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a
Anon
May 7, 2018 - 2:55PM
Re: Age For Checking

The self insuring thing is the kicker. What insurance company is going to touch this especially if the major governing body of youth hockey in the US says no checking. Insurance companies are dropping coverage for inflatables now because a few kids got taken away in the wind. What happens when parents really start taking programs to court because there kid has life long issues due to repeated concussions and frankly an online course for coaches really isn't adequate training to deal with a brain injury.

a
anon
May 7, 2018 - 3:10PM
Re: Age For Checking

I've thought for a while that they should allow checking at squirts and peewee at the "AAA" level (New England "elite" level). This enables your strongest players to develop the skills needed to play at the higher levels (high school/college) while providing a place for recreational hockey that will maintain high enrollment numbers for USA Hockey. In New England, I would draw the line at EHF Elite and E9. This would also bring us in line with the rest of the country by drawing a distinct line between AAA and AA hockey.

a
anon
May 7, 2018 - 4:19PM
Re: Age For Checking

Wait till the hittin' starts!!!

About 75% of all high end kids age 13-14 disappear and then all the "trees" who can't skate, have no hockey IQ and stone hands are finally appreciated and get all the coveted spots.



a
anon
May 7, 2018 - 4:30PM
Re: Age For Checking

anon
I've thought for a while that they should allow checking at squirts and peewee at the "AAA" level (New England "elite" level). This enables your strongest players to develop the skills needed to play at the higher levels (high school/college) while providing a place for recreational hockey that will maintain high enrollment numbers for USA Hockey. In New England, I would draw the line at EHF Elite and E9. This would also bring us in line with the rest of the country by drawing a distinct line between AAA and AA hockey.
Certainly a thought but I'm guessing you haven't actually looked at the rosters of high schools lately, especially D-2 and D-3. Hell even my local D-1 HS had two freshman on the team. (BTW, only one had played EHF Elite/E9). Point being, MA Hockey, USA Hockey would have a heck of time drawing a line like that.

a
anon
May 7, 2018 - 4:51PM
Re: Age For Checking

Anon
The self insuring thing is the kicker. What insurance company is going to touch this especially if the major governing body of youth hockey in the US says no checking. Insurance companies are dropping coverage for inflatables now because a few kids got taken away in the wind. What happens when parents really start taking programs to court because there kid has life long issues due to repeated concussions and frankly an online course for coaches really isn't adequate training to deal with a brain injury.

Not sure but somehow they've managed to do it for mites since MA Hockey went to the mandatory ADM model. Not to get too far off the original topic but let's say USA Hockey eliminates checking, MIAA follows but NCAA leaves everything as is. Do you believe most parents wouldn't be willing shell out the cash to keep their superstar in a league that allows him to develop the skills necessary to play prep or beyond HS? Of course they would, it's the reason why so many U16, U18 and Tier 3 junior programs exist around here. We are all crazy and trying to help our kids chase their dreams!! BTW, since our local Tier-2 junior league isn't sanctioned by USA Hockey, I'm guessing they are already self insuring, so U-8 is self insured and U-20 is self insured, not hard to believe that they could do the same at U14-U18.

a
Anon
May 8, 2018 - 3:35PM
Re: Age For Checking

Sorry you may have missed my point on the insurance. U8 and U20 are completely different than U12. I think if USA hockey got rid of checking and you tried to get an insurance policy on an U12 for concussions, you could run into problems. This is just my opinion being on the board in other sports and dealing with insurance companies. This is a good debate. Insurance companies are going to consult data and medical experts. And having insurance doesn't limit your liability. Remember, coaches are not doctors. They are getting trained via safesport for a few hours on concussion protocol. As a league and team your going to stake your future on that. One lawsuit could end your organization. Not even the damages but just the legal costs alone.

a
anon
May 9, 2018 - 10:26AM
Re: Age For Checking

I didn't miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I've experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn't see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked "He hit his head?". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here's an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?

b
Bnon
May 9, 2018 - 11:16AM
Re: Age For Checking

anon
I didn't miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I've experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn't see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked "He hit his head?". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here's an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
More rigorous enforcement of the existing guidelines about concussions. You can't leave it in the hands of the coaches to decide how a kid feels. With some exceptions, after an obvious concussion, coaches want the kid to play, the kid wants to play, and the parents are told not to intervene. I was sick to my stomach on several occasions this year (PW Major) when a concussed kid (not mine) got sent back into a game. Never once saw a kid kept out of the remainder of a game.

Unless there is a requirement to put a medical person on each game, unfortunately, it leaves the play/no play decision in the hands of the officials. You think the (under-appreciated) officials take abuse now, wait until Little Johnny, who's in outer space, gets taken out of a game because he took a "little hit."

Just wait until the hitting starts. Indeed.

a
anon
May 9, 2018 - 11:29AM
Re: Age For Checking

Bnon
anon
I didn't miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I've experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn't see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked "He hit his head?". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here's an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
More rigorous enforcement of the existing guidelines about concussions. You can't leave it in the hands of the coaches to decide how a kid feels. With some exceptions, after an obvious concussion, coaches want the kid to play, the kid wants to play, and the parents are told not to intervene. I was sick to my stomach on several occasions this year (PW Major) when a concussed kid (not mine) got sent back into a game. Never once saw a kid kept out of the remainder of a game.

Unless there is a requirement to put a medical person on each game, unfortunately, it leaves the play/no play decision in the hands of the officials. You think the (under-appreciated) officials take abuse now, wait until Little Johnny, who's in outer space, gets taken out of a game because he took a "little hit."

Just wait until the hitting starts. Indeed.
Any coach that KNOWINGLY allows a kid suspected of having been concussed to remain in the game should be suspended by USA Hockey, and enforced by the team. Kid should have no say.

I saw a play this year, obvious the kid was concussed. Skated about 15 second on his next shift, had no idea where he was, glided into the bench doubled over. I sent word to the locker room between periods to be sure the coach was aware, just in case he missed it (it happens). Nope, kid played the rest of the game.

And missed the next three with a concussion.

b
Bnon
May 9, 2018 - 11:35AM
Re: Age For Checking

anon
Bnon
anon
I didn\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \"He hit his head?\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
More rigorous enforcement of the existing guidelines about concussions. You can\'t leave it in the hands of the coaches to decide how a kid feels. With some exceptions, after an obvious concussion, coaches want the kid to play, the kid wants to play, and the parents are told not to intervene. I was sick to my stomach on several occasions this year (PW Major) when a concussed kid (not mine) got sent back into a game. Never once saw a kid kept out of the remainder of a game.

Unless there is a requirement to put a medical person on each game, unfortunately, it leaves the play/no play decision in the hands of the officials. You think the (under-appreciated) officials take abuse now, wait until Little Johnny, who\'s in outer space, gets taken out of a game because he took a \"little hit.\"

Just wait until the hitting starts. Indeed.
Any coach that KNOWINGLY allows a kid suspected of having been concussed to remain in the game should be suspended by USA Hockey, and enforced by the team. Kid should have no say.

I saw a play this year, obvious the kid was concussed. Skated about 15 second on his next shift, had no idea where he was, glided into the bench doubled over. I sent word to the locker room between periods to be sure the coach was aware, just in case he missed it (it happens). Nope, kid played the rest of the game.

And missed the next three with a concussion.
Yeah - it's a problem....

a
Anon
May 9, 2018 - 11:16AM
Re: Age For Checking

anon
I didn't miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I've experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn't see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked "He hit his head?". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here's an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I'm not saying checking should be eliminated. I'm just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It's called contact sports for a reason.

a
anon
May 9, 2018 - 11:24AM
Re: Age For Checking

Anon
anon
I didn\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \"He hit his head?\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I'm not saying checking should be eliminated. I'm just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It's called contact sports for a reason.
More concussions result from bad hits than from clean ones. So, increase the penalties for bad hits.

And, if you REALLY want to see bad hits reduced, introduce penalties on COACHES (ejections, escalating suspensions). Right now they pat the kid on the butt for a hit from behind on the vulnerable area or a cross check to the head. "Good hard-nosed hockey, son. That's the way to let him know you're there!"

It won't eliminate them, but it will reduce them.

a
anon
May 9, 2018 - 1:16PM
Re: Age For Checking

Anon
anon
I didn\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \"He hit his head?\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I'm not saying checking should be eliminated. I'm just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It's called contact sports for a reason.
I respectfully disagree. You are never going to eliminate all the risk & I don't want hitting taken out of the game. You will still have concussions from hitting heads on the ice, on the dasher, but I think the following "tweaks" would lead to fewer head injuries.

1) Enforce existing rules. Many a kid, especially 1st year Bantams lead with their arms vs. angling with shoulders. Every Bantam game I've seen players take an elbow to the head because the kid initiating contact instinctually raised his hands at the last second. Make it a "point of emphasis" if you will with officials. Hands come up, it's a penalty, even if you didn't catch their head.

2) Reduce or eliminate the "finish" rule. Essentially make it, if the kid doesn't have the puck, he's not eligible to be hit or withing one or two tenths of a second. What is essentially a 1 second rule has turned into 2 to 3 seconds. If you start calling interference or roughing on these hits, the kids will figure it out pretty quick and create fewer opportunities for the mistakes.

3) Go to "soft shell" only shoulder pads. You can keep the hard cap on the chest and back for protection but make the shoulder cap soft. When my kids don't make the illegal check from #1, they tell me their barely feel the hit. No wonder, they are essentially wearing football shoulder pads at this point. Now imagine if it actually hurt when you skated 20 feet at full speed to blow that kid up.

4) Introduce hip checking in Pee Wee's. The hip check is an effective tool but a nearly lost art. Let the kids get proficient at this before they go all "all star wrestling" in Bantams. In fact, I think this plays nicely into the USA Hockey progressive body contact model and generally produces less force than the shoulder check. (Although this has a real potential to result in more knee injuries.)

5) Back to enforcement, start calling the charging, boarding, and elbows that didn't result in injury. It amazes me how if the kid lays on the ice, it's a penalty but if the kid pops back up, they just play on. In addition to calling them, make them 10 minute automatic game misconducts. If a kid ends up suspended for too many misconducts, I bet the coaches and parents stop saying "nice hit" and start teaching him.

6) Stop allowing crappy helmets to pass inspection. For example, the Bauer 4500 has been around for how many years yet is still readily available and worn far too often and has little ability to absorb the secondary hit of the head. Much like USA Baseball does with bats, start introducing some real and stringent testing with helmets. Warrior/CCM/Bauer: Here is the criteria you have to meet, don't meet this, USA Hockey won't certify them and kids can't wear them. Permanent sticker on the back of the helmet that's easy to see..easy to enforce for on ice officials.

7) Start holding coaches accountable. If your team receives X number of game misconducts during a game, you are sitting a game. If it happens a second time you are suspended 20% of the season, third time you lose your certification for 1 year and have to attend on ice remedial training before being reinstated. I get it, town coaches are volunteers and club coaches aren't really getting paid much either & I sincerely appreciate all they do for the kids. However, they are the best line of defense and in my experience, either don't know how to teach checking or just don't care to.

Last and not least, a mandatory USA Hockey sanctioned clinic before the start of Bantom season that all players MUST attend before they can play a game. I'm trying to give some love to the coaches.

a
Anon
May 9, 2018 - 3:00PM
Re: Age For Checking

anon
Anon
anon
I didn\\\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\\\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\\\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \\\"He hit his head?\\\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\\\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I\'m not saying checking should be eliminated. I\'m just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It\'s called contact sports for a reason.
I respectfully disagree. You are never going to eliminate all the risk & I don't want hitting taken out of the game. You will still have concussions from hitting heads on the ice, on the dasher, but I think the following "tweaks" would lead to fewer head injuries.

1) Enforce existing rules. Many a kid, especially 1st year Bantams lead with their arms vs. angling with shoulders. Every Bantam game I've seen players take an elbow to the head because the kid initiating contact instinctually raised his hands at the last second. Make it a "point of emphasis" if you will with officials. Hands come up, it's a penalty, even if you didn't catch their head.

2) Reduce or eliminate the "finish" rule. Essentially make it, if the kid doesn't have the puck, he's not eligible to be hit or withing one or two tenths of a second. What is essentially a 1 second rule has turned into 2 to 3 seconds. If you start calling interference or roughing on these hits, the kids will figure it out pretty quick and create fewer opportunities for the mistakes.

3) Go to "soft shell" only shoulder pads. You can keep the hard cap on the chest and back for protection but make the shoulder cap soft. When my kids don't make the illegal check from #1, they tell me their barely feel the hit. No wonder, they are essentially wearing football shoulder pads at this point. Now imagine if it actually hurt when you skated 20 feet at full speed to blow that kid up.

4) Introduce hip checking in Pee Wee's. The hip check is an effective tool but a nearly lost art. Let the kids get proficient at this before they go all "all star wrestling" in Bantams. In fact, I think this plays nicely into the USA Hockey progressive body contact model and generally produces less force than the shoulder check. (Although this has a real potential to result in more knee injuries.)

5) Back to enforcement, start calling the charging, boarding, and elbows that didn't result in injury. It amazes me how if the kid lays on the ice, it's a penalty but if the kid pops back up, they just play on. In addition to calling them, make them 10 minute automatic game misconducts. If a kid ends up suspended for too many misconducts, I bet the coaches and parents stop saying "nice hit" and start teaching him.

6) Stop allowing crappy helmets to pass inspection. For example, the Bauer 4500 has been around for how many years yet is still readily available and worn far too often and has little ability to absorb the secondary hit of the head. Much like USA Baseball does with bats, start introducing some real and stringent testing with helmets. Warrior/CCM/Bauer: Here is the criteria you have to meet, don't meet this, USA Hockey won't certify them and kids can't wear them. Permanent sticker on the back of the helmet that's easy to see..easy to enforce for on ice officials.

7) Start holding coaches accountable. If your team receives X number of game misconducts during a game, you are sitting a game. If it happens a second time you are suspended 20% of the season, third time you lose your certification for 1 year and have to attend on ice remedial training before being reinstated. I get it, town coaches are volunteers and club coaches aren't really getting paid much either & I sincerely appreciate all they do for the kids. However, they are the best line of defense and in my experience, either don't know how to teach checking or just don't care to.

Last and not least, a mandatory USA Hockey sanctioned clinic before the start of Bantom season that all players MUST attend before they can play a game. I'm trying to give some love to the coaches.
You and your kid should not be playing hockey. If it doesn't work for you and your kid there are always street hockey leagues they can play in. If it's too physical for you and your kid, pick up a golf club. I'm tired of listening to you snowflake and helicopter parents...

a
anon
May 9, 2018 - 3:25PM
Re: Age For Checking

Anon
anon
Anon
anon
I didn\\\\\\\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\\\\\\\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\\\\\\\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \\\\\\\"He hit his head?\\\\\\\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\\\\\\\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I\\\'m not saying checking should be eliminated. I\\\'m just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It\\\'s called contact sports for a reason.
I respectfully disagree. You are never going to eliminate all the risk & I don\'t want hitting taken out of the game. You will still have concussions from hitting heads on the ice, on the dasher, but I think the following \"tweaks\" would lead to fewer head injuries.

1) Enforce existing rules. Many a kid, especially 1st year Bantams lead with their arms vs. angling with shoulders. Every Bantam game I\'ve seen players take an elbow to the head because the kid initiating contact instinctually raised his hands at the last second. Make it a \"point of emphasis\" if you will with officials. Hands come up, it\'s a penalty, even if you didn\'t catch their head.

2) Reduce or eliminate the \"finish\" rule. Essentially make it, if the kid doesn\'t have the puck, he\'s not eligible to be hit or withing one or two tenths of a second. What is essentially a 1 second rule has turned into 2 to 3 seconds. If you start calling interference or roughing on these hits, the kids will figure it out pretty quick and create fewer opportunities for the mistakes.

3) Go to \"soft shell\" only shoulder pads. You can keep the hard cap on the chest and back for protection but make the shoulder cap soft. When my kids don\'t make the illegal check from #1, they tell me their barely feel the hit. No wonder, they are essentially wearing football shoulder pads at this point. Now imagine if it actually hurt when you skated 20 feet at full speed to blow that kid up.

4) Introduce hip checking in Pee Wee\'s. The hip check is an effective tool but a nearly lost art. Let the kids get proficient at this before they go all \"all star wrestling\" in Bantams. In fact, I think this plays nicely into the USA Hockey progressive body contact model and generally produces less force than the shoulder check. (Although this has a real potential to result in more knee injuries.)

5) Back to enforcement, start calling the charging, boarding, and elbows that didn\'t result in injury. It amazes me how if the kid lays on the ice, it\'s a penalty but if the kid pops back up, they just play on. In addition to calling them, make them 10 minute automatic game misconducts. If a kid ends up suspended for too many misconducts, I bet the coaches and parents stop saying \"nice hit\" and start teaching him.

6) Stop allowing crappy helmets to pass inspection. For example, the Bauer 4500 has been around for how many years yet is still readily available and worn far too often and has little ability to absorb the secondary hit of the head. Much like USA Baseball does with bats, start introducing some real and stringent testing with helmets. Warrior/CCM/Bauer: Here is the criteria you have to meet, don\'t meet this, USA Hockey won\'t certify them and kids can\'t wear them. Permanent sticker on the back of the helmet that\'s easy to see..easy to enforce for on ice officials.

7) Start holding coaches accountable. If your team receives X number of game misconducts during a game, you are sitting a game. If it happens a second time you are suspended 20% of the season, third time you lose your certification for 1 year and have to attend on ice remedial training before being reinstated. I get it, town coaches are volunteers and club coaches aren\'t really getting paid much either & I sincerely appreciate all they do for the kids. However, they are the best line of defense and in my experience, either don\'t know how to teach checking or just don\'t care to.

Last and not least, a mandatory USA Hockey sanctioned clinic before the start of Bantom season that all players MUST attend before they can play a game. I\'m trying to give some love to the coaches.
You and your kid should not be playing hockey. If it doesn't work for you and your kid there are always street hockey leagues they can play in. If it's too physical for you and your kid, pick up a golf club. I'm tired of listening to you snowflake and helicopter parents...
i didn't get that at all from the post you're responding to.

What I got from your reply is that you must go through ah lot of band-aids with your knuckles dragging around so much.

a
Anon
May 9, 2018 - 3:31PM
Re: Age For Checking

Anon
anon
Anon
anon
I didn\\\\\\\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\\\\\\\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\\\\\\\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \\\\\\\"He hit his head?\\\\\\\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\\\\\\\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I\\\'m not saying checking should be eliminated. I\\\'m just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It\\\'s called contact sports for a reason.
I respectfully disagree. You are never going to eliminate all the risk & I don\'t want hitting taken out of the game. You will still have concussions from hitting heads on the ice, on the dasher, but I think the following \"tweaks\" would lead to fewer head injuries.

1) Enforce existing rules. Many a kid, especially 1st year Bantams lead with their arms vs. angling with shoulders. Every Bantam game I\'ve seen players take an elbow to the head because the kid initiating contact instinctually raised his hands at the last second. Make it a \"point of emphasis\" if you will with officials. Hands come up, it\'s a penalty, even if you didn\'t catch their head.

2) Reduce or eliminate the \"finish\" rule. Essentially make it, if the kid doesn\'t have the puck, he\'s not eligible to be hit or withing one or two tenths of a second. What is essentially a 1 second rule has turned into 2 to 3 seconds. If you start calling interference or roughing on these hits, the kids will figure it out pretty quick and create fewer opportunities for the mistakes.

3) Go to \"soft shell\" only shoulder pads. You can keep the hard cap on the chest and back for protection but make the shoulder cap soft. When my kids don\'t make the illegal check from #1, they tell me their barely feel the hit. No wonder, they are essentially wearing football shoulder pads at this point. Now imagine if it actually hurt when you skated 20 feet at full speed to blow that kid up.

4) Introduce hip checking in Pee Wee\'s. The hip check is an effective tool but a nearly lost art. Let the kids get proficient at this before they go all \"all star wrestling\" in Bantams. In fact, I think this plays nicely into the USA Hockey progressive body contact model and generally produces less force than the shoulder check. (Although this has a real potential to result in more knee injuries.)

5) Back to enforcement, start calling the charging, boarding, and elbows that didn\'t result in injury. It amazes me how if the kid lays on the ice, it\'s a penalty but if the kid pops back up, they just play on. In addition to calling them, make them 10 minute automatic game misconducts. If a kid ends up suspended for too many misconducts, I bet the coaches and parents stop saying \"nice hit\" and start teaching him.

6) Stop allowing crappy helmets to pass inspection. For example, the Bauer 4500 has been around for how many years yet is still readily available and worn far too often and has little ability to absorb the secondary hit of the head. Much like USA Baseball does with bats, start introducing some real and stringent testing with helmets. Warrior/CCM/Bauer: Here is the criteria you have to meet, don\'t meet this, USA Hockey won\'t certify them and kids can\'t wear them. Permanent sticker on the back of the helmet that\'s easy to see..easy to enforce for on ice officials.

7) Start holding coaches accountable. If your team receives X number of game misconducts during a game, you are sitting a game. If it happens a second time you are suspended 20% of the season, third time you lose your certification for 1 year and have to attend on ice remedial training before being reinstated. I get it, town coaches are volunteers and club coaches aren\'t really getting paid much either & I sincerely appreciate all they do for the kids. However, they are the best line of defense and in my experience, either don\'t know how to teach checking or just don\'t care to.

Last and not least, a mandatory USA Hockey sanctioned clinic before the start of Bantom season that all players MUST attend before they can play a game. I\'m trying to give some love to the coaches.
You and your kid should not be playing hockey. If it doesn't work for you and your kid there are always street hockey leagues they can play in. If it's too physical for you and your kid, pick up a golf club. I'm tired of listening to you snowflake and helicopter parents...
Interesting.

I have to wonder if you would hold to this opinion if your kid ever lost a good part of his season to a dirty hit?

(btw, we all know the answer to this)

a
Anon
May 9, 2018 - 7:13PM
Re: Age For Checking

Anon
Anon
anon
Anon
anon
I didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"He hit his head?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I\\\\\\\'m not saying checking should be eliminated. I\\\\\\\'m just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It\\\\\\\'s called contact sports for a reason.
I respectfully disagree. You are never going to eliminate all the risk & I don\\\'t want hitting taken out of the game. You will still have concussions from hitting heads on the ice, on the dasher, but I think the following \\\"tweaks\\\" would lead to fewer head injuries.

1) Enforce existing rules. Many a kid, especially 1st year Bantams lead with their arms vs. angling with shoulders. Every Bantam game I\\\'ve seen players take an elbow to the head because the kid initiating contact instinctually raised his hands at the last second. Make it a \\\"point of emphasis\\\" if you will with officials. Hands come up, it\\\'s a penalty, even if you didn\\\'t catch their head.

2) Reduce or eliminate the \\\"finish\\\" rule. Essentially make it, if the kid doesn\\\'t have the puck, he\\\'s not eligible to be hit or withing one or two tenths of a second. What is essentially a 1 second rule has turned into 2 to 3 seconds. If you start calling interference or roughing on these hits, the kids will figure it out pretty quick and create fewer opportunities for the mistakes.

3) Go to \\\"soft shell\\\" only shoulder pads. You can keep the hard cap on the chest and back for protection but make the shoulder cap soft. When my kids don\\\'t make the illegal check from #1, they tell me their barely feel the hit. No wonder, they are essentially wearing football shoulder pads at this point. Now imagine if it actually hurt when you skated 20 feet at full speed to blow that kid up.

4) Introduce hip checking in Pee Wee\\\'s. The hip check is an effective tool but a nearly lost art. Let the kids get proficient at this before they go all \\\"all star wrestling\\\" in Bantams. In fact, I think this plays nicely into the USA Hockey progressive body contact model and generally produces less force than the shoulder check. (Although this has a real potential to result in more knee injuries.)

5) Back to enforcement, start calling the charging, boarding, and elbows that didn\\\'t result in injury. It amazes me how if the kid lays on the ice, it\\\'s a penalty but if the kid pops back up, they just play on. In addition to calling them, make them 10 minute automatic game misconducts. If a kid ends up suspended for too many misconducts, I bet the coaches and parents stop saying \\\"nice hit\\\" and start teaching him.

6) Stop allowing crappy helmets to pass inspection. For example, the Bauer 4500 has been around for how many years yet is still readily available and worn far too often and has little ability to absorb the secondary hit of the head. Much like USA Baseball does with bats, start introducing some real and stringent testing with helmets. Warrior/CCM/Bauer: Here is the criteria you have to meet, don\\\'t meet this, USA Hockey won\\\'t certify them and kids can\\\'t wear them. Permanent sticker on the back of the helmet that\\\'s easy to see..easy to enforce for on ice officials.

7) Start holding coaches accountable. If your team receives X number of game misconducts during a game, you are sitting a game. If it happens a second time you are suspended 20% of the season, third time you lose your certification for 1 year and have to attend on ice remedial training before being reinstated. I get it, town coaches are volunteers and club coaches aren\\\'t really getting paid much either & I sincerely appreciate all they do for the kids. However, they are the best line of defense and in my experience, either don\\\'t know how to teach checking or just don\\\'t care to.

Last and not least, a mandatory USA Hockey sanctioned clinic before the start of Bantom season that all players MUST attend before they can play a game. I\\\'m trying to give some love to the coaches.
You and your kid should not be playing hockey. If it doesn\'t work for you and your kid there are always street hockey leagues they can play in. If it\'s too physical for you and your kid, pick up a golf club. I\'m tired of listening to you snowflake and helicopter parents...
Interesting.

I have to wonder if you would hold to this opinion if your kid ever lost a good part of his season to a dirty hit?

(btw, we all know the answer to this)
Snowflake, it happens in the game of hockey and YES my kid has lost time because of it. He fully understands what can happen in a hockey game (good or bad). Now have your kid go pickup a golf club and take tennis lessons before he breaks a finger nail...

a
Anon
May 10, 2018 - 12:41PM
Re: Age For Checking

Anon
Anon
Anon
anon
Anon
anon
I didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"He hit his head?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m not saying checking should be eliminated. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s called contact sports for a reason.
I respectfully disagree. You are never going to eliminate all the risk & I don\\\\\\\'t want hitting taken out of the game. You will still have concussions from hitting heads on the ice, on the dasher, but I think the following \\\\\\\"tweaks\\\\\\\" would lead to fewer head injuries.

1) Enforce existing rules. Many a kid, especially 1st year Bantams lead with their arms vs. angling with shoulders. Every Bantam game I\\\\\\\'ve seen players take an elbow to the head because the kid initiating contact instinctually raised his hands at the last second. Make it a \\\\\\\"point of emphasis\\\\\\\" if you will with officials. Hands come up, it\\\\\\\'s a penalty, even if you didn\\\\\\\'t catch their head.

2) Reduce or eliminate the \\\\\\\"finish\\\\\\\" rule. Essentially make it, if the kid doesn\\\\\\\'t have the puck, he\\\\\\\'s not eligible to be hit or withing one or two tenths of a second. What is essentially a 1 second rule has turned into 2 to 3 seconds. If you start calling interference or roughing on these hits, the kids will figure it out pretty quick and create fewer opportunities for the mistakes.

3) Go to \\\\\\\"soft shell\\\\\\\" only shoulder pads. You can keep the hard cap on the chest and back for protection but make the shoulder cap soft. When my kids don\\\\\\\'t make the illegal check from #1, they tell me their barely feel the hit. No wonder, they are essentially wearing football shoulder pads at this point. Now imagine if it actually hurt when you skated 20 feet at full speed to blow that kid up.

4) Introduce hip checking in Pee Wee\\\\\\\'s. The hip check is an effective tool but a nearly lost art. Let the kids get proficient at this before they go all \\\\\\\"all star wrestling\\\\\\\" in Bantams. In fact, I think this plays nicely into the USA Hockey progressive body contact model and generally produces less force than the shoulder check. (Although this has a real potential to result in more knee injuries.)

5) Back to enforcement, start calling the charging, boarding, and elbows that didn\\\\\\\'t result in injury. It amazes me how if the kid lays on the ice, it\\\\\\\'s a penalty but if the kid pops back up, they just play on. In addition to calling them, make them 10 minute automatic game misconducts. If a kid ends up suspended for too many misconducts, I bet the coaches and parents stop saying \\\\\\\"nice hit\\\\\\\" and start teaching him.

6) Stop allowing crappy helmets to pass inspection. For example, the Bauer 4500 has been around for how many years yet is still readily available and worn far too often and has little ability to absorb the secondary hit of the head. Much like USA Baseball does with bats, start introducing some real and stringent testing with helmets. Warrior/CCM/Bauer: Here is the criteria you have to meet, don\\\\\\\'t meet this, USA Hockey won\\\\\\\'t certify them and kids can\\\\\\\'t wear them. Permanent sticker on the back of the helmet that\\\\\\\'s easy to see..easy to enforce for on ice officials.

7) Start holding coaches accountable. If your team receives X number of game misconducts during a game, you are sitting a game. If it happens a second time you are suspended 20% of the season, third time you lose your certification for 1 year and have to attend on ice remedial training before being reinstated. I get it, town coaches are volunteers and club coaches aren\\\\\\\'t really getting paid much either & I sincerely appreciate all they do for the kids. However, they are the best line of defense and in my experience, either don\\\\\\\'t know how to teach checking or just don\\\\\\\'t care to.

Last and not least, a mandatory USA Hockey sanctioned clinic before the start of Bantom season that all players MUST attend before they can play a game. I\\\\\\\'m trying to give some love to the coaches.
You and your kid should not be playing hockey. If it doesn\\\'t work for you and your kid there are always street hockey leagues they can play in. If it\\\'s too physical for you and your kid, pick up a golf club. I\\\'m tired of listening to you snowflake and helicopter parents...
Interesting.

I have to wonder if you would hold to this opinion if your kid ever lost a good part of his season to a dirty hit?

(btw, we all know the answer to this)
Snowflake, it happens in the game of hockey and YES my kid has lost time because of it. He fully understands what can happen in a hockey game (good or bad). Now have your kid go pickup a golf club and take tennis lessons before he breaks a finger nail...
I love how people like you think concern over cheap shots means we're trying to ruin the game. Anyone who has a kid in bantams or above is well aware what can happen in a hockey game. You're not alone there, chippy. I'm fine with my kid taking a hit. He's fine with taking a hit. What I don't want to see is any serious injury because some lunkhead idiot from a knuckle-dragging, loud mouth dad thinks destroying kids with cheap shots is "real hockey".

a
anon
May 10, 2018 - 2:26PM
Re: Age For Checking

Anon
Anon
Anon
anon
Anon
anon
I didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"He hit his head?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m not saying checking should be eliminated. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s called contact sports for a reason.
I respectfully disagree. You are never going to eliminate all the risk & I don\\\\\\\'t want hitting taken out of the game. You will still have concussions from hitting heads on the ice, on the dasher, but I think the following \\\\\\\"tweaks\\\\\\\" would lead to fewer head injuries.

1) Enforce existing rules. Many a kid, especially 1st year Bantams lead with their arms vs. angling with shoulders. Every Bantam game I\\\\\\\'ve seen players take an elbow to the head because the kid initiating contact instinctually raised his hands at the last second. Make it a \\\\\\\"point of emphasis\\\\\\\" if you will with officials. Hands come up, it\\\\\\\'s a penalty, even if you didn\\\\\\\'t catch their head.

2) Reduce or eliminate the \\\\\\\"finish\\\\\\\" rule. Essentially make it, if the kid doesn\\\\\\\'t have the puck, he\\\\\\\'s not eligible to be hit or withing one or two tenths of a second. What is essentially a 1 second rule has turned into 2 to 3 seconds. If you start calling interference or roughing on these hits, the kids will figure it out pretty quick and create fewer opportunities for the mistakes.

3) Go to \\\\\\\"soft shell\\\\\\\" only shoulder pads. You can keep the hard cap on the chest and back for protection but make the shoulder cap soft. When my kids don\\\\\\\'t make the illegal check from #1, they tell me their barely feel the hit. No wonder, they are essentially wearing football shoulder pads at this point. Now imagine if it actually hurt when you skated 20 feet at full speed to blow that kid up.

4) Introduce hip checking in Pee Wee\\\\\\\'s. The hip check is an effective tool but a nearly lost art. Let the kids get proficient at this before they go all \\\\\\\"all star wrestling\\\\\\\" in Bantams. In fact, I think this plays nicely into the USA Hockey progressive body contact model and generally produces less force than the shoulder check. (Although this has a real potential to result in more knee injuries.)

5) Back to enforcement, start calling the charging, boarding, and elbows that didn\\\\\\\'t result in injury. It amazes me how if the kid lays on the ice, it\\\\\\\'s a penalty but if the kid pops back up, they just play on. In addition to calling them, make them 10 minute automatic game misconducts. If a kid ends up suspended for too many misconducts, I bet the coaches and parents stop saying \\\\\\\"nice hit\\\\\\\" and start teaching him.

6) Stop allowing crappy helmets to pass inspection. For example, the Bauer 4500 has been around for how many years yet is still readily available and worn far too often and has little ability to absorb the secondary hit of the head. Much like USA Baseball does with bats, start introducing some real and stringent testing with helmets. Warrior/CCM/Bauer: Here is the criteria you have to meet, don\\\\\\\'t meet this, USA Hockey won\\\\\\\'t certify them and kids can\\\\\\\'t wear them. Permanent sticker on the back of the helmet that\\\\\\\'s easy to see..easy to enforce for on ice officials.

7) Start holding coaches accountable. If your team receives X number of game misconducts during a game, you are sitting a game. If it happens a second time you are suspended 20% of the season, third time you lose your certification for 1 year and have to attend on ice remedial training before being reinstated. I get it, town coaches are volunteers and club coaches aren\\\\\\\'t really getting paid much either & I sincerely appreciate all they do for the kids. However, they are the best line of defense and in my experience, either don\\\\\\\'t know how to teach checking or just don\\\\\\\'t care to.

Last and not least, a mandatory USA Hockey sanctioned clinic before the start of Bantom season that all players MUST attend before they can play a game. I\\\\\\\'m trying to give some love to the coaches.
You and your kid should not be playing hockey. If it doesn\\\'t work for you and your kid there are always street hockey leagues they can play in. If it\\\'s too physical for you and your kid, pick up a golf club. I\\\'m tired of listening to you snowflake and helicopter parents...
Interesting.

I have to wonder if you would hold to this opinion if your kid ever lost a good part of his season to a dirty hit?

(btw, we all know the answer to this)
Snowflake, it happens in the game of hockey and YES my kid has lost time because of it. He fully understands what can happen in a hockey game (good or bad). Now have your kid go pickup a golf club and take tennis lessons before he breaks a finger nail...
I bet you think the liberals want to take away your guns too, right? It's a common argumentative tactic when someone is either not intelligent enough to engage in a civil discussion or is forced to defend a ridiculous position. Fabricate a straw man argument by the opposition, and call it wimpy or un-American, to try and distract everyone from focusing on the real issue at hand. Good lord I'm tired of this tactic.

a
Anon
May 10, 2018 - 4:22PM
Re: Age For Checking

anon
Anon
Anon
Anon
anon
Anon
anon
I didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t miss the point, I was simply trying to point out if checking were eliminated from HS and below, some private enterprise will try and fill the void. I agree, risk is there but it will happen.

You are right about coaches not being well trained as I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ve experienced it myself with one of my middle kids. Coach didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t see the hit, kept rolling him out. After the game, first thing I started asking my son was about his head, balance, etc. because he was clearly not right for the rest of the game. Coach overheard me and asked \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"He hit his head?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Long story short, fairly severe concussion, season over, missed weeks of school and months of sports. Also he never played another game for that coach.

Here\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s an interesting side topic that I started thinking about in context with this question: What can be done to reduce the head trauma, short of eliminating checking?
Nothing outside of eliminating checking can dramatically reduce concussions in hockey. People are asking the same questions about tackle football and it is becoming readily apparent there is no magic solution.

I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m not saying checking should be eliminated. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m just saying it would be the only sure way of taking a majority of the risk out of the game. If you let your kid play hockey in bantams or above you have to assume some risk. It\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s called contact sports for a reason.
I respectfully disagree. You are never going to eliminate all the risk & I don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t want hitting taken out of the game. You will still have concussions from hitting heads on the ice, on the dasher, but I think the following \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"tweaks\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" would lead to fewer head injuries.

1) Enforce existing rules. Many a kid, especially 1st year Bantams lead with their arms vs. angling with shoulders. Every Bantam game I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ve seen players take an elbow to the head because the kid initiating contact instinctually raised his hands at the last second. Make it a \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"point of emphasis\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" if you will with officials. Hands come up, it\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s a penalty, even if you didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t catch their head.

2) Reduce or eliminate the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"finish\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" rule. Essentially make it, if the kid doesn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t have the puck, he\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s not eligible to be hit or withing one or two tenths of a second. What is essentially a 1 second rule has turned into 2 to 3 seconds. If you start calling interference or roughing on these hits, the kids will figure it out pretty quick and create fewer opportunities for the mistakes.

3) Go to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"soft shell\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" only shoulder pads. You can keep the hard cap on the chest and back for protection but make the shoulder cap soft. When my kids don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t make the illegal check from #1, they tell me their barely feel the hit. No wonder, they are essentially wearing football shoulder pads at this point. Now imagine if it actually hurt when you skated 20 feet at full speed to blow that kid up.

4) Introduce hip checking in Pee Wee\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s. The hip check is an effective tool but a nearly lost art. Let the kids get proficient at this before they go all \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"all star wrestling\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" in Bantams. In fact, I think this plays nicely into the USA Hockey progressive body contact model and generally produces less force than the shoulder check. (Although this has a real potential to result in more knee injuries.)

5) Back to enforcement, start calling the charging, boarding, and elbows that didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t result in injury. It amazes me how if the kid lays on the ice, it\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s a penalty but if the kid pops back up, they just play on. In addition to calling them, make them 10 minute automatic game misconducts. If a kid ends up suspended for too many misconducts, I bet the coaches and parents stop saying \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"nice hit\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" and start teaching him.

6) Stop allowing crappy helmets to pass inspection. For example, the Bauer 4500 has been around for how many years yet is still readily available and worn far too often and has little ability to absorb the secondary hit of the head. Much like USA Baseball does with bats, start introducing some real and stringent testing with helmets. Warrior/CCM/Bauer: Here is the criteria you have to meet, don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t meet this, USA Hockey won\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t certify them and kids can\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t wear them. Permanent sticker on the back of the helmet that\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s easy to see..easy to enforce for on ice officials.

7) Start holding coaches accountable. If your team receives X number of game misconducts during a game, you are sitting a game. If it happens a second time you are suspended 20% of the season, third time you lose your certification for 1 year and have to attend on ice remedial training before being reinstated. I get it, town coaches are volunteers and club coaches aren\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t really getting paid much either & I sincerely appreciate all they do for the kids. However, they are the best line of defense and in my experience, either don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t know how to teach checking or just don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t care to.

Last and not least, a mandatory USA Hockey sanctioned clinic before the start of Bantom season that all players MUST attend before they can play a game. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m trying to give some love to the coaches.
You and your kid should not be playing hockey. If it doesn\\\\\\\'t work for you and your kid there are always street hockey leagues they can play in. If it\\\\\\\'s too physical for you and your kid, pick up a golf club. I\\\\\\\'m tired of listening to you snowflake and helicopter parents...
Interesting.

I have to wonder if you would hold to this opinion if your kid ever lost a good part of his season to a dirty hit?

(btw, we all know the answer to this)
Snowflake, it happens in the game of hockey and YES my kid has lost time because of it. He fully understands what can happen in a hockey game (good or bad). Now have your kid go pickup a golf club and take tennis lessons before he breaks a finger nail...
I bet you think the liberals want to take away your guns too, right? It's a common argumentative tactic when someone is either not intelligent enough to engage in a civil discussion or is forced to defend a ridiculous position. Fabricate a straw man argument by the opposition, and call it wimpy or un-American, to try and distract everyone from focusing on the real issue at hand. Good lord I'm tired of this tactic.
Buddy, give it a rest. Let's face it, your kid got lit up in a game and he was out for a while. Boo hoo. Happened to mine too...

Back to the original point.....checking should start at squirts....

a
anon
May 9, 2018 - 3:36PM
Re: Age For Checking

Now that's the way to add value to a reasonable discussion! I mean why have a real conversation about tweaking the sport before USA Hockey steps in and removes hitting all together & fundamentally changes the nature of the game. No it's not going to go anywhere, but it's enjoyable topic. Any more than the original question of "what age should they start checking?" is going to go anywhere.

No my kids didn't get cut, yes my kids played and play "elite" hockey. My oldest played through HS (public than prep), my middle two currently play HS and I'm not a snowflake. It's an interesting discussion, I'm sorry you are too obtuse to follow along and limit yourself to the enriching topic of E9 vs EHF.

So please go back to your cash register and "No, I don't want fries with that!"

a
Anon
May 7, 2018 - 2:37PM
Re: Age For Checking

Anon
I read somewhere that it has to do with kids that went through puberty or have not gone through it yet. At the peewee level its a pretty big jump between a 111/12 year old and a 13 year old.

Kids necks are not developed enough before puberty to be able to support the head during an impact.

Look at Pop Warner football - Numbers are way down because parents do not want to risk there kids long term health.

Another issue is there is no baseline testing so whenever a kid gets rocked - goes to Dr - Dr will always say its a concussion to be on the safe side.

This past year in peewees my kid ran into another kid head on. My kid was not right for 3 weeks. Constant headaches, sensitive to bright light. It was a real eye opener as to how much an effect this had on him.

Yes hitting is eventually going to happen. Not really sure what the right answer is and there might not even be one.

The other issue is that the long term effects of hitting usually come way after your kid is done playing so its hard to correlate the cause.
If your kid recovered completely in three weeks you should consider him and yourself lucky. I know kids that lost 2+months.

A lot of parents are casual on this issue because they figure it will only happen to someone else's kid.

a
anon
May 9, 2018 - 4:29PM
Re: Age For Checking

I read an article that Canada is thinking about only allowing checking to continue in Tier 1 level hockey. The argument was that Tier 1 players might continue playing the sport at a high level but Tier 2 and below is mainly for recreation and fun. Some of the Jr B leagues are blood bath leagues.

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