Niagara Falls minor hockey looking at options after Hockey Canada move

Niagara Falls minor hockey will look at teaching some of its younger players how to give and take a hit after the sport?s national governing body voted to eliminate bodychecking at the peewee level.

Hockey Canada announced at its annual general meeting Saturday that, starting this fall, bodychecking would begin at bantam when players are 13-14 years old.

There is no hitting at the house league level.

?I think it?s a good thing. I support it 100%,? NFMHA president Butch Sacco said. ?I think what Hockey Canada did was in the best interest of young players today.?

The vote was necessitated after a recent study showed a significant increase in injuries, including concussions, in peewee players in Alberta who were allowed to bodycheck versus those the same age in Quebec, where hitting is banned in peewee.

Sacco said the topic will come up at the NFMHA meeting in July. He?d like to bring someone in to teach players in major atom and peewee ? whether it?s every two weeks or once a month ? how to properly handle contact to prepare them for bantam.

Hockey Canada said it will develop a bodychecking standard for coaching beginning in the 2014-15 season.

?It?s gotta start way back at younger ages and you have to get qualified people in to teach this,? Sacco said. ?It?s going to be difficult because you have volunteers, and nothing against them but a lot aren?t qualified to teach body contact unless they have experience.?

Niagara Falls Canucks head coach Terry Masterson applauded the move. Masterson has coached minor hockey for seven years at different times throughout his career.

?Another year away from (hitting) won?t hurt, and it?s good for (preventing) concussions,? he said. ?A lot of these concussions start when kids are little. They?ll get better refereeing a year later.?

Many of Masterson?s junior B teams through the years have been built on physical intimidation, but the longtime coach acknowledges the game is changing.

?I don?t think it?s going to hurt the game at all,? he said. ?They have to work on their skating and skills before they?re physical.

?It doesn?t matter who wins or loses at that level, it?s about development.?

cory.smith@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: CoryatNFR

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We asked readers what they thought of Hockey Canada's decision over the weekend to ban bodychecking in peewee hockey ? ages 11-12. Here are some of the responses:

Jennie Fraser: "I think it's probably a good thing. Young kids of that age are not always in control of their anger (obviously there are some adults guilty of this as well), but besides that point, I think there are far more important hockey skills they could be working on instead."

Martin Letourneau: "Perhaps we should also remove the puck, skates and ice. We could bubble wrap them and they could play on air mattresses."

Rick O'Banion: "While well meaning, I think it will cause more injuries in the long run. The longer they have the habit of being able to skate while looking down, the longer it will take to break them of it and the more times they will get hit hard when they move up to bantam."

Source: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2013/05/27/nfmha-looking-at-options-after-hockey-canada-move

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