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Hockey fight camp for kids
Filed under: Teens, Health & Safety: Babies, That's Entertainment
As a teenager, I was really in to hockey. Actually, I was in to hockey players, but I also enjoyed the game itself. My best friend lived within walking distance of an ice rink and we spent countless afternoons perched in the bleachers watching the Houston Aeros practice.
I am not a fan of violence and the fighting in hockey eventually turned me off of the game. But for many fans, the body slams and punches are what makes hockey exciting. And while some are calling for fighting to be banned in the National Hockey League, others say it is an integral part of the game.
Whether or not fighting should be tolerated in hockey is debatable. I don't want to see fights, so I don't go. But when you start teaching young kids how to injure their hockey opponents, that is a different story. But that is exactly what Derek "the Boogeyman" Boogard, a player for the Minnesota Wild, is doing. His one-day hockey camp costs $40 and instead of teaching his 12 to 18-year-old students the finer points of the game, he is teaching them how to brutally attack players on the other team. He claims he is teaching them self-defense, yet students receive t-shirts splashed with fake blood while watching video replays of Boogard crushing another player's cheekbone. And then he teaches them how to do that themselves.
Parents clearly support this brutality, otherwise they wouldn't be enrolling their children in this camp. In any other sport, teaching children to be unsportsmanlike and violent would be considered shocking. Why is it accepted in the game of hockey?
I am not a fan of violence and the fighting in hockey eventually turned me off of the game. But for many fans, the body slams and punches are what makes hockey exciting. And while some are calling for fighting to be banned in the National Hockey League, others say it is an integral part of the game.
Whether or not fighting should be tolerated in hockey is debatable. I don't want to see fights, so I don't go. But when you start teaching young kids how to injure their hockey opponents, that is a different story. But that is exactly what Derek "the Boogeyman" Boogard, a player for the Minnesota Wild, is doing. His one-day hockey camp costs $40 and instead of teaching his 12 to 18-year-old students the finer points of the game, he is teaching them how to brutally attack players on the other team. He claims he is teaching them self-defense, yet students receive t-shirts splashed with fake blood while watching video replays of Boogard crushing another player's cheekbone. And then he teaches them how to do that themselves.
Parents clearly support this brutality, otherwise they wouldn't be enrolling their children in this camp. In any other sport, teaching children to be unsportsmanlike and violent would be considered shocking. Why is it accepted in the game of hockey?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-18-2007 @ 2:29PM
spalmerston said...As someone who grew up playing semi-competitive hockey in Canada, I have to say that the idea of this school is ridiculous and wrong.
I am not against fighting in hockey and have found myself on the giving and the receiving end of punches when I was younger and playing, but most fights happen out of frustration or anger. To say this is self defense is bullshit and to let a kid take part in this sort of schooling is wrong. Fights will happen, but let's not turn young players into idiot goons.
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7-18-2007 @ 3:34PM
Rob said...I second your concerns. I played for several years and only got into one fight. During a scrimmage. With my brother. Our coaches condemned fighting, with the support of parents and players alike.
I can't figure out where I land on fighting in the pro's, but it's a disgrace to have a NHL player "teaching" children such things. If they want to box, send them to boxing camp. If they want to play hockey, go to hockey camp.
Rob
http://rob.mdmonroes.com
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7-18-2007 @ 4:55PM
LS said...At this point, I will not be encouraging Little Man to participate in hockey, regardless of how much he wants to do it (if at all). I love the game, even played it as a young girl (yes, a GIRL playing hockey!!) But now, even in the minor leagues, fighting is celebrated by fans, and rarely (if ever) discouraged or penalized by officials. Once fighting garners stiff punishments and is no longer the reason most "fans" attend the game, perhaps I'll reconsider my stance.
As for this camp? Wrong. Completely, utterly wrong.
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8-01-2007 @ 11:59AM
Nick said...Wow you call yourselves hockey players? If you really are you should know that there are always hotheads on almost all teams who almost try to get things started, if they were to get your kid angry enough to fight wouldn't you want your son to have the slightest idea of what to do so that he didn't get completely destroyed. I mean what else could demotivate them most from playing hockey than getting beaten up badly and quite imbarrassed during one of their games.
Plus I really don't think they would encourage fighting at these camps on the other hand they are saying that there is a time when it could come down to it. Exactly like what they preach in karate and nobody thinks that karate should be band. Even though its trying to teach the same thing, how to protect yourself when things come to the worst.
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