State Hockey Tournament Controversy

Gentry Academy was started and owned by some very affluent people. Go research it and you can see the wealth and even ties to college hockey. It is a very small school essentially there for hockey first … school 2nd. Quality of education … no idea. Small classes, focused curriculum. Students do need to be college ready.

The private schools (as noted above) are schools first some with good sports programs. Hill Murry is in a class with Benild (BSM), Breck, Blake, St. Thomas Academy … Holy Family is another that is trying to get to the next level. They are not bound by school district boundaries, but then neither are public schools. Think Hopkins in boy’s BB.

Transfer rules are real, but always ways to circumnavigate. One way is … In girl’s hockey you have young ladies (well girls) that actually go skate girl’s HS hockey in 7th and 8th grade and then transfer to a “bigger” school. Transfer rules do not apply to those below 9th grade.

Transfer rules in HS sports 9th – 12th grade are also a mess with ways to move about without penalty if the parents have money. I know because I am witness to people doing it … certainly not just hearsay.

Bearcat89 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
Ha pot and kettle meet Bearcat.

Who’s arguing?

Never any arguing, that was phrased wrong. More so just ask rip he will know.

Clearly neither of you read “backing on ice reels”

Ripjiggen wrote:

So do you have a problem with the private schools in Rochester St. Cloud Duluth playing A or just the ones in the metro that are powerhouses? Just curious.

That’s a great question and I didn’t really think about that. I guess I see schools like cathedral differently than those in the cities. That shouldn’t be the case though. Any private school actively plucking kids away should be AA.

I guess that was the why I threw the question out. Not all schools even private are the same. Some do not have tradition in the sport of hockey. There are a lot that would not stand a chance at AA.
I think it is difficult to put every school/association into a certain box.

Yeah that makes sense. These new private schools or academies are just built different.

For sure Gentry is. Basically a wealthy family that wanted to keep their kid playing with his triple A team started it. Once he moved to USNDT they gave up ownership and made it a charter school.
Is it the right thing for HS hockey probably not, but I just like to watch good hockey and good teams play each other. It helps everyone up their game.

Agreed 100% good hockey is always enjoyable. I’ve the background of that school which is interesting.

Regardless of how you look at it it’s going to go the way of the NCAA where sports literally run the show and that’s terrifying. I’m as big a sports fan and sports parent as anyone but even I know this is wrong.

Hard Water Fan wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
Gentry is probably the most successful sports academy so far in Minnesota, and of course some would argue what’s the big deal, hockey is crazy anyway. There are already plans being explored for a basketball-focused prep school in the metro.

I would guess that guys like Sidney Crosby, Jonathon Toews and Zach Parise would disagree with that statement.

Of course, but Shattuck has no impact on Minnesota high school league sports because they play in a private league.

Come on guys the cream of the crop has been in michigan on the national team for months now. All your watching are the left overs

What comes around goes around. A couple years ago Breck was a dominate force in hockey. A number of parents/players didn’t like the girls coach and they all bailed. The last few years they have been an also ran. The same thing will happen at Gentry and the other private/charter schools eventually.

Absolutely out of control in my opinion. Go back to private school championship separate from public school championship. It takes a team to move a mountain. It’s now all about the individuals and mommy and daddy trying to live what they couldn’t through their kids.

breakerbreaker wrote:

Come on guys the cream of the crop has been in michigan on the national team for months now. All your watching are the left overs

Hardly.

On a numbers basis, I would say the HS Hockey … USHL route kicks more Minnesota kids into D1 programs … that the National Development Program. Some kids bypass their Senior year to play USHL …

If the US National Development program really took players and developed them to the next level – wouldn’t more leap directly into the NHL ?

Shattuck is a boarding school that plays elite competition across the country. Gentry is a local charter school recruiting parents …

The fact that there are thus many grown adults who care this much about high school sports is part of of the problem. It’s high school. For 99% of these kids, this is the end of the road of competitive athletics. Maybe everyone should just relax a bit and let the kids have fun?

Sorry but this goes way beyond sports. Open enrollment is hurting many public schools financially as students are leaving for other schools – this putting financial strain on schools and it is a fact.

Sorry but this goes way beyond sports. Open enrollment is hurting many public schools financially as students are leaving for other schools – this putting financial strain on schools and it is a fact.

Feels weird that Gentry is in the MSHSL. Also weird that families who send kids to a hockey specific school aren’t putting them in a better league. Hockey people despise MN high school hockey as a development path, that’s just the truth. For girls it makes sense since they don’t have the other options.

Regular private schools aren’t comparable at all. Complaining about them recruiting is so weird to me. Plus who would we all root against without Hill Murray??

Open enrollment might hurt some districts but it is also helping other public schools and many kids.

Hockey is not hurting public schools. They have way bigger issues than 3-4 kids leaving for private schools to play hockey.
Not going to go down that road in this thread.

Tell that to small schools that lose $12k per student lost. I happen to know you are wrong on this. Maybe trust others of knowing some data behind this.

Recruiting goes on at many high schools including Andover.

jimmysiewert wrote:

Tell that to small schools that lose $12k per student lost. I happen to know you are wrong on this. Maybe trust others of knowing some data behind this.

Open enrollment only involves public schools, right? So yeah leaving a district takes 12k from that district but it also gives it to another district. Like I said open enrollment hurts some and benefits others.

5 years ago there were 10-15k students using open enrollment – mainly for academics. Now, we are upwards of 100k – with the main drivers for sports. It starts a cascade effect. Yes – another school gains – but another suffers. Just the fact that one suffers should be a concern for all because it affects every student one way or another. So yes – it does matter.

There’s just not the sense of grit and accomplishment following something difficult being achieved within competitive athletics. A state title for a rural public school in anything now is almost impossible. The days of the “last person out turn off the lights” before a big rivalry game with the neighboring town and kids you’ve seen for years are going extinct. It’s hard to blame the kids though. In fact, kids are the last part of the equation I’d blame.

Look at every major sports league…there are very few rivals. Most are buddy buddy off the court/field knowing they may be teammates next year. In the NBA the “super teams” are the only way to win anymore. In the NFL Free Agency recruiting by players has multiplied tenfold. Think Brady in TB, Lebron and Kevin Durant everywhere they have went, the big spending MLB teams, and now even college athletics with the transfer portal running wild.

Athletics have drastically changed before our eyes at all levels and people aren’t seeing it fully. I’m not talking about scheme, rules, or training programs…I’m talking about the definition of winning. Winning to me is competing against the best to beat the best given the hand you were dealt mixed with hard work. Today winning is the process associated with jockeying for position to make things easier while earning likes, followers, scholarships, sponsors, NIL deals, etc.

And to the MSHSL angle…they have less and less leverage to act as gatekeepers to all the jumping around in MN high school athletics. The organization is completely broke financially despite having a monopoly over athletics. The MSHSL is going to have to become even more a system based on minimal rules, or it will cease to exist. With the wrong lawsuit or a banding together of suburban wealthy schools who want to govern themselves differently…the MSHSL will go the way of the dinosaurs.

Brittman wrote:

Gentry Academy was started and owned by some very affluent people. Go research it and you can see the wealth and even ties to college hockey. It is a very small school essentially there for hockey first … school 2nd. Quality of education … no idea. Small classes, focused curriculum. Students do need to be college ready.

The private schools (as noted above) are schools first some with good sports programs. Hill Murry is in a class with Benild (BSM), Breck, Blake, St. Thomas Academy … Holy Family is another that is trying to get to the next level. They are not bound by school district boundaries, but then neither are public schools. Think Hopkins in boy’s BB.

Transfer rules are real, but always ways to circumnavigate. One way is … In girl’s hockey you have young ladies (well girls) that actually go skate girl’s HS hockey in 7th and 8th grade and then transfer to a “bigger” school. Transfer rules do not apply to those below 9th grade.

Used to hunt Chuck Lucius’s mansion for geese in Dellwood. He is the Gentry owner, down to earth guy. Amazing property. The only stipulation was that we couldn’t hunt until 10AM so his kids could get their sleep. Around 11AM his wife (smokeshow) would do laps on their private paved trails on roller blades. Always rolled up to talk to us in 1 of his 5 G-Wagons asking why we didn’t kill a pile.

tswoboda wrote:

Plus who would we all root against without Hill Murray??

St Thomas, Cretin DH, Benilde. There’s always one playing to cheer against lol

Public schools have WAY bigger problems than sports recruitment and success.
I don’t agree a school like Gentry should be in the MSHSL league but that is only my opinion.
I root for the public school every year as my experience has taught me ( much like how Gentry was formed in the first place) that money and parents who think their kids are bound for the pros will do anything to get their kids an edge or keep them playing “AAA” because THEY think their kid is stellar.
We have lost out focus on the value of sports in m=y opinion.
Again, public schools have WAY more to worry about that kids transferring in and out because of a sport.