THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
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HE SAYS Equipment, supervision make youth hockey safe By Paul E. Kandarian, 2/25/2001
This is the second ''She Says/He Says,'' paired columns that will run occasionally on issues known to divide (or even enrage) couples - particularly married ones.This week's topic: Whether safety-conscious parents should let young children play football or ice hockey.
In youth hockey, young bodies fly down the rock-hard surface of the ice on razor-sharp steel blades, slamming into one another and crashing to the ice in a heap of twisted arms, legs, and heads.
In youth basketball, young bodies gracefully jog down court, jumping and shooting, turning to run back the other way, a symphony of motion that is mercifully short on body contact.
So what's the more injury-riddled sport?
Think again, hoop fans - it's basketball. According to an injury summary of youth sports (ages 5 to 14) from 1995 to 1998 from the National Injury Information Clearinghouse, basketball ranked Number One. And hockey? It's number nine - way down the list behind football, baseball/softball, soccer, swimming (yes, swimming), inline skating, and lacrosse/rugby.
Some of this may owe to the fact that fewer kids play hockey than basketball, but that argument is fast losing ground. According to USA Hockey, the governing body of virtually all youth hockey in the United States, Massachusetts has the third-highest membership in the nation, with 43,120, behind only New York (46,410) and hockey-rabid Michigan (57,505).
The reality is, kids playing hockey are encased in protective gear literally head to toe, making it one of the safest sports kids can play, despite what some parents (who know little about hockey) feel. Matt Leaf knows; he is the director of officiating education programs for USA Hockey nationwide.
''Changes in rules over the course of the last decade have addressed some of the concerns regarding violence and unsportsmanlike conduct,'' Leaf says, referring to penalties against late hits and hitting from behind, penalties that include having the offender being tossed out of the game.
USA Hockey also works closely with the Hockey Equipment Certification council, an industry group that certifies hockey equipment (if a helmet does not carry the HEC label, it's simply not allowed to be worn in youth hockey), and with manufacturers of gear to make sure all equipment is safe.
''Without question, hockey ranks right up there with being one of the safest sports for kids,'' Leaf says.
I know up close and personal about safe play, since I've been coaching youth hockey for several years. Hockey is a contact sport, and to some parents' incredulousness, we do hold ''checking clinics'' to teach kids the proper and safe way to hit. This is a much better way to learn than by themselves.
Even with this, in most youth hockey organizations checking is not allowed until the kids are 11 or 12 years old. And in a game, if a ref spots a kid without proper equipment, he can - and will - stop play until things are fixed. We had a kid this year missing a tiny earflap that no one noticed except the ref. The kid couldn't play until this was addressed, and the coaches didn't argue - for safety's sake.
The problem with hockey is perception. Most people who don't know the sport equate all of it with the goon stuff they've seen on TV. Trust me, in all the years I've been in youth hockey, I've never seen anything remotely resembling pro-style violence - at least, on the ice.
The adults are another matter. Sadly, we occasionally see stories about idiot parents fighting in the stands, with the tragic case of one father beating another to death last year in Andover. And moronic adult behavior isn't limited to parents; our adult team beat a good Duxbury team recently and, later, the head coach brushed off the handshake with our head coach, then complained to the refs and anyone who would listen that we had ringers on our team (we did not). Clearly, his problem is he can't stand losing. But this type of coaching - and idiotic behavior by parents - is rare.
Youth hockey is, and will continue to be, one of the safest ways kids can express themselves athletically. It's a sport that demands team play and selfless contribution to the overall effort of the game. Kids get banged around, sure, and occasionally get hurt. But it could be worse.
Hey, it could be basketball.
E-mail Kandarian at [email protected]. Or, continue this conversation online by going to www.boston.com/globe/she-he.
This story ran on page W02 of the Boston Globe on 2/25/2001.
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