Bad headlines are bad for business
A rash of troubling youth hockey headlines causes grave concern
Did anyone see the headlines that came out for youth hockey this week? Unfortunately, the headlines were not about an incredible charitable donation from a local youth hockey team. The headlines were not about a youth hockey player reaching the pinnacle of hockey, and joining an NHL team. Not even close.
Instead, the headlines this week were about two of the very worst issues facing our community. The first headline is about a young female goalie who was verbally abused by spectators at a High School hockey game in Kittanning, Pa. just outside of Pittsburg. Here is a link to that story:
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-high-school-female-goalie-harassed-fans-banned-20211104-slco2fsaofed5kylicsn4tc3vq-story.html
On this one you can clearly hear the sickening chants:
https://www.tmz.com/2021/11/03/armstrong-mars-high-school-hockey-chants-female-goalie/?adid=social-twa
“She’s a wh**e” . Jesus, what if that was your daughter? No one did anything, said anything at the time. The poor goalie just did her best to ignore the sexist abuse and did what she loves to do: play the game. What a strong and impressive young lady. Her name has not been released because all she wants to do is play the sport she loves. Good for her. Bad for parents for allowing this kind of behavior, because as we all know it starts at home, where one wonders how their mothers are treated. Sickening.
The second is the all too common brawl at the rink at a youth hockey game. You know the kind: where the players get into it on the ice and the parents get into it in the stands. In my time in youth hockey I have probably seen 3 or 4 of these situations happen, though between the referees and the rink officials, things were de-escalated before the police had to be called. Check it out here: https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/11/11/tewksbury-raynham-youth-hockey-players-parents-fight-video/
An update: https://www.wcvb.com/article/additional-video-of-youth-hockey-brawl-in-tewksbury/38227641#
Four parents suspended and police charges pending. Umm, it’s youth hockey. I have learned enough to know that long after the score is forgotten, the feeling of dread and disappointment will linger for a long, long time. It is easy to look at these two incidents in a vacuum. But,when you think about the broader implications, it is a grim reminder of what is at stake if parents can’t control their children and themselves.
When you look around the country, there are many areas where the hockey numbers are way down. Teams are merging to keep the kids skating. Why is that happening? It is a direct result of these headlines. Yelling sexual abuse at a female goalie, throwing haymakers at other parents at a youth hockey game. Honestly it is pathetic what is happening.
Think about parents who are now considering putting their sons or daughters into hockey for a second. I wonder what their reaction might be? Do they want to sign up for this? As one woman said in the first video from Massachusetts, this kind of aggressive behavior is happening at the 8U level, from what she has seen. She’s 100% right. I’ve seen it too, we all have. Consider sports like tennis, golf, track and field. When was the last time you heard about a brawl in the stands at a tennis match? I want to say zero times, though maybe there is a video from Switzerland that will prove me wrong, but you get my drift. Hockey is one of the most physical sports available to young athletes, and it is that physicality, if left unchecked, that can lead to these pathetic and disturbing actions. Fans going after a female goalie in the most disgusting manner possible. Players and parents who can not control themselves causing a scene and injuring people. For youth hockey. For many parents, this is a deal breaker and it will prove to be very bad for the hockey business.
We can’t play hockey if there are no refs. We can't play hockey if a corporate insurance company will not insure the local rink because of physical injuries due to fans and player brawls. One of these days someone on the receiving end of a punch to the face will drop a lawsuit on a rink, and that could be enough to shut a rink down. We can't play hockey if parents are worried about placing their kids into the sport. And, who can blame them?
By now, we all get that these incidents are bad examples. We all get that the kids should not have to see this. This is youth hockey. Stop telling me that, we all get that, but it doesn't stop. Maybe every rink needs to have a police officer on hand as the local high schools games often do. There is no doubt that people behave differently when there is a police officer at the rink, that’s just facts. The teenaged general manager can not be left to stop this, nor can we rely on the refs who barely want to ref these days with the sheer amount of abuse they take during a normal game. Getting involved in these bust ups is not worth the 75.00 they make on the game. Let the idiots fight it out.
Thankfully the young lady was back between the pipes this week. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mars-high-school-female-hockey-goalie-sexist-chants/
This strong and impressive young woman who has remained out of the spotlight, played to sold out crowds.People who wanted to be there to support her. To let everyone know that the youth hockey community is more than abusive language, more than fighting parents. It’s moments like this where we are reminded that at the heart of hockey is a good soul. That has to be expressed louder than idiots. Louder than bigots. Louder than sexists. If we let these issues continue, if we let damaged people ruin the game for all of us, then we will lose the game that we all love, and it won’t come back.
I do all of the work on this newsletter myself and I love doing it. The feedback has been excellent so far, because youth hockey is a huge part of our lives. So if you like it, please share it with your hockey parents and friends. I want to grow it, but can’t do it alone. I need your help to make it happen. It’s free to sign up with optional paid experiences. Thank you!