Should RI High School Hockey Have More Cooperative Teams?

This past summer I was talking to a long time RI high school hockey coach and I recall saying, “I’m not an expert, but I think high school hockey in RI is heading for trouble.” The coach interrupted me and said “ High school hockey in RI is already in trouble.”  As you read on please understand that I know there are strong feelings on both sides of this topic; it is not my intention to force my ideas on anyone. What I would like to do is express my concerns and offer one possible solution to a problem that some feel should be addressed sooner rather than later.  

High school hockey has a long history in Rhode Island; you don’t have to watch more than the first 4 minutes of the documentary Ice Kings to learn that high school hockey in RI is as important as football in Texas.  I fear that continuing this tradition in the years to come will be difficult, particularly for the state’s smaller hockey programs.  Smaller high school hockey programs are severely disadvantaged by: the overall decline in the number of student hockey players who are coming to high school programs prepared to play safely at the varsity level, the siphoning off players by private schools, competition for players with club teams, and the challenges of equity and fairness brought about by players who play for both varsity and club teams during the same season. The solution to these challenges exists in a greater reliance on cooperative teams.  The number one reason players give for leaving high school hockey to play for club teams is “it is better hockey.”  Truth is, in many cases, they may not be wrong.  The Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL) needs to save high school hockey by making it better and more competitive at all levels, thus giving players a reason not to leave their high school teams for club teams or prep school teams.

Cooperative programs allow teams to combine their resources in order to build a team of ready now varsity players.  If the RIIL would ease their rules on cooperative hockey teams, it would afford varsity players the opportunity to compete in stronger Div I and II programs. Stronger teams will make for a more competitive league and give athletes that would have other wise left their high school programs, a reason to stay. Cooperative teams should be required to have JV teams for the purpose of increasing participation and developing players for the future. The desire to form cooperative teams is not about winning and losing; it is about preserving high school hockey at the varsity and JV levels, for all student athletes that want to play hockey. If you look at high school baseball, basketball, and football they have strong JV programs where younger players can develop skills and increase their knowledge of the game. Varsity level teams in sports, with JV programs, play at the highest and most competitive level possible, while giving JV participants time to prepare for the future.

 Cooperative teams should be allowed to have up to 30 players on their rosters. Goalies that can be documented as having at least one year of full time goaltending experience, should not count against a cooperative team’s overall numbers.  The current rule that allows for a total of 23 players (not counting Freshmen) does not account for the fact that some schools are taking on players that have never played the sport before, in the hopes of saving their programs.  While it is admirable that coaches are taking steps to save their programs, this approach to building teams only furthers the argument of players that are leaving for club teams in search of a better level of hockey.  I know many would argue that if two schools have 30 players between them, they should have enough players to have two teams. However, simply having enough players for two teams does not always mean that either school has enough varsity level players to build teams that would make RI high school hockey stronger and competitive enough, that players would inspire to be a part of their high school teams.  Cooperative teams are safer and will offer a better level of competition during practices and games, all while preserving RI high school hockey for future players.  Cooperative teams support and promote the valuable lessons associated with being a student athlete.  Cooperative teams encourage players to work hard and to develop advanced skills as players compete for roster spots. The great feeling of success that comes from working hard and earning a spot on a varsity team or a varsity letter, and all the life lessons learned from these experiences, are being denied to so many players that are simply being handed the impression of success, because of low participation. The longer we wait to expand these multi school relationships the more likely it will be that some RI high school hockey teams will not exist in as little as 2-3 years and that more and more players will miss out on some of the valuable lesson learned from participating in high school sports.

Currently in Rhode Island, there are six cooperative boys’ hockey teams supporting 14 schools and seven cooperative girls’ hockey teams supporting 18 schools.  These schools have laid the groundwork for future cooperative teams and now is the time to expand the number of cooperative teams in high school hockey. The concept of change is never easy; however when you are making changes to protect and preserve a sport that your child loves, then compromise becomes much easier. Cooperative teams are the answer to keeping young men and women on the ice-playing hockey at the high school level now, and more importantly in the future.  The choices are clear, schools can begin putting more cooperative hockey teams together, which will allow programs to have competitive varsity level teams and develop JV teams, or they can continue on their own with the potential of not being able to put a team on the ice, at any level, within the next 3 years.

Cooperative teams are not without their challenges, but they will keep hockey players on the ice for years to come.  Hockey players should not have to worry that their school may not be able to have a team during their senior year. Hockey is a great sport and it needs to be preserved for all at the high school level. I have read to RIIL rules on cooperative teams and my guess is that some people associated with the RIIL would say as a parent, I am putting too much emphasis on hockey, and that schools must keep academics as their top priority. To that I would simply say, contact me I will gladly show you my son’s report card. Just as you cannot have a student athlete without good academic programs, you cannot have a student athlete without a team to play on.