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[HockeyDad41]

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[HockeyReality]

I was at the SLP Mite Jamboree last night .... some behavior that needed to be addressed by the pimply faced 14 year old ref or at least by the coaches that everyone in the whole place saw if you can judge by the vocal responses from the crowd. There was a kid on the Blaine team that was slashing kids with his stick, cross checking, hitting, pushing, literally going out of his way to go after kids....Mite hockey can be pretty ugly anyway but when this type of behavior occurs it not fun to watch. Personally I think those Blaine coaches should be ashamed of themselves. I would never allow my kids to play for a coach that allows that type of behavior. I don't have a problem with Mites using their bodies for position and even the occasional Mite bumpcheck that happens but this was plain cheap hockey that would have resulted in multiple penalties (for both teams) if there was an actual ref calling the game. Pretty sad if you ask me.

What age level of mites are you talking about? Often the "pimply" faced refs are instructed not to call penalties so before you attack a 14 year old ref, get a clue. Sounds like the fans should have been kicked out of the game if they were voicing their concerns towards the ref, coaches, or players. It is a mite game! It is hard to believe that a 7 or 8 year olds actions should be held against an association or coach. Have you coached or watched much mite hockey. "mite hockey can be pretty ugly." In what way. They are kids just learning to play. Maybe the offending player was enjoying all the attention he was getting from the fans. Sounds like you are a typical over zealous parent at the mite level.

Wait, maybe the Blaine coaches instructed the player to goon it up. Every team needs a role player. Sounds like the CR team did some self policing and they started to target the Blaine player. Maybe the CR coach had enough and sent their enforcers out to set things straight. They are lucky they did not drop the gloves because I heard the Blaine player had his jersey tied down in the back and he had tear away sleeves. There would have been a bench clearing brawl but the players from both sides could not climb over the boards to get on the ice.

[jancze5]

The kids are freaking MITES, what are they supposed to know?????

I move to vote this the "Most Idiotic Post March 2009".

[DMom]

Unfortunately I have close experience with this type of behavior. I have a mite that is really big for his age. When he was 4 he was a little chipper at a Wild game and he was standing in the crease and one of the other kids pushed him down, he got up and hit the kid over the head with his stick, whatever 18,000 fans were left in their seat roared their approval. Fast forward, next mite game the opposing center said something to him about his skating ability, my son decks him with a punch. Parents in stands cheer cause it's cute when they're four. Fast forward again, he watches 40 peewee games, lots of hitting. He's not very fast, finds that if he hits the kids they fall down and he gets the puck. Kids still run into each other left and right so refs don't call anything but icing and offsides. At one point coach does stick him in the penalty box to think for awhile. He gets lots of attention for being put in there, thinks it's cool. Coach calls him Boogaard kid thinks that's cool. Grounded him multiple times, still a thug. Moral: Kids will do what they get attention for. He's not a bully at school, because he knows better. Soon he will figure out that he can't do it at hockey too.

[MoveYourFeet]

The kids are freaking MITES, what are they supposed to know?????

I move to vote this the "Most Idiotic Post March 2009".

I Second the entire motion and vote it "Most Idiotic Post - March 2009" as well.

[DonnyHockey]

My son played up in Sauk Rapids/St. Cloud's big jamboree this past weekend. Besides my the 3 games my son played in I also watched a couple other games of friends and one of my nephew's games. I saw some real chippy play many times by the same players without their coaches doing a damn thing. One kid had 3 trips and 2 slashes and the ref only blew the whistle once on this kid. At this level the kid just goes to the bench. I say they need to put kids with penalties in the box for 2 minutes and let them think about it. Most of the time these same kids are back out on the next shift. The coaches need to sit these kids for a while if they take a cheap penalty or some other bad behavior on the ice. It was almost like the coach didn't care since little Johnny saved a breakaway.

Yes it is just Mite hockey but these kids still have to learn what is right and what is wrong.

There was some good hockey played and for the most part very good clean hockey. Many of the teams got to play 1 game at SCSU's National Sports Center and that was fun to see.

It still amazes me how talented some of these young players are for their age.

[O-townClown]

Mom, thanks for sharing the story. We see that here too. I think they offending kids need to be penalized, so I understand the initial poster's intent.

Can't post on Mite hockey in a Youth Hockey forum? Why not.

Anyway, there is a YouTube video about "The Magic Helmet". When a kid wears it adults expect so much more. Goes on for about 10 minutes and is quite funny. Gotta add, it isn't just adults! Kids see others geared up and they think anything goes. My son's 7th birthday party had skating for school friends on one end and crossice for his hockey buds on the other. It got so bad with checking, cross checks, slashes, hits from behind, and even cross checking from behind that the dads overseeing had to stop the game for a lecture about what isn't allowed.

It traces back to how you are taught. If the kid's parents aren't disciplining the behavior it has to wait until some bigger kid gives them a pounding.

[HockeyDad41]

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[My_Kid_Loves_Hockey]

The kids are freaking MITES, what are they supposed to know?????

Part of teaching kids how to play hockey includes explaining/teaching what you can & can't do to other players (your team or the other); what your stick is for; rules of the game; consequences of your actions when you don't follow the rules.

Where does the "they're only (fill in the blank)" stop?

As a coach of that level, you need to put a stop to those actions. Almost everyone can tell when it is an accidental collision vs an intentional action. The accidental part happens but there's always one that hasn't learned.

[hockeydad0930]

This all boils down to coaching. If the coach is allowing this type of stuff to happen at this age, it will never end. If any player on my mite team were to go out of his way to slash, cross-check, etc. he would end up on the bench, not the penalty box, and have a good talking to by one of us coaches. Yes, it is only Mite hockey, but this is the age these kids really learn to play the game, and it is the coach's responsibility to teach them how to skate, pass, play positions, not check, trip, or slash because you can't catch the faster skater. The reason these kids feel they have to play this way is because they are not as skilled as the other players, and the only way to stop them is by being cheap. See the relationship here??

[InigoMontoya]

I don't think this is a stupid post at all. Kids at every level, especially the younger levels, look to the adults for guidance; unless he's told that what he's doing is wrong, he'll assume it is right and continue that behavior. In this case I'm sure little Johnnie is a perfect angel, as would be the case with Dmom's boy, but my guess is that in other situations where the tyke is running kids into the boards and chopping the backs of legs with a baseball bat grip, the little shaver never hears the word 'no' at home. His parents turn away from the glass when he goes on a rampage. They will likely tell you that he doesn't act that way on the ice, while your child stands next to you bleeding. They will finish with how they hold their children to a higher standard.

[Night Train]

I saw this when my son was a mite. There are no penalties at mites. In the spring of their final season of Mite A, before moving to Squirts, all of a sudden we'd start seeing some bumping, and stick work, that we hadn't seen before. Never a call because there aren't any. Some players, and unfortunately some coaches, understand there won't be a call so what the hey. I used to tell my son, because they always come back to the bench and say this kid did this or that, next year bud. It was even before that, a couple of weeks go by and he's in spring Showcase playing in a Squirt League and in the first period both he and his little linemate draw penalties. Ah, the reward. Power play. I do agree though we want the kids taught right. Once there's a penalty in Squirts the coach (dad) will clamp down because you just can't win shorthanded. This player will have developed some very bad habits.

[JoltDelivered]

They are kids just learning to play. Maybe the offending player was enjoying all the attention he was getting from the fans. Sounds like you are a typical over zealous parent at the mite level.

HockeyReality - are you nuts? Mite coaches aren't allowed to stop the tomahawk chops, 2 handed slash, open ice tackles or cross checks to the head? Suppose we shouldn't teach them off sides either huh? I mean heck, they're only little stupid kids that don't posses the ability to learn, process and understand concepts. Their basically morons with blades on their feet huh? I just don't understand logic like that.

This has been my biggest beef in my 8 years of coaching Mites. These kids are capable of understanding and demonstrating so much more than most people give them credit for. Why is it my 8-year- old can practice fractions and decimals in math class, read a book and understand it but can't understand that you can't jam your stick into your opponets armpit, twist it and haul the player down?

Hey Hockey Dad, I put that on the coaches. Over the years I have stopped several kids (on and not on my teams) during the middle of games to explain to them what they did wrong (penalties, off-sides, passing in front of their own net, etc...). Don't listen to the putz that tore you a new one. He has no clue.

[DMom]

I don't think this is a stupid post at all. Kids at every level, especially the younger levels, look to the adults for guidance; unless he's told that what he's doing is wrong, he'll assume it is right and continue that behavior. In this case I'm sure little Johnnie is a perfect angel, as would be the case with Dmom's boy, but my guess is that in other situations where the tyke is running kids into the boards and chopping the backs of legs with a baseball bat grip, the little shaver never hears the word 'no' at home. His parents turn away from the glass when he goes on a rampage. They will likely tell you that he doesn't act that way on the ice, while your child stands next to you bleeding. They will finish with how they hold their children to a higher standard.

I also had someone tell me that I had taken the aggression out of my older two and I should just let the youngest play. I've tried, but he isn't aggressive to the net, he's aggressive at taking the puck away from the other kids (thus the Dmom I guess). Believe me I have taken him off the ice before during a practice, and he always looks up to see if I caught him. I think things are changing. Very recently he decided that he loves hockey (as opposed to just doing it because his brothers did) and he is beginning to get the rules. He's has one more year of mites and they just learned off-sides and icing this year. They aren't changing on the fly, and I think that is when some kids really start to engage because the game is fast enough to keep their attention.

I have said before that my oldest two didn't like mite hockey either. They just didn't understand the point of chasing the puck all over the ice, especially if some little speedy kid was going to beat them to it everytime. Testosterone, competition, shorter shifts, better stickhandling skills, positional play, and longer strides(they don't stay speedier forever), all take care of that. Not liking mite hockey hasn't held them back, and I don't think it'll stop this one either, although it's a little scary because the doc told me today he estimates him at 6'7" at adult height. Maybe a basketball would be a better choice.

[O-townClown]

the doc told me today he estimates him at 6'7" at adult height. Maybe a basketball would be a better choice.

This can be a good thing for hockey too.

[spin-o-rama]

Maybe a basketball would be a better choice.

Heretic!