South Bend Senior Hockey League: Welcome
PAY YOUR LEAGUE FEES THROUGH PAYPAL
Rink manager Mike klute Mklute@sbcglobal.net 574-250-7814 cell
Email the disciplinary board here2013 SPRING SUMMER ROSTERS AND FREE AGENT LIST
PLAYERS LOOKING TO GET ON A TEAM PLEASE CONTACT JEFF SAX SOUTHBENDHOCKEY@YAHOO.COM I WILL FORWARD YOUR CONTACT INFO TO THE CAPTAINS
Jeff Sax
2804 s Twyckenham Dr
South Bend, IN 46614
219-898-5705 cell 773-945-1104 work
PROSHOP People always ask me about the pro shop and when they are open. They have a webpage with their hours posted on it. Please bookmark this, the website is
Yes this is my bi- annual novel, but I do this to answer every question that has been thrown at me for the many years this I have been doing this. Lots of clickable links thanks to Google Docs!!!
BOOT CAMP
Chris Sandnas will be running the adult hockey boot camps. Instead of focusing on particular areas, he is going to just dive in. Chris was one of the original coaches of the first beginners league and I learned from him when I started out in 2003. The times are as listed. Here is the flyer
MON 18-March 6:00-7:30PM
FRI 22-March 7:00-8:30PM
MON 25-March 7:00-9:30PM
FRI 29-March 7:00-8:30PM
MON 1-April 6:00-7:30 PM
WED 3-April 6:00-7:00 PM
FRI 5-April 7:00-8:30PM
MON 8-April 7:00-8:30PM
WED 10-April 7:00-8:30PM
All sessions are open to anyone 18 and older. Cost is $10 a session. Please bring cash to the session and someone will be there to collect. You can pick and choose which sessions you want attend, and don't have to attend all of them to join the league. New people to the league should attend at least one session just to be evaluated so we know what division to place you when you're looking for a team. We don't want hot shots in the Rec league and you don't want to get schooled up in B league if you can't hang with the boys. You will need full equipment. Those new to the league or without a team, and want to get on a team, please contact me ASAP. We have a free agent list and I will add you to it. The longer you wait, the lower your chances are of getting on a team. Be responsible!!! Many of the guys at the clinics pool together to form teams. I usually gather names, and when we get enough players I throw something together. If anyone has questions for Chris about the boot camp, his email is sandmanhockey617@gmail.com his cell is 574-250-1296
SENIOR LEAGUE
We continue to see healthy growth of the league. Just a little history, when the C league started up in the 2003-04 season with 2 teams, we had 12 teams in the combined A, B, and C Leagues. This past season we stayed at 38 teams. This winter we ran 528 hours of ice with 38 teams and last summer we had 27 teams and used a total of 233 hours of ice. Even though our usage is down, a lot of the tournaments have bailed out the rink and the cooperation with NDU has been very beneficial for both facilities. I admit, at first, I was skeptical. The relationship has been incredibly positive and with the growth of the leagues it has really helped us get our games in when there was no ice available.
I anticipate the same 27 or more teams this summer and its going to be incredibly tight once again. For those holding out for just the now and then pickup hockey, are going to find that there isn't much going to be available. Pete Bauer will continue to run open rat on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5pm. There is drop in over at NDU during lunch. Those looking for ice I have a feeling Saturday, early afternoon, is going to be the only times open and with a summer league back in 2005 with only 4 teams, we now have 27 teams now, so everything is pretty much being used. I have off and on run father son skates with my son who was a squirt this winter. There seems to be a lot of demand for that and I forecast something like that being run throughout the summer. The nice thing about the ice box is that they are so accommodating and open ice, for instance, on a Saturday is available for usually $100 bucks an hour or $10 a head if anyone wants it. All one has to do is contact mike klute the rink manager and if something is open people snag it. I do it all the time. You can contact mike via email mklute@sbcglobal.net or by cell 574-250-7814.
Unlike last year, we will combine spring and summer session into one session. If there are teams who want to only play spring, or only play summer, or want to only play 3,6, or 9 games etc..., I can work with you and figure out a cost. Just let me know, I am somewhat flexible.
Spring/Summer session will start Sunday April 14th. We will run through end of august. I am going to go with the same 18 games like last year. Team fee is going to be $2950. So if you have a 15 man roster its about $197 a guy or roughly 11 bucks a game. Obviously less if you have more guys rostered. More guys = less ice time= less $$$. My team rolls light and we pay more, but that's your call and I won't be telling guys who and how many they can roster. Tell your guys it's going to be between $195 and $235 per player.
I sometimes get criticized with sharing too much info, but that's me. I like to back my figures up with statistics, so here's how I came up with the $2950. Ice is $265 an hour (same as last year) and both refs make $22 a game. So its $309 a game split in half or $154.50 per team, per game. 18 games is $2781 just for the ice and refs. All these costs can be easily verified. Our insurance is already paid for with league fees collected in winter and our policy is good until September 15th. So I don't charge teams for insurance in the summer. Were already covered. Guys joining the league please note that our insurance requires all players to have either a cage or face shield on your helmet, in order to play. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!
The rink charges a security fee, for the security guards in the parking lot during our games. The fee is $10 bucks a guy per season and I am going to base it on a 15 man roster, regardless if you have 12 or 17 guys on the team. I used to base it on a 14 guy roster, but it seems every summer the rosters get longer and longer. The average roster this winter was 17 guys. The extra money goes to the rink anyway, not in my pocket and whatever I collect doesn't come close to covering the expense the rink bears. In the past, before we had security, there have been break ins, but they have now been pretty much eliminated with the addition of the security. So, making it uniform across the board, it's based on 15 guys and it just makes it easier for me. I am not counting rosters to do a head count. Some guys are on two or three different teams and have to pay this two or three times. BLAH...BLAH...BLAH!!! I have heard every excuse in the book. Just pay it!!! So add $150 to the $2781 and were up to $2931.
There's a thing I affectionately call the "sax tax" which goes to cover my league fees, time, and gives me the peace of mind that I won't have to cover a deficit. People bounce post dated checks that I have to hunt down and my time is worth something. I don't get rich off this, and it's extremely, extremely, extremely time consuming. I really enjoy running the league and hope nobody begrudges me. The continued growth of the league is testament , I hope, that things are going in the right direction. We're talking a summer budget of over 85k and a surplus of roughly $500 to work with. Not real huge margins here.......a whopping half a percent. Now, I was going to do $15 per team, but I am asking $19 which is just over a $1 a guy and I come out with a nice even number of $2950 total per team. I like even numbers. Regardless, that's what your team needs to collect, and that explains to everyone I didn't pull a number out of the air. Nothing has changed since last year, so the team fee is the same.
League fees can be paid by Cash, personal checks, money order, or by PayPal (please add a 3% fee). I also can take several post dated checks to make it easy for everyone. The PayPal link is above. Checks can be mailed to my house or dropped at the rink and given to any of the rink workers who drop it in the safe. I make it tremendously easy for everyone. Even with this flexibility, I still have issues collecting from teams and individuals. Team Fees will be due April 1st. Teams won't be scheduled until they are paid in full and in my hand. I say it over and over and people NEVER learn, captains get rid of the deadbeats. Let me repeat, if all of your guys are paid except one, then the whole team doesn't play until the team is paid in full!! There will be guys on the free agent list looking for teams willing to pay. My experience is that these guys ALWAYS pay up front. Pick them up, drop the dead weight!!!
Captains, there will be a captains meeting on March 7th @ 7pm. If you can't make it, please send a representative. We will discuss the usual. Refs are welcome and encouraged to attend. We have issues that we all discuss and we need to see who is moving up and who else is bringing a team. I will be posting the team rosters and free agent list as they come in. Captains please let me know ASAP if you're fielding a team and even if you have partial roster I can post. There will be a link on the eteamz site to get there and it will be visible to everyone. I will also be posting names and contact info of people looking for a team to play on with the same spreadsheet. Please pick these guys up if you're short. Many of these guys looking for a team are willing to pay up front, unlike a few of the regular guys on your team you have to beat the fees out of every season. If you are looking for a team, please email me with your contact info (email and cell number) and what level you play at and I will get the word out to the captains. Those looking for a team will be posted on the free agent list, and I will try and shoot an email to the captains.
If you want to be on the goalie list please let me know, so I can post your name and contact info. Anyone who wants to get on the sub list same thing. Subs, when called, should expect to pay $10 bucks a game, and what I do personally for my team is hand that money to the team libation distributor. You might want to use it to reimburse the guy missing the sub is replacing. You guys handle it how you want. With the odd schedule going out I really don't want to be rescheduling games and with one rink up in the summer, you can't use the excuse that you have another game going on over on the other rink. Use the sub list, that's what it's there for. I will not be in the habit of moving games, unless I have to.
As far as game times, with one rink, we pretty much play every night of the week. I am anticipating the same if not more teams this summer. For the first few weeks in April and last few weeks in august we will pretty much play every night, except Thursday. Once we get to end of April we lose our Monday (co-ed) and Thursday (doc league) nights slots. We will pick them back up in august. Guys need to be prepared to play any night of the week including Friday AND/OR Saturday nights, although we will try to avoid them if we can. In the past, 7th day Adventists, fireman, policemen, softball players etc who have days they can't play, I will do my best to look out for them, but with not much to work with, expect the worst and hope for the best. I can't be any more blunt. YOU MUST let me know what works for you and we can try to work around it, but Your captain HAS to let me know. Kevin nobes scheduled B games, Matt donze scheduled C games and maria barton scheduled Rec this winter. If anyone else wants to work on that let me know. I know everyone has their hands up, but be prepared to get a target on your head and be the most hated and despised person in the league.
The league will be split up into B, C , and rec division. A league doesn't play in summer. I would guess we split those divisions up somewhat too. We will talk about placing teams at the captains meeting. Captains if you want to voice your opinion where you think your team is, then be there. If not we will decide for you.
The Rec league is going to purge some of their "C" players this spring and hopefully kick them up a division. We want to keep the rec league a "REC" league and we will be scrutinizing rosters. If you aren't sure if you belong in rec league, then ask your captain, or just move up. We really need to keep the level of play down for those who belong there and who are just starting out. The C league, which was the original beginners league, has gotten so much better, but then again so has pretty much everyone else. We're starting to see some B guys falling down to C. When the rec league was introduced it really filled a void. We are at that point again. If people are there to play with family members and know how to play down ALL THE TIME and not when they are up two goals, we can try to make acceptations, but beware, we will do our best to make sure the spirit of the league is followed and adhered to. The better guys show off and then other teams bring in ringers and it ends up being an arms race. Winning at all costs in rec league??? Really??? I get emails from players saying the score was posted incorrectly and that they won instead of the posted score......get a life!!! This is a beer league, go join the NHL.
OVER 35 LEAGUE @ NOTRE DAME
Over the past few weeks I have been meeting with kevin deeth over at NDU and hat tip to matt donze for getting this started. They are starting an adult draft league 35 and older. This is something that I have always wanted to do at the ice box, but it just never materialized. Its 35 and over to weed out the younger guys. A draft league, to make the teams fair, and then in the fall have another draft, so that if you don't get along with a guy on another team, you WILL get along with him, because he might be on your team in the fall!! It's going to be just a fun league, for us older guys and if you "don't play well with others" please don't sign up. I don't want you ruining our league. It's going to be $195 for 15 games and you get a jersey. At this point it's going to be 4 teams only. 14 players per team, 13 skaters and a goalie. 52 slots open total. Goalies should register separately, by emailing Kevin or by calling him. You register online and we expect this to fill up fast. If the demand is there, I have suggested adding a 5th team and each team gets a bye every 4th week, but were going to see what the demand is first. Just be aware going in that 5 teams are a possibility. The draft will be early sometime in April at Obriens at the compton. USAH hockey registration numbers, jerseys and Captains will be picked on draft night. Games will be Thursday nights 8:00 and 9:15 from April 11th through end of July. This won't interfere with our league since the doc league plays during that time at the ice box. For guys who are already rostered on several teams now, this is a way for them to get in more hockey.
OK so how is this different from the ice box? Well, we will be playing 3- 18 min periods and will have refs, which is same. We will be playing on both the Olympic or the NHL rink. You MUST have USA hockey insurance to play if you don't already have it, which is an additional $45 bucks, but if you get your USAH registration after April 1st, its good til sept 2014 and we suggest you register for the draft league first, and then register for USAH after the 1st of April. Also, UND doesn't allow beer or grilling in the Compton Family Ice Arena or parking lots. In order to accommodate this, Legends of Notre Dame Restaurant and Alehouse Pub is going to offer food and drink specials for participants after the games. We will have $2 Molsons as one example. Registration is online now by going to HERE The link is not public yet, in order to give the senior league guys first dibs. Sooooo.........you must login in first, on the left, if you don't have a user ID, go ahead and create one. Then under activity type, choose senior adult league. Fill out the info, pay the $195 via credit card and then you're registered. Any questions should go to Kevin Deeth kdeeth@nd.edu or 574-631-3605
I am endorsing this and am going to be playing in both leagues, besides playing in Chicago, I just don't play enough. As you all know, my allegiance is and always will be to the ice box. I said before that I was a bit skeptical in the beginning, but I feel assured that both facilities are really working together and the ice box has had a great year due to the tournaments the Compton has attracted. I feel no threat to the box and I will do whatever I can to promote hockey in the community. If this draft league is successful, we feel we can roll this into the winter, on the same night and time with no conflicts. Next fall, the A league will be playing at the ice box and the other rink can be utilized by the High school leaving open ice at the compton for a draft league. We are going to see how this experiment works this summer, but I am pretty excited about it. If you don't get into this summer, please know you will get a chance in the fall.
ADULT CLINICS @ NOTRE DAME
The Compton will also be running their version of a boot camp called B.A.D. hockey running Tuesdays April 9th through June 4th 8 sessions for $100. Like anything that is run at the Compton, you must have USAH insurance.
So to recap:
Boot camp in march/April
$2950 per team 18 games Ice box Spring/summer league starts April 14th
35+ draft league @ NDU starts April 11th
B.A.D hockey @ NDU starts April 9th
If anyone has additional questions, please email me southbendhockey@yahoo.com I will try and get back to you by the end of the day, if not sooner.
Yes......I have a day job too.
Thanks
