USA Hockey Inline year

**DannyG** · 10-02-2003, 01:12 AM

The Nations-Tobin Hockey League, in El Paso, Texas, would like to publicly thank USA Hockey Inline for their continued commitment to the growth, development, and quality of the the inline hockey experience for all players.

This past year, ten Nations-Tobin teams participated in the USA Hockey youth Regional and National, and adult National championships.

Four of our players attended the adult National Team development try-out camp, four players went to the Junior try-out camp, and fully eight players participated in the Bantam-level instructional camp.

We are proud that our teams and players received eleven major awards in these competitions, including a regional championship (17's), a regional runner-up (10's), a national runner-up (Girls' 12's), three (!) national team sportsmanship awards (12's, Girls' 12's, Girls' 17's), and five players selected for their respective divisions' national all-tournament teams (Mikela, Alan, Paul, Emily, & Jimmy).

We note emphatically to all our fellow players, teams, and leagues out there that the USA Hockey program does more for our sport of inline hockey than all the other national organizations put together. We urge all of you to get involved with the USAHIL program!

This coming year promises to offer yet even more opportunities than ever before. We want all our friends in the inline hockey community to take advantage of these.

We hope to see you out on the blue floor very soon!

Sincerely, for all our Nations-Tobin inline hockey family,

DannyG

**Berry_Bramble** · 10-19-2003, 11:17 PM

Not looking to start anything here, but for some reason I have a feeling I will, but why on earth do you think that USAHIL are going to lead this great sport of ours that already gets laughed at by every other sport on earth, including bowling, into the future, I think playing teams from around the globe is cool, but as far as taking our country to the next level, I wouldn't look to USAHIL to do it or AAU. I was wondering how you feel about other tournament seriese? Just my thoughts, nothing against you or the organization you are involved with. You just seem to be all strung up on USAHIL

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**MDE3** · 10-21-2003, 12:52 AM

Well what alternative would you suggest that has the existing contacts world wide to continue to promote the sport on an International level plus on a domestic level, which has already got a ready made format for tiered play league development...if we want to use that of ice hockey, and has personel who are hockey people first and foremost.

Their stature for running tournaments may not equal that of Narch or Torhs, but would you trust the future of inline hockey to a dedicated for profit organization no matter how focussed they are on inline hockey? As for contiuing to use USARS or the AAU marriage with USARS, I do not see long term growth for the sport coming out of this, but more caretaker management of part of the existing confusion. Unless an agglomerate group composed of dedicated individuals from all the diverse developmental organizations could be formed (seems unlikely, or at least very difficult) I see USAHIL as the current most qualified candidate....with the continued concern that they would always keep inline hockey development behind that of ice, although for the moment that concern is moot, as inline is certainly not threatening ice as we speak. Mostly due to lack of focus from failing to have a true NGB which has the tools to help the sport grow.

**DannyG** · 10-21-2003, 01:31 AM

...only mean to promote USA Hockey Inline as the sole organization with potential to operate as our country's NGB, for the benefit of everybody, not just a select few. As far as my "laundry list" of what a be-all and end-all organization might be, USAHIL presently does not host an "open division" of elite competition in its youth nationals. That's what NARCh is, as well as what TORHS, ECHO, and a bunch of others, also are. NARCh is by far the most prolific of all these for-profit, open tournament organizations. It is generally understood by all that their platinum division of play is the most skilled team level play in the world, and rightly so. NARCh's opening up of its finals to a sliver division is definitely a step in the right direction, toward inclusiveness.

NARCh, however, does not provide anything other than tournament play. That's not a deficiency on their part, that's their business, for pete's sake. NARCh has never promoted itself as a candidate for NGB status, regardless of what some others on the IHC board have offered.

Arguing NARCh vs USAHIL is apples and oranges...both are doing the good job in their area of expertise. Make no mistake about it, we need both these areas to be competently adminstered, in order for our sport to grow.

My being "strung up" on USAHIL has only to do with the argument that other organizations should be considered for NGB status. Which, if you have had the opportunity to read earlier threads on this topic, will proably be decided by European administrators with the IOC, who will designate either FIRS or the IIHF as the official Olympic governing body. Such a designation will automatically designate our USA NGB, without any input from us, the players, fans, and administrators of the sport, unless the U.S. Congress steps in and designates otherwise beforehand. Good luck to us on that, eh?

...glad to discuss this in greater detail with anybody who wants to...my email is on file with IHC...

DannyG

**JohnChapman** · 10-21-2003, 03:07 PM

From accross the pond looking at the similarities concerning NGB's and organisations working together I feel that the first and most major problem is that our players do not see our sport as having its own identity. Is it a cheep form of ice hockey or a new version of rink hockey, but till they the players see their sport as a sport in its own right and promote it as such these arguements will carry on. Who runs it will only come when that seperate identity is found and promoted.

**Berry_Bramble** · 10-21-2003, 03:52 PM

Honestly, atleast in the NY/NJ area, I see less and less house leagues using USAHIL as a form of Insurance. What do I get for my $25 dollars when there are other insurance companies that are cheaper.

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**DannyG** · 10-21-2003, 04:24 PM

Barry, and others:

If all you think you are doing by sanctioning your program with USAHIL is getting an insurance program, then I sincerely suggest that you are not aware of what a national organization can do for our sport. Or, perhaps, you don't think that a national organization is necessary for the development of our sport to move forward, especially in relation to its second-class status to ice hockey.

I respectfully beg to differ with that viewpoint.

DannyG

**Berry_Bramble** · 10-22-2003, 01:32 AM

DennyG,

Its Berry, not Barry, I honestly can not think of one thing that USAHIL has done for the sport of roller hockey, they are just another organization, for profit or not for profit, that is just on the mess of a bandwagon we call roller hockey. Nationally, USAHIL might be something cool for house league teams, and there is nothing wrong with that, but just because they cater to house leagues doesn't make them the right pick to take roller hockey and make it something structured and respectable. I just don?t see it.

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**DannyG** · 10-22-2003, 03:44 AM

Yo, Berry:

...with profound apologies to Sam Beckett, as long as you refuse to answer questions, and only posit your own in a deroguetory and negative way, what further use is this discussion?

...my eldest son still calls me "Denny," as a childhood nickname...

If you really care about having a discussion on this, and are not just showing off for the message board readership, my email address (and we note, not yours), is posted in the profile section here...

...let me know...

DannyG

**Berry_Bramble** · 10-22-2003, 10:28 AM

DannyG,

Now we can note, that my e-mail address is also posted for readers to see. I am still waiting for the reasons on why USAHIL can take us into the future. I do not know any of the people from USAHIL but from what I have seen locally from house leagues in my area, and there are a ton of rinks, to nationals, they are just an insurance company, that?s it. They came to our area with a tournament, had 3 divisions with maybe 4 teams in each, this area draws on average 40-50 teams per tournament. I am not here saying we should grab our torches and pitchforks and attack, USAHIL, but I don?t think they are the people to lead us into the future with some structure and stability neither is NARCH or TORHS and especially not AAU or USARS. USA Hockey, (ice) has proven that structure and stability is possible in hockey, but when it comes to roller hockey, too many people look at USA hockey inline as nothing more than just an insurance company. If USA Hockey Inline, is as great as you say they are, I am sure they will step up and prove them selves in the future, I guess we will all have to wait and see. I see you posted that your teams have won some USAHIL events and I congratulate you on that, I am not trying to change your opinion, I just want to know why on earth other than the fact that you have won there tournaments, that you believe that they will lead us into the future, what are there plans and goals for this sport since you seem to know so much about them. You seem to know more than everyone else knows. If they are going to lead us into the future, I think we all have the right to know.

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**Rebecca** · 10-22-2003, 02:05 PM

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr>

I am sure they will step up and prove them selves in the future

<hr></blockquote>

Yes they will, no doubt, and they already are.

The league you play in, one of the fastest growing and most organized leagues in the country, NCRHA, is a partner with USAHIL, and not without reason. USAHIL has also attended 5 ECRHA events in less than one year, of which you were present at at least 2 that I know of and had the same opportunity to meet a USAHIL Staff Person. In addition, NCRHA continues to maintain friendly relationships with AAU, USARS, and NARCh.

Thank you Danny for continuing to support USAHIL.

NCRHA and ECRHA are proud supporters of USAHIL and the relationship is reciprocal.

Rebecca

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**MDE3** · 10-23-2003, 12:12 AM

This response is both to your comments Mr. Chapman and to those of Berry Bramble posted below, if it seems I go on.....(and I do.....)

Part One to Mr. Chapman's commentary:

You are right of course, but the cart and horse question remains..........my bets are that a well organized NGB will have to come first to help develop the indentity of the sport. Right now what exists has primarily evolved from opportunism, with the possible exception here of USAHIL.

Part Two: to Mr. "Bramble's" comments later on.

Organizations or individuals saw the old tournament structure of the original USAC and decided that they could improve upon this, and make a profit as well. These various groups who in general do a good job of attracting better talent, try to define the sport only by the success of teams and regions who participate in their tournaments and at their levels as well as the financial return from hosting these....which is their right. Unlike other sports, there is little opportunity or even support right now for the "home grown" teams at the elite and "semi elite" tournament levels. So the evolving talent in the sport is in most cases not from within the sport, but from outside ice hockey players who play inline when time away from ice hockey permits.

In fairness to USARS (before AAU) they tried to maintain a "JO" and "club level" differential, although oddly enough the "JO" level was considered the weaker of the two. But "sandbagging for success" happened all too frequently, and essentially the same thing happened in USARS as does in Narch, Torhs etc. The organization's need to have greater participation made them allow teams to enter these tournaments and qualify, even though they were not really "home grown" club teams, but in fact teams put together just for tournaments. Their players would often only see each other when they arrived for a tournament.

It would be like having all youth and junior ice hockey development defined only by a series of Silver Stick tournaments with elite teams made up only for the tournament series and/or their equivalents.

I go back to my original soapbox, clamoring for rinks to provide equal training and opportunity for growth for their players as exists in ice hockey. Making rink time available for the game to be played on a fun basis, as well as a developmental basis is sorely lacking across the country as a whole, although there are certainly exceptions. True league play must be established on a regional and national basis. Some fair and eqitable rating system for teams must be devised that would allow them a chance to compete within their peer levels. This has been tried in the tournament series of course, but with the driving force of these series being to attract the largest number of teams with the best talent possible, it is seen as counterproductive to restrict teams from entering in any way. Disqualifying a team because it has too much talent, would be heretical. Even though the sport desparately needs to have a tiered approach to maintain the grass roots development, this will never happen unless we have a true "NOT FOR PROFIT" NGB.

The missing elements in all this are really league play and true developmental programs set up on a common platform on a National basis. Inter rink league play, would bridge the widening gap between house league hockey (in many cases only semi organized street hockey) and the tournament series, and from there a more equitable tournament series could be developed. That is why an organization like USAHIL should be looked at hard, because they have the experience(yes through their association with USA Hockey) to do just this.

Just because in certain regions, USAHIL tournaments may not be seen on a par with some of the other tournament series, this does not disqualify them from being a prime NGB candidate. Their strength lies in their qualifications as a developmental and administrative organization....... qualities far more important to the long term growth of the sport than the ability to run a good tournament. Tournaments whose success is defined by earnings (to the organization) number of participants(important to the first criteria), and the percentage of top teams and players attracted...... important to the marketing of future tournaments. If your talent permits you to compete at the elite levels of Narch or TOHRS, your perspective on the sport may be blinded by ego if you think that is what is needed for the long term growth of the sport. It is the disdaining of the grass roots levels that will eventually sound the death bell for inline hockey as a unique identity.