By Lori EhdeRepresentatives of the Luverne Hockey Association came to Thursday’s School Board meeting July 24 to share information about the program and to question a decision made at a June 11 meeting.Particularly, they sought information on the decision to deny a Sioux Center, Iowa, student’s request to play Luverne hockey."As a hockey board, we do need good communication between the school and board, so we know what to tell the kids already in the program," said Lisa Dinger, tournament organizer for the association.Because Luverne has a well-run hockey program, the Association told School Board members that it draws members from the tri-state area.Of the 138 skaters in the club, 15 are from outside of Rock County — mostly Brandon, S.D.The club portion of Luverne hockey is for skaters from 2 years old through eighth grade. After that, they play Luverne High School hockey, which has been a Minnesota State High School League sport since 1998.According to Coach David Siebenahler, the Sioux Center student wasn’t recruited to play high school hockey. He’d been a member of the club, but is now a high school student and wants to continue playing."It’s important for players interested in college hockey to play with a high school team," Siebenahler said. "In metro areas, the ones who have only played club hockey get put in a revolving file, because it’s assumed they weren’t good enough to make the high school team. College coaches don’t always consider that club hockey is the only option for some players."The Hockey Association Board asked Luverne School Board members to reconsider the Sioux Center request at a future meeting.The Hockey Association Board said it respects the School Board’s decision, but there are other out-of-town players currently in the program who will be faced with similar decisions if they want to play at the high school level."We have a positive reputation; that’s the good news," said Association Board President Mary Gehrke. "Living in this corner of the state, we’re going to attract kids from across the border to play."If Luverne had agreed to accommodate the Sioux Center student, Luverne School District would have had to set up a pairing arrangement, much like Luverne has with other area schools in athletics.The student would have to make the 40 mile trip one way every day for practice, plus games. His parents support the idea, because there are no nearer boys high school hockey teams there, and they are aware of the commitment."The issue before us isn’t the hardship that the family will endure," board member Becky Walgrave said at the June 11 meeting. "The issue before us is whether or not we want to spread our boundaries that far in our agreements with other districts."It’s not uncommon for only one or two students from neighboring districts to play on a Luverne team, but High School Principal Gary Fisher said pairing with such a distant school didn’t make as much sense."Sometimes it’s an issue of good will between neighboring districts, but this isn’t a neighboring district," Fisher said on June 11. "I guess I would rather see us in a situation where we’re working with our neighbors."The board was split 3-3 on the decision (board member Cary Radisewitz was absent), so the request was denied for lack of a decision.Board members supporting the agreement with Sioux Center were Walgrave, Don Bryan and Bill Stegemann. Those opposed to the plan were Dan Kopp, Steve Tofteland and Colleen Deutsch.The board members voting in support of the agreement did so primarily on the notion that if the family wanted to make the trip, it didn’t affect Luverne adversely to let the student participate in boys hockey.At Thursday’s meeting, Superintendent Vince Schaefer directed the Hockey Association to meet with the Activities Committee and come to a future School Board meeting with a recommendation.
