What is Heads Up Hockey?: The Program Guide for Safer Play

Here is the link to the PDF guide Heads Up Hockey Guide and Manual

Heads Up Hockey was designed to protect the players. Bottom line - it is a whole manual that instructs coaches how to teach skills to better protect your child when on the ice. It is already done. It is detailed and smart. So the question is - Why isn't it fully, thoroughly, repeatatively, consistently, and etc. TAUGHT?

This is where parents can get involved and tell the clubs and leagues to teach it or to help develop a way for it to be taught. Either method will work, the latter is better.

The HUH (which is what we should be saying to ourselves for not getting more invovled) program states on the front: Safer Hockey, Smarter Hockey, Better Hockey. That is what we want for our kids, the youth players.

Section One is called: Head Injuries Are Preventable.
Is not called Head Injuries are Part of the Game. They do occur but we can reduce the frequency.

Section Two is called: Playing Heads Up Hockey.
It has 6 sections. The first five have to do with "Heads Up", "Angling In", "Hitting the Boards", "Taking A Check", and "Giving A Check". The sixth section talks about reckless hockey.

Im am not saying coaches and clubs don't teach aspects of the above. I am saying they are just under-taught. My opinion is they are essential to every child that plays youth ice hockey and should be taught yearly in a very structured program. We have a great coach, some clubs don't. Some clubs might have great coaches if the coaches had more support and resources. I don't think it should be left up to the coach to teach the Heads Up Hockey. It should be mandated by the clubs and leagues. The club is responsible for supporting the volunteer coaches and educating them and for providing them the tools to best teach and manage a team. As parents, we can influence clubs and leagues to improve safety (period). Check out the link and get involved. The ground works is already laid out to reduce injuries. Why not help create an adjunct program to your local youth ice hockey programs?