New Jersey Surge

[usahockey9]

Rumor has it you are not going to be in the league next year. Also you don't have enough players to make the trip to Pitt.

[whizbang]

OMG!! I'm on the team and i had no idea?!?

i hope this all gets cleared up at our next practice!

[usahockey9]

Is'nt true that you have to pay 220 dollars to play in the house league and that money does'nt go to your travel expenses?

[SPORTSPLEXJEFF]

USAHockey9 aka (Mr. Pot Stirrer)

Wherever you are getting your info is garbage. I have physically spoken to the Surge organization and they will be there this weekend.

Once again you come on here make bs statements and attack a team from NJ in the AIHL.

Why don't you get a life and get out of your house and do something productive.

You could tell us who you are but nobody will probably know you which will make it a bigger shame to yourself and further your embarassment.

[usahockey9]

Mr. Haze

There are many facts the go along with this NJ Surge team. First off there is no team structure or organization. Secondly this so call team from what i hear does not practice. How do you expect any team to get any better without practice. All this team is worried about is Money.

[njstampede12]

Can't we all just get along?

[whizbang]

All this team is worried about is Money.

see now, that is not true! they let you pay in installments. and if you can't afford the league or have a scheduling conflict because of a job they're nice enough to let you work off your accumulated $700 via community service.

now it's true that we haven't had a practice in a while. but with the talent on our team...... do we really need to practice?

[njstampede12]

Teams do need practice. Look at Team Canada for example they practiced and they ended up winning the Gold Medal and they had alot of Talent. Come on they had Mike Richards and Chris Pronger. Mucho Talent

[SPORTSPLEXJEFF]

Mr. Haze

There are many facts the go along with this NJ Surge team. First off there is no team structure or organization. Secondly this so call team from what i hear does not practice. How do you expect any team to get any better without practice. All this team is worried about is Money.

So either you are a player for them which is pathetic that you would bash your own team or you got kicked off for being a (Insert Insulting Name).

Either way you sir are a waste!

[Havelock17]

Hey guys, I guess I'll just try to clear up a few things here. I don't like posting much of anything on here. So just take this for what it's worth and I'll be on my way.

1. We never at any point said we would not be attending the Pittsburgh Festival. We're not going to have our full roster for either team simply because of weekend conflict, work, or just lack of dedication (but hey who doesn't suffer from that last one).

2. Discussing next season is neither here nor there. The two owners would love to have a team next year and I'm sure we will. There was some dissatisfaction as to how this season turned out, but hey, it happens. Sure we were hoping to have a good year, but it didn't pan out for us... oh well... we move on, we grow, we try to find the right pieces and we hope we can become a stronger, more cohesive (and cooperative) team next year.

3. Money Money Money. Damn right that's all the Surge is about, let me tell you, my two owners are ROLLING IN IT! For those of you not seeing the sarcasm there, I apologize. Yes it was required of any player on the team to join and play in the house league at Morristown. Those who couldn't did have ways of working that off, but the main goal of that whole stipulation was to keep guys constantly skating together through the week because with the schedules of most of the players, it was very tough to put together a practice where everyone could be present. People have lives outside of this and it's just not always the easiest thing to do. Also, you need to understand the cost involved with running on of these teams... it costs thousands to do. Our owners never asked for a dime from anyone regarding the Surge. Uniforms, floor time, jamboree expenses, ref fees and all were always taken care of.

4. We have not done well this year. Plain and simple. There is a core group of players on this team who are striving to get better together and are willing to stick it out, there are some that aren't willing to let this grow and get better. I think one person who can level with this is Anthony Flynn. If anyone remembers when the Growl first began... they got blown out just about every weekend. But season after season, they got better and better until they ended up winning numerous championships. He to had his share of players who came and went, but there was a core there to build on.

5. I'm not going to blame anyone for our short comings... I won't point a finger at any one... there's no need for it. A team is a team. You win together, you lose together. That's all. Sometimes certain players can't find there niche in a team and they get released, some players prove their worth and truly excel inside of a team... such is life... Some of you will get fired from your job and some of you will get promoted at it... one way or another, you find your niche.


So to put this to rest... I'm looking forward to a fun weekend of hockey in Pittsburgh with my teammates. I'm looking forward to another great year of hockey next season when I'm back to play. To my teammates... whether I'm skating with you next season or you decide to move on to a new team, a new venture... well then good luck and I'll see you out there!

-Chris Havelock

[yokes]

Chris, thanks for using class and being upfront and forthcoming with details. You could of stooped to other ways of handling this but you did it the right way.

[RichardGraham]

Hey Guys,

I'm finding that I'm fairly slow in responding to threads that start to get out of hand these days because I'm on the downhill slope with my book on Roller Hockey International (yes, it will include chapters on Major League Roller Hockey and Pro Beach Hockey -- sorry, PIHA and AIHL come after the scope of the book).

When things get close to litigation level, let me know and I'll close and delete threads.

Until that point, take a check and like it! ;)

[usahockey9]

First off I would like to say that i never said the Surge were not going to Pitt. I was asking. This is what was going around. No I am not a player or a Ex player of this team. Yes i do respect your team for being in the league but it's year after year of the same stuff with the Morristown Organization. You never have a solid team. You never have guys showing up on a regular basis. Please do not compare the surge to the old growl teams my friend. As far as your team mates paying money for leagues, why don;t you make them pay a flat rate like any other team. Some people do have lives,jobs and other things going on in life where they can't make rec games. Any team i have seen hs the guys pay money for the season up front of pay throughout the season. As far as being dedicated to the team. It seemed like all season you had guys dedicated all season til this pittsburgh trip. If you knew this was going to be a problem why did'nt you guys meaning the Surge play in the !st festival of the season in Philadelphia? Every game you guys had guys after guys showing up to your games. I'm not downing your team. i'm just saying your organization is like the laughing stick of the league.

[whizbang]

i know me and my close mates on the team were more than dedicated. i personally have only missed one practice for my mom's birthday, and the pitt trip because i couldnt afford it. i had also skiped my dad's birthday after he was diagnosed with heart diease to be a good team mate and drive some guys down to the cyclones game (in a snow storm) so i could "maybe" get some playing time. all this dedication talk bewilders me. not to mention why some players would get cut for not finding a niche on the team.... when they have assisted on maybe 30% of the team's goals, and was the only person that showed up for practices.....

but this thread is turning out to be a joke and i think mr. grahm should shut it down.

as for usahockey, i understand why, and where you coming from. A LOT i would say about enough people to ice a minor and pro team feel where your coming from. but this is the wrong venue. and hiding behind an empty screen name gives your claim zero credibility. all you're doing is reminding me of the crapy season we all had and that pisses me off.

the surge is in its infancy with new ownership. and new coaching. there were bumps and potholes that plauged the way. but hopefully in the off season they will learn from their mistakes and pave the way to a smooth season. i have confidence that whoever plays surge next year will have a much more enjoyable experiance, we play the greatest game on earth. there is no reason not to have fun.

[wildpuck]

usahockey9,

I don't know if you were there this weekend to watch, but in my opinion, the Surge elites played some pretty good hockey. They lost a game it OT to the Mavericks and played a good game against the defending AIHL champions, the Bandits. I don't recall the score of that one.

I wouldn't call them the laughing stick (nice play on words there) though.

Just my opinion.

[njstampede12]

i know me and my close mates on the team were more than dedicated. i personally have only missed one practice for my mom's birthday, and the pitt trip because i couldnt afford it. i had also skiped my dad's birthday after he was diagnosed with heart diease to be a good team mate and drive some guys down to the cyclones game (in a snow storm) so i could "maybe" get some playing time. all this dedication talk bewilders me. not to mention why some players would get cut for not finding a niche on the team.... when they have assisted on maybe 30% of the team's goals, and was the only person that showed up for practices.....

but this thread is turning out to be a joke and i think mr. grahm should shut it down.

as for usahockey, i understand why, and where you coming from. A LOT i would say about enough people to ice a minor and pro team feel where your coming from. but this is the wrong venue. and hiding behind an empty screen name gives your claim zero credibility. all you're doing is reminding me of the crapy season we all had and that pisses me off.

the surge is in its infancy with new ownership. and new coaching. there were bumps and potholes that plauged the way. but hopefully in the off season they will learn from their mistakes and pave the way to a smooth season. i have confidence that whoever plays surge next year will have a much more enjoyable experiance, we play the greatest game on earth. there is no reason not to have fun.

Nate David is by far the most dedicated player/friend anyone could of had on the Surge. He would drive to games/practices and try to work on his game week after week. He would sit there during games and open up doors and fill up water bottles. He also would sit there and tape sticks and most importantly he would pump his team up when needed all the time. Yea he would drive players to rink to rink. Y you ask? Because nate is a good friend and team player that cares about his team.

Nate may not be the best player in the league or have the ability of some players, But the kid has heart to learn and play with and against the best players in the league. Yea he was frustrated and did not quit and i Respect that from him. The only way he would get playing time was if we were killing teams which was not the case or we were getting killed by other teams. Even then he barely seen the floor. I know i will stand behind my friends in a heart beat just like i know as they would. This kid did the right thing and i respect that.

[DblJ44]

First off I would like to say that i never said the Surge were not going to Pitt. I was asking.


1. Questions end in a question mark. It looks like this ? if you're not sure.

2. Why post 2 more times after the initial post and not state that it was a question from square one?

My guess is that you wanted to post about how wrong it is the way the owners run their team. That's their choice, and the players choice to play there. I know several players from the Surge, and even played AAU winters with them, and they're all adults and made the decision to play there. If you're not one of the people who play there, what's the difference to you?

[njstampede12]

Snap Good post JJ

[minutemen]

Actually USAhockey9 Morristown used to have a good organization. It was started in 2004 and lets see, our first year we made the finals for both Pro and minor and lost. Then second season we won a minor Championship. Third season we took our whole Minor team to Pro and made the playoffs. So to state that the organization never has success or commitment from players is absolutely false. I would say the last few seasons have not been the best for the Surge (aka Stampede and Minutemen) but what organization has not been in this position. It is not easy to run an organization and to keep players coming to games when the team is losing. As for comments on making players pay, well there are a lot of teams that do the same.

As for comparing to the Growl, back in the day they used to have really bad teams. It took flynn a number of years to get them to one of the best organizations.

[Havelock17]

Hey Nate, I hope you didn't think that the "dedication" talk was pinned against you, that for sure wasn't the case. You probably had more heart then anyone and what you did from the bench was worth a ton to your team mates.

Let's see if there is anything else I should address...

Money. I'm not to sure why USAHockey9 is so fixed on the finance issue, but I think a lot of teams have different ways of handling that. Some make you pay a lot (Hartford I know has a pretty hefty bill from what I remember). Some teams let you pay through out the season. Some make you pay all up front. I think our situation is one of the more unique ones, but again, the other main stipulation for that was to keep the guys skating together during the week. If you have a better solution, I'm all ears and I'm sure my owners would appreciate some insight as to what other teams have found to be a successful solution to this issue as well. But again, our owners paid for everything regarding the AIHL (league fees, ref fees, festival fees, uniforms, pucks) The only thing they did not cover was travel expenses and equipment. And I'll reiterate once again, the stipulation of playing in the house leagues at Morristown was simply to keep the players playing together through out the week.

The Philly Festival v.s. The Pittsburgh Festival. I could be wrong on this one, but I don't believe we had a choice in which one we could go to. All of the players on our team were aware of the dates of the games and schedules well in advance, so it really wouldn't have mattered since we all knew the dates and had ample time to free our schedules. I understand things come up and we can't always control that, thus why I am not pointing fingers or blaming anyone.

Laughing Stick of the League. Not sure if that's a typo or not, but regardless, I think thats a tad harsh. Yeah it's not been an easy road for us here and yes teams around us have developed and grown much faster and more consistently. It takes time and I'm sure that eventually down the road we'll pull this whole thing together. I mean with a short bench, we did manage to play Pittsburgh to a 4-1 game at the festival this weekend (thanks for that shout out WildPuck... nice pictures from the weekend too!).

Anyway, that's all from me for now. If anyone has anything else just shoot me an email or contact me here. [email protected]

-Chris

[phil29]

this is ridiculous. if you haven't played for the team then why are you bashing them on a message board under an alias? if anybody should be complaining it should be the ones who were lied to and you don't see that at all. so either you do play for them and lie to everyone on the boards or you know someone who plays for them.

[Puckdropper1]

Well let me give you my two cents regarding the NJ Surge. As an official, and sorry due to my business I missed most of the season since the 1st of the year but one thing in my opinion the Surge come to play. They might not win week in and week out but the come to play and they also ways show respect on and off the floor.

I have officiated at all levels and I know alot of players in the league and I will say this, I show them the same respect as they show me. I have enjoyed officiating games that the Surge player in and we might not see eye to eye every game but at the end of the game they would always shake your hand and say thank you. CLASS ACT TEAM "PERIOD".

Bill Taggart

[Mlrhnorthfan]

I love when dudes complain about paying and money situations.

It costs Jimmy, Lair and I about 50K a year to run the FireAnts.

Our player fees range from 400 to 750 depending on your length of time as part of the organization and what off- rink activities you support. The more you give to the team the more we give back. Also many players have sponsors that pay for their entire fee.

We have no sympathy for guys who complain about paying money to play "elite" roller.

Try running a team. if it wasnt for the suckers...i mean owners, there wouldnt be teams or leagues to play in.

I consider Silvia a good friend and know that he did his best in Morristown when he ran the team. Best of luck to the new Surge ownership. it isnt easy and no matter what someone is always out there to take shots at you.

everyone thinks they can do it better but few are willing to put their money where their mouth is.

[njstampede12]

Alright i have seen enough of this crap. So here is my input for the NJ Surge.

Yes i play for the NJ Surge and yes there have been some points in our season were it has not been good. Yea we are in last place on the atlantic division. That might be for the fact we have not had practice. Yea i understand people have lives outside AIHL but don't sit there and say you would like to play in a "Pro" league when your really not dedicated. For example i have a 4yr old daughter you might know and there were so many times i brought her to my games along with my finace Adrienne. Did I really have to show up to my games ? Yes i did because i started the season out with this team and i'm going to finish it. I mean we were getting blown out by teams so bad and for me to bring her into a old rink that was cold sucked for her and myself. But the reason i played was for the fact i'm committed to the team and she loves watching her "Daddy" play hockey.

On the ownership
There is nothing i can say wrong about the ownership of this team. They have treated myself and my family well. From day 1 when i met Carl and Marc they have been great and respected us.

On the Coaching.
Ken Peters is a stand up guy that loves the game and does well the the AIHL. He is a passionate guy that wants to win and help out his players get better. He has stuck by us through thick and thin and Wins and Big time lop sided games. I would play under this guy any day.

As far as the commitment.
As far as i'm concerned we had alot of people that showed up to games/practices that were dedicated from day one of training camp. Yea it was obligated from players to pay in the leagues. But some players were not able to come up with some of the money and were asked to leave the team. I really can't say anything on that cause i do not own the team. I pointed this out earlier if you planned on playing for a Team then you need to stick out no matter what.

Pittsburgh Trip.

As far as the trip goes i can speak for myself and my family. I could not make the trip along with Adrienne due to me having my daughter. I know my Brother in law Eric Dawe the Goalie did not go becasue he is a manager of a resturant. I respect the players that went out there. Thanks guys.

[growl89]

You guys really shouldn't air your dirty laundry in this forum. I don't believe that you guys have forfietted all season, so there really isn't a big issue with that, Winchester never won a game I believe and showed up to like 40 straight games. So as long as you're not forfietting you're in a good position. Deal with the money, ownership, etc behind closed doors. You guys don't want the rest of the league reading this stuff.


Everyone knows who usahockey9, if you don't, it's not hard to figure out. But don't let someone like that start a civil war within your own team. He's someone who is a bitter individual as he was never able to take control of teams. Look at the two teams he's bashed on here, The Wolves and The Surge. Now put the thinking caps on...

[Aheyne2]

why is everyone letting this person get to you... ignore them... not every team starts as winners! it takes time and thats what we are all working on ... I agree with TJ on how people do have lives outside of hockey ... Work Family Etc. i give the owners 100% respect for doing what they are for these teams cause 99% of the players in the league would not be able to play...due to money in this economy today whoever has a problem with a team because of people on it... we are playing to have FUN what a sport was originally made for .... so i say ignore the A$$holes and lets have fun win or loose...:D

[deno94]

I rarely comment on the posts on IHC, because it seems as if many of them are started for absolutely no reason. I say the same about this post.
I have been involved in roller hockey for quite some time and to be perfectly honest, I understand where the NJ Surge is coming from.

Management- It has had it issues in the past, however, it is now fixed and they have owners that are trying very hard to make it work.

Coaching- Ken Peters is a stand up guy who I have known and worked with for many years, so lets drop that issue, he is a class act.

Players- As we know, life takes us to different places. I understand players not being able to commit 100%....they try their best.

We all do this for fun, and it seems as if people like usahockey9 are out to put a damper on things. He is the person trying to ruin something we all enjoy, let him do it....lets all get back to what we love doing, playing roller hockey....

I commend the NJ Surge for being there through thick and thin.