First it was Truman, then Bensalem and now Conwell-Egan. That is one a year for the last 3 years. I hate to see teams fold. And what does that say for the future of that league?

BC Times

Mojo,
They are not alone, teams are dropping like flys. There are a lot of contributing factors why teams are folding but I think we need to pay more attention to what feeds Varsity teams.
Elementary, Middle School and club teams ultimately feed the High School programs. With a large decrease in school hockey registration at the lower levels this does not provide a bright future for High School hockey.

Although it may not be a miracle cure,
I think organizations need to focus on early recruitment. Sure kids may not play hockey from 2nd grade to 12th grade but if teams can establish a core that will follow it through it gives them something to work with in the future at the high school level. Of course this takes a lot of dedication and time. I used to run a school program which myself and a good support group were able to create 6 teams within the school begining with elementary all the way to high school. I can tell you that I had to call almost every player/family to get them to sign. Handing out flyers, websites and announcements at school was not a good recruitment tool. Calling everybody and speaking to them was more personable and seemed to be more effective. (If I had a dime for every call I made?)
Here it is five years later and this school may be lucky to have one team next year?
It was like overnight things changed and the numbers dropped?

Issues vary from school to school and with so many things out there for kids to do today hockey may have taken a back burner. The Flyers being the worst NHL team in history this year don't help matters either. Kid's tend to feed off the success of their local pro team.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BIGJIM,

What happens to the players on these teams once they fold. lIke the kid from Egan who made mvp at the all-star game.

The Sport is starting to become way too expensive for younger kids to play, which is way you are starting to see less and less teams closer to the city and more and more popping up int the suburbs and out towards hershey/harrisburg. until it becomes affiliated with PIAA its gonna be a slow downhill ride until it goes away. The Flyers may need to step in and start recognizing this and try to resurect the hockey in the area/

While it is true that the Lower Bucks League has dropped one team a year for the last three years, this league is still the best league for quality teams. There are four good AAA Teams in Judge, Ryan, Holy Ghost and Roman. Their two AA teams, Pennsbury and Neshaminy are, and have traditionally been very good. I don’t think quantity makes for quality.

Every night one of these six teams plays each other is a very good game. If you take out the cross over games against Conwell-Egan, the Lower Bucks League has done very well against the Suburban League this year. This league will continue to be strong with the six remaining teams.

True, but they are going to have to load up on crossover games because they won't have enough games to make a season.

How about a merger with the Suburban League?

Not necessarily, if the teams play each other three times that is 15 games. They can play 7 cross over games for a 22 game schedule. It looks like they play 10 cross over games right now, so there won’t be any need to increase the cross over games.

There is no reason for the Lower Bucks to merge with the Suburban League. The Lower Bucks is the better league right now, and there would be nothing for them to gain with a merger. Historically, many of the leagues have played with five or six teams. There is a chance Truman, Bensalem and Conwell-Egan could rebuild with good leadership. I think 8 teams is an ideal number for a local high school league, but they could do well with the six teams they have now.

quote:

Originally posted by pjbern571:
The Sport is starting to become way too expensive for younger kids to play, which is way you are starting to see less and less teams closer to the city and more and more popping up int the suburbs and out towards hershey/harrisburg./

HBG/Hershey has their problems too. Teams are starting to fold (or move from Pure to Co-Op/Independent). If you look at some of the rosters in the CPIHL there are varsity teams with less than 10 players rostered. Furthermore, the level of play is starting to separate - look at some of the scores (or better yet, shots on goal)!

Add in to that the fact that one of our sheets of ice is destined to be sold to a developer and that complicates things more. At $275 for 50 minutes, its already tough to justify the expense of fielding a team.

Good point, Cat. Don't know if I'd agree that LB is the better league, but playing 3 times against each team -- "familiarity breeds contempt", and that could be a good thing (rivalry).

One thing I do like about LB is that the AAA teams play an LB schedule. In SHSHL, LaSalle, GA and Wood do not play any of the other league teams, except for Wood-Tennent on Thanksgiving. I think we are the only league where that happens.

Speaking of teams folding, any sign of a rebirth at Carroll?

re: CEC
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/108-02092007-1296774.html

re: SHSHL Spirit
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/110-02092007-1296721.html

If any other local HS coverage, throw a link on here.

I couldnt agree more about getting the feeder teams going. USA Hockey can provide you with a list of players in your area. The cost is also a problem which leads to coming up with more creative fundraisers. The rinks in SJ are now getting $325.00 an hr. Add referees and 1.5 game slots and thats damn expensive. With the flyers being so brutal kids lack interest in the game. We as organizers cant drop the ball. hopefully the flyers get a clue and fuel the fire that was there 95 & up.

Top Cat do you mean the LBCSHL is the beat leauge for quality teams comparing it to the SHSHL or all of del-val hockey?

Jigga Beef,

I was talking about quality of play compared to the four local leagues (ICSHL, ESHL, SHSHL and LBCSHL). I was also talking about the six teams, excluding Conwell-Egan.

There is no question that the best AAA Team resides in the SHSHL with Malvern Prep, O’Hara and Holy Ghost all behind. However, I think if you take each league’s top six teams and have them play each other there will be more better games with the Lower Bucks six. I hope this answers your question.

AAA teams in the SHSHL do not play games against the other teams in the league (AA/A). The only exception I know of is Wood/Tennent on Thanksgiving eve. I think we are the only league where that is true.