HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-03-16, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1988.
Letter to the editor
Hockey parent wants violence out of game
DEAR MINOR HOCKEY PAR
ENTS OF ONTARIO:
I am writing this letter to you as a
fellow minor hockey parent and
coach, because I need your opin
ion, and your help. e
Over the past six or seven years I
have become increasingly appall
ed at the amount of unnecessary
violence and use of intimidation
tactics that seem to have become
part of minor hockey. I am now at
the point where I have decided that
my three boys will not be allowed to
play OMHA hockey beyond the
Atom level (body contact starts at
the PeeWee age group) unless
something is done to clean up the
game. If you have had, or are
having, the same thoughts, then
perhaps we can join together and
help change this great game for the
better.
What I am proposing toyou is the
elimination of body contact in all
levels of minor hockey. Tyke,
Novice, Atom, Oldtimers, and
most men’s Rec. leagues now play
no contact hockey and I don’t think
you’d find many of them saying
that the game has deteriorated
because of the lack of hitting. To
the contrary, most will tell you that
both the speed of the game and the
skill of the players have increased.
My personal opinion is that a
combination of high emotions,
sometimes questionable coaching
tactics, a feeling of invulnerability,
and inconsistent officiating, all
combine to present a problem with
too many variables to al low for a
quick solution under the present
format. I feel a major change is
necessary, and that the elimination
of body contact is the answer.
1 have taken the following
statistics from a recent Hockey
Development Council pamphlet to
help illustrate a point:
1. There are approximately
38,855 players registered with the
OMHA and another 150,000 in
House Leagues.
2. There are only 300 players in
the OHL (Mjr. Jr. A), which is the
main feeding grounds for profes
sional hockey.
3. Less than one per cent of all
amateur hockey players in Canada
will turn professional and in 1983
only one-tenth per cent played in
the NHL.
My point is this: over 99 per cent
of all amateur hockey players play
the game for fun and recreation! It
is not a means of earning a living; it
is a game! I feel we should do
watever is necessary to keep it as
much fun as possible and let those
few who decide to make hockey a
career, learn the hitting skills from
professional coaches.
My main concerns are: 1. keep
the game fun for all players; 2.
eliminate the fear factor and
intimidation tactics; 3. protect the
smaller players; 4. allow for
greater skills development by
taking the emphasis off hitting.
If you too are a concerned Minor
Hockey Parent (whether or not you
agree with my opinion) please take
a minute of your time and contact
me, Kevin Dunlop, Box 1168,
Bracebride, Ont. P0B ICO. With a
united effort we can affect a major
change in time for the next hockey
Wingham Voice for Life
to join in telethon
The monthly board meeting of
the Wingham Voice for Life group
was held Monday night, March 7
with nipe members present.
Jim Bakelaar reported that four
members of the group met with
Huron-Bruce member of Parlia
ment, Murray Cardiff on February
27. Mr. Cardiff encouraged all
people who are concerned about
the recent Supreme Court decision
to write letters to their provincial
members of parliament and Elea
nor Kaplan to urge the provinces to
work with the federal government
in trying to solve the abortion issue
so that all life is protected. He
hopes that an accetable law will be
forthcoming for the unborn.
season.
Thank you all for your help
Kevin Dunlop
Bracebridge
About 340 signatures were sent
from the area to Prime Minister
Mulroney and local members of
parliament protesting the Su
preme Court decision.
The telethon “Feel the Heart
beat’’will be shown on Global T.V.
March 26 from 10-11 p.m. and on
C.K.N.X. April 9 at 7:00 p.m.
Filmstar Michael Gross from
* ‘ Family Ties’ ’ is one of the stars of
the telethon. This could be an
interesting and informative pro
gram.
Tickets are now available for the
Annual Banquet to be held April
27. Guest speaker is David Packer.
Which did you see first, Les or the wheelchair?
“Around the neighbourhood of my
pharmacy, people are changing their
attitude toward disabled persons.
When they first dealt with me, they
had their reservations about my
capabilities as a pharmacist-now
they see how much I can actually do.”
As owner/operator of two pharmacies,
Les is a successful entrepreneur and an
avid basketball player. He is also one of
the 937,000 adults in Ontario with some
form of disability. Les, like many disabled
persons, often finds that people are so
concerned with what he can’t do,
they fail to see what he can. Now if Les
won’t let his disability stop him from
being a contributing member of the
community, why should we?
For a poster write:
Ontario Office for Disabled Persons,
700 Bay Street, 16th Floor,
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z6
Do you have an open mind?
Ontario
Office for
Disabled Persons
Remo Mancini, Minister