So this concept is something that goes on and something that I see/saw in Detroit hockey. But it does apply in a broader way, as I will explain. In tier 1, which is the highest youth hockey level affiliated with USA Hockey, Michigan currently has 8 teams. Ours is based in Byron Center (Grand Rapids) on the west side, another plays out of Lansing and the remaining 6 play out of the Detroit area. What you see from year to year is many of the kids going from one program to another, hence the carousel moniker. Kids bounce from one place to the next. Why does this happen?
Well, there are many reasons. Maybe you don't like the coach or some person that runs the program at the current team. Maybe another team likes your player and asks you to come play for them, possibly even offering a discount or free ice fees. Another reason could be that a coach decides to move to a different program.
There is also usually a rough totem pole for quality of teams. If you are playing on a lower level team, you probably want to try out for several teams that are a bit higher level, in hopes that you can get on a roster and enjoy some of the benefits of being on the better team (see my other hockey posts for more on this).
There are some pitfalls, including the fact that the elite players in Detroit don't pay anything--there is heavy competition for their services and the teams there really want to win. Losing records equal kids leaving to other programs and coaches getting fired. So then the kids on the team that aren't the stars end up paying the ice bills and not getting as much time as the stars. This leads to much frustration sometimes.
Throw in the fact that many teams also have a "money man." This is the guy who helps finance some of the better players to improve the team. On the elite teams, he also is the one who helps recruit kids from different areas (even other states) to bring kids in to play on the team to help them win. And lookout if your team happens to pick up an all star kid from somewhere during the season. Doesn't matter if you paid your money, your kid may be out of his spot to make room and there isn't anything you can do about it if you want to play on this team. It makes for some interesting politics. But this is the sort of desperation that these teams have to win.
But you can begin to see how kids are constantly moving and everything is in flux and a scramble, especially when the rosters for next year starts forming. It is a crap show where kids on the bottom of the totem pole are trying to figure out where they might go or if they will be cut or what have you.
Playing for Fox Motors, we don't have near the amount of kids that Detroit does to pick from but there is only one program so the boys have played with one another for many years. You obviously benefit from the continuity so what you miss in talent, you try to make up for with familiarity. But there is no carousel where we are. Fortunately for us, Fox is a good place to play, although not without some issues here and there.
But I have seen the same carousel concept in other sports and places. There is usually a totem pole. The teams fight for players and whatever organization seems to have the best situation, all the top players tend to go to that one. This is why you always seem to have a top team, then a number 2 and et cetera. There are some exceptions, but kids like playing for a winner and I believe over time, this concept plays itself out. I will talk a little more about this in my upcoming lacrosse post. It isn't always hard fast and in some sports, particularly school sports, you don't have this kind of floating dynamic as it is much more difficult to move around. But when there are choices, the dynamic changes and it isn't always pretty.
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