Stuff like this is clearly the fault of the coaches dont you think?

Question

I have had my kids in hockey long enough to know that the parents and coaches are at fault when things like this happen, and this stuff should not be tolerated, especially in a team where kids are just 8 years old.

I know we pulled our son out of it this year just because of idiotic coaches who take their roles MUCH TOO SERIOUSLY.

This should be about the kids, not about grown men asserting themselves making up for something they missed out on in life.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/canada_hockey_brawl

Not to take the onus off parents, either, they can be just as obsessed for the wrong reasons. I've seen good coaches and bad, my hubby coaches too, but this kind of stuff crosses the line.

I agree that the coaches are in control despite any arguments from parents, but sometimes, when the coach doesn't act in everyone's interest, that just isn't fair to the kids. That should be the first priority within this age group.

And all THIS on the heels of the new ruling in hockey for kids under ten which "won't be implemented this year" but will apply next season and I'm talking about the NO BODY CHECKING in hockey for kids under 10! Guess they'll have to take anger management courses instead. LOL

Answer 1

In my opinion there are 5 people that all contributed to this disaster - in order of most fault:

1) On ice officials - should of never let this escalate.
2) Coaches - set an example and the players will follow.
3) Parents - if kids had been taught that fighting does not solve problems, maybe they would of skated away.
4) Players - I bet almost all of them knew it was wrong and jumped in anyways.
5) OMHA - why do we need AAA Atom anyways?

Although there are a lot of things at work in the background that contributed to this thing, the on ice officials are responsible for taking control of the situation and not letting this thing happen. If the officials are too young to handle this type of situation, older officials must be used at the Atom AAA level.

Answer 2

Yes, I think it starts with the coaches who put too much of an emphasis on winning instead of developing skills and having fun at that level. I hate seeing coaches working on defensive system at practices instead of developing skills sets and injecting fun into the game. Is it any wonder we have so many big league players who have no respect for the other players on the ice?
We must also blame the parents who can turn a bad situation into something ugly. And we're not just talking about the fathers here either. Many hockey moms should be banned from the arenas for good as well as dads. It's just sad how parents try to make up for their shortcomings in life by pressuring their kids to live out their dreams and not what the kid wants. I should know, I have a sister like that who spoiled things for my nephew, who at one time was a very promising baseball player. Now he won't even play the game.

Answer 3

I don't know. I've coached amateur sports, and I can control my athletes a lot better than I can control their parents. I don't have the authority to take parents out of the venue for bad behavior, and while the athletes do as I say or they don't play, the parents have no such inhibition. I have actually had parents get in my face about not liking the way the game was going, so I'm not sure how responsible you can hold coaches for the behavior of other adults. The kids are really stuck in the middle. If they don't do as I say, they don't play, but they have to go home with their parents. When moms and dads don't handle themselves well, it's the kids who suffer in sports. (and in life) Sportsmanship on the part of the athletes is definately a coach issue, but there is only so much you can do with the parents.

Answer 4

OMG - 8 year olds!! Coaches and parents need to both be held accountable for this. As a parent, most people hold coaches responsible because they are supposedly in charge while the kids are on the ice. Kids should be disciplined to respect their coaches (if he/she is a good coach). The coach should have kept himself calm and stopped kids from jumping on the ice.

I'm not surprised that this occurred in the OMHA though. It's been going on for years.

Answer 5

i have been coaching youth hockey for 15 years and currently coach 9 and 10 year olds. the coaches should have done all they could to prevent this. its a winning at all costs thing with some people.... and honestly i have found the parents to be far worse than the coaches. yes the coaches are probably at fault here but usually its the parents who ruin it for the kids.

Answer 6

Yeah, it's pretty sad. It's not even about having fun anymore for these kids, it's all win, win, win. Let them worry about winning when they reach puberty, and let them motivate themselves on it, not someone else. And I agree with the first answer. It's also the parents' responsibility, too, NOT someone else's. The funny thing is (and this may be a typo on behalf of the article writer because I can't find it anymore) a Niagara PD staff-sergeant was part of the coaching staff for the Niagara team.

Answer 7

Really a sad state of affairs... I cna't say too much without being there, but it sounds to me like some parents and the coaches go way too over obsessed. It's not all about winning folks, especially not at that age.

Sad.

Answer 8

Coaches and parents who support coaches like that or fail to speak up and voice their concerns. When you have a whole clique of people like that in an organization there isn't much you can do about it however. Good for you for leaving. I wouldn't put my kids in that environment either.

As for what happened there: Monkey see, monkey do--if it wasn't a kid who started that fiasco, it was an adult, and kids just do as their taught to do at that age. They should all be ashamed.

Answer 9

Ya...I think the parents are to blame too. I mean if you go to the practices and have seen some of the games you know how your kid is being coached...and if you went to the coach and they told you what they would normally tell you "No one is going to tell me how to coach"...then you go to the association...and they usually back the coaches too...next you'd go to your local district./USA hockey affiliate or Canadian hockey affiliate and complain and pull your kid off the team.

Answer 10

I would also point some of the blame at the parents. If coaches are teaching children things that are contrary to what parents believe are good and true, they should either remove their child from that situation or teach their child that the behavior is not "correct" and encourage their child to learn how to act in a given situation. Teach your children that is okay to go against the grain. Teach them to question. :)