Finished at 16

As we ramp up for the minor hockey season, here's an important article published today in The London Free Press about a skilled teen player forced out of the game after suffering six concussions. He's 16.
No Sidney Crosby press conference here, just a kid playing a game.
It's a pre-season reminder that kids need to play the game safely and that it's the responsibility of parents, coaches and referees to make certain they do.
In my son's years in minor hockey, I know of three of his teammates who suffered serious concussions resulting in, obviously, lengthy absences from hockey and, more importantly, school.
The attitude, at least in southern Ontario, is shifting and this upcoming season should see a crackdown against head shots effectively enforced.

Former Flyers captain adds to concussion discussion

Wondering what former Philadelphia Flyers captain Keith Primeau is up to, years after being knocked out of pro hockey with a series of concussions?
He's helped launch a website, with information of interest to minor hockey players and officials called Stop Concussions. The site had a launch ceremony today at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

The risk of better protection

Do sports helmets lead to more concussions? Interesting thought, the theory being that wearing protection spurs us to act or play more recklessly. Canada's Globe and Mail raises the topic and will be hosted a live discussion, the text for which you can still read by clicking here. 

Is minor hockey hurtin'?

Nobody ever claimed minor hockey was for the meek, but is it intended to cause long-term damage?
Of course that's not the intent of hockey. But until the sport gets control of the game, there will be more and more reports like this one by Terry Davidson in the Toronto Sun about brutal hitting (both legal and illegal) causing injuries with life-long ramifications such as concussions.
Whether it's the fault of the amour-like equipment, a size differential of players, too much sugar, odd coaching or under-skilled referees ... I don't know. But there's an increasing buzz about serious injuries in minor hockey.
As one tiny example, I have never seen so many players miss games due to injuries as I did this past season with my son's midget team. Concussions. Broken bones - arm, collar, hand. Broken molar. We even had a goaltender go back into a playoff game after suffering a significant cut. A backup goalie wasn't dressed because he was out with a concussion.
No one signs his kid up for athletics to get hurt. If the reputation of the sport becomes a "hurt factory", parents will keep their credit cards in their wallets and sign up little Johnny for guitar lessons instead.

Penguins pay for kids' concussion tests

Kudos to the Pittsburgh Penguins for stepping up by helping local minor hockey monitor concussions.
Fox News reports the NHL team's foundation is funding baseline testing for young players - the same type of testing minor hockey organizations in Ontario have sometimes offered for free.
Of course the Penguins know all about concussions in hockey. The world's best player, Pens captain Sidney Crosby, has been sidelined for months because of a stupid hit that resulted in a concussion.
Still, their concern for kids and captain Crosby doesn't stop the Penguins from employing perhaps the dummest, most reckless player in the NHL. If the Penguins really wanted to make a statement that would lead to some common sense in pro and youth hockey, they'd turf Matt Cooke today.

Kids and concussions

Still wondering about minor hockey kids and concussions?
Read this CBC story about a 17-year-old from Prince Edward Island, who was forced to quit the game he loved because minor hockey couldn't police headshots.

Live chat: What should be done about concussions

Canada's CBC is hosting a live chat on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011 beginning at noon to discussion concussions in sport.
Concussions are, or should be, the No. 1 concern for parents who have children enrolled in contact sports such as minor hockey. For that matter, count soccer among the sports with a concussion risk. Read Sean Fine's article about his daughter in the Globe & Mail.
Here is the link for the concussion discussion.
Bruises and sprains, cuts and broken bones can heal. Concussions are with your child for life. 

Bell ringers

Are concussions just a hockey issue. No, as Allison Korn explains in the Toronto Sun, It also touches Olympians.

London doctor’s study leads him to see a sport in denial

Are hockey teams understating the number of concussions players suffer? True, according to this article in the London Free Press.
No more head games.