Trinity folds hockey program?
- Thread starter EagleFan
- Start date
Mr. Slippery
Well-known member
I didn't know Trinity had a hockey team.
As you know, it's a very expensive sport, so if the interest isn't there, it's difficult for a small school like Trinity to justify the expense of maintaining a team.
Auggie
Well-known member
Wasn't this program built up by a charismatic HC, Ferfella or something like that? Benny lost the coach who brought them back in the '90s and it has been a free fall from the Red Division since that point. I wonder if Padua will go through the same thing? I also think the recession that hit the sport hard at the lower levels is starting to bubble up to the HS level as there are fewer players to stock all the teams.
Yappi
Go Buckeyes
Mr. Slippery
Well-known member
The real question now is how many kids will decide to enroll elsewhere now that Trinity does not offer ice hockey? If it's a small number of students (i.e. the combined tuition they were paying was worth less than the cost of offering the sport), then they did the right thing.
It's disappointing news, nonetheless.
It is really to bad they were not givien the chance to self fund the team.
Coach Ferf told them that they would be willing to try and raise their entire budget,
but they didn’t agree to that.
I got to talk to Coach last summer as his son played on our mens league team,
he was not ready to give up coaching.
Coach Ferf told them that they would be willing to try and raise their entire budget,
but they didn’t agree to that.
I got to talk to Coach last summer as his son played on our mens league team,
he was not ready to give up coaching.
I was at the game, started at 8PM and ended almost at the stroke of midnight. I think Whidden was in the goal as a junior. The game was slowed considerably when John Coutris broke his leg around center ice. Great HS game to watch.
To steal from Winston Churchill...
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
The bad economic news has just started to affect high school sports. Lots more bad news to come. Public schools will have to make tough decisions and will likely side with their core mission...academics and paying teachers. Private schools will feel the same pressures to keep tuition flat or even decrease.
Cutting sports and consolidating sports offerings are sure to come.
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
The bad economic news has just started to affect high school sports. Lots more bad news to come. Public schools will have to make tough decisions and will likely side with their core mission...academics and paying teachers. Private schools will feel the same pressures to keep tuition flat or even decrease.
Cutting sports and consolidating sports offerings are sure to come.
Bennies'01
New member
Trinity used to be a state power in hockey. It's sad to see them have to fold. I think it probably came down to changing demographics and the school's smaller size.
EagleFan
Fan of Eagle
FWIW, number of hockey teams in OHSAA tournament:
1999: 57
2001: 65
2004: 74
2007: 78
2011: 85
I think most of the growth has been in the Columbus/Cincinnati district. They have 6 more teams this year compared to 2007. Toledo is shrinking and only had 15 teams in 2011 (other districts had 23-24)
While the total number has been inching up, I agree with CatAlum and the trend may reverse. There are still quite a few "club" teams out there, but they may be the first to get the ax if they are not self-funded.
1999: 57
2001: 65
2004: 74
2007: 78
2011: 85
I think most of the growth has been in the Columbus/Cincinnati district. They have 6 more teams this year compared to 2007. Toledo is shrinking and only had 15 teams in 2011 (other districts had 23-24)
While the total number has been inching up, I agree with CatAlum and the trend may reverse. There are still quite a few "club" teams out there, but they may be the first to get the ax if they are not self-funded.
Bennies'01
New member
Most of the recent growth has been in the South, but truth is that in the past 10-15 years the number of hockey programs in Northeast Ohio has exploded.
I think that when Trinity was a power, Garfield Heights was a stable suburb with a strong rec program, and those hockey-playing families that did live in Brecksville or Solon or Twinsburg did not have many options for high school hockey. Now those areas have grown rapidly and have their own programs and Trinity hockey is just not on the radar of families there anymore. That's to say nothing of the other Catholic schools that have added the sport that have drawn hockey players from Trinity such as Benedictine, Walsh Jesuit, Holy Name, etc.
WarriorDee
Active member
What Benny needs is a young dynamic head coach, that will hit up all the Cleveland area rinks in search of talent. One that can sell the school and it's mission as well as being part of the renaissance of a once up and coming program. There are other "Big" name former coaches out there for the hiring that could have a somewhat instant impact on the program
Auggie
Well-known member
What Benny needs is a young dynamic head coach, that will hit up all the Cleveland area rinks in search of talent. One that can sell the school and it's mission as well as being part of the renaissance of a once up and coming program. There are other "Big" name former coaches out there for the hiring that could have a somewhat instant impact on the program
Maybe. As of today four varsity Head Coaches will not be back next year, might as well add another new face...
Bennies'01
New member
There is still hope for the Benny program, but they need someone in charge that has the same zeal and fire for the program as the man who brought it back to life in 1999. There's no reason why they can't be a consistent competitor in the lower Red Division like they were in the mid-2000s.
Bennies'01
New member
What Benny needs is a young dynamic head coach, that will hit up all the Cleveland area rinks in search of talent. One that can sell the school and it's mission as well as being part of the renaissance of a once up and coming program. There are other "Big" name former coaches out there for the hiring that could have a somewhat instant impact on the program
Who do you have in mind? You can PM if it is something that you do not want to talk about on an open message board.
Benedictine is on the eastside and although there is a lot of hockey talent in the Winterhurst, Rocky River, Strongsville, Parma, etc. rec programs, I don't know if it's realistic to ever believe that inroads can be made in those places. Unfortunately many of the eastside rec programs that used to be big feeders for Benny such as Euclid, Cleveland Heights, and Garfield Heights have all been struggling lately. I don't have the answers, but I haven't lost all hope yet.
All true. In addition, it's my understanding that playing at Benny includes a pretty steep pay to play infusion from each player (a grand maybe?).
If you asked me which is more likely to happen, that Benny will improve significantly in hockey over the next 5 years or cease playing hockey in the next 5 years, I'd go with the latter. And I take no pleasure in that and think it will be part of a larger trend at many schools.
Well, I think Toledo and Cleveland will shrink over the next 5-10 years, but Columbus only has something like 12 teams competing...so, who knows-C-bus could still grow more. Maybe the total number could inch up or stay steady for a few years, but at some point, I think it's going to go down. What sport is more expensive than hockey? Not too many; maybe none. And, it's not as if the sport supports itself through large ticket sales. Yes, I know, there are occasional well-attended games (Ignatius/Ed's e.g.).
Bennies'01
New member
Yeah, I think that still may be true.
the town ain't the same anymore...
Sad. Both Trinity hockey going away and the surrounding community in Garfield.
Trinity has lost several of its traditional elementary feeder schools and when Gilbert's casino opens downtown that could be a fatal hit for the bingo revenue.
Fortunately the sponsoring good sisters have identified and used the Marymount
Did Ferf's DeLorean ever sell for the advertised $200 or 'best offer'?
Sad. Both Trinity hockey going away and the surrounding community in Garfield.
Trinity has lost several of its traditional elementary feeder schools and when Gilbert's casino opens downtown that could be a fatal hit for the bingo revenue.
Fortunately the sponsoring good sisters have identified and used the Marymount
Did Ferf's DeLorean ever sell for the advertised $200 or 'best offer'?