BTHL Survey Summary Report

Returns Received = 32

1. Your Position: 5-AssocPresidents 2-BoardMembers 0-BthlReps 12-Coaches 11-Managers 2-Schedulers0-Parents 0-Players 0-Other
2. Your Association: 2-Athens 1-Bluejacket 4-Cincinnati 2-Chill 3-Flames 1-Bluehawks 0-Bombers 3-Gems 2-Evansville 1-Fairmont 0-Findlay 3-FortWayne 1-Hamilton 0-Blues 4-Racers 0-Lakota 3-Louisville 0-N.Kentucky 1-Oxford 0-SouthBend
3. Your Team:
   1. If representing a team, your age classification: 2-Mite 8-Squirt 7-PeeWee 7-Bantam 5-Midget
   2. Level: 19-A 9-AA
4. Overall, how would you rate your experience with the BTHL? 4-Excellent 23-Good 3-OK 0-Fair 1-Poor 1-NoOpinion
5. How would you rate the overall competition during regular season play? 6-Excellent 14-Good 8-OK 3-Fair 1-Poor 0-NoOpinion
       Other comments:

   we were out of our league this year due to some internal problems much improved over past years Mite division was small 4 teams, I think more associations should be encouraged to join at this level. Len, I am asking the coach and the manager complete this. I did have a meeting with the parents both prior to and after the season.While there were some very strong opinions pro and con before the season, the meeting after the season most were happy with the scheduling, the competition except for the top team , which the coach expressed his opinion that the team could have competed with.For your info, I will be reporting a favorable experience to our board. Next year I would like to meet with all our teams prior to the season. I would anticipate more of our travel teams consider the Buckeye seriously. A professional organization Access to current information was great When action was required it was done swiftly and decisively A great Job Thanks Enjoyed the competition. Overall all of our games were very close both wins and losses. Would like to see more teams at the AA level. Some teams at A level could have been AA. The need for Midget AA or Club HS division would help the Midget division Overall competition was poor. Athens & Hamilton beat all the toher teams everytime by large margins. I felt the level of competition was not as high as it was last year.

6. For the first time in the 1998-99 season, the BTHL limited the number of 2nd year players on an "A" team to eight (8). A team with more than eight 2nd year players was classified as "AA".
   1. Do you agree with the rule? 17-Yes 10-No 5-NotSure
   2. What are your suggestions for refining the rule?

      This is the only fair way to do it. Glad the BTHL took this step! That is a tough question. Age does not always measure skill or size. However, because BTHL permits a team to appeal the rule, perhaps the rule is the best compromise. This rule probably knocks us out of the league next year as we were a young team this year. With our limited pool to draw from it is already difficult for us to compete with bigger market programs. Exceptions need to be made. The number of second year players on an A team should be 4 for at least associations with greater than 250 players, maybe 6 for associations smaller. I agree with even more movement to a true major/minor league set-up. I think its a great idea,if a team wants to petition ,I understand they can. Only allow 8 second year players to be rostered on a team. Don't allow teams to start the season with more than 8 second year players at the A level. yes but there are exceptions that will need to be addressed at or before the scheduling meeting 1999-2000 or before the Sche Limit the number of second year players to 4 or less If the association that you are part of has a AA team then the A level should be able to pick the best of the remaining players. This might mean more than 8. If the organization does not have the depth of players to have both an A and an AA the 8 rule makes sense I think it is a very good general rule as long as teams like ours can continue to petition to play as an A team because we are in a smaller market. Would rather see limit at 4 but consideration to the number of teams could be a factor. If an Association has 3 or 4 teams then the 3rd and 4th team could be A level even with older kids. perhaps we should monitor Associations so that stron g A teams are moved to AA the following year. There is no good answer but if there is no real aggrement just drop the requirement and monitor teams for playing where they really belong. Change it to a team with more than four 2nd year players classified AA. Investigating teams more thuroughly if possible The rule does not necessarily work for organizations with limited travel players Track plaers year to year (not statistics, but team performance) Have a preseaon seating tournament to determine balance and placement of A or AA. In cities such as Evansville, we only have 1 travel team per age group. We usually classify ourselves as A or AA, depending on the caliber of our players, rather than by 1st or 2nd year predominance. Next year, our Bantam team will have more than 8 returning players, but only 2 or 3 players are good enough to be classified as AA. Several players are below an A level. Continue to work toward a major/minor setup - go to max. 4 players (2nd yr.) in 99-00 for mandatory AA status, OR create a AA Minor Division A distinction needs to be for the Midget age group as it covers 3 yrs. not 2 Lower the number to 5 or 6. There were instances where teams w/ 8 second year players competed as "A" teams just to win. Up to the individual association with the Board reviewing those programs which continually under place their teams.

7. Scheduling
   1. Overall, how would you rate the Scheduling, when games scheduled, length of season, etc? 6-Excellent 18-Good 6-OK 1-Fair 0-Poor 1-NoOpinion
   2. Did you attend the September 19, 1998 Scheduling Meeting in Dayton? 19-Yes 12-No 1-NoAnswer
   3. When are your team tryouts/selections held? August of each year; september; August; June; Mid Sept; August; september; Phase one is in April with follow ups over the summer.; To be decided by April 1; Last year - Aug / This year Apr; right now in late August or first of September.; We had them in June; October 15; July/August; First part of September; April of 1999 for 99-00 season; August; Soon; July/August; end of September; September; Late July; Mid-August; Mid August; Sept.; April & continuing thru August.; September; Oct. 15; June; Aug. 18, 19; Sept. 15 - 30; September
   4. If there were a perfect date for the Scheduling Meeting, when would it be? I think it's fine where it is now; Early September; Sept; early sept; Same as last year maybe earlier if possible.; Late August; last year was good.; Early September for AA; Sept 11/99; Mid to late September; Mid- September; no comment; Mid August; Early Sept.; Sept. 30/ Oct. 1; Early September; August 1st weekend; Sept.; last weekend in August; 9/15; September 15; A little earlier in Sept.; July or August
   5. Other comments on Scheduling:

      The scheduling meeting is a huge help and is done in an efficient manner. A rep/team/level Have each individual team manager or scheduler show up with their ice times instead of one master scheduler for that organization scheduling for all of the teams AA starts earlier than others and has a need to set games up early. (maybe AA schedules before others) None Makr sure we have commetments for the level early Games should be longer for older teams. Suggest 13-15 minutes for Bantam & Midget. Early Sept. or even sooner so team Mgr's can sch. non-Buckeye filler games Require a minimum 1:20 for Pee Wee and above. Dayton is a long way for us. Is there a more central location? I thought the process was a little confusing at first. While it would be more convenient for Athens to have the meeting I realize that it is difficult when the skill level of teams is unknown. A listing of team contacts in the surrounding areas would be helpful (MI, OH, IN) - non BTHL teams. Early scheduling of the league allows more time and options in scheduling non league games

8. Tournament
   1. How would you rate the end of season Tournament? 3-Excellent 9-Good 7-OK 5-Fair 5-Poor 3-NoOpinion
   2. How would you rate the fees? 12-AboveAvg 12-Average 4-BelowAvg 4-NoOpinion
   3. Last year's tournament was all held in the Greater Cincinnati area, this year the tournament was split between Dayton and Louiville.
               Do you ... 7-SpreadOut 17-OnePlace 8-NoPreference
   4. The tournament is sponsored and run by the BTHL Board with help from the local organizations. It's held on a "break-even" basis and is not intended to be a money maker for the league. Any profits are applied to next years tournament to help keep costs to teams down. Do you have any suggestions on how to better the tournament?

      I rated the tournament "poor" because the times were simply not acceptable. Many others felt this way. It's crazy to have teams playing two gamesone very early on Saturday and the other late Sunday afternoon. If more ice can't be f ound to run the event, then it should be scrapped. The tournament, the past two years, has been an unfortunate end to what has otherwise been a fun and well-run league keep the"buckeye league" tournament in the buckeye state Someone from BTHL needs to be at the site for direction. Secondly, some felt the cost was expensive for just two games. Maybe a 3-game format would be better. The only problem very awkward tourney game times. The number of teams are clearly defined early in the season. If spreading the age brackets geographically helps to get favorable game times, then scatter the tourney. It was poorly organized in Louisville. With public skating going on you couldn't even tell it was a tournament. Would have liked to see more attention on the tournament. Make it feel like a tournament. The cost was not appropriate. We played two games, there was not even a hint that a tournament was going on and the scheduling was poor. I feel the league does a nice job all year long and the tournament is approached as lets get through it and the year is over. I feel a double elimination tournament with fees in line with other tournaments ie 600 would increase the tourn aments appeal. Have the tournament centrally located for all teams. No need for any team to travel long distances. Longer Periods 15 mins Good Job Hard to approve on Would rather see a round robin format or go to playoffs like Little Caesars. Going out of town for a only 2 game tournament is not worth the cost. Newsletter to all members on the winners, ect. few know the overall results No We need more league or host program representation at the tournament rinks. The ice-time spacing was much better this past year. The hosts/league should be more visibly running the tournament. Require all teams to participate and collect deposit at beginning of season. Maybe if the Bantams had been on location and each age division in a different location, we could have had a better schedule. We would have liked to play more games, especially with teams in the other division who we didn't during the re gular season. A round robin with a consolation game would be good. Also, 10pm is too late for a game. Provide the location and game schedule earlier. Let the local association completely run the tournament. BTHL Board is too small to handle the "little things" that make tournaments successful and make teams want to come back. When a division has only four teams, I feel it's best to have a round robin tournament. Require teams to atend the tournament when registering for the league - would also like to see a 3 game minimum format. Louisville was a long way to travel for 2 games. We need to know when the games will be more than 3 days before the tourn. starts. In hindsight it would have been better not to play in the Buckeye this year. Have more time in game slot w/ ice cut between 2nd & 3rd period (as well as before the game), give participation medallions to all, do away w/ team trophy, only give individual. I felt the fees were too high given the number of games. I also think there should be a guarantee as to number of games

   5. Plans for the Tournament were discussed at the September Scheduling Meeting and at subsequent BTHL Board Meetings. Updates were posted on the BTHL WEB page and a mailing was sent out to all teams in early February with rink sites, fees, etc.
      1. Did you check the WEB page for tournament updates? 26-Yes 3-No 3-NoAnswer
      2. Did you receive the 2/3/99 letter? 15-Yes 10-No 7-NoAnswer
   6. Other comments on the tournament:

      Again, if a way cannot be found to provide reasonable times, then it should be scrapped. Also, for divisions of four or five teams, it would be best to try to play these in one day. Again, I know these things are easier said than don e, but the times and costs ($420 for two games) are hard to swallow. Have a double elimination tournamment. High tournament fees for a 2 game guarantee is less than desirable Maybe have it in just one rink. Mites Squirt one weekend and PeeWee Bantam ,Midget the next or something like that or go where there are 2 sheet of ICE and make sure they will let you have it for the whole weekend. Current format is not the best but is better than no tournament Teams that quit mid-tour. should be disciplined, Kentucky Bantam "A" just quit, no show mid-tour??? Should consider a "Welcome" or "Check-In" registration table. No games scheduled later than 8:30pm. More games. One location only. Introduce teams & players at each team's first game. provide announcers. Offer consolation games as well as a championship. Have the game schedule available earli er. Keep it centrally located - Dayton, Columbus I never received anything in the mail w/ game times! I had to rely on the WEB page. This left me uncomfortable as the team manager.

9. Website
   1. Have you visited our Home Page on the Internet? 28-Yes 4-No 0-NoAnswer
   2. If yes, how would you rate it? 20-Excellent 6-Good 2-OK 0-Fair 0-Poor 4-NoOpinion
   3. What have you liked about it? User-friendly updated regularly, wonderful design It's great; clean, clear, concise; Everthing!!!!; It provided very good communications; Information was always up to date.; kept up to date, that takes lots of work; Up to date, ease of use.; Great informational tool/ links; The up to date information; good links; Links, rink directions, team stats; Up to the minute results , stats and information; Current and Accurate Info; Everything; Good Information avalible. Is kept current!; Up to date; it was kept up to date; Frequently update...easy to navigate; Everything; The info; Schedule, Updates, Statistics, Misconducts
   4. What could be improved? Very little!; it is already VERY, VERY GOOD!!!; Enforce the requirement for teams to update their data; automate stat input, rink maps, general tournament info; Links to US Hockey; Links to other leagues and standings in Mid-Am and Mich.; Allow and display statistics on players to be posted.; Try to have all BTHL participating teams keep the same info.; Updates on a timely manner - Player standings
   5. Other comments on the Home Page:

      It's simply the best web site for ANY youth hockey league or organization. Great work by Len! All of our parents who access the web liked the site very much. As team manager, it helped me with phone numbers many times during the season. I feel the league should be bold and make it a requirement to do business via the web site, every organization has multiple people with quick access that can make it a mandatory means of communication. Excellent job...The home page makes the buckeye league one of the best leagues in the mid-am distrinct Links to US Hockey and other organizations with emphasis on information books and Video tapes on improving the hockey skills of players of all ages. Links to other Important Hockey News ie Olympic Info Could we have a bulletin board for discussions? Great job on this Keep up the good work. Like the email of scoresheets I often had trouble accessing the BTHL site. Outstanding! Try to use a consistant template for info. Use pictures of teams or players - Make it a reason for players & parents to visit the site more often.

10. Communication
    1. During the season did you receive the BTHL mailings? 14-Yes 18-No 0-NoAnswer
    2. Have you read/seen the minutes of the BTHL Meetings? 24-Yes 8-No 0-NoAnswer
    3. If yes, are the minutes helpful in learning what's going on with the BTHL? 23-Yes 9-No 0-NoAnswer
    4. This season the Minutes were posted to the WEB page. Did you read them from there? 19-Yes 13-No 0-NoAnswer
    5. Do you know who your BTHL Representative is? 18-Yes 14-No 0-NoAnswer
11. Have you seen/read the BTHL Rules & Regulations? 30-Yes 2-No 0-NoAnswer
12. Mid Am Meetings
    1. Did you attend the July 1998 Mid Am Hockey Meetings in Columbus, OH? 4-Yes 28-No 0-NoAnswer
    2. Do you plan to attend the July 1999 Mid Am Meetings? 7-Yes 25-No 0-NoAnswer
13. The BTHL Meeting Minutes have been posted to the WEB page and sent to member organizations via e-mail, as well as sent through the mail.
    1. Which method would you prefer receiving BTHL information? 8-Mail 16-Email 8-Other
    2. If other please specify: The WEB is best; or WEB Page; Web page was good; You need both -- EMAIL reading is sometimes not routine; Give associations letter & possible postcard to give to members; email and mail for those who don't have email
14. The BTHL is run solely with volunteers from member organizations. In some cases, board members don't have players in the league. Do you have any suggestions on how the BTHL can better identify volunteers for Board Positions and Committees?

    No, it's a tough chore. Many, like me, already serve on a local association board. Perhaps each association should HAVE to have a certain number of voluteers. Again, a tougie. Hold associations responsible for having representitives to the board based on the number of teams they have in league! Impose sanctions for lack of representation. Idea: The programs with 3 or more teams should be rquired to have at least 1 bd. member. You might aske each organization to provide one board member, if at all possible. Keep meeting in a central location (Cincy - Dayton area) Better job descriptions, go through team managers - most parents don't even know there are openings. You could make board members 1 coach from each team or manager With meetings held two hours away, tough for our organization to always make them or commit to attending. Not sure what the right answer is.

15. Most board positions are open for the 1999-2000 season. Would you like a Board Member to contact you? 3-Yes 29-No 0-NoAnswer
    If yes please provide your phone number: 740-467-3252
16. Any general / other comments

    The league is wonderful and the work of the volnuteers is greatly appreciated. The tournament is not a postive thing in its present form. Would help with Board activities, but already co-President of our association. Kudos to Len Holtgreven. He has to be a martyr to the cause of youth hockey to do all the work he does. Why is it necessry to have as much money in the treasury as currently is there and what are your plans for it? my name is john kennedy, my son will not be playing in league next year, would please delete my name as contact. thank-you. A well run Organization Over all it was a great 1998-1999 season. Although ice-time is limited, a round robin preseason might identify more accurate the classifications. I.E. a team that enters as an "A" team but is strong could be asked to move up or a "AA" team that is weaker could be moved down. Should consider "selling" the league more to fill out the divisions. Our organization enjoyed being in the league and thought the other teams were at about the right level of competition (won some, lost some, tied some). Adding more teams would help by increasing the number of teams we could schedule. Our concern is about next year. The bantam will have 10 - 11 returning players, but only 1 line of truly A-level players. The others are comparable to B-level or house l eague players. The coach will either have to cut 2 -3 players, which will give hime a small team (11-12 skaters) or the bantam will not be able to join the BTHL. You might try just letting teams themslevles wheter they are A or AA level. Or at least use that method for cities like Evansivlle, which only have 1 team per age level. I will send Kim James a letter proposing the formation of a Club HS Division within the Buckeye League Midget Division. At the schedule meeting I volunteered for the Conduct Committee for 98-99. Then I never heard anyting. I don't know if there was no need for Conduct Committeee action or if I wasn't accepted or ? We need to work on a grading scale for refs. I have noticed that the league has a wide range of referee abilities from their knowledge of the game & from their personal attitude towards coaches, players & fans. This "I showed up- now give me my check" has to stop.

17. Your name/Address/Phone/Email (optional)

    Dan Forst Squirt Racers AA danny hall 12460 taylor ave millersport, oh 43046 halld9@nationwide.com Rob McKenney mckenney.1@osu.edu Joe Thrailkill, 7727 Oceola Ln, West Chester, OH, 45069 513.243.6015 W 513.779.1212 H thrail7727@aol.com John Park 6l2 Windingbrook Dr Oxford, Ohio 45056 Scott Gibbons 601 Lake Forest Drive West Carrollton, Ohio 45449 scottg@alliedsupply.com Ray Finnegan (rayfinnegan@ameritech.net) Dan Henry 6420 Alp Court Huber Heights, OH 45424 Doug Losure 1571 Wrenwood Dr. Columbus,In 47201 Jon Vishnauski 6252 Hollow Wood Circle Loveland, Ohio 45140 jon.vishnauski@ae.ge.com Peter Bayes 1977 Finsbury Ct Cincinnati, OH 45230 513-624-0432 Mark Gordon Coach Columbus Squirt Flames mgordon@jginc.com Kim Young 2000 Meadow Side Lane Centerville, Oh 45458 937-438-8127 Metsv@gte.net Bill Ambs 7661 Benham Ct. Cincinnati, OH 45455 Tom Krause 300 LaDonna Blvd. Evansville, IN 47711 812-867-5267 David Steinbrecher 13002 Rehl Rd. Louisville, KY 40299 Stew Erisman 5141 Weddington Dr. Trotwood, OH 45426 Sam Schafer DSCHAFER@CEG.COM Jo Riddhagni joridd@aol.com Jeff Walker Randy Getz whisky3@msn.com Don Pepper RWPepper@EurekaNet.com Mike Himm Bob Steele srrobo@aol.com Dave Orn stuart@stuart-mrktg.com Jeff Fox 2602 Meadowlark Ct. Prospect, KY 40059 jeff.fox@owenscorning.com

Generated: April 02, 1999