The Future of Philadelphia Amateur Hockey
The only thing that matters in Philadelphia hockey is the Flyers Cup. It is the most important hockey event in Philadelphia right now. Thing is amateur hockey is poised to explode in Philly. If you think it already has...then you need to start thinking about the future. Philly has the potential to get more NCAA college hockey, if it wants to, Philly has the potential to create more youth hockey national champions, if it wants to, Philly can become the Atlantic coast hockey mecca, if it wants to. But here is the rub. The hockey explosions of the 70s, 80s, and 90s worked because everyone got better. It was a rising tide that raised all ships. The hockey community became more skilled and better prepared as a whole. The next hockey explosion is not going to be a few youth AAA teams destroying, and eventually abandoning the rest of the Philadelphia hockey community. It needs to be an explosion where the least skilled members of the hockey community are still pretty good. It should be an explosion where hockey is something everyone plays, and not just a few kids in every town. It would be an explosion that makes Philadelphia a year round hockey town above all other sports. Right now Philadelphia is a town for hockey, but it is not a hockey town. Yet it can be. And for one simple reason. The level of hockey in this region has gotten exponentially better over the past ten years alone. The level is there and that will feed the numbers. Making ice hockey a number one sport in a region requires quality, not quantity, as the birth seed. And tournaments like the Flyers Cup are what has lifted Philadelphia hockey to this new level we see today. And tournaments like the Flyers Cup are what will lift Philadelphia to the next level.
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I think you are right. The problem like I have read before is the adult ego factor. The first thing this area must do is have one governing body similar to how the P.I.A.A. runs athletics in the state. It has to be a grass-roots movement and the Flyers' organizations backing. The Ed Snider Youth Foundation is a good start, but they also need to remember other kids that aren't in the inner city who can't afford to play the game of ice hockey. Costs can be reduced if clubs refurbished and stored equipment like they do for all other sports.
I have read that Congressman Pat Murphy played ice hockey in college and was even the captain of his team. Why doesn't someone approach him and ask for his support? Maybe a push from him could help get hockey sponsored by the P.I.A.A.
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