Parents Union to fight back against Black Bear

[Guest]

BB needs to go and the only way to do that is to form a parent union. Organize the parents to boycott tryouts for all levels at a BB owned rink. Force them to come to the table and actually treat their customers (the parents) properly. Prices are going through the roof at BB owned rinks, the AHF and THF leagues are too big with too much travel, hotel stays are now the norm for most away games, they force us to buy uniforms from their sh*tty uniform partner, they make us go to these ridiculous showcase events at their owned rinks, they are in a war over the ratings, their leagues are not sanctioned by the district, we have to play stupid parity events to evaluate teams in the spring, they force every team into the playoffs and put games at their BB owned rinks and they want you to pay to use their league apps, even though everyone forks out $4k+ in tuition. They are ruining youth hockey!

There are enough non-BB rinks to cripple the AHF and THF if they just left. Leaders in the AAHA, DVHL, NJYHL and AYHL need to band together, put their giant egos a side and help the parent organize a union/buying group. Who is with me?

[Guest]

Agreed. Maybe a website or social media page for parents to unite.

[Guest]

If enough people are upset, they will simply play for DVHL and NJYHL rinks

[Guest]

😂 so now you want to pay union dues as well. After playing in other leagues the AHF which is still newer is no worse than the others that have been around for much longer. The reason non BB clubs left the the other leagues is because nothing changed, nothing got better and trust me many complaints were made about those other leagues before the AHF/THF started up. I agree some BB rinks are in need of facelifts, but some of them were run down when they bought them.  If everyone left BB rinks and went back to the other leagues how many kids will be out of hockey? The rinks only have soo many sheets of ice and can only field soo many teams, cuts will surely be high.

[Guest]

I don’t care for BB and what they have done to hockey in our region - but let’s be realistic, the horse is already out of the barn and it’s not going back.

Not a fan of the AHF.  I can’t stand having to travel out of state every other weekend for games.  Hate the double-headers where we have to kill hours between games, not a fan of the showcases with the hotel stays (even though you’re not required to stay to play, many still do).  I also can’t stand the running clock where there are 5 or more goal differential (AHF likes to tout low goal differential as a way to show parity in the league) and the 5 minute running clock overtime.

Despite that we will stay in the AHF because that is where the stronger competition is.  AHF has taken many of the stronger teams from the DVHL, NJYHL, EJEPL - and the stronger players have moved toward those teams.  We moved to a non-BB AHF team this year because AA in the DVHL wasn’t really AA.  Those players and teams are not going back to the DVHL any time soon.

Even if we were to consider going to another team, it would be another AHF team, because that is where the stronger competition is.

The tuition increases are not just limited to BB teams, but BB jacking up tuition gives other rinks/teams the excuse to raise their rates to what the market will bear.  Just look at Team Philly’s tuition rates for next year.  $4K for 16U/18U AA.

DVHL teams will still be great options for kids who are new to hockey and for families that don’t want to spend as much money or as much time traveling to other games - although it’s likely that travel will still increase as the DVHL seeks to find additional teams to add to their league, and they implement their own showcases and events with NJYHL teams.  But they at still at risk of being weakened further if they ever lose any of their remaining large clubs like Genesis or Delco/Little Flyers.

It’s great to want to protest and rally against BB - but where else are you going to go - for many families there really isn’t an option.

[Guest]

I think you missed the point. This is to fight back against BB. Does not have to be a union, but a buyers group. We can tell BB we are not traveling 4 hrs to play 2 games or not traveling 3 hrs play a game Saturday, then stay in hotel and play game Sunday. The geographic locations of the teams is ridiculous- Western PA, CT, Upstate NY, Long Island, NY, Harrisburg. We have had 6 league game hotel stays this year, plus 3 tournament hotel stays. Last year we stayed in a hotel for 3 tournaments. Our travel cost is like Tier 1 now. While other rinks raise prices too, BB prices are much higher than non-BB rinks. Tuition for Tier 2 is like Tier 1 tuition was 3 years ago. We have had 6 parents say they can't afford to play in the AHF and are looking for a non-AHF rink. It is unaffordable for 50% of the parents now. The issue is more about the travel for AHF than the tuition. I have 3 kids that play ice hockey. I can't afford this anymore. We may quit and play lacrosse because of travel and hotel stays. I have heard other parents at all levels saying the same thing. BB needs to wake up because they have made hockey worse for the east coast. The AAHA should ban them and get US Hockey to not sanction their leagues.

[Guest]

“Buying group” or “buyer's group” is a general term for organizations of small businesses working together when it comes to purchasing and other business functions. You are complaining about the cost of BB / AHF/THF travel cost but want to get the money to buy them out. Sorry to say but more teams are leaving their leagues to join the AHF because that is where the competition is. Depending where you live you have many NON BB, NON AHF/THF options. With the DVHL and NJ holding showcases do you think that extra hotel stays may not happen. Ever since my kids started playing in the DVHL we have stayed in hotels for the 6-7AM Mite/squirt games rather than get up at 330-4AM. It was our choice just like it is your choice to get a hotel for the Sat/Sun back to back. If the other leagues would have improved maybe non BB teams would be staying. If rink owners didn't want out for what ever reason maybe BB would not have bought up the rinks. Would you prefer a rink close and become a diesel garage/sales like our one local rink did or have someone buy it even BB and kept it a rink. Instead of having a club 20 min from our house we drive over a hr to a rink. We play at a NON BB rink and once you add the cost of the tournaments we do our fees aren't that much less then BB rinks that include 2 defender tournaments. BB / AHF / THF are here and they will be here to stay. USA Hockey and the district won't ban, they make $$$ of BB/AHF/THF.

[Guest]

“Buying group” or “buyer's group” is a general term for organizations of small businesses working together when it comes to purchasing and other business functions. You are complaining about the cost of BB / AHF/THF travel cost but want to get the money to buy them out. Sorry to say but more teams are leaving their leagues to join the AHF because that is where the competition is. Depending where you live you have many NON BB, NON AHF/THF options. With the DVHL and NJ holding showcases do you think that extra hotel stays may not happen. Ever since my kids started playing in the DVHL we have stayed in hotels for the 6-7AM Mite/squirt games rather than get up at 330-4AM. It was our choice just like it is your choice to get a hotel for the Sat/Sun back to back. If the other leagues would have improved maybe non BB teams would be staying. If rink owners didn't want out for what ever reason maybe BB would not have bought up the rinks. Would you prefer a rink close and become a diesel garage/sales like our one local rink did or have someone buy it even BB and kept it a rink. Instead of having a club 20 min from our house we drive over a hr to a rink. We play at a NON BB rink and once you add the cost of the tournaments we do our fees aren't that much less then BB rinks that include 2 defender tournaments. BB / AHF / THF are here and they will be here to stay. USA Hockey and the district won't ban, they make $$$ of BB/AHF/THF.

Ice Hockey is insane. This is the only youth sport that plays 50+ games a year, 8-12 hotel stays, travel to CT, NY, MD, Western PA. There are plenty of top quality teams in NJ & SE PA to not have to travel 3-4 hrs away to play. BB has ruined hockey and the stupid parents have bought into it. The AHF is too big, the THF is a joke besides top 3-4 teams in each age and tuition costs at BB rinks are 20-30% more than non-BB rinks. The tournaments BB rinks and most AHF teams play in are Defender Tournaments that is owned by BB. BB touts their arena are clean and world class. BB has not put a dime into the bathrooms, locker rooms or common areas in the rinks. These are the areas that need updates for almost all their rinks. BB is a for profit company that cares about money. BB came in during COVID and took advantage of rink owners that lost money due to the lockdown. If nothing is done, youth hockey will die on the east coast. It is no longer growing in our region due to costs!

[Guest]

Honestly Tier 1 in the tri state area has been a joke for awhile. Even before the THF there was too many Tier 1 teams. Tier 1 has watered down the rest of the club levels. Too many letter chasers playing AAA that shouldn't.

[Guest]

Why Minnesota's youth hockey model keeps numbers rising and growing the gap

BB sucks and so does east coast hockey!