Midget coach accused of teaching teens to fight

Having seen my share of midget minor hockey games and the coaches some teams have, I have no trouble believing it might be true that a coach in Winnipeg include a tutorial in uppercuts for his 16- and 17-year-old players.
The first report detailed how players gathered in a circle and told to fight whomever they like with one boy suffering a concussion during the practice fight.
An investigation by Manitoba Hockey concluded there was no evidence available that the fight drill took place and no evidence as to when during the practice the boy suffered his concussion.
For his part, the coach says he was just offering advice on how the teens could defend themselves after a series of fights "provoked by the other teams" in recent games. Even that is against minor hockey rules, where referees are supposed to be keeping things sporting.
Sounds to me like the coach has his heart in the right place and has the loyalty and backing of his players. But his methods are flawed. The real way to win a minor hockey fight is to skate away, hope the other kid gets a penalty or two, and score on the ensuring power play.

Junior hockey fights losing the battle?

The move to eliminate fighting from non-pro hockey leagues is gaining the upper hand in Canada - which will cause Don Cherry to shake his head.
The London Free Press reports fighting could be on its way out from junior hockey, making the game more like that played by Canadian universities.
Hockey is likely the only sport where teams sometimes tolerate, sometimes encourage, fighting. Teens with dreams of the big money of the NHL embrace it as part of their ticket to the show.
It's a little ironic that the debate resurfaces when a new hockey movie, Goon, pokes fun at the hockey culture.

When referees support fighting in kids' hockey

Fighting in minor hockey happens and is usually not a big deal with appropriate penalties dished out - usually involving suspensions.
But what happens when referees are not with the program, either through flawed on-ice judgment or bad position which prevents them from seeing events transpire?
And what happens when a kid trying to follow the rules and is unwilling to fight finds himself being assaulted on the ice?
It unfolded before my eyes last night as our undermanned juvenile team played in yet another lopsided recreational game. Nothing big was on the line, few really cared who won or lost. It's nothing more than an hour of exercise, little different than a high school gym class.
A forward skates after a loose puck, he's tripped by an opposing player and slides into the feet of the goalie who's come out of the net to play the puck. The goalie is upended, one of his teammates makes a b-line for the forward lying on the ice and starts tugging at his helmet cage, trying I suppose to dislodge it to better hit his face. The forward has never fought in hockey, tries to cover up and wait a seemingly long time for the adult referees to pull off his attacker.
The penalties? Both players get 5 minutes even though it was an on-ice assault, not a fight. Even though a trip resulted in the collision with the out-of-crease goalie.
The secondary penalty? Questions from teammates why the forward didn't fight back.
He didn't fight back because he was playing by the rules and trusted the referees to do the same.
Meanwhile, he's out shopping for a new cage as the one from last night is now mangled, an additional monetary penalty for wanting to play by the rules in game that's only, supposedly, about fun, friends and fitness.
Next time I see Hockey Canada's president on TV wringing his hands about declining enrolment and reaching out to kids to stay in the game, I might suggest he check with the referees and ask them why they think kids leave.

Globe & Mail weighs in on minor hockey fighting

Linesmen save teenage players from West London
 and St. Thomas from their
youthful impulses. (Wayne Newton photo)

Are parents rejecting minor hockey because of fighting?
That might be the case according to today's Globe & Mail, where familiar themes are raised.
While fighting in teenage minor hockey is present, it's not that common and rarely significant. More dangerous are blows to the head, elbows and stickwork.
Still, the Globe raises a key point - parents are looking to enroll their kids into activities where sportsmanship is the centrepiece. We all know that's not always the way with minor hockey. If the sport is to continue to thrive and grow, creating an atmosphere were kids are treated holistically as active and athletic teens and not vicarious pawns of dads reliving their childhoods is a must. Minor hockey will get there, no worries.

Minor hockey fights a teen-ie problem

Parents of teenage hockey players know the scene. A battle for the puck in the corner, a real or perceived slight against your goaltender, a high hit or elbow, an exchange of death stares - and suddenly a fight.
Call it hormones. Call it a misplaced attempt to emulate the major junior or professional game.
I saw it for the umpteenth time Friday night during my son's midget game in St. Thomas - and was unfazed. It was an explosion of emotion in the final seconds of a well-played 1-1 tie. The most at-risk people on the ice were the linesmen who had to separate a pair of determined, mutual combatants.
It was a different feeling the first time I saw kids I had known since novice start a hockey fight. The temptation then was to blame the coaches for not controlling kids in their charge.
And some actually had to be admired. A couple of years ago, a boy I'll call Billy the Kid took elbows and jabs with the stick until turning and dropping his agitator to the ice with one punch. I hope Billy joins the army or becomes a cop.

No one should like or encourage fights in minor hockey. But remember, there's a difference between scrums ignited by the intensity of the play and premeditated hooliganism where kids prefer to fight instead of playing the game. Those kind of kids should quit hockey and take up mixed martial arts.