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I have always enjoyed playing hockey. So much so, that for the last twelve years of my life I have played as often as I can, when I can. Hockey is very much a part of my identity. With the resurgent interest in hockey in the area driven by the Washington Capitals success in the last two seasons, I am having even more fun playing and sharing the game with my friends. However, it is becoming difficult to have fun playing the game I enjoy because of the decisions and actions of others involved with the Skate Frederick Adult Hockey League.

I started playing ice hockey in 1996 at what was then called the Frederick Sport and Ice Arena. After high school, I played at UMBC for 2 years and then ended up joining a team in the Rockville adult league. I finally returned in 2001 to play at what I have always considered my home rink, Skate Frederick. I have played in all but one adult league season at Skate Frederick since Fall of 2001. During my time playing hockey at Skate Frederick, I have made some very good friends. We enjoy playing hockey together as teammates and enjoy even more, the social outlet that provides.

Recently, I was made aware that for the Summer 2009 season, adult league players will no longer be able to sign up as organized teams. Apparently, some players have complained that teams have an unfair, competitive advantage when signing up together. I was told that the specific complaint was made by a team that has in the past, typically signed up as a team.

This presents a dilemma for myself and some of my teammates. As the Hurricanes, we have had the same core group of players the last few years. We try to sign up together every season because we are very good friends. We enjoy playing hockey as a team and hanging out away from the rink. The best man at my wedding has been a teammate of mine going back to my UMBC days. For many of us, this is our “night out”. Between our jobs, kids, and other obligations, we have little time to devote to our close circle of friends.

Yes, as the Hurricanes, we have had some success in the adult league. We like to be competitive because as individuals, we are competitive by nature. We have also lost our share of games. For several seasons, the same team that now complains about players organizing as teams, was the team to beat. I can remember many times when our team was simply not good enough to win. We never once complained or asked for other teams to be broken up. We showed up, skated, and enjoyed our
time with our friends.

The decision to go to a draft based league would not be so bad if I knew that it would be run in an organized and professional manner. If the adult league were to go to a draft only system, then all players would have to attend an evaluation skate and be evaluated by a representative of the rink. This evaluation skate would have to be mandatory to ensure league parity. Currently, before every adult league season, there are evaluation scrimmages scheduled. These scrimmages are not well attended by players or by rink staff assigned to evaluating those players. This would have to change drastically.

After the evaluation, the actual draft would have to take place and players assigned to teams by skill level. I assume this would be done by Skate Frederick staff shortly after the evaluation. Ideally, with everyone being evaluated and ranked, core groups of friends/current teammates could be set as the foundations for teams. A “draft” could then take place, with those teams filling in the necessary gaps at each skill level. Once the teams are determined, jerseys would have to be ordered and the league schedule generated and distributed to the players. These are things that do not happen now.

During most seasons, even though each player has paid for a jersey with their league fee, they never receive jerseys. Also, at the beginning of most seasons, the schedule is not ready in time to notify all of the players when their first game is. In the event that the schedule is ready, no one takes the time to notify the players. Organized teams have the advantage of having a designated captain that can disseminate that information. If the league does not allow organized teams, those running the league will have to be that much more organized. They will need to stay on top of communications with each player and ensure they are giving each player the goods and services they paid for.

Personally, I feel like I have been a very good customer of Skate Frederick for several years. The core members of the Hurricanes, have been playing together at Skate Frederick for over 7 years. In these uncertain economic times, I think it would behoove the rink to do everything it can to keep its returning customers. After talking with a few of my teammates, I get the sense that most of them will make a decision on whether to return to play hockey this Summer at Skate Frederick when an official announcement is made. I am not sure what those decisions will be. I do know that if I were running a business, I would not want my loyal customers making such decisions.