For the Attention of USA Hockey
Dear Dave Ogrean, Nancy Chase, Michele Amidon, Joe Doyle, Marc Boxer and Keith Gizzi
With deep respect, I write to you because I am concerned about my son’s safety and the safety of every child, teen and young adult that participates in youth ice hockey. I know you share this concern. Hockey is a skilled sport and it is a physical sport, but it is not a reckless sport. We know more today than we did yesterday about the impact of checking and reckless hits on our children and the damage any neck, head, and back contact can cause them. USA Hockey has the opportunity to raise the safety standards for youth ice hockey and reduce harm to our children. We know we can not prevent injuries but we can strive to reduce them.
My son is in his 2nd year of Peewee hockey. He has played in over 75 games since checking was introduced. I know the difference between physical play and reckless play. Reckless play is not an intention; it is behavior that must be managed through the use of safety standards, rules and firm penalties. Current rules and penalties are inadequate or antiquated. They can be improved based on what we now know as a culture today. I know this is a rule change year for USA Hockey. I applaud you for being open to change. It is badly needed.
I am a cognitive behavioral therapist working out of a major hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. My 20 years of experience supports my statements about the weakness in the current rules and penalties for youth ice hockey. I hope you use my expertise and others, such as the Mayo Clinic, to change the rules and better protect our children and youth players.
The current rules are made for adults and they are based on an adult’s capacity to understand and reason. We need rules based on what works for youth players and children. Their cognitive development and capacities are different then adults and change as they mature. Current rules are inconsistently called and carry very little corrective punishment to prevent and reduce reckless unwanted behaviors such as head hits and boarding.
As the leaders of USA Hockey, I am sure you understand the basic principles for extinguishing or removing unwanted (reckless) behaviors. That is, the punishment must be mandatory and consistently given and the consequence must be severe, in the case of any youth player, that breaks the rules. The punishment must be immediate and perceived as severe in the mind of youth players in order to better reduce unwanted reckless player behavior in youth hockey. This will help them learn and improve their game play. Better rules will lead to a decrease in concussions and other injuries.
The key is not only to address rule changes but insure all the mandatory penalties (as already defined by USA Hockey) get called. You already have many mandatory/zero tolerance penalties that are not called frequently or consistently by any stretch. For example, Rule 601 has behavior standards for players that use obscene language, argue or bang their stick once called for a penalty. Consistently calling these zero tolerance/mandatory penalties will shape behavior and lead to removing a player from the game, if they can not compose themselves. You must have composed players on the ice or children will get hurt. You know you could add an off-ice referee that focuses on 601 violations and dangerous player contact. Parents would pay to have that as an option.
Players
A penalty (Zero Tolerance) shall be assessed whenever a player
(please refer to Rule 601 for appropriate penalty):
1. Openly disputes or argues any decision by an official.
2. Uses obscene or vulgar language at any time, including any
swearing, even if it is not directed at a particular person.
3. Visually demonstrates any sign of dissatisfaction with an official’sdecision.
Any time that a player persists in any of these actions, additional
penalties shall be assessed per the penalty progression established under Rule 601.
You put great effort in creating a zero tolerance web-site link that describes what zero tolerance is and it clearly defines behavior standards. It isn’t fully followed or enforced when youth players break those rules. USA Hockey must focus on methods for fully and harshly penalizing the 5% of reckless players and for better protecting the 95% of players that play with respect. Remove the 5% of reckless players from the game, immediately that day. Why tolerate the few? Build a set of rules for the 95% of respectful players. What exactly do I mean by 5% of reckless players? It is only a handful of repeat offenders that are continued problems during games and pose high risks to other players on the game ice.
Yes, injuries and reckless hits occur from the other 95%. That is why hockey is a physical sport. Create rules that immediately remove both reckless players and reckless play from the ice for neck, head, and back contact. They can play again tomorrow. This will work for the 100% of the youth players. It will reduce reckless behavior. It will reduce injury and harm to our children.
Check the Wrong the Way (safety & respect) You Don’t Play Again That Day
Your zero tolerance behavior standards are not discretionary penalties. It states a penalty shall be called. I know two children that would have not received concussions if these additional penalties were assessed. Two players had multiple penalties for head related contact and cursed the referee’s calls relentlessly while in the penalty box on several occasions. The other twenty eight players on the ice were playing with respect. You have rules and penalties to protect the players. You must improve your standards for having these penalties called consistently. We, as parents, are no longer going to tolerate the argument that the penalty is there but the referee has discretion. No. Not for youth ice hockey.
I ask you deeply to look at penalties from an alternative perspective. The players that already play with skill, respect and safety in mind, take the rules seriously. There are players that play with skill but have little concern for respectful and safe play (the reason is unimportant). You have coaches that fall on both ends of the spectrum. Don’t risk the well being of 95% of the youth hockey players because of the 5% of reckless players and coaches. You don’t need the 5% that can’t adjust to rule changes.
Strengthen the rules by including a mandatory immediate in-game suspension for neck, head, and back contact. It will decrease the number of head, neck, and dangerous back hits. The 95% that already follow the rules will be even more careful, the 5% that have little worry about a 2 and 10 will be removed from the ice. In either case, the new penalty is not about intentions; it is about what won’t be tolerated. Any youth player will learn more quickly to change and regulate their behavior if they have to immediately sit. They will have to learn to change their behavior if they want to continue to play youth ice hockey. Put the pain on the reckless players, not the victimized players.
Penalties are not about giving players another chance to try again in a few minutes. They are about discouraging unwanted reckless behavior and protecting children. At the NHL level, discretionary oversight by the referees is a good thing. In youth ice hockey leagues, it is a plague. Dangerous hits to the neck, head, and back should not be left to the discretion of the referees and the coaches. Coaches need to recognize they are responsible and accountable for managing reckless player behavior or face game penalties and loss.
A penalty for coaches that fail to manage reckless team behavior should come in the form of a new rule. A team that has been called for three penalties for contact to a player’s neck, head, or back will forfeit the game. Not unlike the use of yellow and red cards in soccer. Remove discretion from the referees and coaches when it comes to dangerous reckless contact. Make penalties that behaviorally work. I would be glad to discuss behavioral principles with you to help remove the most dangerous types of contact from a wonderfully skilled and physical sport.
Finally, if you feel I am or parents are asking too much by changing safety standards across the board, please adopt a 2nd set of rules for leagues and clubs that want to follow safety standards for a Fair Play youth ice hockey alternative. This Fair Play alternative would include the above “new” penalties for head, neck, and back contact. It would include modifications for checking. It would add scoring components for teams that exhibit respectful and safe play during the game. There are few if any alternatives for our youth ice hockey players in the US. The Fair Play alternative is a way to meet the needs of everyone. We can be innovative and creative.
I have communicated with hundreds of parents. They would all chose the Fair Play alternative to the standard youth league. You know why? They just want their children to be as safe as possible while they play a game they love. We know our children aren’t going to the NHL. We just want to help them dream and help them keep their dreams alive as long as we can. Hockey culture change is within your hands and influence. Innovation and change is good.
Please Help Us & Our Children,
Gary Pilarchik, LCSW-C
Please visit by blog for more information about this matter.
We are planning to launch a web-site for parents in December.
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