Well its about time someboby payed attention to the taxpayer. There has been a severe conflict of interest in the that building before & since the day I left … glad I did.

Are sports and the people coaching and playing them exempt from common sense? The Sandusky mess, the New Orleans Saints bounty on crippling other teams players, the Michael Vick affair with dog fighting, Kobe Bryant and his sexcapades, Tiger Woods and the list goes on and on… We make excuses for these thugs all the time because they are sooooo gooood at what they do.

Now we have this? What are these people and their parents thinking?

I agree with your dragging the Penn State scandal into this. We have young men here who are suppose to be learning more than just how to play a sport. They are suppose to be learning good values as well. This “coaching style” is a far cry from teaching values.
But hey…. some people just want their kids to play sports and win. sigh……

Hey Paul – Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods are now thugs because they had extramarital affairs (actually only one in Kobe’s case)? Spouses cheat in as many as half of all relationships, but I’m guessing you wouldn’t consider your neighbor a thug for the same thing. Careful, your racism is showing.

It seems bullys have the upper ground in the operations of ice rink. When my son was in a peewee hockey program decades ago a couach threatened to hang him off of the wall. Well, when I found out it told the coach I would hit him so hard they would be scraping him off of the floor for weeks. Parents stand up to the “hired” bullys. Your children need you.

Note to Pittman,
Actually, I may not think of my neighbor as a thug but would question his honesty and integrity to his family and children. I would not revere anyone of any race who would take their marriage vows lightly. “Only one affair”… just the only one documented.

I’m with zippo: 4) Let a private owner own the ice rink so it can go broke fair and square.

If nobody wants it, convert it to some other use.

Thank you hockey dad for speaking up! Dave, it is my knowledge and understanding the Idaho IceWorld didn’t make these kids do anything. This was done by one of the user groups that uses the facility. It was punishment but not to humiliate but to let them know if you don’t respect the locker room you shouldn’t get to use it. As hockey dad says you can go out there any night of the week and find some sort of undress in the back lobby. I believe the “strip hockey” thing was also done without the knowledge of IceWorld and I believe there was some repurcussions on that also. If you are going to tell the story maybe they should here the whole story. What a great facility the city offers, too bad others don’t appreciate as much as the 1000 of people that use it.

EDITOR NOTE–We agree there was no action or policy of Ice World. The issue as we understand it was the coach was the hockey director AND a coach. Since the city provides locker rooms in conjunction with ice rental, it would seem appropriate they have some sort of supervision to prevent undressing and dressing in the public lobby area.

Having any children undressing in public lacks common sense period. If
you think having the peewee aa team undress in public here in Idaho
isnt’t that bad, someone needs to ask that same coach about what
happened at the fraternity in New Hampshire with the same peewee aa
jr. steelhead team. This might be the real story.

People, the fact is that children were forced to undress DOWN TO THEIR JOCKS in public by an employee & the Hockey Director of Iceworld. Even if Mr. Anderson were the president of a youth hockey team (which he is not) would that make this exploitation of children okay? Simple question folks. Also, having been at iceworld for the last 7 years with my 3 children…..I have NEVER seen kids “in the lobby” wearing nothing but their jocks as was the case at hand.

EDITOR NOTE–The report we had was “jockey shorts,” rather than jocks–just for clarification. The security video was not kept that far back (we asked for it).

Yes, some kids do change into their hockey gear in main lobby, but it’s always Mites age kids (8 and under) and a lot of times that’s because mom needs to help getting them dressed and doesn’t want to go into the lockerroom (even though no one has a problem with moms in locker rooms at that age.)

Lets see the Zamboni incident-it happend over 5 years ago and the people who took it out to Buger King were fired. The strip hockey was done by mostly 19/20 year olds -players who play jr hockey which has nothing to do with the junior steelheads oraganization.I know the junior team is called the Idaho Junior Steelheads and the travel organization is the Junior Steelheads but they are not connected, I guess they ran out of names for a hockey team in Boise. Thank goodness we have the Hawks because I do not know what we would do with 3 organization with the same name. Just call them adults becuse most were playing junior hockey away from home whose coach had left the building, and because they are adults there does not need to be a coach in the locker room. It also happend over 2 years ago. It was also just one player who was in his jock strap- I dont condone it but get the facts strait. The mooning happened from the the same junior team and was one of the European players who had mooned a fellow player in the hallway outside the locker rooms where the public hardly goes- a worker had seen him and reported it. How absurd that a 19 year old would moon another 20 year old Really —a college age male mooning some one how unheard of. In both cases there were repercusions and in the mooning incident the team lost their ice for the rest of the season. As for the drinking in the locker rooms there is a no alcohol policy and it is the adults who play in the adult hockey league and adults who make their own choices. Usually the workers are teenagers and female and they are not going to go into the all male locker rooms to monitor adults. Again being nit picky but I think the ages of the boys were 13/14 if you are going to do a story please get the facts strait. This is a poorly written article. I do think there are some problems, and probably more than most know about but that is what makes this article so disapointinly bad- poor facts and bad information. Also most rinks are run by cities or counties but since we dont have many in Idaho I can see why most people would not know that. As an aside the Idaho Junior Steelheads are playing for the WSHL Championship in Texas at the end of March.-they did not have any mooning/strip hockey problems this season.

So which one of you “COMMENTATORS” are stepping forward to help coach? Seems to me there are a heck of a lot of “arm chair” coaches…offer your enthusiasm to help fix the problem. Be a part of the solution!

They must be doing something right or the over 1000 people in the programs wouldn’t keep coming back. Those that have never seen kids dressing down in the lobby obviously arent’ out there very often. You don’t see anymore in a state of undress than you do on a everyday basis. If the parents had an issue with this it should have been brought up at the time. The hockey director has resigned as was the result Andreson was looking for, now how about offering some construsctive input and become part of a solution to make the rink all you would like it to be. If you play hockey and have been around to many rinks you should know that it could be alot worse it isn’t all about hockey. The kids learning to skate don’t complain and have issues. My kids love it out there.
The Hockey director wss able to separate his job, to bad the people can’t seem to do the same. Liz, maybe hockey dad said Andreson was president because that was going to be the case until Mr. Shaw decided to stay on probably because of the mess that Mr. Andreson has helped to create.

Got to Love Hockey you are way off base. Hockey numbers have declined since the recently departed HD took over in 2008. This would be both adult and youth leagues.
IIW management is a mess. Zero to no management skills at all. Yes the just resigned HD was a great ambassador for hockey here in the valley but lacked management/marketing/business skills.

There was a huge conflict of interest with the HD running a city rec league and also coaching for one of the two travel programs in the area, the Jr Steelheads. The other program, the Hawks, continually struggled to get equal recognition as the Jr. Steelheads. The Hawks were created originally to give parents another option for travel/club hockey here in the valley. Also, to avoid group humiliation like what is mentioned in the article. Ultimately the head coach is responsible. Both Jr. Steelhead and Hawks coaches coach in the city rec league but there were also complaints of harassment by Jr Steelhead coaches toward Hawks players in the city league. Of course those complaints went to the Hockey Director’s office and died.

Yes, I frequent IIW often for youth hockey and there is a good number of youths changing out in the lobby which should be frowned upon. But again management skills lead to this continuing. It is getting around the state that there is something definitely wrong going on at IIW. All other areas of the state have flourishing programs and in the biggest city of the state the numbers are down.

Mr Shaw is the current President of the Hawks and tenure ends at the end of the season. Mr Andresen has yet to be voted in as president. Regardless of this, if my son was urinated on in a locker of any sort I would do the same as Mr Andresen and take it all the way to the media and law enforcement to hold somebody responsible.

Based on what I’ve read here, I’d say bravo to Mr. Andresen for protecting his son. I would hope Boise city leaders who are PARENTS would take action to ensure the safety and dignity of all children at Ice World and other public venues. Please give the refund, enforce the locker room only rule for disrobing, and thoroughly screen those who run the youth and other programs. These are the right and prudent things to do.

MOM-KTA

@hockey Lover…”hockey numbers have deslined since 2008″ While I would have to disagree with that statement based on the fact that the squirt divisions consisted of 6 teams, one should also take into account the fact we have been in a pretty nasty recession since 2008 which would have an adverse affect on participation.
Hockey Grandma…IIW has offered try hockey for free clinics, spring break hockey camps for about 100 bucks, and various other opportunities to play hockey.

“Fraternity in NH…rumors…one would assume that with the amount of kids that have cell phones and Ipods with cameras in them, that if the rumors were true about NH, that at some point those events would have made their way to social websites like FaceBook.

@Hockey Lover with regards to urinating. Just a few years ago, one player from the Hawks urinated on one of his team mates gloves. To my knowledge this player was never penalized for his actions. If the Hawks want more recongnition, maybe they should start with challenging themselves more by playing in higher level tournaments vs. always playing in B level tournaments. The Jr. Steelheads is a bigger program as it carries two teams per division from Squirt to Bantam and sometimes Midgets, where the Hawks will typically carry one team per division. The Jr. Steelheads might also get more recognition as they are the ones hosting Boise tournaments every year.
In addition, just a few years ago during hawks tryouts, an incident occured where a younger player was in the locker room with peewee players and heard inappropriate comments because there was not any adult supervision. When the player’s parent come into the room, they were not pleased with the conversation.
I am not posting this to bash one program or the other. However, I feel that folks need to understand that stupid things happen in both programs. If my son had been pee’d on, I would have spoken with the other childs parents first, then address the issue with the coaches, then present the incident to the organizations Board of Dirctors. I would not go after someones job because of it. With regards to changing in the lobby issue, I have been at hockey events in other states that did not have enough locker rooms and as a results, teams had to get dressed and undressed in the hallways, and lobbies.

@H4L:

Because the interest level is so low the city has to subsidize even the professional team as well as the amateur ice rink and local kiddie teams. It’s not a school sport because of the near zero interest. I’d like to see my public funds spent on important things and ideas that will yield a net gain for my community and society at large. We are a community on a tight budget and hockey should be very very low on the list.

I suggest we completely remove government from the professional and amateur sports business, and then you will see clearly how stupid hockey is in Boise. It has also become a liability for the city.

1 question…. why is anyone changing in the lobby…. the parents of these kids need to have their heads examined for allowing that.

Adding information that insinuates what happened at IIW to what happened at Penn State is irresponsible, and is disrespectful to the victims at Penn State. What happened at IIW may not have been the best adult response to juvenile hijinks, but it is not the horror of Penn State.
Also, the City has not owned IIW for 14 years. It’s been much less than that – surely less than 10. The facility was “gifted” to the City by Mr. Simplot as part of a larger transaction. While the City’s management isn’t perfect, from a business perspective there are much tighter business controls now than when it was under private ownership.

EDITOR NOTE–We won’t quibble over the length of ownership. Perhaps the correct statement is the facility is 14 years old. We have never alleged the horror of Penn State, but like Penn State it involves young boys, locker rooms, showers, lack of adult supervision in the locker room, and a publicly-owned facility that ignored repeated complaints from parents. The incident also happened at about the same timeline as well. Hopefully we won’t see a “Penn State.”

Sorry Dave.

@Zippo…it is not a santioned school sport because the schools would then have to add another girls sport.
@Outsider…players get changed in the lobby all the time at IIW. I am pretty sure if the kids were actually forced to get naked in the lobby there would have been a lot parents pulling their kids from the rink and going home versus allowing their children to continue playing on the team all the rest of the season.
The story also addresses incidents that are not connected to the situation that Mr. Andresen is upset about. So if we asking to keep the topic focused on the real issue then the person that wrote the article should have kept to that and not brings up like the Zamboni issue that occured over 5 years ago.

Mylymok, the hockey director is gone. He “resigned”. It’s about time. Now, maybe they can hire an outside director with integrity and no conflicts of interest…

@Maybe Not – the Hockey Director sure does make the schedules. If not making them he has direct influence & finally approves them. The conflict is an obvious ethical one with ties to private business in the community the City must remain neutral and in this instance Mr. Mylymok could hardly pass that test simply becuase of his past & present professional affiliations. Although a great embassador for the sport, the City made a horrible choice in offering him the position on a paid permanant basis. Now maybe the City can move forward and take care of the kids – which I think is Parks & Recs charter. By the way, isn’t there a GM at the rink overseeing the daily operations as well? I’m just saying.

@Editor = thank you for trying to help me understand but the Hockey director didn’t have any paid employees or had anything to hold or anyone, he probably doesn’t even have any real control over any budget stuff. Sorry, I guess I am just not getting it. Thanks anyway.

If nothing else, it sounds like the city has an extra $44,000 to spend on something else since nobody can say what the hockey director does anyway. Perhaps he should have made some rules about where to undress.

Editor, do you think $44,000 is enough to study the trolley some more?

It may appear that the Hockey Director has an indirect personal beneficial interest as his wife works for the Junior Steelheads and he serves as a coach for them. However, the Junior Steelheads rent ice time and are thus paying the City. Further, the scheduling of ice time is not controlled by the Hockey Director, but rather controlled by the General Manager and Office Manager at IceWorld. All involvement by the employee with the Junior Steelheads is either work-related or on a volunteer basis, whereby he receives no salary or reimbursement for his expenses and has agreed that his volunteering will not interfere with his duties as Hockey Director. Therefore, the employee’s indirect personal beneficial interest is remote. Further, the employment relationship with the Hockey Director is in the best interest of the City. The employee has extensive hockey knowledge and his performance has been characterized as outstanding. The Ethics Commission hereby determines that the employee’s behavior is in conformance with this section of the Code of Ethics.

@Lurker…I am defending because IIW announced his resignation when he has not officially resigned. Mr. Andresen and the others that filed the complaints know what I am talking about. I happen to know one of the families who’s name was used in the report without their permission or knowledge untl after the complaints were filed. Yet the review board did not bother interviewing them about any of the issues that were addressed using their name without their permission.
The HD has also been handling this situation very professionally by not bashing those that have filed the complaints.
I am not related to the HD. I just appreciate all that he has done for youth hockey in Idaho. I say the City Of Boise should put it to a vote for all the hockey patrons of IIW whether the HD should resign or not.

@HOckey 4 Life, I know that his wife is not now part of the organization I just wanted to put the Ethics findings out there when HD was hired by the city. I too am aware of the complaint that you are referring to and had also heard that parent was not very happy. Thank you all your comments and whether people realize it or not have provided them with more facts than they choose to believe. I too hope that no matter what happens at IceWorld we will not lose a great coach.

@My two cents, I would have to both agree and disagree about the groups. A lot of the families from both organizations are good folks and get along with each other. Unfortunately, the ones that do not from either group can ruined a lot of things. I would also have to include both groups in the Rec league group as the majority of the travel players from both groups also play house.

So the HD allegedly made the boys change outside the locker room to their jockey shorts, really, this is nothing all of us that have been involved in hockey have not seen before. We are not all pedifiles but I agree that we need to be careful in this day and age because you never know. If I were you, I would thank the kid that decided he needed to pee on someone else to get some attention.

@Hockey 4 Life, if your lips get any tighter on the hd’s butt, you could probably tell us what he had for lunch. And he has resigned, it was made public.

sounds like hockey 4 life IS the vaunted HD

and I’m not @stfu…. heres an idea…ban hockey… just teaches kids to fight

Hockey 4 Life sounds like you are in bed with the since resigned HD or a relative, wife or the HD himself. Either one your comments are Bias and one sided. It is apparent a complaint was made months ago and nothing was done which is why it is coming out now. I have nothing to gain or lose here just a frustrated tax payer.

As for the hockey numbers in Boise, my sons used to play hockey and prior to the just resigned HD there were at least 10 teams in the squirt division and I believe 12 mite teams with 12-15 players on each team. A bit of research shows that teams this year were mite/squirt, squirt/pee wee and no bantams (all combined age groups and not dedicated like in the past). I have a relative in the Idaho Falls area and they have over 100 players in their mite program this past season. How many does Boise have? Recession??? Just another excuse for the HD to be out of the office to golf or fish. From my understanding Idaho Falls makes it cost effective for young players to play and markets their program in the community. Shows by their numbers. My children have never received any marketing material from the City of Boise regarding the hockey program…used to but not for years.

Bottom line is that a lot of people were unhappy with the since departed hockey director, no just the youth programs. Reading your posts Hockey 4 Life sounds like you are a Junior Steelhead parent. Since you are very dedicated to protecting him.

Allegations against Hockey Director:

I have a child who skates for the Steelheads team that has come into question and am disgusted with the irresponsibility of this blog. Firing off an article on your blog without getting statements from both sides shows a lack of integrity. My kid has never been “forced” (as Mr. Andresen said) to undress in the IIW lobby. There were some discipline issues with the kids in our locker room and a message was sent to the players. If you don’t respect the locker room then that privilege will be lost.

No one was told to get dressed/undressed in the lobby area. Mr. Andresen has a personal agenda against the Jr. Steelheads program as a whole and if this story was true why did he wait 5/6 months to make his false claim?? Whether it’s listed on the Hawks web site or not Mr. Andresen has been telling people that he is the new Hawks President. Seems to me that this is more about this angry man trying to get back his money, which he was obligated to pay, when he joined the Jr. Steelheads program. When he was told he would not be getting his money back he then decided to try to cast our program in a negative light. He ended up leaving the program as a disgruntled parent and as the new Hawks President has chose to personally attack anyone who has crossed his path. It seems to me that a witch hunt has transpired out at IIW and this will be a step backwards for youth hockey.

Many players have benefitted since the arrival of our Hockey Director and our players have taken huge steps forward because of the programs such as the Jr. Steelheads and the over haul of our recreational programs. Shame on you for posting this article and making it look as if this is the reason he has left IIW. There are hundreds of supporters of our hockey programs who are very upset about what has transpired and the City of Boise has heard from the majority. The kids respect and love everything that he has done for youth hockey and he has treated everyone fairly no matter what program they have skated for! Unfortunately in today’s society the squeaky wheel (minority) gets the oil and the masses are the ones who end up suffering.

EDITOR NOTE–We are shackled by the city’s claims of a “personnel matter” which they refuse to comment upon. Seems the line between coach and hockey director is kind of blurry. Resignation seems unexplained if the HD has so much support and respect of the vast majority of parents. We post these issues so folks can have a forum to get it all out in the open. City is not at all helpful many times, leading to bad blood on both sides.

@Editor I have heard that most of those wanting and willing to show their support have chosen to do so to the city vs the guardian.

@Not taking sides- Ethics committee said he couldn’t take payment or reimbursements. He did both.

EDITOR NOTE–We saw the 2008 opinion and it did not mention “reimbursements” as we recall. We have seen evidence of reimbursements, but not payment from the team or league.

Clearly we need better Media controls. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-17570005

hmmm…

seems like he BS is way out of control..having a new mite player this year i have had the opportunity to hear a lot of stories/rumors or what ever you may chose to call them while at the rink..
i have heard parents telling about how the house coaches both at peewee and squirt level had verbally berated their child..i have heard stories about a peewee hockey trip to NH where the kids went to a frat and saw strip beer pong and some other sad things… i have heard some other pretty sorted stories that make me wonder if they do any sort of back ground checking on these “great” coaches…I also heard the stories about the Andreson thing..i do know that he did tal;k to Mr Mylymok first..and got the brush off, i also know that he did ask for his money back but was charged for trips he and his son didn’t go to..hang around the pizza place for a bit and you will learn a lot..
The standing joke there is that you have a better chance at seeing Big Foot than either hockey dorector..it was funny but i didn’t ever see any of them there so maybe some truth..
With the things that i heard i would have ot say that even if they are only 50% true.. the parents should have said something and not let the child be used ..what kind of parent allows thier child to be abused ..they should all grow a spine.

@ Andreson- So are you saying this complaint process has taken 5 months to come to a conclusion. Didn’t this “undress” incident take place in Nov? Guess we know what your opionin must be of the parents that didn’t share the same objections. Maybe you can apply for the job and make all the changes so the hockey program can be just like Minnesota.

EDITOR NOTE–To one and all. Please keep it civil and don’t use the forum to pick fights. Express any opinion you wish, but don’t come to conclusions and speculation about one another.

Mr. Andresen, we all know you did not JUST go to the city regarding the “urinating” incident. You had way more unfounded allegations you “came up with” to complain about and you know it. The citys complaint records were also public. Not to mention you can also thank your friend (NAME DELETED) for that one because she opened her big mouth to her friends. (or should I say to those she has LEFT.) And to poster “wow”, we all know you dont have a mite in this program and you know exactly who you are. So you both can spew this in any direction you wish, but this message board REAKS of you and _______ and all of your assumed names. Get a life!

Eric Andresen:

You did the right thing for your son. There is more to life than sports and winning. If it helps, I tell my son that the only opinion of me that matters at this point in my life is his.

To all else:

As parents, we have a duty to teach our children right from wrong. It is not OK to urinate on someone. It is not OK to disrobe in public view at a public venue.

As a former middle school substitute teacher, I can tell you that kids that age are testing the limits. During my tenure in the schools, I had a fire extinguisher lobbed at me, had my foot stomped on, endured an assault from spitwads and staples, and was insulted to no end. If I could not gain control of the classroom, I called for backup from an assistant principal or the school resource officer. Mr. Andresen did the same by bumping up his complaint. Punitary actions were from administrators. Good luck to the players on the junior hockey teams. May they triumph on the ice and in life.

Love,

KTA-MOM

What are all the other parents saying about this incident? And why were these kids so intimidated that they simply did not walk off, call their folks, and go home? There’s something amiss here, and it’s not just the hockey coach.

The HD’s son is on the team..and the asst coach’s son..(the urinater) they may not have had any problem with it as the offender wasn’t punished..everyone else was.

@ Editor…Nice response.

@ Diane…they were not naked. I guarantee you that there is more skin shown on any given day at Roaring Springs when they are open. Hockey jocks are the equivalent of bicycle shorts only with a cup. Perhaps the YMCA should cancel their swim program because there are boys walking around in Speedos that tend to be very small and cover much less skin than hockey jocks.

For the record, there were two “urinators”. One the Asst. Coaches kid and the other not. Both were disciplined in the same manner as the other. No favortism. The entire team (including HD’s son) all lost their locker room privelage for the day because nobody came clean as to who did the urinating until after the fact.

@ Diane -The hockey director/coach didn’t quit because he wanted to. He loved his job and he loved the kids. The city put stipulations on him that were different from anyone else in the city regarding his coaching the travel team and it is said he violated the agreement. I don’t believe his resignation was related to kids changing in the back lobby. I wish people would chose to question the city has to why those stipulations were put on one coach and not the other.

EDITOR NOTE–People do ask, only to be told “Its a personnel matter.”

Diane, did you have a player on that team? I didn’t think so. Are you saying you are who you really are in that post? I didn’t think so. There is no reason to question any “truth” because the “truth” remains with us, the parents. Also this is a JR STEELHEADS situation and not one for the City. None what-so-ever. If people want to point any fingers in that matter, then perhaps they should take that up with the Jr. Steelheads Hockey Director. (I know he had a son on that team as well so don’t you think if this was in way inappropriate that maybe he would have spoke up? No, he did not. The only ones anybody hears from are those two insecure parents who are continually a problem for the rest of us. Unfortunately they are both two unhappy individuals who are miserable in their own lives. (if anyone is in any way curious as to who those two people are, you may make a written request of the document through the City of Boise’s HR Complaint Department. Anyway I have heard that the city HD quit because he just had enough of all the BS and questions from the City, his employer. And did anyone ever stop to think that maybe the HD had another job possibility that arose? Well, that’s the word on the street anyhow.

@ Loving Mother….He would certainly be better off since he was always damned if did and damned if he didn’t. I hope that he does have a better job offer and hopefully one that will keep him and his family here. There are still A LOT of players and families that would hate to see them move.
@ Diane…Knowing how protective most parents are of their kids, wouldn’t you think that if the event was as bad as some have led people to believe it was, that a lot of mothers would have pulled their kids off the team that day and not allowed them to play for that orginization and team the rest of the season and beyond?

Ivan, so, your kids play strip games in all their sports activities? We should get over this? I’m older here, 59, but I still called foul when my kids had to strip and show the P.E. teachers how wet they were after showering. Same thing when I was in school. We should have all been in Catholic school.

EDITOR NOTE–Too much nasty. This is the last word.