Your kid is not the next Wayne Gretzky.
Most hockey parents know this. They come to cold rinks on early mornings and cheer on young players for no other reason than the joy it brings them. They are the unsung heroes of the great Canadian game.
They climb from their beds on Saturday mornings to take their children to practice. They cheer respectfully from behind the glass; they applaud the efforts of young players, as well as their achievements. They are the parents who understand minor hockey is about having fun.
If only all parents did.
Sadly, as recent incidents have shown, some parents simply don’t know when to draw the line between passion and abuse.
In Toronto, a parent recently choked his son’s coach, after he benched his son during a game for missing practice.
Two years ago, a minor hockey coach, in Mississauga, was sued for putting a bounty on a young player.
This is the type of behavior we cannot tolerate, which is why the decision of the Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association (ODMHA) to institute a zero-tolerance policy on abusive parents should be applauded.
This policy is being reserved for extreme cases of hockey moms and dads behaving badly. Parents won’t be banned for life simply for cheering loudly or being upset when their kids lose a close game.
It is when those few parents forget it is just a game that the problem starts.
When things don’t go their way and parents resort to violence, they teach their children a lesson — violence solves problems.
We can only imagine how that might change their on-ice play. Young hockey players have enough bad influences from players like Todd Bertuzzi. They don’t need it from their parents as well.
Parents who cross the line from fan to fanatic should not be allowed anywhere near minor hockey. Physical violence is not the only type of behavior that goes too far.
Encouraging players to go after the puck is one thing; encouraging them to go after a fellow player is another.
In arenas all across the country when games are over, both teams still line up and shake hands regardless of the score. They do it because minor hockey is about more than learning to take a slap shot or skate fast.
It is about learning good sportsmanship and teamwork and those lessons will take players much further than simple hockey skills.
Abusive parents hurt everyone involved in the game. Playing under a torrent of abuse is unfair to the kids on the ice, it is unfair to the coaches and referees volunteering their time, and it is unfair to the other parents who come to watch their children have fun.
There’s no denying Canadians love hockey. Canada is so passionate about its sport that we put one player and one commentator on our list of the 10 greatest Canadians. Hockey is most definitely a part of the Canadian experience.
But as the ODMHA affirms with its latest decision, passion does not excuse abuse.