There is a lot you can do in a minute. We need parents to send emails to their clubs, leagues, board members, USA Hockey, and anyone else involved in making decisions about youth ice hockey safety standards. More specifically we are asking parents to express their concern about the number of concussions and injuries occurring because of contact made to our children’s necks, heads, and backs. We understand hockey is physical sport but it is not a reckless sport. We want improved safety standards to reduce this type of contact. We don’t want explanations for why things are. We want action to change deficient safety standards as away to reduce injury in youth ice hockey. We can’t prevent injuries but we can reduce injuries.
Here are some things you might cut and paste into your emails:
Email One:
Youth ice hockey is a physical sport but it is not a reckless sport. I have noticed players getting hit in the neck, back, and head too often. The current penalties aren’t preventing this behavior. What changes are you planning to make to address this real concern?
Email Two:
There simply is not enough time being spent on teaching our children how to check and how to protect themselves when being checked. I want the club and coaches to dedicate more time toward teaching the players how to protect themselves on the ice.
Email Three:
Checking is a skill. Checking leagues are about introducing and using a new skill. I haven’t noticed skilled checking. I have noticed a lot of reckless hitting during games. What are you going to do to change this? You can’t allow children to learn to check by just sending them out on the ice to hit each other. We need more training for the players and better penalties to discourage hits to the head.
Email Four:
Everyone knows there are great discrepancies in height and weight for players between the ages of 10-16. Do you really expect a 70 pound child to get hit by a 120 pound child and not get hurt? What are you doing to address and manage this safety issue? Should a child that hasn’t hit their growth spurt be at a disadvantage? What about allowing players to stay down a level based on weight or advancing a player up a level based on weight. Age is a poor measure for defining levels of play.
Email Five:
Why do most penalties seem to be at the discretion of the referee? What about the mandatory penalties in the rules? Don’t you take hits to the head, neck, and back seriously? Don’t you think penalties should be harsh and mandatory as to significantly discourage players and prevent the hits from even happening? Assessing a penalty afterwards is not preventative. Giving a player 2 minutes, 2 and 10, 5, or 5 and 10 based on discretion and injury is not the best way to protect our children. Keep these penalties for the bench to serve and add a new penalty that removes the player that made the hit from the game. Teach them.
Email Six:
We have learned how damaging concussions can be and we have hundreds of professionals telling us to change checking. Some say remove it, some say delay it, some say modify it, and some want stronger penalties that really make a child think before they act. I have noticed very little training to teach our children how to check properly and how to protect themselves. What are you doing about this?
Email Seven:
My concern is you unknowingly tolerate hits to the head, neck, and back. I believe you have safety in mind but the culture of youth ice hockey is stale. The penalties are old and out dated. We now know how damaging concussions can be. We also know that direct head contact is the major cause of concussions and injury. The penalties are too weak. This is not the NHL, it is youth ice hockey. It is physical game but not a reckless game. Why don’t you ban hits to the neck, head, and back as a One and Done penalty? Make the penalties in youth hockey, for hits to the head, a mandatory game ejection. Save discretion for the NHL. Protect our children. Let the players that follow the rules play.
Email Eight:
I don’t care what the intention was or is. If a player hits my son in the head, I want that player out of the game to think about what he did. They can learn by not playing. We can’t tolerate any hits to the neck, head, or back. These are children. Punish them for what we know as adults to be harmful with a real penalty. NO HITS to the head - ever, or you sit the rest of the game.
Email Nine:
Checking is the most damaging aspect of youth hockey and it is the least taught. What aren’t you doing more to thoroughly teach my child how to check as not to injury a fellow player? Why aren’t you teaching my child how to protect themselves on the ice? Shouldn’t this skill be like a 6 hour serious training? Checking causes injury and I don’t see the players being adequately taught how to do it. Can you please improve the way you teach them?
Email Ten:
I paid for my child to play in a league based on specific rules I was provided via USA Hockey. The rules aren't being followed and enforced as written. There are mandatory penalty calls that aren't being made. This is not what I paid for. If you're not going to enforce the rules please create safer leagues. I would like an alternative league that is more about skills and technique then harm and hitting. I think checking has a place in hockey but I want an alterntative to a full checking league. What is wrong with only allowing shoulder to shoulder checks as a method to move the player off the puck? There must be alternative leagues that I can pay to have my child play in. Would you be interested in forming a new type of league?
