Doctor Hook 0 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 My beer leagues don't require me to be a member, but I'm usually up for supporting pretty much anything hockey-related. I see you get a magazine subscription and some other shwag, but just curious if anyone is a member and what you get out of it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xuno 14 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 My beer league makes us register.I get the magazine which is great for reading and rereading over and over again on the john, and I got a window sticker for my car that says "Proud member of USA Hockey." Worth it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carodz 17 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 For me, the $35 (or whatever it was) was worth it because of the secondary insurance coverage you get if injured while playing in a "sanctioned" league. They didn't cover as much as I thought/hoped they would but it still helped. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IniNew 53 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 League requires us to register. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sickwilly 37 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 Our league requires us to register. Like carodz said, they secondary insurance is worth the $ to me. I also got an email from USA hockey that offered a discount for the auto insurance company that I already used. It wound up saving me several times the membership cost. Overall, I think it's well worth joining. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MatthewRoach7 130 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 I am a member as well. I get the mag in the mail. They also offer discounts on hotels and I think car rentals too for USA Hockey members. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maniacaniac 2 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 Two of my leagues require it as does coaching for special needs kids. Level 2 coach and level 2 official. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chadd 916 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 I only know a couple people that have used the insurance and they had a very difficult time actually getting them to pay out. Between coaching, playing and being an official I have paid thousands into USA Hockey over the years. It sure would be nice if they used more of it for getting kids into the game than supporting the 25 kids on the NTDP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DBear 0 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 One of my leagues is usa hockey. So if I don't register I can't play or sub there. I just treat the annual registration as an add onfee for the league. Not really any huge upside that I can see. Maybe the USA Hockey Ref's tend to be better - but that's hit or miss too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
badger_14 601 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 There are maybe 1 or 2 adult leagues in my vicinity that are USAH sanctioned/require the registration, but I do need it for coaching. Cannot entirely say I'm thrilled with the registration fee + clinic fee + online module fee, but if I need the official stamp, well, that's that and I'm ok with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wrangler 157 Report post Posted March 21, 2012 I joined when I got into a league that required it. I think most leagues in my area require it. Members get discount offers on their gear from time to time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LoneStar77 25 Report post Posted March 22, 2012 The adult league I play in requires it as well, in fact the score keepers have started requesting our player cards before each game (you have to have proof of USA Hockey membership to get your player card from the rink) - no card, no play (that includes expired cards as one of my teammates found out last game). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2092 Report post Posted March 23, 2012 The adult league I play in requires it as well, in fact the score keepers have started requesting our player cards before each game (you have to have proof of USA Hockey membership to get your player card from the rink) - no card, no play (that includes expired cards as one of my teammates found out last game).Your league gives out player cards? Huh, interesting.My league requires membership too. I also get the magazine, but it hits the recycle bin immediately, right beside the mailbox. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't required. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chadd 916 Report post Posted March 23, 2012 Your league gives out player cards? Huh, interesting.My league requires membership too. I also get the magazine, but it hits the recycle bin immediately, right beside the mailbox. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't required.Our league requires that you submit your number before you are put on a roster and only players on the official roster of a team in their division or no more than two divisions below the team playing in the game can dress for the game. We had serious problems with players subbing down in the past and this seems to eliminate it. It also helps that the rink uses pointstreak and they have one central point for administering the rosters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hockeymass 11 Report post Posted March 23, 2012 I thought the magazine was decent, but I was also 16. I don't know what it's like now. It does seem like they focus a lot of effort on the NTDP and not so much on supporting and growing the game for everyone else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Gent 7 Report post Posted March 23, 2012 All of the Dr. Pepper StarCenter leagues in D/FW, along with the leagues at NyTex in North Richland Hills, require the membership. Since I also coach, I have to have it no matter what, and having it split between the 2 mitigates the pain of spending the cost of 3-4 games (when you figure in my employee discount at the StarCenters) on the membership. To those who have mentioned the insurance, have you ever actually tried to use it or know someone who did? The 2 people I know who had kids with injuries severe enough to warrant submitting a claim said that it was not only a paperwork nightmare, but it was also as close to worthless as the cost of the paper used to make the magazine...Neither of them got as much as their deductibles back for the hospitalization, ambulance rides, etc. from the insurance provided by the USA hockey membership. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carodz 17 Report post Posted March 23, 2012 To those who have mentioned the insurance, have you ever actually tried to use it or know someone who did? The 2 people I know who had kids with injuries severe enough to warrant submitting a claim said that it was not only a paperwork nightmare, but it was also as close to worthless as the cost of the paper used to make the magazine...Neither of them got as much as their deductibles back for the hospitalization, ambulance rides, etc. from the insurance provided by the USA hockey membership.I used it last year. I wouldn't say it was a paperwork nightmare, as the actual paperwork from their insurance company (K&K) wasn't especially long that I can remember. The most important thing that I noticed was having very specifically itemized bills from everything along with matching primary insurance benefit summaries. After you send in the paperwork (their paperwork + insurance statements + bills), they send you a thing that says what they will and will not pay for from each place billing you and why.The first letter I got back from them said they weren't paying for anything. Their reasons were "Your primary insurance deductible, up to $1,000, is neither covered nor eligible for reimbursement by this policy" and another statement basically saying the bills I showed them weren't specifically itemized enough. The thing with the deductible didn't really make sense to me considering what it said on all my insurance and billing statements. The other thing was because the two hospitals I went to weren't specific in their "itemized" bills; they basically said "Items billed for: Bill - $X,000." Also they didn't cover the cost of my orthopedic boot because even though I had a bill for it, I couldn't find the insurance statements to match that visit.Two weeks later I got another letter that basically said "Never mind, here's the stuff we're paying for." They ended up covering a little over $900 worth of stuff out of ~$2,500 I owed, so I guess it was worth it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2092 Report post Posted March 24, 2012 Our league requires that you submit your number before you are put on a roster and only players on the official roster of a team in their division or no more than two divisions below the team playing in the game can dress for the game. We had serious problems with players subbing down in the past and this seems to eliminate it. It also helps that the rink uses pointstreak and they have one central point for administering the rosters.We have similar rules, but nothing is enforced. Then again, our league is VERY poorly managed. We're lucky to see a season schedule until half way through the season when the league director finally gets around to it.I've never heard of Pointstreak but I can assume how it works. Something like that would be VERY useful in our league. We don't keep stats of any sort what so ever.. and I really wish we did. I'd love to see league stats of some sort. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LoneStar77 25 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 Your league gives out player cards? Huh, interesting.It supposed to keep you from bringing in ringers as subs, I guess as well as proving that you have your USA Hockey Membership up to date. This is my third season to play at a Dr Pepper Stars Center & the first one that it has been a big deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goblue9280 33 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 I don't know how much they spend on the NTDP, but I do know of a few things they do to help grow the game. Our association has received a few grants from USA Hockey and our state org, they were used to purchase rink dividers for our mites and mini-mite games (cross-ice) and also to buy sets of one-goal gear for our "try hockey for free" events. Additionally they provide us with goodie bags of stuff for the kids coming out to the "try hockey" days (including a jersey for each kid), along with promotional items to hand out leading up to the events, and they have set-up a webpage for registration. It may not seem like much, but it certainly helps us out and we have definitely gotten kids into the sport with the "try hockey for free" events. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chadd 916 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 We have similar rules, but nothing is enforced. Then again, our league is VERY poorly managed. We're lucky to see a season schedule until half way through the season when the league director finally gets around to it.I've never heard of Pointstreak but I can assume how it works. Something like that would be VERY useful in our league. We don't keep stats of any sort what so ever.. and I really wish we did. I'd love to see league stats of some sort.The biggest thing about pointstreak for us is the "team locker room" feature. Players can check in or out for games and it's a great way to communicate with the other guys on the team. Our rink is slow getting games put in to the system from time to time, but overall it is a very nice system. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qmechanic 17 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 I've played in two different leagues (which use the same rink) and one requires USA Hockey membership and the other one does not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
