turn the pyramid upside down.

Minnesota is unique at the youth and high school levels. Our systems offer an opportunity for a broad base of kids to play competitive hockey.

In Chicago, California, Arizona, etc. AAA hockey costs families anywhere from 10 to 15K per kid annually. That's ice time, paid coaches, etc. That doesn't include family travel. Add that to the AAA budget you already lay out. How many people can swing that?

I think AAA hockey is a good supplement for those families and players that are looking for additional competitive play in the "off-season". I hope those same families allow their kids to play other sports. At the end of the day, there are only a handful of kids each year from the state of Minnesota that will play D1 hockey. There will only be 2 to 3 kids each year from Minnesota that will ever play in the NHL.

$10-$15K/year? WHAT. That's because of all the travel involved. MN has so much in state talent that the only travel we need to do is for fun or maybe a single trip to Chicago or Canada. Those CA and Michigan teams have to travel weekly or monthly for any competition. AAA (atleast our experience) has so much less politics and BS. Plus longer games, tag up off sides etc... For the FUN factor (which it should be about) AAA beats organization hockey hands down. Think of all the silly rules/regulations/BS we put up with in a typical organization.

Let me guess, you are a person that complains on the sidelines about your association and likely have never stepped up to offer your time, thoughts, talents, etc. Correct?

Why would Michigan kids have to travel any more or less than Minnesota kids? That makes no sense at all.

Like I indicated, AAA hockey is a great supplement. Minnesota would lose thousands of hockey players in this state if you go AAA all year long.
That would be due to cost.

breakout wrote:

Snowmass wrote:

breakout wrote: I would put money on that NOT happening.

What is the purpose of going AAA "in season"? Spending thousands more for a sport that is already expensive? Pushing athletes away because families can't afford the costs of playing the greatest sport there is? Herb Brooks wanted to broaden the pyramid and allow more kids to play the game of hockey. Apparently, you want to turn the pyramid upside down.

Minnesota is unique at the youth and high school levels. Our systems offer an opportunity for a broad base of kids to play competitive hockey.

In Chicago, California, Arizona, etc. AAA hockey costs families anywhere from 10 to 15K per kid annually. That's ice time, paid coaches, etc. That doesn't include family travel. Add that to the AAA budget you already lay out. How many people can swing that?

I think AAA hockey is a good supplement for those families and players that are looking for additional competitive play in the "off-season". I hope those same families allow their kids to play other sports. At the end of the day, there are only a handful of kids each year from the state of Minnesota that will play D1 hockey. There will only be 2 to 3 kids each year from Minnesota that will ever play in the NHL.

$10-$15K/year? WHAT. That's because of all the travel involved. MN has so much in state talent that the only travel we need to do is for fun or maybe a single trip to Chicago or Canada. Those CA and Michigan teams have to travel weekly or monthly for any competition. AAA (atleast our experience) has so much less politics and BS. Plus longer games, tag up off sides etc... For the FUN factor (which it should be about) AAA beats organization hockey hands down. Think of all the silly rules/regulations/BS we put up with in a typical organization.

Let me guess, you are a person that complains on the sidelines about your association and likely have never stepped up to offer your time, thoughts, talents, etc. Correct?

Why would Michigan kids have to travel any more or less than Minnesota kids? That makes no sense at all.

Like I indicated, AAA hockey is a great supplement. Minnesota would lose thousands of hockey players in this state if you go AAA all year long.
That would be due to cost.

Nice try. Other than coaching (1-2 teams/year) the past 6 years I have contributed nothing to my hockey association. I'm not here to have a peeing contest with you, just saying that OUR AAA experience was much better (more FUN) VS the association hockey. Association hockey is so political VS our AAA experiences.

breakout wrote:

Snowmass wrote:

breakout wrote: I would put money on that NOT happening.

What is the purpose of going AAA "in season"? Spending thousands more for a sport that is already expensive? Pushing athletes away because families can't afford the costs of playing the greatest sport there is? Herb Brooks wanted to broaden the pyramid and allow more kids to play the game of hockey. Apparently, you want to turn the pyramid upside down.

Minnesota is unique at the youth and high school levels. Our systems offer an opportunity for a broad base of kids to play competitive hockey.

In Chicago, California, Arizona, etc. AAA hockey costs families anywhere from 10 to 15K per kid annually. That's ice time, paid coaches, etc. That doesn't include family travel. Add that to the AAA budget you already lay out. How many people can swing that?

I think AAA hockey is a good supplement for those families and players that are looking for additional competitive play in the "off-season". I hope those same families allow their kids to play other sports. At the end of the day, there are only a handful of kids each year from the state of Minnesota that will play D1 hockey. There will only be 2 to 3 kids each year from Minnesota that will ever play in the NHL.

$10-$15K/year? WHAT. That's because of all the travel involved. MN has so much in state talent that the only travel we need to do is for fun or maybe a single trip to Chicago or Canada. Those CA and Michigan teams have to travel weekly or monthly for any competition. AAA (atleast our experience) has so much less politics and BS. Plus longer games, tag up off sides etc... For the FUN factor (which it should be about) AAA beats organization hockey hands down. Think of all the silly rules/regulations/BS we put up with in a typical organization.

Let me guess, you are a person that complains on the sidelines about your association and likely have never stepped up to offer your time, thoughts, talents, etc. Correct?

Why would Michigan kids have to travel any more or less than Minnesota kids? That makes no sense at all.

Like I indicated, AAA hockey is a great supplement. Minnesota would lose thousands of hockey players in this state if you go AAA all year long.
That would be due to cost.

How many Minnesota hockey players would be lost if AAA was allowed in the winter along with Assocication hockey?

Snowmass wrote:Association hockey is so political VS our AAA experiences.

And if Minnesota did go AAA during the winter season, how long would it take for your enjoyable AAA experience to turn into what you do not enjoy about your current association? My guess is not long.

GMANDAD wrote: How many Minnesota hockey players would be lost if AAA was allowed in the winter along with Assocication hockey?

Probably the majority of an associations Bantam A, Peweee A, Squirt A rosters + some B1 players if those players would choose AAA over Association hockey