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Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 10:53 am
How's the fight going against tampering? Anybody get hit yet?
The biggest farce ever.
EVERY SINGLE COACH at the AAA level tampered. Every single one, and if they didn't their team would be AWFUL.
But I can confirm every single coach on OMHA AAA East has players committed prior to tryouts.
So to nail anyone for that, is WACK.
Yup, either myself or good friends are locked into positions on every single one of the teams prior to tryouts. What are we doing here? We all know. If one single coach gets nailed, that's insane.
So what's the point of tryouts? Just another cash grab.
What would make it better is if teams were forced to post their tryouts but have to indicate how many spots are open.
That's cute, but the problem is, you will NEVER get everyone on board. And coaches/orgs are not going to lose out on the competitive edge of not starting to recruit early and build their team.
I am telling you right now that there are likely 3-8 spots on every AAA team still up for grabs, legitimately. If your kid is good enough to make AAA he's going to make it at tryouts. No coach is going to have a stud in tryouts not make the team.
if your kid is barely going to make the team as the last couple forwards, or the last pair on defense - you have to ask yourself, do you really want to play AAA anyways? I promise you aren't going to be happy with your decision if your kid gets 6 minutes when you've driven to Kingston on a snowy January evening.
It is what it is with AAA hockey. Don't cry about it.
Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:44 pm
For those of us who's oldest child is just entering U10 AAA next year (2026-27) - what is the norm for OMHA AAA hockey --- do we try and reach out to the announced coach in Jan/Feb and express our interest/ask to attend ID skates? Do we just attend try-outs and hope for the best? I know I've read most AAA teams are selected before try-outs, just wondering if this rings true for U10 as well since it's the first year?
Will be coming from Klevr and likely son will be 3rd liner material if he makes it. (The home rink is minutes from our door-step though and we play in an area where there AA is a 40 minute drive and the alternative is A).
Don't waste your time with AAA, unless your kid is a Superstar AAA at U10 is pointless.
I hear ya. But money is not really a factor for us --- my concern is with no AA in the area, if he plays A for 3-4 years first, he won't be able to jump to AAA later on. I don't have expectations for him, just want to give him the opportunity to get wherever his talent takes him.
Disagree with that opinion. He can make the jump, and maybe even be better for it if he gets good coaching and much more ice at A. Just my opinion and advice, my kid is entering U16AAA next season. Played select till U11, A U12-U13, AA U14 and AAA U15 and now U16.
Go slow, let them love the game. Not saying this is the right way, it worked for my son. What I will say is it allowed him to be a top player at every level before moving up and I think that benefitted him massively, also gave him the competitive edge to "make" that next level. Good luck and enjoy the ride!
100 ways to skin a cat.
Its not the "easy path" but it definitely something that a coach can see within 5 minutes of watching a kid. Coaches can tell which kids have "always been" the best kid. It shows in the way they play, it shows in their attitude, and it shows in their effort.
Of course, not every kid. There are always kids who are great, and also give 100% effort, and have a great team first attitude. Those are the true "superstars". But they are rare.
Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:44 pm
For those of us who's oldest child is just entering U10 AAA next year (2026-27) - what is the norm for OMHA AAA hockey --- do we try and reach out to the announced coach in Jan/Feb and express our interest/ask to attend ID skates? Do we just attend try-outs and hope for the best? I know I've read most AAA teams are selected before try-outs, just wondering if this rings true for U10 as well since it's the first year?
Will be coming from Klevr and likely son will be 3rd liner material if he makes it. (The home rink is minutes from our door-step though and we play in an area where there AA is a 40 minute drive and the alternative is A).
You will need to figure out who is expected to coach the U10AAA team now. Likely a dad who played higher level hockey with a talented son. Think of a few Klevr/Md teams near you and youll be able to narrow it down. If you arent already on those type of Dad's Klevr team - reach out to a parent you know who has a kid on that team already and see if you can play a few games with their spring team. Reaching out throough another parent or a developer is better than writing directly to the coach.
If your kid isnt a top 5 player AND isnt playing on the MD/Klevr team with whoever ends up as the U10AAA coach - your son has zero chance of making the team. It kind of sucks - but thats the reality.
If you live in an area where your local AAA team is typically a bottom 1-2 team - you have a much better shot.
Its not the end of the world playing A. You can save money and use it on development or spring teams. You can also have your son play a year up in Single A if hes tall - thats a huge help toward making AAA in the future. You will also want to connect with that team Now and play with those boys occasionally next season to have a shot at age up A
A last resort - drive as far as you reasonably can to get on the worst gthl or omha AAA team for U10. Then the next season - you can try out for the closer AAA team as a "kid who already played AAA"
Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:44 pm
For those of us who's oldest child is just entering U10 AAA next year (2026-27) - what is the norm for OMHA AAA hockey --- do we try and reach out to the announced coach in Jan/Feb and express our interest/ask to attend ID skates? Do we just attend try-outs and hope for the best? I know I've read most AAA teams are selected before try-outs, just wondering if this rings true for U10 as well since it's the first year?
Will be coming from Klevr and likely son will be 3rd liner material if he makes it. (The home rink is minutes from our door-step though and we play in an area where there AA is a 40 minute drive and the alternative is A).
You will need to figure out who is expected to coach the U10AAA team now. Likely a dad who played higher level hockey with a talented son. Think of a few Klevr/Md teams near you and youll be able to narrow it down. If you arent already on those type of Dad's Klevr team - reach out to a parent you know who has a kid on that team already and see if you can play a few games with their spring team. Reaching out throough another parent or a developer is better than writing directly to the coach.
If your kid isnt a top 5 player AND isnt playing on the MD/Klevr team with whoever ends up as the U10AAA coach - your son has zero chance of making the team. It kind of sucks - but thats the reality.
If you live in an area where your local AAA team is typically a bottom 1-2 team - you have a much better shot.
Its not the end of the world playing A. You can save money and use it on development or spring teams. You can also have your son play a year up in Single A if hes tall - thats a huge help toward making AAA in the future. You will also want to connect with that team Now and play with those boys occasionally next season to have a shot at age up A
A last resort - drive as far as you reasonably can to get on the worst gthl or omha AAA team for U10. Then the next season - you can try out for the closer AAA team as a "kid who already played AAA"
I forgot about the option of playing up in A. Some good intel here. Thanks.
Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 10:53 am
How's the fight going against tampering? Anybody get hit yet?
The biggest farce ever.
EVERY SINGLE COACH at the AAA level tampered. Every single one, and if they didn't their team would be AWFUL.
But I can confirm every single coach on OMHA AAA East has players committed prior to tryouts.
So to nail anyone for that, is WACK.
Yup, either myself or good friends are locked into positions on every single one of the teams prior to tryouts. What are we doing here? We all know. If one single coach gets nailed, that's insane.
So what's the point of tryouts? Just another cash grab.
What would make it better is if teams were forced to post their tryouts but have to indicate how many spots are open.
That's cute, but the problem is, you will NEVER get everyone on board. And coaches/orgs are not going to lose out on the competitive edge of not starting to recruit early and build their team.
I am telling you right now that there are likely 3-8 spots on every AAA team still up for grabs, legitimately. If your kid is good enough to make AAA he's going to make it at tryouts. No coach is going to have a stud in tryouts not make the team.
if your kid is barely going to make the team as the last couple forwards, or the last pair on defense - you have to ask yourself, do you really want to play AAA anyways? I promise you aren't going to be happy with your decision if your kid gets 6 minutes when you've driven to Kingston on a snowy January evening.
It is what it is with AAA hockey. Don't cry about it.
3-8 spots???? Not in the Gthl there are not, at any rep level.
Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:44 pm
For those of us who's oldest child is just entering U10 AAA next year (2026-27) - what is the norm for OMHA AAA hockey --- do we try and reach out to the announced coach in Jan/Feb and express our interest/ask to attend ID skates? Do we just attend try-outs and hope for the best? I know I've read most AAA teams are selected before try-outs, just wondering if this rings true for U10 as well since it's the first year?
Will be coming from Klevr and likely son will be 3rd liner material if he makes it. (The home rink is minutes from our door-step though and we play in an area where there AA is a 40 minute drive and the alternative is A).
Don't waste your time with AAA, unless your kid is a Superstar AAA at U10 is pointless.
I hear ya. But money is not really a factor for us --- my concern is with no AA in the area, if he plays A for 3-4 years first, he won't be able to jump to AAA later on. I don't have expectations for him, just want to give him the opportunity to get wherever his talent takes him.
Disagree with that opinion. He can make the jump, and maybe even be better for it if he gets good coaching and much more ice at A. Just my opinion and advice, my kid is entering U16AAA next season. Played select till U11, A U12-U13, AA U14 and AAA U15 and now U16.
Go slow, let them love the game. Not saying this is the right way, it worked for my son. What I will say is it allowed him to be a top player at every level before moving up and I think that benefitted him massively, also gave him the competitive edge to "make" that next level. Good luck and enjoy the ride!
I love this reply! I think a lot of people forget that just being on a AAA team doesn't necessarily make you a better player overall. Sure you are playing against the best kids in that age bracket but if you aren't seeing a lot of ice, is that not detrimental to development? As someone else said in the thread, spots usually open up in the u13 and above years as a lot of kids drop down or stop playing all together once contact comes into play. That on top of a lot of kids lose interest when they enter high school and other things become priorities . Taking the slow path isn't a bad thing, if your kid loves the game and has talent, it will eventually happen for him/her.
Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 10:53 am
How's the fight going against tampering? Anybody get hit yet?
The biggest farce ever.
EVERY SINGLE COACH at the AAA level tampered. Every single one, and if they didn't their team would be AWFUL.
But I can confirm every single coach on OMHA AAA East has players committed prior to tryouts.
So to nail anyone for that, is WACK.
Yup, either myself or good friends are locked into positions on every single one of the teams prior to tryouts. What are we doing here? We all know. If one single coach gets nailed, that's insane.
So what's the point of tryouts? Just another cash grab.
What would make it better is if teams were forced to post their tryouts but have to indicate how many spots are open.
That's cute, but the problem is, you will NEVER get everyone on board. And coaches/orgs are not going to lose out on the competitive edge of not starting to recruit early and build their team.
I am telling you right now that there are likely 3-8 spots on every AAA team still up for grabs, legitimately. If your kid is good enough to make AAA he's going to make it at tryouts. No coach is going to have a stud in tryouts not make the team.
if your kid is barely going to make the team as the last couple forwards, or the last pair on defense - you have to ask yourself, do you really want to play AAA anyways? I promise you aren't going to be happy with your decision if your kid gets 6 minutes when you've driven to Kingston on a snowy January evening.
It is what it is with AAA hockey. Don't cry about it.
This is 100% wrong. Any halfway decent team has their roster set. There may be one open D and one open F spot for someone who is a real difference maker for that team. That’s it.
Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:44 pm
For those of us who's oldest child is just entering U10 AAA next year (2026-27) - what is the norm for OMHA AAA hockey --- do we try and reach out to the announced coach in Jan/Feb and express our interest/ask to attend ID skates? Do we just attend try-outs and hope for the best? I know I've read most AAA teams are selected before try-outs, just wondering if this rings true for U10 as well since it's the first year?
Will be coming from Klevr and likely son will be 3rd liner material if he makes it. (The home rink is minutes from our door-step though and we play in an area where there AA is a 40 minute drive and the alternative is A).
Don't waste your time with AAA, unless your kid is a Superstar AAA at U10 is pointless.
I hear ya. But money is not really a factor for us --- my concern is with no AA in the area, if he plays A for 3-4 years first, he won't be able to jump to AAA later on. I don't have expectations for him, just want to give him the opportunity to get wherever his talent takes him.
Disagree with that opinion. He can make the jump, and maybe even be better for it if he gets good coaching and much more ice at A. Just my opinion and advice, my kid is entering U16AAA next season. Played select till U11, A U12-U13, AA U14 and AAA U15 and now U16.
Go slow, let them love the game. Not saying this is the right way, it worked for my son. What I will say is it allowed him to be a top player at every level before moving up and I think that benefitted him massively, also gave him the competitive edge to "make" that next level. Good luck and enjoy the ride!
This is bang on. Any coach who is tampering at U10/U11/U12 is pathetic and yoh should run. Hockey at this age should be about building kids up and learning to play.
Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:44 pm
For those of us who's oldest child is just entering U10 AAA next year (2026-27) - what is the norm for OMHA AAA hockey --- do we try and reach out to the announced coach in Jan/Feb and express our interest/ask to attend ID skates? Do we just attend try-outs and hope for the best? I know I've read most AAA teams are selected before try-outs, just wondering if this rings true for U10 as well since it's the first year?
Will be coming from Klevr and likely son will be 3rd liner material if he makes it. (The home rink is minutes from our door-step though and we play in an area where there AA is a 40 minute drive and the alternative is A).
Don't waste your time with AAA, unless your kid is a Superstar AAA at U10 is pointless.
I hear ya. But money is not really a factor for us --- my concern is with no AA in the area, if he plays A for 3-4 years first, he won't be able to jump to AAA later on. I don't have expectations for him, just want to give him the opportunity to get wherever his talent takes him.
Disagree with that opinion. He can make the jump, and maybe even be better for it if he gets good coaching and much more ice at A. Just my opinion and advice, my kid is entering U16AAA next season. Played select till U11, A U12-U13, AA U14 and AAA U15 and now U16.
Go slow, let them love the game. Not saying this is the right way, it worked for my son. What I will say is it allowed him to be a top player at every level before moving up and I think that benefitted him massively, also gave him the competitive edge to "make" that next level. Good luck and enjoy the ride!
This is bang on. Any coach who is tampering at U10/U11/U12 is pathetic and yoh should run. Hockey at this age should be about building kids up and learning to play.
Guest wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:44 pm
For those of us who's oldest child is just entering U10 AAA next year (2026-27) - what is the norm for OMHA AAA hockey --- do we try and reach out to the announced coach in Jan/Feb and express our interest/ask to attend ID skates? Do we just attend try-outs and hope for the best? I know I've read most AAA teams are selected before try-outs, just wondering if this rings true for U10 as well since it's the first year?
Will be coming from Klevr and likely son will be 3rd liner material if he makes it. (The home rink is minutes from our door-step though and we play in an area where there AA is a 40 minute drive and the alternative is A).
Don't waste your time with AAA, unless your kid is a Superstar AAA at U10 is pointless.
I hear ya. But money is not really a factor for us --- my concern is with no AA in the area, if he plays A for 3-4 years first, he won't be able to jump to AAA later on. I don't have expectations for him, just want to give him the opportunity to get wherever his talent takes him.
It's easier to get into AAA at U10 than at U14.
If you think he can hang in AAA, tryout for AAA. Give it a year, if it's not what you want, you can drop down.
Not everyone who plays AAA is looking to go the JR or college route.
It's all about being part of a team that learns and grows together while having fun. When the fun is gone, look to play elsewhere.
Thats not true at all, by the time U14 hits 60 percent of the kids that started playing AAA at U10 won't be playing AAA anymore. Once contact comes into play its a whole new game. Watching all these soon to be AAA kids and their tiny parents in the stands, all I can say is enjoy AAA while you can.
I see what you are saying. But AAA doesnt cost much more than AA in most centres. So if a boy with small parents is really good and competitive - whats wrong with playing AAA til they eventually size out. Most of those parents know they are small - but you never know if there is a tall uncle somewhere and the kid becomes 6ft. Unless their coach sits the smaller kids for long stretches of the game - development and speed is much better in AAA. And then if the boy eventually moves to AA, they'll likely be a top player.
There are alot of scenerios to consider for parents though. Being on a last place team or getting 5 min of playing time year after year isnt good for anyone - so avoid that and you'll be fine wherever you end up.
. Taking the slow path isn't a bad thing, if your kid loves the game and has talent, it will eventually happen for him/her.