Free Moron by Todd Millar Page A

When we went back and checked a few of these, the family hadn’t actually moved to that house, and it was not their primary residence at all – they were renting it. But others purchased a home to “benefit” their son’s minor hockey “career.” What is wrong with this system?

    Hockey Calgary is North America’s largest hockey association, with around 4,500 volunteers. They are all giving up a portion of their free time outside of their working careers, domestic chores and all other priorities in life. How much education have they received, and how effective is the organization in getting the correct information to those volunteers? How can we confront systemic problems with this many volunteers?
    One word: education. When adults violate the rules, or when they teach young, impressionable players to break the rules, they are jeopardizing all of the children in our care. We need to have a better education process with our volunteers.
    When we first earned our driver’s license, we had to pass a test. We had to go over a few hurdles in order to earn the right, and have the privilege to drive an automobile. Yet, when I think about volunteers, we just naturally assume that everyone gets it – there is no such test to earn the right to work with the kids in minor hockey. The organization takes it for granted that all individuals will go off and read the appropriate documents behind the scenes on their own, and they will be able to comprehend and put them to practice.
    We will talk more about volunteers in later chapters, but suffice to say, there is no prerequisite for getting involved in minor hockey in a volunteer capacity, and there isn’t much required training. In fact, there’s no disciplined orientation program. We just take for granted that everyone is going to do the right thing. And what ends up happening is that most volunteers do a great job, but a significant, small minority of poor volunteers creates major systemic problems.

    For the most part, kids are not the problem, because they understand the rules. When the whistle blows, the official will put little Johnny into the penalty box, and he’ll sit there for the next two minutes. However, coaches, spectators, parents, and others don’t feel the same relationship to the rules (coaches in particular). Let’s think back to the situation in the last chapter where a 35-year-old coach bullies a twelve-year-old referee. Section 9.2 of the Hockey Canada Rulebook has an entire section dedicated to abuse of officials by coaches. We all need to know the rules, and enforce them when it comes to adults, just as we enforce the rules on our young players during the course of the game.

    As a spectator going to an NHL hockey game, you don’t have to know all the rules of the game. You can go and watch the puck fly, players fight one another, and join in with the crowd, cheering, jeering and so forth. But we hold a different responsibility when it comes to minor hockey.
    It is our responsibility to spend some time with the rulebook. Imagine that you are learning a new card game, or studying to pass a driver’s test. Do you really know the rules of the game? Will you know when the coach, a spectator, or an official is breaking the rules?
    What is acceptable, and what is not acceptable in terms of playing the game? If you want to be a good custodian of the game, and help our children develop socially and physically in a safe environment, get involved, get engaged, and most importantly, get educated. And when it comes to the rules, learn all of them. Take an active interest with the young hockey players, whether your own children or players in your charge.
    Ignorance of the rules and regulations is a major problem. It causes many of the outbursts by people who think officials have made a bad call. It also creates many abrasive and difficult situations within and between teams when parents, coaches, and league officials haven’t read the rules. If you are going to