School leagues

[lafrak 0]

In my opinion, parents who are concerned about their children's education (i.e., university bound types) but who wish the kids to also enjoy hockey as long as possible (possibly university level hockey), should consider school leagues that will foster this double development (academic and athletic). I do not think that "sports-études" programs are the answer because the academic suffers since the number of classes is reduced to accomodate hockey. Furthermore, sports-études programs seem to exist to help the community leagues that are structured to feed the QMJHL (and education is not really supported despite what the QMJHL people say -- it's travel, far too many games and big $$$). Additionally & for several reasons, I think the springtime AAA tournaments are a serious error and should be curtailed.

 

Regarding school hockey, there are French and English high school contact leagues as well as non-contact leagues. There are also schools that offer a "prep-school" atmosphere (Harrington, Stanstead, St Louis). Private schools like LCC, Loyola, BCS play exhibition games against some high calibre teams in Quebec and in the northern states across the border. Regarding league play , there is the Greater Montreal Athletic Association http://www.gmaa.ca/1-winter_sports_07-08/hock/hockstand07-08.htm.

 

What other Quebec schools are involved? What leagues besides http://www.tsisports.ca/se/ ?

Perhaps those with experience with these schools might share their thoughts. Who plays whom? What schools are in the leagues? What tournaments are involved? What is the practice to game ratio (in hours)? How long is the season?What is the level of competition? Where are the grads going afterwards and do they still play hockey?

 

What is missing in Quebec now is a CEGEP (junior) league whose purpose is to produce students for university AND for university hockey. Will St. Lawrence College begin to answer this need (as a member of the AEHL?) How about Champlain in Longueuil - any hockey program foreseen?

Does Junior AAA focus sufficiently on academic achievement? e.g. Cougars from Sherbrooke (Champlain Lennoxville) http://www.lescougars.com/organisation.php?action=prog

 

Now that the NCAA is willing to allow Canadian universities to join the NCAA, perhaps in the next decade, we might find kids staying in the province going from Secondary I right through university getting both a good education and good development and experience as a hockey players (and if NCAA calibre , then maybe into the pros). See http://www.tsn.ca/ncaa/story/?id=227280

[Lionking 0]

Lafrak that was very instructive, I didn't even know if canadian universities were allowed in the NCAA...

That will be better than the QMJHL because the ratio will be 3 practices for 1 game and that's really good because the games are only during the week-ends and 3 practice will get them ready to play and they will still have time to study without getting tired because they won't travel during the week...

 

I think that's even better for the young player devellopment !

[BigDaddy 0]

In my opinion, parents who are concerned about their children's education (i.e., university bound types) but who wish the kids to also enjoy hockey as long as possible (possibly university level hockey), should consider school leagues that will foster this double development (academic and athletic). I do not think that "sports-études" programs are the answer because the academic suffers since the number of classes is reduced to accomodate hockey. Furthermore, sports-études programs seem to exist to help the community leagues that are structured to feed the QMJHL (and education is not really supported despite what the QMJHL people say -- it's travel, far too many games and big $$$). Additionally & for several reasons, I think the springtime AAA tournaments are a serious error and should be curtailed.

 

Regarding school hockey, there are French and English high school contact leagues as well as non-contact leagues. There are also schools that offer a "prep-school" atmosphere (Harrington, Stanstead, St Louis). Private schools like LCC, Loyola, BCS play exhibition games against some high calibre teams in Quebec and in the northern states across the border. Regarding league play , there is the Greater Montreal Athletic Association http://www.gmaa.ca/1-winter_sports_07-08/hock/hockstand07-08.htm.

 

What other Quebec schools are involved? What leagues besides http://www.tsisports.ca/se/ ?

Perhaps those with experience with these schools might share their thoughts. Who plays whom? What schools are in the leagues? What tournaments are involved? What is the practice to game ratio (in hours)? How long is the season?What is the level of competition? Where are the grads going afterwards and do they still play hockey?

 

What is missing in Quebec now is a CEGEP (junior) league whose purpose is to produce students for university AND for university hockey. Will St. Lawrence College begin to answer this need (as a member of the AEHL?) How about Champlain in Longueuil - any hockey program foreseen?

Does Junior AAA focus sufficiently on academic achievement? e.g. Cougars from Sherbrooke (Champlain Lennoxville) http://www.lescougars.com/organisation.php?action=prog

 

Now that the NCAA is willing to allow Canadian universities to join the NCAA, perhaps in the next decade, we might find kids staying in the province going from Secondary I right through university getting both a good education and good development and experience as a hockey players (and if NCAA calibre , then maybe into the pros). See http://www.tsn.ca/ncaa/story/?id=227280

Here in the Eastern Townships we have the Eastern Townships Interscholastic Athletic Conference (ETIAC) that comprises Stanstead College, Bishop's College School (BCS), Alexander Galt Regional High School and Massey-Vanier High School. The league is two tiered with junior varsity and varsity divisions. The varsity division plays a twelve game schedule with two (one-game-only) knockout playoff rounds. So with only a total of 14 league games all four schools participate in several tournaments (Massey-Vanier, Selwyn House, Centennial, Bishop's University, Stanstead Invitational, etc.) as well as "friendlies" where two schools usually book home and home exhibition games against each other. Last year for example, the Massey Vanier team played 49 games while Stanstead played over 70 games. The practice to game ratio works out to about 2 ½-practice hours for every game hour.

Another interesting aspect of scholastic hockey is the age differences. While we debate introducing Major/Minor classifications in our minor hockey, the school teams quite often see as much as a five-year discrepancy in age. Schools like Stanstead and BCS are private institutions offering secondary six and therefore have older players, some as old as 19. The public schools, like Massey and Galt, are often forced to take 13 year old first year Bantam players in order to be able to ice a squad. The idea of 13 year olds competing with 19 year olds in full-contact hockey may seem crazy and, if more players chose the scholastic route, the schools would not have to deal with this potentially dangerous situation. In spite of all this, somehow the teachers who coach these teams, and who officiate the games, manage to make it work. Stanstead are a powerhouse and consistently the best team in the province but, as I have observed in the three years my sons have been playing in this league, you will seldom find their first line out on the ice against the other school's third or forth line. I have never seen a serious injury because of a younger player going up against an older one, and there is much more hitting and physical play in this league than in my sons AA or BB leagues. I do not know for sure, but I suspect, that, because trained educators are behind the benches, there is a spirit of fair play that you will seldom find in minor hockey.

My sons have both played high school hockey while continuing to play double-letter minor hockey. Conflicts in schedules sometime arise but usually high school hockey is played during school hours, or right after school, allowing the boys time to eat, study and still manage to make it to their minor team’s practice. Some minor hockey coaches have given my boys a hard time but others have been much more open-minded. These coaches understand that the school hockey experience will make them both better players and persons. It is very demanding on both the boys mixing studies with practices/games/road trips, and their parents need to be prepared to spend a lot of time behind the wheel and money at the pumps, but the rewards are well worth the effort. It has been a great experience for our entire family and I would recommend it to any parent of a child who loves the game. You are correct; scholastic leagues would be the right direction for our sport to take.

[lafrak 0]

Thanks BigDaddy for sharing this info regarding the Eastern Townships. Very informative. :lol:

 

Subsequent to my message in May to lead off this discussion (and specifcally relating to the segment

What is missing in Quebec now is a CEGEP (junior) league whose purpose is to produce students for university AND for university hockey.

, HQ announced that for 2009-2010 year the collegial league will again be in operation (6 teams so far). This is great news since players dedicated to CEGEP studies and a team associated with their CEGEP will be afforded the oportunity to have professional trainers (on and off ice) in a program that allows complete academic and hockey development with an emphasis on training rather than mostly games.

 

Some wishful thoughts:

1. Other than the six teams already in the mix, I hope that Champlain St Lambert might be encouraged to re-enter hockey to allow English speaking CEGEP students in the Montreal area to have an outlet for their hockey development at this level.

2. Perhaps Champlain-Sherbrooke might decide to switch from Junior AAA to this league.

3. Perhaps there will be cross-over games for the new Collegial league with schools in the America East Hockey League, where Champlain St. Lawrence is scheduled to play this 2008-2009 year.

4. Perhaps one or two Quebec universities might be encouraged to consider NCAA for their hockey programs

[lafrak 0]

BigDaddy,

Further to your message:

1. Do the junior varsity teams play in a league of their own or do they only play "friendlies" and tournaments?

2. To what extent do the varsity teams play against US school teams?

3. Do I assume correctly that time for practices and games is extra-curricular and the number of classes missed is limited - restricted to game times (unlike sports etudes programs which reduce class-time and structure hockey practice into the school day e.g., 13h00-15h00?)

Thanks

[BigDaddy 0]

BigDaddy,

Further to your message:

1. Do the junior varsity teams play in a league of their own or do they only play "friendlies" and tournaments?

2. To what extent do the varsity teams play against US school teams?

3. Do I assume correctly that time for practices and games is extra-curricular and the number of classes missed is limited - restricted to game times (unlike sports etudes programs which reduce class-time and structure hockey practice into the school day e.g., 13h00-15h00?)

Thanks

JV squads play a very limited amount of games. Very few teams play as many as 20 games all winter. Our league schedule is only 8 games.

US schools compete at most tournaments. Northwood Prep (Lake Placid) played a home and home with our boys last year. Stanstead College travels to several Prep School tournaments in the states as well.

Yes, you're absolutely correct. Massey Vanier, for example, practices from 4PM to 5:30PM Tuesdays and Thursdays. Most league games are played on Wednesdays and Fridays at 3 or 4PM.

 

Stanstead’s 2007-2008 schedule:

 

Date Time Opponent Score

 

Sa. Nov. 3 21:00 Northwood School 8-3 W

Su. Nov. 4 13:00 Northwood School 6-4 W

November Break Thursday, November 8 (1:30 PM) - Monday, November 12 (9:30 PM)

Thu. Nov. 8 20:30 @ Green Mountain Glades Jr. B (November break trip at Norwich) 1-2 (OT) L

Sa. Nov. 10 12:00 @ New England Falcons Jr. B (November break trip in Enfield, Conn.) Enfield Twin Rinks 1-2 L

Su. Nov.11 12:00 @ Springfield Junior Pics (November break trip in Springfield, Mass.) 2-2 T

We. Nov. 14 17:00 @ Phillips Exeter Academy 7-3 L

Sa. Nov. 17 16:30 Academie St. Louis 3-2 W

Su. Nov. 18 13:00 @ Kimball Union Academy (Meridon, New Hampshire) 7-0 W

We. Nov. 21 (15:00) Massey Vanier High School 3-0 W

Nov. 23 - 25 Shady Side Academy Thanksgiving Classic (Pitt. Penn.)

vs Shady Side 4-1 W

vs. Nicholls School 3-2 L

vs. St. Francis School 3-3 T

semi-final vs. St. Francis School 5-2 W

final vs. Nicholls School 4-2 L (EN)

Tu. Nov. 27 19:30 @ Holderness School (Plymouth, New Hampshire) 3-2 W

We. Nov. 28 16:00 Alexander Galt High School (Sherbrooke, Quebec) 7-2 W

Fr. Nov. 30 20:00 @ Hebron Academy (Hebron, Maine) 3-3 T (OT)

Su. Dec. 2 13:00 Boston Junior Blackhawks 6-3 W

We. Dec. 5 16:00 Massey Vanier High School 9-0 W

Jan. 4-6 St. Francis Invitational Tournament, Buffalo, New York

Gilmour Academy 3-0 L

Wyoming Seminary 5-2 L

Nichols 6-4 W

St. Francis School 2-1 L

We. Jan. 9 16:30 @ Northfield Mount Hermon School (Northfield, Massachusetts) 3-2 W

Jan. 11 -13 Stanstead College Invitational Tournament

Fri. 4:45 King's-Edgehill 9-1 W

Sat. 11:45 Appleby 7-2 W

Sat. 3:45 Kents Hill 2-2 T

Sat. 7:45 Rye Country 6-1 W

Sun. 12:15 FINAL: Kents Hill 3-2 W

Tu. Jan. 15 14:30 @ Alexander Galt 2-2 T

We. Jan. 16 17:00 @ Tilton School 6-2 L

Sa. Jan. 19 19:00 @ Northwood School (Lake Placid, NY) 3-3 T

Su. Jan. 20 11:00 @ Northwood School (Lake Placid, NY) 2-1 W

Tu. Jan. 22 15:15 @ Massey Vanier High School (Cowansville, Quebec) 9-1 W

We. Jan. 23 16:00 Bishop's College School 9-0 W

Sun. Jan. 27 13:00 Bridgton Academy 4-3 W

Tu. Jan. 29 16:30 Vermont Academy 4-2 W

We. Jan. 30 16:00 New Hampton School 3-1 L

Sa. Feb. 2 17:30 @ North Yarmouth Academy (Yarmouth, Maine) 5-3 W

Su. Feb. 3 13:00 @ Kents Hill School (Kents Hill, Maine) 2-0 W

Tu. Feb. 5 16:45 @ Bishop's College School 15-1 W

We. Feb. 6 17:00 Alexander Galt High School 10-0 W

February Break Thursday, February 7 (1:30 PM) - Monday, February, 11 (9:30 PM)

Tu. Feb. 12 14:30 @ Alexander Galt High School 6-4 L

We. Feb. 13 16:00 Bishop's College School 13-0 W

Fr. Feb. 15 20:00 @ Vermont Academy 6-2 W

Tu. Feb. 19 15:15 @ Massey Vanier High School (Cowansville, Quebec 9-0 W

Feb. 21-22 @ AAESQ Provincial Tournament (Greenfield Park, QC)

Thurs. 12:00 Quarter-Finals - Centennial 7-0 W

Fri. 10:00 Semi-Finals - Alexander Galt 2-1 (OT) W

Fri. 15:00 Finals - LCC 4-1 W

We. Feb. 27 18:00 ETIAC Final vs. Galt 9-4 W

Fr. Feb. 29 20:00 @ Academie St. Louis (Quebec City) 3-2 W

Sa. Mar. 1 15:30 @ Academie St. Louis (Quebec City) 3-0 W

Su. Mar. 2 13:00 @ Dynamique CEGEP Sainte.-Foy (Sainte,-Foy, Quebec) 3-2 W

Sa. Mar. 8 16:00 National Sports Academy 6-1 W