John Coleman
(703) 220-5126
jkcole214@aol.com
Games between USA Hockey teams and non USA Hockey teams (i.e. Federation High School) shall be allowed when the game is sanctioned by USA Hockey. For example, when a Federation High School team plays a USA Hockey team the game must be sanctioned by the District Registrar. Sanctioning requires the USA Hockey team to complete the Special Events Sanction form prior to the game and that it be sent to the District Registrar for approval. It is highly recommended that all games requiring sanctioning be requested prior to the season. Any games requiring sanctioning after the initial request must be requested as soon as they are scheduled to allow time for USA Hockey to sanction the game. USA Hockey teams shall be limited to a total six (6) such games during the current season.
HIGH SCHOOL Restricted to amateurs who are enrolled as full time students (grades 9-12), and under 20 years of age on December 31 of the Playing Season. Eligibility shall not exceed eight (8) consecutive semesters starting with the player’s freshman year (9th grade).
For home schooled students, the term “attend” shall mean that the student is enrolled at a high school and is designated as carrying sufficient credits to be considered a full time student for which credit toward high school graduation will be granted by the high school upon the student’s completing and passing the courses. The school which enrolls the student shall be exclusively responsible to verify the student’s compliance with all of the eligibility requirements.
Clarification: Those High School students graduating mid year are no longer full-time students and, therefore, are not eligible to play High School hockey, effective on their last day of attending classes full time as defined by the school.
High School/Prep School Division I
Formal high school and prep school teams or non-varsity teams consisting of full time students attending the same high school or prep school or full time students that are eligible to play sanctioned varsity sports at that school.
High School/Prep School Division 2
Formal high school and prep school teams or non-varsity teams consisting of full time students attending more than one high school/prep school.
Girls’ High School/Prep School Division 1
Formal high school and prep school teams or non-varsity teams consisting of full time students attending the same high school or prep school or full time students that are eligible to play sanctioned varsity sports at that school.
Girls’ High School/Prep School Division 2
Formal high school and prep school teams or non-varsity teams consisting of full time students attending more than one high school/prep school.
Note: The intent of the above descriptions is to make Division 1 the designation for “pure” high school teams and Division 2 for “combined” teams. Tournament eligibility requirements will remain the same with each Affiliate determining its representative for the tournament. To encourage the growth of “pure” teams, any Affiliate with Division 1 teams would have to send a Division 1 team to the tournament before being allowed a slot in the Division 2 Tournament. Besides meeting Division 2 team requirements, all Division 2 teams must play a regular season schedule in a high school league as a team and shall not be an all-star team formed for the purpose of attending the National Tournament.
Any Affiliate with “pure” teams that cannot field a “pure” team for the Division 1 side of the tournament can petition the USA Hockey High School Section for a waiver of the Division 1 requirement. Waivers will be considered on an individual basis.
October 12, 1937 - January 13, 2017
It is with deep sadness to announce the passing of Don Gensler, Southeastern District High School Representative.
The Washington Post recently published a story on Don and his influence on high school hockey:
Ice hockey notebook: Don Gensler remembered as ‘the glue’ that held MSHL together
By Eric Goldwein and Dillon Mullan January 25 at 2:15 PM
The Washington Post
In 1988, a Howard County Youth Hockey board member was tasked with taking a group of local high school hockey teams and organizing them into a structured league. The first season began with about 100 total players on the original six teams — DeMatha, Mount St. Joseph’s, Boys’ Latin, Atholton, Howard and Wilde Lake. But Don Gensler had a greater vision for what was then the only league in town.
The new commissioner wanted high school hockey to be played all over Maryland, D.C. and Virginia, and in nearly two decades with the Maryland Student Hockey League, he helped accomplish that.
Gensler died Jan. 13 at 79 years old after battling lung cancer, but he is being remembered and celebrated this month for his contributions as co-founder of the MSHL and influence as a youth hockey leader.
The MSHL now has about 70 varsity and junior varsity teams while other leagues — public, private, boys’ and girls — have formed around the D.C. area.
“Without Don, there’s no MSHL as we currently understand it,” said MSHL Commissioner Joe LaCour. “Don was the continuity. He was the glue, the captain of the ship.”
Gensler grew up in West Texas and was an Army Colonel. His son played hockey for a fledgling team at Wilde Lake, and Gensler was asked to help launch the MSHL after the teams played a season without a league structure. Tom Hendrix, a general manager at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel who co-founded the MSHL, said Gensler was detail-oriented and helped add stability to the league by establishing and enforcing rules relating to safety, academics and sportsmanship.
“He always wanted every child who liked the game to be able to participate. That was his mission,” Hendrix said. “He had a specific mission statement and he never veered from that.”
Gensler was also a longtime Southeastern District High School Representative for USA Hockey as the sport grew across the region with a total of 207 teams from Florida to Arkansas to Maryland.
MSHL teams held a moment of silence for Gensler before last week’s games, and his influence lives on with the MSHL division playoffs and 16-team state tournament set to begin the next few weeks in rinks across the D.C. area.
“All the high schools here should thank Don for his perseverance, because it would not have happened if he hadn’t persisted over the years,” Hendrix said.
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Our thoughts and prayers are with Don's family during this sad time.
