AAA teams for next season

[SkatingDad]

 The most important things are:

- Figure out where your kid will develop
- Don't put them in a place where they will sit on the bench or be miserable
- Encourage them to put in the extra time. Shoot 100 pucks a day. Do extra on ice practices.  Work out off ice. Keep your marks up. It's a huge commitment. There are very few successful AAA players that "just show up for the practices."

If they want to play D1 or D3 college they also need to focus on academics. Colleges are going to be more interested in a kid with a high GPA and SAT/ACT scores.  These kids can get partial academic scholarships so the athletic scholarships can be used elsewhere.

[notTHATdad]

 The most important things are:

- Figure out where your kid will develop
- Don't put them in a place where they will sit on the bench or be miserable
- Encourage them to put in the extra time. Shoot 100 pucks a day. Do extra on ice practices.  Work out off ice. Keep your marks up. It's a huge commitment. There are very few successful AAA players that "just show up for the practices."

If they want to play D1 or D3 college they also need to focus on academics. Colleges are going to be more interested in a kid with a high GPA and SAT/ACT scores.  These kids can get partial academic scholarships so the athletic scholarships can be used elsewhere.

Absolutely. It's actually in the NCAA rules. The higher their GPA is, the more spots on a team are available. A kid with a lousy GPA is fighting for one of 1-2 spots per school (over 4 years... so they are likely filled). A kid with a great GPA is fighting for one of 25 spots (again, over 4 years, so on average 1 of 6 spots in any given year, per school).


That's why I get super pissed off at coaches that don't take academics into account in planning schedules or scheduling road time.

[6607]

Regarding the AA goalie.  My wisest hockey friend gave me, along the way, two great pieces of advice. First, figure out where you want your kid in two years time, and start working with that as your goal.  Second, he used to think there was only one path forward, but there are many. 


It’s pretty important to get to AAA.  Opportunities multiply with success at the AAA level, and as far as I can tell, the primary opportunity that success at AA gets you is a better shot at AAA.  Anyway, if I were you, I would get my kid in front of the AAA coaches at spring clinics and see where you stand.  You might be surprised that there is an opportunity where you didn’t think there was one, or may be you get exposure that helps win your kid a spot on the 15u team next spring.   A lot of spots open up soon.


And work on your plan B (well, your plan AA). There are programs that will sell you that there AA team is a vehicle for exposure.  Two of them just lost AAA bids.  I’m
Sure there are others.  Figure out who can do it and go for it.


Also, put your inquiry out as a separate topic on this board and on the midget thread.  I’ve
done that in the past and received very helpful direct messages from Veteran hockey parents.

[raca51]

Thank you all for the responses! It has been very helpful.

[JustAnotherHockeyParent]

Tier I Team Selections for 2020-21 Season
Jan 29, 2020  5:10 PM
On January 25 the CAHA Board of Directors approved the applications for the following Tier I Divisions/teams for the 2020-2021 Playing Season:

Boys
11U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, San Jose Jr. Sharks
12U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, San Jose Jr. Sharks
13O - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, San Jose Jr. Sharks
14U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, Anaheim Jr. Ice Dogs, LA Jr. Kings, San Diego Jr. Gulls, San Jose Jr. Sharks
15O - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, San Diego Saints, San Jose Jr. Sharks
16U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, Ontario Jr. Reign, San Jose Jr. Sharks
18U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, Ontario Jr. Reign, San Jose Jr. Sharks

Girls
12U - Anaheim Lady Ducks, San Jose Jr. Sharks Girls
14U - Anaheim Lady Ducks, San Jose Jr. Sharks Girls
16U - Anaheim Lady Ducks, San Jose Jr. Sharks Girls
19U - Anaheim Lady Ducks, San Jose Jr. Sharks Girls* (Sharks subject to approval by USA Hockey)

[6607]

Woof!

[Strawman]

"If your kid didn't make an AAA team it's almost certainly because they aren't playing at that level. Don't worry about it - play AA where they will actually hit the ice, and let them develop. Tell them they need to try harder and put in more time - that's usually the honest truth.

It's like the old adage at most workplaces - no boss ever gives someone a promotion because they think they can do the job. They give them a promotion because they actually ARE doing the job and deserve it. Same with advancement from AA to AAA. And the reality is most AAA coaches have years or decades of experience looking at players and are motivated to succeed. They do remarkably well picking out the right kids at tryouts."

Correct, but every year I also see guys on AAA teams who should be playing AA, and vice versa. Not tons but quite a few, more than anybody would like. Way more than merit goes into whether you get into AAA especially here in California where the opportunities are so limited.  There's politics, daddy coaches, and favoritism. Some AAA coaches get lazy about scouting after the initial AAA cohort gets anointed at age 9 or 10.  There's also a lot of subjectivity:  two coaches attending the same tryout are usually going to pick two different teams. 

The main thing is for your kid to block out all the things over which he has no control, stay the course, out-work his peers every day, and have patience. If you have a bunch of coaches and knowledgeable hockey folks consistently telling you that your kid should be playing AAA but it still isn't working out for him, then consider moving him somewhere else where there's more opportunity, once he's mature enough to handle it.

[Deuce]

Tier I Team Selections for 2020-21 Season
Jan 29, 2020  5:10 PM
On January 25 the CAHA Board of Directors approved the applications for the following Tier I Divisions/teams for the 2020-2021 Playing Season:

Boys
11U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, San Jose Jr. Sharks
12U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, San Jose Jr. Sharks
13O - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, San Jose Jr. Sharks
14U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, Anaheim Jr. Ice Dogs, LA Jr. Kings, San Diego Jr. Gulls, San Jose Jr. Sharks
15O - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, San Diego Saints, San Jose Jr. Sharks
16U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, Ontario Jr. Reign, San Jose Jr. Sharks
18U - Anaheim Jr. Ducks, LA Jr. Kings, Ontario Jr. Reign, San Jose Jr. Sharks

Girls
12U - Anaheim Lady Ducks, San Jose Jr. Sharks Girls
14U - Anaheim Lady Ducks, San Jose Jr. Sharks Girls
16U - Anaheim Lady Ducks, San Jose Jr. Sharks Girls
19U - Anaheim Lady Ducks, San Jose Jr. Sharks Girls* (Sharks subject to approval by USA Hockey)

5 teams for the 06 division! Thats a good start, hopefully CAHA treats this as an experiment to expand all levels if there are enough kids that are capable and want to play AAA.

[Mulletsforever]

Congrats to the Ice Dogs on their successful appeal!    Rumor is they convinced CAHA to give them the AAA bid by saying some of the best 06 AAA players in the state (currently at the Kings 05 AAA, Kings 06 AAA & Ducks 06 AAA) were committed to playing for them next year - even though the kids they named would never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever play for them. Those players and parents haven't even had a conversation with the Ice Dogs about it. If the parents of these kids knew they were mentioned in their appeal/application their jaws would drop. God, I really hope this rumor is false. ]If it is true though and Ice Dogs knowingly lied to get their AAA status, they should not only lose their AAA bid, but should be banned from the playoffs. If the Ice Dogs did represent the above, a simple phone call to the parents they mentioned should clear this up. Hey, parent of ___________ , did you ever tell the Ice Dogs that you were planning on playing there next season? Did you have any conversations with the club that would make them believe that?

[Beer Leaguer]

I’m sure everyone will be up front and not hide their true intentions.

[notTHATdad]

"If your kid didn't make an AAA team it's almost certainly because they aren't playing at that level. Don't worry about it - play AA where they will actually hit the ice, and let them develop. Tell them they need to try harder and put in more time - that's usually the honest truth.

It's like the old adage at most workplaces - no boss ever gives someone a promotion because they think they can do the job. They give them a promotion because they actually ARE doing the job and deserve it. Same with advancement from AA to AAA. And the reality is most AAA coaches have years or decades of experience looking at players and are motivated to succeed. They do remarkably well picking out the right kids at tryouts."

Correct, but every year I also see guys on AAA teams who should be playing AA, and vice versa. Not tons but quite a few, more than anybody would like. Way more than merit goes into whether you get into AAA especially here in California where the opportunities are so limited.  There's politics, daddy coaches, and favoritism. Some AAA coaches get lazy about scouting after the initial AAA cohort gets anointed at age 9 or 10.  There's also a lot of subjectivity:  two coaches attending the same tryout are usually going to pick two different teams. 

The main thing is for your kid to block out all the things over which he has no control, stay the course, out-work his peers every day, and have patience. If you have a bunch of coaches and knowledgeable hockey folks consistently telling you that your kid should be playing AAA but it still isn't working out for him, then consider moving him somewhere else where there's more opportunity, once he's mature enough to handle it.

I agree on the advice - to some degree, but I haven't seen much of what you discuss. Again, maybe that's a Norcal versus Socal difference. At the risk of identifying my kid, he's had the unusual experience of starting in A, winning Norcal, then making AAA, But then being dropped to AA. He then worked his ass off to get back to AAA where he has been for a couple of years now and has now climbed to the first line. It's given him and us a pretty broad set of experiences across the talent level available up here.


We obviously didn't spend time with everyone out there, but in that experience we didn't see any other AA's that should have been on the AAA team (including my kid, until he improved his game). We saw some with talent, but there were always issues (locker room or attitude problems, size, crazy parents, etc). And conversely the few AA's that were on the AAA teams were there because of a shortage of qualified kids, not politics (and as I mentioned above, had miserable times of it).


I actually give the coaches the benefit of the doubt. I think they usually get it right (and even thought that when my kid and a bunch of his talented friends were cut.) I think there is much less politics than people imagine, but sometimes the 'political' angle goes in the same direction as the fundamentals at work, and unhappy parents usually jump to the wrong conclusions.


I try VERY hard not to blame politics for anything when I deal with my kids. And that's hard some times. The best message is to take a setback as an indication that to make that goal you simply have to work harder and play smarter.  The good news (and indicator of the lack of politics) is there is more turnover on AAA teams than people assume - I know up here it's about %20-%25 per year.

[Rats13]

Congrats to the Ice Dogs on their successful appeal!    Rumor is they convinced CAHA to give them the AAA bid by saying some of the best 06 AAA players in the state (currently at the Kings 05 AAA, Kings 06 AAA & Ducks 06 AAA) were committed to playing for them next year - even though the kids they named would never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever play for them. Those players and parents haven't even had a conversation with the Ice Dogs about it. If the parents of these kids knew they were mentioned in their appeal/application their jaws would drop. God, I really hope this rumor is false. ]If it is true though and Ice Dogs knowingly lied to get their AAA status, they should not only lose their AAA bid, but should be banned from the playoffs. If the Ice Dogs did represent the above, a simple phone call to the parents they mentioned should clear this up. Hey, parent of ___________ , did you ever tell the Ice Dogs that you were planning on playing there next season? Did you have any conversations with the club that would make them believe that?

Can you even have those kind of conversations "legally" in season??  Are there not any kind of tampering rules during the year while the LOI is in place.   I know happens all the time but would think it would be not allowed in season.

[notTHATdad]

Congrats to the Ice Dogs on their successful appeal!    Rumor is they convinced CAHA to give them the AAA bid by saying some of the best 06 AAA players in the state (currently at the Kings 05 AAA, Kings 06 AAA & Ducks 06 AAA) were committed to playing for them next year - even though the kids they named would never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever play for them. Those players and parents haven't even had a conversation with the Ice Dogs about it. If the parents of these kids knew they were mentioned in their appeal/application their jaws would drop. God, I really hope this rumor is false. ]If it is true though and Ice Dogs knowingly lied to get their AAA status, they should not only lose their AAA bid, but should be banned from the playoffs. If the Ice Dogs did represent the above, a simple phone call to the parents they mentioned should clear this up. Hey, parent of ___________ , did you ever tell the Ice Dogs that you were planning on playing there next season? Did you have any conversations with the club that would make them believe that?

Hilarious if true.


All you hear on this board is that there should be more AAA teams (despite the ratio of AAA to AA teams in CA being higher than the country average). But two of the recent cases I see are GSE North where they presented a roster to CAHA with three or four 05's on their proposed 04 team, and then later withdrew it, and if the above is true, the Ice Dogs, using other teams non-committed players. It also sounds like one of the new 06 AAA teams basically crumbled mid season, right?


If we need more AAA teams, where are all these kids that are obviously AAA players both in talent and willingness to commit? They certainly aren't available up north. Or is it wishful thinking?

[keepdrinkinthekoolaid]

Congrats to the Ice Dogs on their successful appeal!   

Yes, CONGRATS to the '06 Ice Dogs!

Mullet4,
You seem to be a wealth of information, may I please bother you to share with us less informed but inquring minds: 
1)  Who will be the Head Coach of the '06 Ice Dogs?
&
2)  Do you think that Head Coach will give the owner of the club his cell phone #?  Because, history shows with this Club, that it is alot easier to communicate with and fire / dismiss a Coach via text message then actually a face to face meeting, just saying

[trans4761]

How the fuck did BF get a 16AAA  team
Im willing to bet that there were some back room negotiations on other issues.  Either that or some sort of vidio was involved.  Were not these AAA team rules labled the Wildcat rules ??
Question to Benny....with your new AAA team, will i finally get paid $$ that's owed to me ?