Potential boys hockey co-op between Fargo North, Fargo South weighed

FARGO — Is it about being competitive or giving students opportunities? Are 15 students enough to ice a varsity program next season? Those were just a couple of talking points during a stakeholder meeting at North High School on Wednesday, as Fargo Public Schools administrators held an open discussion with parents, players, coaches and other members of each school community to weigh the future of boys hockey at Fargo South and Fargo North. Those with a vested interest in each program filled the North High commons area to ask questions, express their concerns and have an open dialogue on a potential co-op between South and North beginning with the 2025-26 school year. “I think we knew coming in that there’d be a wide variety of viewpoints concerning this,” said Todd Olson, director of student activities for FPS.

“We know the numbers, we’ve had great feedback from people and we’ll take that into consideration.” The subject arose following the dissolution of the South/Fargo Shanley co-op last week , leaving the Bruins without a co-op partner for next season and not having enough players to be self-sufficient. The discussion lasted just over one hour and featured an array of talking points that included participation numbers, district boundaries, player cuts, co-op branding and much more.



Olson said the district hopes to come to a decision within the next month. After a decision is made and approved by the district, a co-op application must be jointly submitted to the North Dakota High School Activities Association for approval from its board of directors. Co-op agreements stretch three seasons.

Some attendees expressed their desire for more open discussions to be held before any potential decision is made, expressing concern that a final verdict will come prior to any further dialogue. “We’ll see how it plays out here over the next week or two and make some decisions then,” Olson said. Olson was joined by South activities director Mike Beaton and North activities director Dan Shultis in leading Wednesday’s discussion.

Olson kicked things off with a slideshow presenting boys hockey participation data from each of the district’s three secondary schools as well as NDHSAA co-op guidelines. The data notably highlighted that South is projected to have only 15 players available to lace the skates for a standalone program next season. South coach Matt Hansen noted that number does not currently include a goaltender.

While some expressed support of South as a standalone, others noted that it’s not as feasible as it seems. A typical hockey lineup consists of 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders. “That is assuming every one of those 15 kids comes out for the team,” Beaton said.

“And that also doesn’t take into consideration that the group of 10 kids who will be sophomores (next season) might have bantam eligibility left and could choose to play with the youth program. “That 15 is an assumption that every one of those kids sophomore through senior year comes out for hockey.” A short bench, Beaton said, also increases the risk of injury and creates a competitive disadvantage, especially with no netminder in the fold yet.

“We have no goalie in that group to play,” Beaton said. “And having been a hockey goalie myself, you can’t just all of a sudden decide as a sophomore you’re going to play goalie and we can’t force a kid to play goalie. So it’s very hard.

” A key topic was drawing the line between being competitive and offering the most opportunities for students to play. One attendee shared the opinion that if the issue truly is about participation, having South and North stand alone is the proper choice. If it’s about creating a competitive program, a co-op is more suitable.

“I think we need to consider both,” Beaton said. “Competitive can certainly help in terms of numbers. Kids will see success and want to be a part of that.

But I also want to look at it from a safety perspective. It’s hard to play with 12 or 14 kids or whatever it is. We want to keep kids safe too and what’s going to be the safest for kids.

” Concerns were expressed that the formation of a co-op would mean having to cut a multitude of players from the program. North has been self-sufficient throughout its history and has to cut players each season. With a combined estimate of 55 players between South and North next year, 15 would need to be cut after tryouts assuming 40 players are kept between varsity and junior varsity rosters.

“I think that’s always a concern,” Shultis told The Forum on Tuesday. “I think you look at any scenario in that aspect for sure. That’s always something that when you’re adding more players to any team or tryout, there’s only so many spots.

” School pride was also a major talking point. Spartans captain Connor Long, who will be a junior next season, was asked to share his opinion on a potential merger with South. “I grew up wanting to go to North, play for North and play against South,” Long told the audience.

“At the same time, looking at these numbers ...

I’ve experienced high school hockey. Fifteen kids on a varsity team, I don’t think it would be very good for any kid. Just the physicality .

.. playing as a Spartan, not with South kids, it just means a lot more than playing with South kids.

“I grew up wanting to play against South, playing at the Coliseum against South and experiencing it with all of my boys ...

but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.” One parent mentioned that her son plays for South and for him, having the opportunity to play the sport he loves is far more meaningful than what logo he wears. “He just wants to play hockey,” the parent said.

“I don’t think he cares if he’s a Spartan or a Bruin. In the end, he just wants to play hockey. As parents, I think we all just need to work together and figure out how our kids can play hockey.

” North principal Travis Christensen said there’s no perfect answer for anybody involved. “There is not an easy or good answer in the numbers on the screen,” Christensen said. “So wherever this lands, it’s not going to be optimal for everybody.

Wherever this lands, my hope is that the passion that’s here ...

that people would come out here on a Wednesday evening at 5:30 means we care about the program and care about the kids. “If it’s one program or two programs, I hope that this continues with whatever way we go.”.