Big up to John Steigerwald...

[netwolf]

Tonight his 60 second sound off was on high school hockey and how it doesn't get enough attention in the media and from the schools that have teams. He mentioned that he was talking a local coach (missed the first name, but related to former Penguin Dan Quinn) about how parents shell out approximately $1700 a year to have a kid that plays high school hockey and don't get much if any help from the schools. Meanwhile, there are a lot of schools that have more kids playing hockey than football or basketball and the expenses for those teams are taken care of by the schools.

Nice to hear high school hockey get some play.

[saveourpens]

Yes, my team got zero help from school. If anything is broken it is on you, not to mention the high cost of playing for the team itself. Amazing hockey players stopped playing because of the cost, resulting fewer wins. The school distances itself from hockey by saying that it is a club and therefore the school can not give funding. Meanwhile, if you are some ghetto football player, you will get all your equipment almost for free. **** them to hell.

[Ron`]

Well that is the norm for high school hockey in PA. Mo financial support. When my son played the PA high school, the teams weren't even sanctioned by the schools as an official sport. Since he played both high school and travel hockey we shelled out considerable cash annually. Not to mention all the traveling expenses occurred with the home rink being 50 miles away and travel games up to several hundred miles. He did get to play in the Keystone games twice. Overall he loved the hockey experience and we enjoyed it too.

He was too busy then with practice, games, school and a girlfriend to get into much trouble. Now he works 20-30 hours a week as a co-op, college full time and still the same girlfriend. I think the hockey experience helped prepare him with the time managment aspects of life. Money and time well spent.

New York was different with the high school teams being sanctioned and some financial support. Much stronger organized hockey in New York. We got to see Tim Connolly and Matt Murley play as kids. My son played squirts with Robbie Schremp. They would have been on the same high school team, but we moved back to PA. Ice time there was alot cheaper and travel league expenses were less. I wish PA could support high school hockey more, but most kids sports budgets are shrinking.

[Stevens25]

High school hockey was big in the area when I played(1990-94),but of course that was when the Pens were an NHL powerhouse and hockey was king in Pittsburgh. I even remember they used to have a High school hockey show on Fox Sports(KBL)on Sunday mornings. Now,you never see any kind of coverage at all. I'm so tired of how huge things like high school football and basketball are,yet hockey gets nothing.

[spoon]

most schools dont give money because hockey is a "club" versus a sporting team. When stoosh and I were in High School that was one of the big complaints from players. I guess the schools dont wanna pick up the fees to field a team