Page 5 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 2

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Hockey Today For Tomorrow

By Richard Waldroff

It is my belief that we in Canada have two streams of Hockey:
1) High Performance 2) Recreational. Let me explain my thinking.

High Performance
This stream is intended to place players with the greatest skill in programs that will challenge
and develop their talents and desires.
At the Junior level we have “Major Junior” and “Junior “A”. Each of these programs provide
players with an opportunity to develop both physically and mentally, opening doors for movement
to the pro ranks or the scholarship route, which ever they choose. These players are also exposed
to Provincial, National and International events representing their region and country.
At the Minor level we have “AA” and “AAA” programs in place.
While we have in place all the tools required to operate this level successfully, we do need more

supervision to ensure consistency and greater freedom of player movement.
I believe “AA” must not be offered before Major Atom, at which time players should be
introduced to checking.

“AAA” must not be offered before Major Peewee. At this age level the player has one to two years of high performance training

and experience.
Flexibility for movement must be present at both “AA and AAA” to ensure the better skilled players are provided a continuous
high level of challenge, allowing them to move in an upward direction.
Access to movement must have very tight guidelines to ensure only those players who fit the criteria are moved. Panels of
knowledgeable individuals should review each case and make a ruling. These leagues and teams need to self regulate; existence
needs to be on merit not supply, (if an organization’s team does not posse the talent, then the team should not exist, and the talented
players be permitted to move where their skill will be most developed)

Recreational
As some would say, this is the type of hockey you can take “from the cradle to the grave”. This really is where our game is, the
game we all love, the game promoted daily on our beloved CBC. Many commercials talk about the greatest and vastness of our
country, and that also applies to our game of hockey. I would say we have absolutely no idea how many simply play the game as
a recreational activity.
I have heard of many versions of “recruitment and retention” for the game of hockey, but I say none will be successful as long
as we keep painting everyone with the same brush. We need to recognize that the sport has two distinct paths, all beginning in the
same place and ending in the same place (recreational hockey). Some will remain on only the one path, but others will take another
path only to return to the original path sometime in the future.

As I mentioned earlier, we have all the tools and structure in place for the High Performance stream, but have failed miserably
on the Recreation stream.
What might the recreational stream look like? Good question. I am not a 100% sure but we have to start somewhere.
First off what do I mean by “recreational”?
Recreational is the playing of the sport for the fun of doing so.
This is what most Canadians do, each receiving a certain level of satisfaction by taking part. Competitive? Yes, it will still be
competitive. This is inevitable. Any time you pit one human against another it becomes competitive.

Programs that provide access for youth to build their love, passion and skill for our game must be flexible enough to recognize
the level at which the individual is playing, yet contain quick references by which coaches, instructors and evaluators may aid the
players growth. Whether we admit it or not, these people are educators.
In my next column I will touch on the different people in our game. Until then, “keep your stick below the waist.”