Obviously In the Crease is happy with their decision last season. I don’t think anyone is doubting that...
On the contrary, parents were “promised†development at the beginning part of the season which included ice time. Not only by coaches by but the club because of the percentages needed to meet PDR. This was part of the recruitment process or shall I say marketing pitch, in order for the AA team OC wanted to run in addition to a another AA team that had at most a few AA caliber players. There were kids who played on OC 2 that were returning to OC but decided not to play for the coach which made the PDR requirement that much more of an issue for OC1. That resulted in recruiting players that would never had been selected to play had the PDR been met, but parents who did ask realistic questions about play time (as In the Crease suggested), were given empty answers. Most parents on OC were told, your kid will improve so much when pushed by the coach as well as playing more skilled and faster teams...Every parent on the team knows that but there are loyalists who’s kids are the “favorites†so turn a blind eye. After all, their kid gets to play and couldn’t be happier. What they forget is, without those kids, OC 1 would not have been able to play AA. The argument becomes, no wonder why kid-A gets 1 min of ice time a game because he doesn’t have the talent or skill to play more, but how would he develop if never given the chance during real play? Not to mention the coach pulling his favorites during the intermission and leaving the other 60% to hear “chalk talk†from an assistant coach.
We all know hockey in CA requires a pocketbook that can include extra lessons and stick times and those who work hard grow in the sport. However, those same 1 min kids are also putting in the extra effort but not given the chance to use or even develop their skills without play. Did the favorites get punished or benched when a goal was scored when they were on the ice or took a lazy/stupid penalty? Shame on those parents who tried to have discussions with the coach and manager about issues brought forth and questions about how to encourage their child to show improvement that could result in more play time because that is what in-house levels are for and not 12Y/o hockey tier hockey. 🙄Clearly the loyalists suggest deal with what you signed up for and move on next year...
Lastly, how did that work out for OC by the way? Did the favorites come through when it mattered? The score sheets show that answer...