Being the only girl in a family with 2 boys and my Dad and
growing up in the '60s and '70s, every Saturday night was spent watching Hockey night in
Canada. I grew up in a small town where the only thing to do was
hockey. Everyone played and those that didn't supported the teams. Every
fella I ever dated played hockey and I have great memories of hockey games and
parties.
Somewhere along the line, I lost my love of hockey and I believe I lost it
based on the fact that the NHL has taken a grass roots game and made it
into the WWF on ice. I hate the 'goonism' that has become the norm.
I hate just about every comment that comes out of Don Cherry's mouth about what a
lousy player this one or that one is because he won't go into the corner. Whatever happened to the sport of hockey? Where did it go? The
fans love nothing but a good fight and controversy over bad refs, bad calls, etc.
I would never have encouraged my son (now 9) to play hockey because of my now
contempt for the game. However, he was born with the Canadian
hockey gene and since he was 4 years old, eats, drinks and sleeps hockey. I
go to his games and practices and love it. It is pure hockey for the sake
of hockey. Not hockey to be the best or to only win. Not hockey
to slam someone into the boards. Not hockey where someone gets kicked out of
a game for swearing at the ref (and everyone chuckles). I believe it is
this way because these children have not yet been tainted by all of that.
There is no checking at this level. This is where it begins.
Once we give these kids the ability to check, it changes the game.
They forget their skills and look forward to the next check. Mix this new
opportunity with emerging high levels of testosterone (my apologies to the
girls on our team!) and the tendency towards violence and competition at
all costs we have in our society these days, and you are opening a can
of worms.
I believe the best way to keep hockey clean, pure and enjoyable as a sport
is to keep it no-contact. I have had this discussion with many male
friends including my father and brothers and they all have the same argument.
Can't do it because if they don't learn to take a check when they are younger,
they will never last in the NHL. Grow up boys - these kids are
probably not going to make it to the NHL. With somewhere less than 1000 players
in the entire NHL, not all from Canada but drawn from the States and Europe, what
are the odds that your little Atom is going to make it to the NHL.
Why set up this kind of expectations in our kids. Let them dream - nothing
wrong with that but instead of preparing them to be goons so they can make it in
the NHL, why not teach them to just enjoy the game, stay in shape and come
out with all their body parts intact so they can shake hands with the members of the other team and go have a beer with them in
the true
Canadian hockey tradition.
Take hockey back to grass roots and win me back again along with many
others who feel the same way.
