Being a Hockey Parent

At 11 or 12 or whatever they are bigger, stronger, faster. They have watched the older boys and pro's and can't wait to start checking. The problem is they don't know the first thing about giving a check or more importantly how to take, absorb or avoid one. For years they play with no knowledge of what checking is like then one day Johnny comes across the blue line with his head down and gets plastered by some big kid going 100 miles an hour just looking to clean his clock because he's waited years to do it. If they are taught early it wouldn't be such a "big deal" it would be just part of the game that they have learned like skating and stick handling.

Now, I'll open an even bigger can of worms, fighting. I think fighting should be taught as well, not so much the hitting but how to protect yourself. Kids that are talented can play at the Jr. level at sixteen playing against guys that are 20-21. Your kid is gonna fight if he wants to or not, it's going to happen. A sixteen year old getting his helmet ripped off and hammered by a 20 year old is not a pretty site. I had the boys work with a close friend that played for Boston College and played semi-pro on how to keep their balance, where to grab, how to clutch, how to fall, what to look for as far as what hand is going to be thrown etc. All in an effort to protect them from getting their a$$ handed to them. Mitch's first real fight was against a 20 year old and he was sixteen. He held his own, got in a couple and I would have called it a draw (I'm his dad ). The point is he didn't get killed because he knew the basics of how to protect himself. He turned into a solid fighter that fought when he needed to protect himself or a team mate. I'm not saying I liked it, I'm just saying that I'm glad he learned the basics early.

If checking and fighting are "part of the game" they need to be taught, early.