Adults in minor hockey need a lot of coaching, too

By Andrea DeMeer, QMI Agency

Posted 15 hours ago

Stop the presses.

It has been just revealed that parents and coaches contribute to aggressive and dangerous play in minor hockey.
Up next in headline news: Smoking causes cancer.
In a survey published by the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, a majority of minor hockey referees blew the whistle on fans and coaches, saying they are often key players in games that skate out of control.
If an official can’t control a game, the safety of all on-ice participants is at risk.
Nine out of 10 referees reported being the subject of verbal abuse during hockey games, and nearly half of the
632 respondents have been threatened with physical violence.
Moreover — and perhaps ironically to some — these referees see what many folks in the stands apparently miss.
When grownups show a lack of respect for rules and a disrespect for officials, children are not far behind.
The glass at the rink works both ways.
If you are that red-faced, spluttering hockey parent hurling insults and making obscene gestures at the linesman, your child is likely on the ice engaged in his or her own trash talk, provoking his or her next concussion. Oh, and you look like an idiot.

Behaviour on the bench is even more critical, especially when young children are playing.

Coaches and trainers are role models. Their job is to teach skills.
Skills include skating, stickhandling, also how to handle frustration, recognize that life — and sometimes even things more important like hockey — isn’t fair, and how to abide by rules even when you don’t agree with them.
Yelling at referees is so commonplace it is cultural, almost as much as the game itself.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t be changed.
Minor hockey associations should provide more education for parents about the game, the rules and the expectations.
There need to be tougher penalties for abusive parents.
Arena staff and managers should be more involved and empowered to remove disruptive fans.
Aggressive coaches need greater censure.
At the end of the day, the rink is the workplace for hockey officials and they deserve a safe and respectful one.
Even — you know — the blind ones.