Parents’ bad behaviour is minor hockey’s biggest problem, says former Hockey Calgary exec
Posted Apr 17, 2013 7:21 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
According to a former volunteer president with Hockey Calgary, parents acting like morons is a huge issue when it comes to the game.
Todd Millar puts his thoughts on record with a new book called “Moron: The Behind the Scenes Story of Minor Hockey.”
The book was prompted by his experience watching parents scream at and bully the 13 and 14-year-old officials on the ice.
Millar says adults act like morons in the stands, but the last straw came after a huge debate over body checking at younger ages.
He tells The National Post he used to be an advocate for body checking at the peewee level here in Alberta, but after much research he had to face the facts.
Millar says there is a 33 per cent higher rate of major injuries in Alberta, where body checking is allowed at a peewee level, compared to Quebec where it hasn’t been allowed for 25 years.
At the bantam level, the rates of injury were identical.
He says his book is a call to action on the adult behaviours that need to change.
