After listening to the meeting the result was that the new USAH program has been tabled for a year. There were many concerns raised by the group but it seemed that the deal breaker was that USAH cannot get their own affiliates out of the way. The MWEHL clubs expressed a strong desire to accept some sort of modified version of the two programs, HPC and LTAD, but none of that matters if the affiliates wont let the AAA clubs run the AA and 12U development parts of the programs.

How can the AAA/HPC clubs be expected to have success as HPC clubs when they wouldn't get the kids until Bantam and would have had no ability to coach them as 12U, 10U and 8Us? Would you want someone to raise your kid until he was 13 and then you still have to be responsible for the product when you get him at 13?

The questions that need to be answered are this? How does USAH roll out this program without first getting the support of their own affiliates? And if USAH is the governing body that the affiliates report to, why can't USAH steer the affiliates into accepting the model that they themselves have developed.

USAH looked pretty foolish last night when, for all intents and purposes, their program got squashed because they can't get their own people to endorse and accept it.

What a mess!

People won't accept it because the "new" HPC program sucks! I hope it gets squashed forever.

That is your opinion simply because your kid would not make this team,period!.

I think the big problem is it will trim the crappy players and the people who can't find a "real" job from what is aupposed to be "top level" hockey coaches. Look who would be out of a nice income by club, it's easy. At MM, I think the Mission guy has a real job. At mm, also, I think the Mission guy is the only one with a real job. Maybe JM, but the other guys? c'mon, they have to fight the HPC's, or get an HPC. Watch the Furrrryyyy.......

From The President and Executive Director

Over the past several weeks, our staff has made presentations about the concept of a new initiative the American Development Model (ADM). At the core of the ADM are long-term athlete development (LTAD) principles, which for the first-time ever provide our 2,500-plus associations across the country a blueprint to follow in optimal athlete development a blueprint based on sport science and consensus child development research.

A small but important component of the new ADM is what weve called a High Performance Club program. While there is widespread support of the long-term athlete development principles presented as the core of the ADM, it is clear that we need additional time to discuss how the HPC tool can work within our various regions throughout the country. Weve had applicants for the HPC from across the country and were extremely pleased with the interest level. However, because of the feedback weve received from many in terms of the challenges involved with implementation in a very constrained time frame, we have determined that we will not implement the HPC component of the ADM in any region for the 2009-10 season.

We are asking stakeholders such as Tier I applicants, affiliates, directors, rink owners, league operators, local programs, etc., to send your comments on the overall ADM and specifically the HPC program toadm@usahockey.com. We are keenly interested in how you view the effect of the HPC as it is now proposed (more information at usahockey.org/adm). Well utilize usahockey.com/adm as our vehicle to share commentary on these topics as the evaluation process moves forward.

As for the implementation of the LTAD principles in the ADM, our staff will continue to work on the infrastructure and provide personnel to assist districts and affiliates in adapting these principles within local hockey associations for those that wish to adopt them.

Most of you are aware of the generous support weve received from the NHL. The grant theyve provided to us includes up to $8 million dollars annually, consistent with the restrictions defined in the plan provided to and approved by the NHL. Under that plan, approximately $3 million is budget relieving as it covers our costs of the NTDP and the USA Hockey elite officiating program. Because of that budget relief, USA Hockey will continue all its current budgeted programs without the need for any membership fee increases for next season. Up to $2 million will be invested in support of growth initiatives through our Membership Development department under the leadership of Pat Kelleher. Up to $1 million will be utilized for specific NHL requested elements, including support for the USHL, referee development programs and college hockey. Approximately $2 million will be allocated to the efforts of the ADM, including the HPC component. We will utilize some of these resources this year to build up the infrastructure to support the LTAD initiatives with districts and affiliates.

The NHL is solidly behind our efforts and has conveyed they are with us for the long term. They fully understand that the results associated with the investment they are making will take several years to measure. The oversight committee the NHL has in place associated with the grant has the responsibility to assure that the money is being spent on targeted initiatives and is well-managed. It is the responsibility of the hockey department at USA Hockey to deliver on providing quality products relating to the NTDP, referee development and the ADM. It is USA Hockeys business operation which is responsible for helping to grow and retain participants in the game, as well as to develop more enthusiasts in watching and loving the game.

Wed ask to you take a moment to thank the NHL for its grant, one that helps us support the growth of the game and its participants throughout the USA in these economically difficult times. You may express your appreciation by sending a note toThankYouNHL@usahockey.org. We will gather your sentiments and share them with the NHL.

We appreciate the trust and confidence expressed by so many directors and presidents. We will continue to work on exciting new options and tools for providing a fun and learning environment for our children. There is a lot to like about USA Hockey.

Dave OgreanExecutive DirectorUSA Hockey Ron DeGregorioPresidentUSA Hockey

February 12, 2009

No financial or training assistance for players next season. Who does "nothing" benefit? Perhaps a MWEHL league administrator collecting cash off your hotel fees? What's that salary again? $65-75K per year? oh well?

CYA and Fury should apply for the USA Program, if they were for hockey player development, and not greed. It's about saying you are AAA hockey and getting the suckers to give you their money, period. Fury has TWO teams with winning records in the MWEHL and CYA has ONE (made up with out of state kids), out of FOURTEEN TEAMS BETWEEN THEM. Can it get any more obvious? It's broken.

If you want to talk about greed, don't look any farther than the mission program. They nickel and dime you for everything. Bring your check books anytime you walk in the rink. As far as out of towners go, every MM and mm team have several so get your facts straight. And if your talking about development, TI and CYA have sent more players to juniors than the other two combined over the last couple of years.

CYA is concerned with development just by their nature that they do not recruit players as heavily as Mission and TI. There is no attempt at parity in Illinois AAA teams; even the NHL has a draft and rules on player movement. Mission and TI are organizations that have to win, all the time or they are not considered a success and personnel and players will be recycled.

??????

Shouldn't that be the case?