Column: Work needs to be done with local minor hockey

As we creep into the second half of August the days get a little shorter, the nights are a little cooler and the new hockey season inches ever-so-closer to becoming a reality.

Locally, much has been said about the state of minor hockey in Sault Ste. Marie.

In the last few weeks I’ve found myself stopping into the rink a little more often than I normally would in the early days of August. Many of the local AAA teams at the bantam and midget levels have been holding tryouts as their seasons approach.

With that, the talks continue. Will certain teams have enough players? How competitive will some teams be? Are teams getting along?

The more things change, the more they’ve seemed to stay the same.

A little over a year ago, I wrote a column on the various issues locally in minor hockey and how there was a struggle between the groups to work towards the greater good of the sport locally.

Hockey locally is in a tough spot at many levels.

Many have talked about the need to have “hockey people” in charge and that will change things. Having different people at the helm may make a difference but part of the problem is the actual definition of what a hockey person really is.

In a lot of cases, people are convinced that a background at professional level as a player is what defines “hockey people.”

A playing career at the pro level helps, but just because someone hasn’t played pro hockey, be it in North America or overseas, it doesn’t mean they have an in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of the sport. On the other hand, playing at the pro level doesn’t guarantee the person is fit to run a local hockey organization either.

It’s a matter of getting the right people involved and my feelings haven’t changed a whole lot from the way I felt last spring.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some very good people involved in the minor hockey systems in this city. Part of the problem for me is that there aren’t enough of them at every level.

Some changes might go a long way in making a difference.

Many of the issues have also seen the issue of developing players come up.

Ask around and many have said that Sault Ste. Marie isn’t developing players like it used to.

We continue to talk about developing players to move up. Maybe at some point we need to re-examine exactly what the priority is when we define developing players. I’ve talked to coaches in different sports who have told me that as nice as it is to have former players move on and play professionally in their respective sport, they’re just as happy, if not more, when they hear from former players who have gone on to become doctors, teachers and other professionals.

Yes, it’s nice from a city standpoint to be able to say that (insert professional athletes name here) is from Sault Ste. Marie, but developing good people is just as important. And sometimes with all of the issues that have surrounded Sault Ste. Marie hockey in recent years, I wonder if we’ve lost sight of that in the long run as well.

Kids are impressionable. If they see adults who can’t seem to get along to run hockey programs, it’s not surprising that they’re going to think that the best way to go through life is to fight until you get your way, regardless of whether it’s for the best or not.

If groups are working together, disagreements are going to happen. We all have disagreements in the workplace. The difference is, at the end of the day, you’re working towards a common goal and sometimes you have to swallow your pride for the greater good of the company. That’s something to think about when it comes to hockey in this city as well.

I certainly don’t proclaim to have the answers. There are a lot of opinions about what’s actually wrong with hockey locally. Let’s face it, everyone has one. Maybe it’s time to start from scratch and rebuild from the bottom up with some new faces in the fold and a new way to develop.

Do we need “select” teams at young levels of hockey?

It might not be the popular opinion but as far as I’m concerned, we don’t. We’ve got to a point where too many parents feel like their son is good enough to play rep hockey and should be.

As a city, we’re not at a point where the talent is there to have “select” teams at every level. Hockey talent in the city isn’t what it used to be. And that’s not the nostalgic feeling. It’s a fact. The city hasn’t produced players on the ice at a rate that it did in the past. At some point we need to take a step back and instil some new ways to develop players and scale back the number of “rep” and “select” teams we have.

When it comes to the state of minor hockey in Sault Ste. Marie, there’s certainly work to be done to right the ship.