At the end of Monday's blog post, I mentioned debate among the leaders of Minnesota Hockey and USA Hockey about whether to ban body checking from hockey games played at the boys' peewee level (ages 11-12). Turns out, the Minnesota part of the debate has been resolved. Hal Tearse, coach-in-chief of Minnesota Hockey, said a four-person state delegation to USA Hockey intends to vote against the body checking ban.
An incredulous Tearse said the state board decision against the ban is "hard to believe" given recent research from Canada showing concussions were four times more likely in peewee games with body checking than in games in which this form of body contact was banned.
Debates over this issue are often heated, with supporters of the ban claiming it is best for player safety and development, and opponents saying this is the proper age for boys to adjust to the contact that is inherent at higher levels of hockey. (Note: this debate is only for boys. No body checking is allowed in girls' hockey.)
Tearse suspects the 94-member USA Hockey voting body will nonetheless decide next month in favor of the rule change. He stressed it would not eliminate all contact from the game. "In fact body contact will still be permitted," he said in an email. "The rule change will eliminate 'hitting' for the sake of it."
The majority of the Minnesota board is concerned that the ban will be rushed into place before coaches have been properly trained to follow it and to teach proper checking techniques, he said.
A USA Hockey primer on the debate can be found here. Star Tribune reporter Rachel Blount covered the debate earlier this year in a two-part series on hockey concussions.
Also, the Minnesota House might vote today on a statewide law that would regulate when youth sports players could return to play following concussions. Tearse said the law amounts to a "recommendation," though, because it doesn't offer any penalties for failing to act on it.
