Mankato Area Hockey Association

This page contains answers to questions that seem to come up every year in MAHA. Though these are brief descriptions (for the sake of space), hopefully they will give some answers to questions that come up in our association

The main reason is numbers. As you look at the different age levels in MAHA you continually see the numbers decline from Mites to Squirts, Squirts to Peewees, and Peewees to Bantams. There are many reasons for this....but it keeps us from having the numbers at the Bantam level to go with two "A" level teams. The ultimate goal is to get to that stage some day in MAHA, but at the present time we are simply not there.

In the late 1990's the Operations Committee conveined to discuss the state of our hockey association, and what was and was not working. The main question....why are our high school teams consistently having trouble competing? After lengthy discussion, the obvious answer was that MAHA was not producing the quantity of "quality" high school players. Sure, we were producing 4 or 5 top notch kids each year, but when you split those kids between two high schools it left the cupboards pretty bare for the most part. Therefore, the Operation's Committee analyzed what we needed to do in order to change it. The most obvious change was within our top "B" teams. Consistently, MAHA "B" teams were posting records of 28-6 and 30-4. These kids just weren't getting challenged, and it showed in their skill development and in their ultimate step in hockey...high school. As MAHA continues to produce quality, "A" caliber, hockey players we need to continue to push those kids. Our A2 program allows us the opportunity to do this.

Reason #2. When you think of Southern Minnesota hockey you realize that our A2 teams are competing just fine down here. In order for B1 teams to find competition, they needed to leave Southern Minnesota to find games, and to be honest there were not a lot of metro teams who were/are interested. Therefore, there are two ways to get our non-A1 kids some competition.....make them B1 teams and not be able to find competition, or make the A2 and take advantage of Southern Minnesota hockey.

Plain and simple, the MAHA coaching staff is comprised of volunteers. Of those volunteers, we have a wide range of experience levels as well. Since they are indeed volunteers, we make it a practice to offer up the first choice of coaching positions to our most veteran coaches and continue down the list based on experience. As is usually the case, the more experienced coaches (tenure wise) tend to bring their own assistant coaches with them. It is no secret that the most "coveted" coaching positions are usually the "A" teams at each level. In the 2006-2007 season there were NO TEAMS that started the season with any less than three coaches on their staff, and the experience/quality level from top to bottom is as strong as it has ever been.

MAHA shares All Seasons Arena with many other user groups (Figure skating club, four high school teams, two college teams, three adult leagues, public skating, and open hockey). Due to the nature of some of the programs it makes the most sense to schedule them at certain times (for instance, the colleges go in the afternoon when the youth are in school, and the high schools go right after school as they can get there earlier than the youth). This leaves week nights which usually range from 5:30 and on. In those hours ASA must schedule high school and MSU women's games, and give the remaining ice to the figure skaters and MAHA. It is from this ice time that we are able to book most of our ice. Unfortunately, there are many weeks during the Winter where there are high school games on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, nights...meaning very little ice left over.

 We do utilize the MWCC when possible, but that ice is usually only in the weeks the MSU men play in town. Otherwise the ice is covered.

Unfortunately this accussation is thrown around too lightly. The MAHA Board of Directors is comprised of MAHA parents, just like you. Anyone with a child in MAHA is able to get on the board and make a difference. To insinuate that board members, or the Operation's Manager, are in their positions simply to abuse any "power" they may have is not only false, but is a blatant attack on the integrity of those involved. The next time someone tells you that they are afraid of this, please remind them that they can be a board member quite easily if they are willing to run....and if they are willing to be subject to such accussations as well.

Actually, in a comparative study done in the 2005-2006 season, it was found that the average MAHA member not only pays less than most of the state pays to play, but that they are less expensive than many other youth activities in town. It is not uncommon to pay monthly ice bills ON TOP OF entry fees in programs in the metro area, or to pay over $200 an hour for ice time (in Mankato we pay less than $135). A large number of user groups, fundraising, and a well run facility have kept the cost of hockey in Mankato down to a very respectable level.

This is a very good question. Every year we hear both sides of the question...."why do we travel so far" and "why don't we get away from Mankato and play some different teams". No matter which side of the fence you are on, both questions can be answered the same way. It is MAHA's philosophy to offer one tournament each year to it's traveling teams that will take them away from Mankato far enough to see different competition, and to get a taste of what rinks and associations are like around the state. This is usually a good time for the kids, and great chance for parents to get to know one another. MAHA also attempts to give each team a tournament close enough so that they can drive to and frome each game. The third tournament is usually based on factors such as options available, the weeks they have available on their schedule, and the types of teams we have that particular year.

Quite honestly, there is no possible way to know what the caliber of competition is going to be at most tournaments...not even our own. There are indeed tournaments that we KNOW are going to be high quality tournaments, and we do try to get our upper end teams into those. However, when picking out tournaments there is no real way to know what you are getting into....especially since most tournaments fill up by October, so you need to register for them in July and August.

This discussion comes up every single Summer on the Operation's Committee and the MAHA Board. Three main factors are involved:

1) Running two seperate associations under one board would pose some challenges. Splitting into two seperate associations with two seperate boards also poses many new challenges (ice time, fundraising, coaches selection, etc.)

2) There will inevitably always be one side of town that has more kids playing than the other. This tends to swing like a pendulum, but when it is swayed heavily to one side you are putting smaller groups at a tremendous disadvantage.

3) There is strength in numbers. The larger the group in MAHA, the more opportunities we can offer to our players. Smaller groups spread out ability levels, and can create some problems fielding competitive teams.

Mankato is currently one of only a handful of communities that is forced to split into seperate high schools after they leave the youth association. There are many communities, much larger than Mankato, that only feed one high school.

There are three main reasons we do not:

1) It insinuates we are unable to perform an accurate and fair analysis of players. Every single year we hear people accuse the process of being "political" or that teams are pre picked. The bottom line is that when people are unable to deal with disappointment they turn to excuses. MAHA seeks out qualified and very impartial evaluators to run their placements, and it is very rare that their decisions are proven to be wrong.

2) Expense. There are independant evaluating groups out there, but they don't come cheap. The need and the cost need to be balanced out before this option is utilized.

3) It is an inexact science. Players progress at different speeds throughout the season. It is possible that any evaluating team might place a child on a lower team, just to see the child bolt in ability two months later. There is only so much an association can account for when putting teams together, and the rest has to be allowed to play itself out.