It doesn’t matter if it’s youth hockey, adult league hockey,
or full-on professional hockey. No matter how you slice it, hockey can be a dangerous sport. It’s particularly dangerous for young players, however, and
the American Academy of Pediatrics is speaking up. The Academy recently
released a professional recommendation that the practice of “body checking”
should be fully removed from the youngest youth hockey leagues and only allowed
for male players ages 15 and up.
The Academy reports that, via its findings, body checking
leads to an increased risk of injury for all young players. “Body checking,”
for those not in the know, is defined as one player hitting another in an
effort to separate the opposing player from the puck.
USA Hockey was already aware of some of the issues with body
checking. In fact, in 2011, it changed the minimum body checking age from 11 to
13. And, though suggestions have been made in the past as to further increasing
the legal body checking age, many are speculating that USA Hockey will listen
this time around. The American Academy of Pediatrics is a highly respected
organization, first of all, and second of all, more evidence is coming out to
support its findings.
In addition to the risk of just general injury, recent
studies have found that body checking in youth hockey also increases the risk
of serious or potentially deadly injuries, concussions, and brain damage.
With those kinds of risks, it’s a wonder that organizations aren’t banning
checking outright. But its well understood, hockey is a great sport and should be played with a focus on making it
as safe as possible.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests stronger punishments for athletes
who purposefully hit another person’s head or intentionally hit another player
from behind, other actions the organization says are likely to lead to serious
injuries. USA Hockey agrees and has implemented more stringent rules as well as more stringent penalties.
It’s not just this one organization that has found problems
with youth hockey. A recent research study found that a Minnesota trauma
center could blame 38% of the serious childhood injuries it saw on body
checking or fighting.
Lets keep our beloved sport safe, teach our children young and continuously the right way to check.
No comments:
Post a Comment