Girls Prep Hockey

[whfan]

Where did you get this info? Are you sure it wasn't the all tournament team?

I'm not sure what you mean by the tournament team, but Raylen and Ragen were named to the NEPSGIHA All- STAR team. (and Knight as well -sorry ref11, I was wrong about Raylen and Ragen being the only juniors). The only other girl I know was named to the team for sure was one of the goalies - Jenny Bellonio.

[vas]

Does anyone have any opinions on which prep school coaches are best at team development? Personnally, I think the Westminster coach deserves alot of credit, since that play-off game (vs Berkshire) showed alot more over-all talent on the part of Westy, rather than a concentrated affort by just one one, two or three stars on a team, as was the case in the Lawrence game and especially the Pomfret game. The stars on these two teams worked SO hard(and got so tired) but got very little support form the rest of the team. The Westy team seemed to be stong throughout the whole game, with shot after shot. There was very little shooting in the other two, they just stopped playing.

[BKDad]

Does anyone have any opinions on which prep school coaches are best at team development?
Good question! I'd like to be a little more general and ask for some opinions as to which prep programs are best at player development (all the players). This is distinct from winning, as that is to a certain degree a function of what players the school was able to successfully recruit, I mean attract to play hockey.

A related question would be about what club programs are best at player development. Again, this is about development, not just winning although the two obviously could be closely tied.

[WFR]

Does anyone have any opinions on which prep school coaches are best at team development? Personnally, I think the Westminster coach deserves alot of credit, since that play-off game (vs Berkshire) showed alot more over-all talent on the part of Westy, rather than a concentrated affort by just one one, two or three stars on a team, as was the case in the Lawrence game and especially the Pomfret game. The stars on these two teams worked SO hard(and got so tired) but got very little support form the rest of the team. The Westy team seemed to be stong throughout the whole game, with shot after shot. There was very little shooting in the other two, they just stopped playing.


Hats off to the coaches at Loomis (Parsons & Vernon) You take a team that loses 5 d-1 college players (Wilson-Harvard, Kennedy-Dartmouth, Koller Boston U, Dosdall-Colgate, and Hill to a Canadian University) and you take for granted that the next year will not be very successful. WRONG!
Even though they lost several players to injuries, including one of two returning defensemen Kristin Regan, who they lost before Christmas, the coaches managed to put together a team that played within themselves and with hard work returned to the New England Prep School Playoffs. They were eliminated by Pomfret 1-0 in the quarter finals.
Kudos to the coaches as the record will show that they were a much improved team at the end of the season.

[ref11]

Hats off to the coaches at Loomis (Parsons & Vernon) You take a team that loses 5 d-1 college players (Wilson-Harvard, Kennedy-Dartmouth, Koller Boston U, Dosdall-Colgate, and Hill to a Canadian University) and you take for granted that the next year will not be very successful. WRONG!
Even though they lost several players to injuries, including one of two returning defensemen Kristin Regan, who they lost before Christmas, the coaches managed to put together a team that played within themselves and with hard work returned to the New England Prep School Playoffs. They were eliminated by Pomfret 1-0 in the quarter finals.
Kudos to the coaches as the record will show that they were a much improved team at the end of the season.

Player development;

Nobles, Cushing, Pomfret, Berkshire, Hotchkiss, Loomis, Lawrence. (NAHA excluded due to unique nature of program)

Common thread - tenure of coachs and ability to recruit, some with harder admissions standards to jump over. :cool:

[vas]

I am curious as to why you put them in that order...sometimes coaches that have been around a longer time, say over 5 years get a little too comfortable and really don't do much recruiting, they just depend on their reputation, and wait for recruits to just show up. As far as development of the players goes, I don't think most prep school coaches think that is their job as well as exposure, we have to thank the club teams for taking on that responsibility.

[ref11]

I am curious as to why you put them in that order...sometimes coaches that have been around a longer time, say over 5 years get a little too comfortable and really don't do much recruiting, they just depend on their reputation, and wait for recruits to just show up. As far as development of the players goes, I don't think most prep school coaches think that is their job as well as exposure, we have to thank the club teams for taking on that responsibility.

No prioritization in my list, one could argue one or another is better, including some not mentioned.

I think most coach's (IMO) would take exception to the notion that it is not their job to develop players. Tom Resor at Nobles, John Cooper at Hotchkiss, Paul Kennedy at Cushing, Sara Wood & Waddy Rowe at Pomfert, Parson and Vernon at Loomis, and Laurie Baker Mutch at Lawrence would disagree. They and many other fine coachs feel that player development on and off the ice is key to their success, future recruiting, and placing players at the college level.

Apologies to D2 coachs and programs not listed. I just do not have enough experience with them to render an opinion. :cool:

[vas]

If you have first hand knowledge regarding these particular coaches then I will defer to you except with the Pomfret coaches, I know for sure that the girls who are going DI in September to very fine schools did it completely on their own (plus parents) and without help from the coaches. I agree that Berkshire should not be in that group because I understand the coaching team as a rule does not get involved in referring kids from her program, that is what I have been told, I do not know if that is their official policy. I just figured that is why so many play club hockey, for the exposure.

[vas]

I think Troy-Albany must be doing something right! They won state with 3 Berkshire players two of which never develop because Berkshire NEVER plays them, but they play on Troy-Albany and WIN! That is what I heard from the parents at the NY State games. Go figure!

[nut_case]

People like Chuck Vernon, Ned Parsons and Waddy Rowe(and, I'm certain, other veteran coaches from these lists) are among the finest coaches many of these kids will ever be exposed to. They are first and foremost teachers, and they do what they do because they enjoy the game, and in particular the girls' game. By no means would I expect all the kids who have ever played for them,or all the parents of all the players, to be complete supporters, because that simply doesn't happen in all cases. In the overall scheme of things, however, most kids who have played for these guys will remember them long after their playing days are over.

[nut_case]

By the way, from my own observations Rich Scammell of Troy-Albany is a great example of a guy who was a very accomplished player who went on to be a very good coach, although the totality of the club experience is by definition a bit different than the totality of the prep school experience(not necessarily good or bad, just different).

[gotice]

Player development;

Nobles, Cushing, Pomfret, Berkshire, Hotchkiss, Loomis, Lawrence. (NAHA excluded due to unique nature of program)

Common thread - tenure of coachs and ability to recruit, some with harder admissions standards to jump over. :cool:

Curious why you would exclude NAHA? Do they prepare the girls academically for college? Do they promote girls to College? Do they develop girls to play college? The answer to all three questions is YES. If you look at the track record of Driscoll, he does an excellent job recruiting, developing, and then promoting the girls on to college. Yes, the program is different than any other prep school, but you can not argue with his success rate and the colleges that these girls are moving on to after high school. He does not only focus on the DI girls, but on all of the seniors who are interested in moving on to college.

[vas]

Yes, I agree that NAHA understands that their most important job is to develop the kids and to do their best in placing ALL the girls in college. In other prep programs Girls are forced to play club hockey in order to get the proper coach support and exposure. Most of the best players in prep schools are playing club hockey besides their prep hockey, which cuts into their education, especially as 5th formers. They should NOT have to do this.

[vas]

People like Chuck Vernon, Ned Parsons and Waddy Rowe(and, I'm certain, other veteran coaches from these lists) are among the finest coaches many of these kids will ever be exposed to. They are first and foremost teachers, and they do what they do because they enjoy the game, and in particular the girls' game. By no means would I expect all the kids who have ever played for them,or all the parents of all the players, to be complete supporters, because that simply doesn't happen in all cases. In the overall scheme of things, however, most kids who have played for these guys will remember them long after their playing days are over.

Have you ever seen any of these coaches run a practice? Or are your comments based on their reputation and tenure only?

[BKDad]

In other prep programs Girls are forced to play club hockey in order to get the proper coach support and exposure.
Exposure to whom?

I recall seeing more college coaches at various prep games and tournaments than even at the USAHockey National Championships. I readily admit that could just be a dumb luck coincidence, however.

[ref11]

Curious why you would exclude NAHA? Do they prepare the girls academically for college? Do they promote girls to College? Do they develop girls to play college? The answer to all three questions is YES. If you look at the track record of Driscoll, he does an excellent job recruiting, developing, and then promoting the girls on to college. Yes, the program is different than any other prep school, but you can not argue with his success rate and the colleges that these girls are moving on to after high school. He does not only focus on the DI girls, but on all of the seniors who are interested in moving on to college.

Agree on Driscoll.

My qualifying statement is "Unique nature of program", is because; 1) Students only attend part of the year, 2) every student is tudored vs traditional classroom environment) 3) Students are not required to participate in another sport. 4) Student receive diplomas from their home town school, not NAHA.

All the schools I previously mentioned grant diplomas, require participation in off season athletics or other form of service, teach in a classroom environment ect.

NAHA is an excellent program, with a gifted coach, just (IMO) not an apples to apples comparison to the others schools mentioned. :cool:

[allbrosca]

What's the feeling on the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid? As you can see by my handle, my daughter is in attendance there. It is her first year. I am happy with the program so far. She has had lots of exposure and the academic program appears sound. We were worried about the switching back and forth from home school to tutor and that is why we pursued NSA over NAHA. Can't argue with NAHA's success, however, but it looks like NSA is also putting together a good program.

[vas]

Exposure to whom?

I recall seeing more college coaches at various prep games and tournaments than even at the USAHockey National Championships. I readily admit that could just be a dumb luck coincidence, however.

You don't see many college coaches at the Usa Hockey Nationals in Early April because by that time they have already seen them at the Summer programs such as
Brown U, Cedorchuks PFG Camp, CODP in Minne, HNIB in August, Assabet Tourney in October, the Brown Tourney in Nov, and the Polar Bears in Dec. NONE of these events are PREP SCHOOL events, they are ALL CLUB team events.

Usually, they only go to prep school games to see a specific player again or because of a convenience logistically.

I didn;t mention the Huge TORONTO Invitational PROSPECTS Festival because even though just about EVERY coach that can, will be there, their main focus is on the hundreds of CANADIAN girls at the event. If an American girl is fortunate enough to be invited, she will be one of the 10-15% of Americans at the event. This used to take place in May, but now it is in April due to NEW recruiting restrictions. The NCAA has made MAY and JUNE black-out months.

[nut_case]

Vas-Re: my comments on certain coaches-I have known Waddy Rowe for 25 years, have watched his team on several occasions, and coached (club team) kids who played for him. I have 2 daughters who played for Loomis, and have coached other Loomis players(club team).

[Justamom]

The Invitational Tournament that Vas is talking about I assume is the one run by Prospects.

You can apply to attend and you don't have to be CDN to go.

Here is the link for the Womens side if you would like to take a look.

http://www.prospectstourney.com/1_WOMEN%20registration.php

My daughter attended a couple of years ago. She and I were both happy with the expierence.

We dealt with Kelly Katorji. Take a look and see if it will fit your needs.

Cheers