Some parents feel tripped up by new hockey rules for tykes
OHF changes mean children 4 to 6 must play on half-rinks
A pint-sized hockey jersey has been hanging in Jen McPetrie’s Stoney Creek kitchen for several days. It’s one piece among $500 worth of gear she’s hoping to dress her 6-year-old son, Brayden, in over the course of the long-anticipated hockey season.
But the sight of the jersey has filled her with dread since Tuesday, when she learned she will probably have to break it to Brayden he can’t play on the select team he made after trying out.
“It’s not because he’s not good enough. It’s not because of bad behaviour. It’s just because Hockey Canada didn’t let us know in advance” about mandated changes to hockey programming for kids age 4 to 6, McPetrie said Thursday.
She’s one of many parents across the GTA pushing back over abrupt changes that they say could force advanced child players into programs below their skill level, disrupting plans for everyone involved.
The Ontario Hockey Federation voted in March to implement Hockey Canada’s Initiation Program — the governing body’s official curriculum for young hockey players being introduced to the game — for all players 4 to 6 this season.
The program includes rules about how practices and games should be conducted for this group, with the most significant requirement that they play on half the rink rather than full-ice play.
“This is an opportunity where kids can expand their abilities not just in hockey,” Phil McKee, the OHF executive director, said.
Parents don’t contest the benefits of the Initiation Program, which promises to give new players more opportunities at the puck. But they think rigid implementation of the program will inadvertently hurt young kids who already play beyond their age level.
The Initiation Program is a “phenomenal” idea for kids just starting out, McPetrie said, but “once they’ve mastered that skill you have to keep challenging them.”
McPetrie had enrolled Brayden in the full-ice program with Stoney Creek Minor Hockey when he was 5.
Local hockey programs say they weren’t told in advance they’d have to alter their programs immediately, which is why they let 6-year-old kids like Brayden try out for select teams that play full-ice. Confusion and scrambling ensued when the OHF wrote a letter in July to associations, stating they would have to comply, or risk being barred from tournament participation for all their age levels.
For Bill Beaton, president of the Port Credit Hockey Association, that was the be-all-end-all.
“We were led to believe . . . this year would be a transition year,” Beaton said. “We will convert this year; it’s going to be difficult.”
Local programs now have to purchase and find storage for ice dividers so they can comply with the half-ice rules, and explain the program change to hundreds of parents.
“We’re volunteers. I think it’s a very hard line to take with volunteers,” Beaton said.
McKee admitted there was some confu-
“Were were led to believe . . . this year would be a transition year. We will convert this year; it’s going to be difficult” BILL BEATON PRESIDENT PORT CREDIT HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
sion in the way the federation communicated the decision to its member leagues, but said it didn’t change the fact that the rules are now in place and enforceable.
Parents from across the GTA are lobbying the OHF to loosen the rules.
McKee said the federation will discus grandfathering this season’s players under the old rules at its meeting on Saturday, but no vote on the matter is scheduled.
“We’re taking into account comments from parents and individuals,” he said. “One way or another, we’ll provide clarification Monday as to what’s been discussed.”