Below is my letter to Bud and the Huskies. I felt the meeting was very productive. I provided 10 suggestions based on my opinion and others ideas. I encourage all parents to write down their suggestions to improve safety and send them forward. None of the ideas are earth shattering. They just need a strong voice. I think we have that in Bud and the Huskies and most of the clubs. We just need to the CBHL to adopt them.
Morning,
I’ve been active and vocal because of player safety and because my son loves hockey. I wanted to really thank you both for your time. I believe there is great concern for the youth players in the Huskies organization and in the CBHL. I realize I am pushing quick change and I do feel the CBHL is on the threshold of significant change to improve the safety of the players. Delay, sadly, means greater chance of harm to children. That concerns drives me.
What I liked about the meeting was that it focused on action and on ideas of change and not on short-comings or excuses. It is understood that parents, coaches, referees, clubs, and the league may be good, bad, and between – yet, good or bad, all pieces have responsibility in quickly reducing risks and addressing best practice safety changes. Parents can’t create change without the club and the club can’t institute change without the league. We can not do this alone. By focusing on and expanding the good within youth ice hockey we can improve youth ice hockey for everyone
I would not down play the Huskies experience, professionalism, and strengths. Making change within the CBHL is the right avenue. However, if the CBHL, as an institution, has become too large, too slow to change, or too overwhelmed… a new league developed by the character of the Huskies, as I witnessed last night, and other passionate parties within the CBHL would be successful. The CBHL has to take a fresh look at its institutional process for prompt changes and see what can be improved. Please don’t let organizational debris slow the process. Waiting brings risks to children. It is the living people that volunteer that make the CBHL successful.
That being said… the method to make behavior change, be it youth ice hockey or employees at Wal-Mart, is structure. Structure, that on a daily basis reinforces, in my opinion, the Zero Tolerance of all unwanted behavior.
I would suggest the following safety issues in some form be adopted into the CBHL. I would be glad to help in away in their design and implementation. I recognize the current system manages the 98% of players, etc very well. But it is the 2% that cause great harm and probably takes up 98% of your time that could be spent elsewhere. These changes will improve safety for 100% of the players but only really impact the 2% of problem characters. 98% of the clubs and club members will applaud these changes and make the acceptance of the changes seamless. If the 2% can’t accept the changes, they can walk out or be shown the door.
1. Adopt a Zero Tolerance Referee/Sportsmanship position that randomly attends games. Their responsibility is behavior. Cost is an issue. It is money well spent. Identify a trigger mechanism that would determine the need of ZT refs for problematic games.
2. Provide parents, coaches, and players feedback questionnaires that can be filled out after each game about key areas of concern. Online would be best. You can’t over rely on penalty minutes. Or use some other sort of game assessment that grades behavior.
3. Institute game video review and educate all parties that video will be used randomly to manage potential problematic behavior and unwanted behavior. Ask for volunteers to video the games. Players, coaches, and parents will be reviewed for behavior. Let people now they are being evaluated. Let them know their actions on video may lead to disciplinary actions. Put it in the player's heads that a referee missing a call is not always a free pass.
4. Print out the core elements of the Zero Tolerance Policy and hang banners on the player benches and in the entrances to all youth ice hockey activities. These elements must be visible 24/7. It is the key to structure change and behavioral change. It is the focusing point for all disciplinary actions.
5. Instruct the Referees to fully enforce all components of Zero Tolerance and have them address the benches before each game for 60 seconds. This focuses the refs, players, and coaches on safety. Every game, every time.
6. Your penalties are too weak for the 2% that do the most harm. Your idea of progressive suspension like in your fighting rule is outstanding. Impacting the bench and outcome of the game is also needed for reckless hits and fouls. Adjust penalties.
7. Problematic players need to be given additional assignments that educate them on their behavior and teach them the appropriate way to behave. You can develop or purchase videos, create written assignments, and volunteer requirements. Most importantly, you must make the punished player earn their way back to the ice, not just serve time. Hockey is not a right, it is a privilege. This should be the CBHL's mantra.
8. You need to engage all parents in some capacity when it comes to their children’s safety and related changes. Surveys, parent advisor positions, work-groups, (what you did last night) monthly meetings, and other mechanism that invests the parents are needed. Several parent positions to the board or in a safety committee might be a starting point. The point is to work together.
9. All volunteers must be trained and supported monthly. Coaches, penalty box guy, score-sheet gal, and mangers. A structured volunteer program will not only create a safer game but will bring you more volunteers. The biggest deterrent to volunteering is lack of organizational support and structure.
10. Finally, you need a best practice standard generated by your clubs for your clubs. My son must be part of USA Hockey to join the club. A club must meet the CBHL’s best practice standards to participate in the League. Take the best components of each club and make it a requirement for all clubs. Again structure.
If you institute rule, structure, and policy changes that solely focus on safety, education, and Zero Tolerance… you will quickly see cultural and behavior change. The greatest barrier right now is fear of change. Identifying and implementing change is easy. Agreeing on change is difficult. I beg all clubs to look toward the greater good of one less injury to a child. Stop protecting the 2%. You don't need them.
You all know what needs to be done, not by my email, but because you all have already identified it and discussed it over the years. Nothing I suggest is new. The road-block now is on agreeing how to do it. Some things need a vote; other things need to be implemented without discussion. Democracy regarding safety improvement is not always the best policy.
Thanks,
Gary
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