Thank you for your e-mails about missing rinks. Even if we have not gotten to your State yet, please feel free to send them in. Parts of New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Please keep the e-mails coming, it helps. If you would like regular updates, you can subscribe to the RSS feed for this blog.

Thank you

HockeyCat.com
http://www.HockeyCat.com

Thank you to everyone for sending in their local rinks. It is making it much easier to add them. I am going to try to add a few everyday so keep coming back.

Keep them coming.

Thanks

HockeyCat

HockeyCat.com is using Mapbuilder.net to create the Rink Map. This type of project racks up a lot of bandwidth. Any support to help with hosting costs is appreciated.

Visit the Mapbuilder.net site as well. It is an excellent tool.

Thank you,

HockeyCat.com
Please Note That Hosting Support is NOT Tax Deductible

HockeyCat.com’s Google Rink Map gets mentioned on Google Maps Mania.

If you like our rink map, you will love this blog. Take a look and see for yourself. Google Maps Mania

HockeyCat

HockeyCat.com wants to thank the readers of Puck Update
and Offwing Opinion for helping fill in some holes in the map.

I am slowly working my way up the East Coast, so expect to see New York State very soon. There are almost as many rinks in New York as I have put in so far, so your patience is appreciated.

Have a rink in Pennsylvania or anywhere else, let us know about it. We are slowly making our way through the Northeast and then we will takle the Midwest. So far HockeyCat.com has logged 189 rinks.

We have also added the ability to get directions from Google Maps and don’t forget to check out the Satellite view.

Thanks from HockeyCat.com for help finding errors and omissions.

HockeyCat.com is pleased to announce (with the help of MapBuilder.net) a Google Hacked Map showing rinks in the Mid-Atlantic Region (VA, MD, NC, SC, GA).

Click Here to find rinks throughout these states.

http://www.HockeyCat.com/rinkmapguide.html

We will be adding more states until we have them all. If you have a new rink, that is not listed, please let me know.

“Play Where You Live” generated a lot of debate. I am going to throw it to you folks. I think youth hockey is broken.

There are too many Travel teams and it is taking away ice from House teams. Too much emphasis put on what level a child plays. Too little emphasis is being put on to developing hockey players. Is this system broken or is everyone so good now that we only need travel teams?

I would love to hear from USA Hockey on this, because they are the ones guiding this ship.

We have many of the same problems in Dallas that others in the South have – Not enough talent and too many “Travel” organizations vying for that limited talent. The problem is compounded by parents willing to spend $2k – $3.5k a year, plus travel expenses, for junior to play against better competition than can found in “house” leagues in the area. From this we get multiple travel organizations with a watered down talent pool and a house system that is not acceptable for those players who are competitive, want to improve their game and are willing to work at it (Maybe Canada’s talent pool is deep enough to have a lot of quality coaching at the house level, but down south anyone who can skate and has a whistle has a fair shot at being a house head coach).

But the problem should not be fixed by USA hockey. Having USA hockey tell someone that they must play house and subsidize the travel teams is not the answer. Having USA hockey, or any organization, limit the number of travel organizations limits choices for all the participants and will slow the overall growth of hockey in the south. If someone wants to pay for their kid to travel and get creamed by the Michigan teams, then they should not be told by USA hockey that they cannot.

The answer is corporate sponsorship. Dallas is a big hockey town for the south, and if the area had one corporate sponsor that supported a true top-level competitive team, it would concentrate the area’s talent in one organization. Free would be a big draw and would bring the best talent into that one organization, providing the top players a chance to train with all the other top players in the area and be able to compete up North (I know your northerners don’t believe it, but with a sponsor and a few years under our belt, we could compete and win – See Silver Stick results over the last few years – there is talent in Dallas). This would also drive more quality players and coaches to rep and house leagues, or at least less expensive competitive organizations, thus increasing the overall experience for all players.

We have lots of big corporations in Texas that would not miss a few million a year to run a top-flight organization that could compete with Honey Baked and Little Caesar’s. The challenge is to find a Dallas corporation who cares, even if Dallas hockey is ready to compete and make a name for itself.

Who will show a little Texas pride and step up to the plate?

B.

HockeyCat.com wants to thank Steve at Puck Update www.PuckUpdate.com for helping recruit more writers for the HockeyCat.com Blog.

Steve runs an excellent site and if you are into hockey, you need to add Puck Update to your list of required reading.

Thanks

HockeyCat.com