Vicki, you are absolutely correct--the sense of community, the support of HS
hockey is all there.  And dynasties do come and go.  Unfortunately city
hockey is down for all the demographic reasons affecting city schools
throughout the country.  Plus, the high cost of ice hockey as compared to
other sports hurts.  I don't see it coming back anytime soon.
 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vicki Price [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 12:00 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: All Minn Hockey
>
> On April 19, at 7:38 pm [log in to unmask] wrote:
> <snip>
> >hockey is dying in most of the Mpls/St Paul high schools.
>
> Established powerhouses such as St. Paul, etc. ebb and surge depending on
> the
> caliber of talent. Certainly, Mpls has been visible in the State Tourney
> more
> than ever before. There's a great effort to get these programs (Mpls) more
> competitive. Dying? I'd say more like changeability, which is consistent
> with
> the differences in coaching and player caliber. Take Bloomington
> Jefferson,
> their heyday ended after losing a contingent of top players now in
> Division 1
> and the NHL. No powerhouse remains such forever.
>
>
> >The suburban Twin Cities schools have increasingly come to be the >major
> powers, and like suburbs everywhere, they tend to have less >community
> feeling in general.
>
> Despite their newness, suburban areas like Apple Valley (who won State in
> 96?) have an incredible sense of community. The thing that impressed me
> the
> most as a transplanted West Coaster is the remarkable community based
> participation on all levels. Hockey is a tremendous community SHARED event
> in
> MN even for my area which is relatively new. That's why there is real
> concern
> among hockey people in regard to removing kids from their high school
> programs, and sending them out of state to Jr. A teams or the USA program.
>
> >My impression is that this has been more true in Minnesota, >probably
> because it doesn't have many suburbs that are long-standing towns that
> have
> some of their old character in the way >that Arlington is in Boston.
>
> Character, BTW, in no way has to be OLD to be there. That applies to both
> people and places.
>
>
> >If anyone can actually tell the difference between Minnetonka, >Edina or
> Apple Valley, I'd be pretty surprised.
>
> This really made me giggle. I wonder what point of reference you are using
> to
> make such statements, as a local or as an observer from the East Coast?
>
>
> >I doubt that any of these "towns" has its own paper that's read >by more
> than 25 people.
>
> Every town you've mentioned has their own paper with readerships that
> usually
> exceed their population. Community based news is supported heavily in the
> Twin Cities, as is community based participation.
>
>
> >In the few cases where there is an older suburb where they play >hockey
> (South St. Paul is the only one that comes to mind), there >is quite a bit
> of
> community loyalty.
>
> Community loyality is not endemic to Arlington, Boston.
>
> And, the last quote from a long list of fiction, or possibly    science
> fiction. Either way the reading should be purely on an entertainment
> basis,
> or the content should be prefaced with a note saying: no facts stated
> herein.
>
>
> Vicki Price
> Concussion Free Zone
> at violentcontact.net
>
> HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
> [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.