Would putting body checking back into girls’ hockey make it safer for players or would it do more harm than good?
Those who support body checking in girls’ hockey believe that this will teach girls to play with their heads up and prevent a lot of the serious injuries that are happening out on the ice from both accidental and intentional contact. Girls hockey players need to learn how to take a hit, but does that mean that they need to body check too?
I don’t think that body checking should be a part of female hockey, but I do think that girls hockey players need to be taught how to take a hit properly, as well as how to initiate body contact properly. Girls are getting hit and getting hurt because of they have never been taught how to protect themselves from body contact.
Girls need to play “heads-up” hockey and putting body checking back into the game seems like the easiest way to teach this skill to players. The theory is that once you get run over in mid-ice or get the wind knocked you from a bone-crushing check against the boards, you’ll “learn” to keep your head up to protect yourself.
That might be true, but the reality is the majority of injuries in girls’ hockey are happening from incidental contact, and are not from intentional body checking. Girls’ hockey players are not getting hurt because their opponents are trying to hip-check them through the boards or lining them up at the blue-line for the big hit. Girls are getting hurt battling for the puck along the boards and in front of the net.
Girls are getting hurt by this incidental contact because they lack the awareness that they are going to get hit. When a male hockey player is skating down the ice, he is always thinking, “I am going to get hit”. For most girls, this thought rarely crosses their minds. They tend to skate with their heads down, looking and “fishing” for the puck, as opposed to playing the heads-up style of hockey that is critical for survival in the men’s game. If you aren’t playing with your head up, you are oblivious to what’s going on around you and aren’t going to be ready for contact.
Once girls hockey players are aware of the fact that they might get hit, they have 3 options for dealing with contact:
1) Get out of the way: This is always the safest and smartest decision, but there is not always the time and space for this to be possible.
2) Take the full force of the hit: This is the passive option and the most dangerous one. Unfortunately, most girls are not taught how to deal with contact properly and this is the option that they take most often.
3) Initiate contact yourself: This is the active option and your safest one if you aren’t in a position to be able to avoid the contact entirely. Instead of letting yourself get flattened against the boards, taking a step into the oncoming player and leaning into them will decrease the amount of force that your opponent can deliver with the check. Actively moving into the check will go a long way to protecting you from sustaining an injury with contact.
Before you even step on the ice, you need to be aware that there is going to be contact. Once you hit the ice, you have to play with their heads up to know when contact is coming. And when that contact happens, be ready and actively move into contact instead of being passive.
Do you think that there should be body checking in girls hockey? How do you think it will help or hurt girls in the game? Share your thoughts below.
I think if every team did something that involved players doing stick handling or something and they had to duck and jump and move side to side and stuff depending on what the coach was making a sign with his hands for, the coach could move around the team and they had to follow them around to know what they had to do.
Any activity really where they have to have their attention on something difficult but also watch out for things coming at them or specific instructions.
I think there shouldn’t be checking in girls hockey because they focus too much on checking and not enough on skating.
Tonight we played a 12 team in a scrimmage and won 3-0. I felt bad for the other goalie because they don’t have a real good team this year. Before the game I worked out for 30 minutes. I did puch-ups, sit ups, jumps and a bunch of other stuff. In gym today I did more push ups the right way than any other kid in my class.
Homework time.
See ya!
Amy
I don’t think that as many girls would be in to playing hockey if there was body checking. I think that female hockey is and should be physical and girls should be prepared to hit and get hit. I love angling. I watch Team Canada practice last year and I couldn’t believe how physical and aggressive it was and it was just a practice.
I had a good mental and physical practice this morning but I’m having a little difficulty learning my new position though.I’m going to watch some NHL games this weekened to help learn to play better defence.
got to go bye
I think if they let body checking into girls hockey we’d lose players and right now girls hockey cannot afford to lose any.
I think there should be sessions before the season starts on how to properly make contact and receive contact for girls hockey, in boys before you’re allowed to play contact league you have to go to sessions to learn how to properly deliver and receive a hit. They should do that for girls, there may not be full on body checks but there still is full on body contact, so teach the girls how to do it safely.
hey everybody
i have just started playing hockey and im just 12 but i have figured out that playing hockey with boys is a ton more fun than playing with boring old girls even if i am one. i think well i actually demand that body checking should be in girls hockey and that will teach us girls about keeping our head up and taking a hit or hitting somebody else
thx
britt
I definitely think there should be checking in girls hockey. I used to play with guys when i was younger and it was always really fun, im getting back into hockey next year with all girls. I go and watch all my local high school guy games and its so much more interesting to watch then the girl hockey even though i am one. everyone goes and watches the guys games, but hardly anyone goes to watch the girls games because it gets boring after a while. If they put checking back into girls hockey, i agree that it will help us play with our heads up and learn how to take a hit. it will also get more attention and a bigger audience.
I personally play hockey and I think having body checking in the game would not be worth it. Girls hockey is nothing like boys hockey. There is never any chirping and if there is all it is , is you ugly or your a sl*t. Also lets make one thing clear here there is no body chekcing in girls hockey correct but there is body contact, meaning you can take someone into the boards and rub them out. you jsut cant throw the open ice hits. I think if there was to be hitting in girls hockey you wouldnt see alot of the younger and weaker teams, ie( C or houseleague)becuase in my opinion those are the girls who care more about there looks and friends while there playing then they do hockey. I aslo dont think its a matter of keeping your head up or learnign how to take a hit. In alot of the weaker divisions there are alot of girls who cant stand up on there feet or have hands liek a fish and cant even stick handle. But there are those types of boys to. I think body checking would ruin the game, i think there needs to be a change on the length of a suspension for fighting in girls hockey. Its a 4 game suspension and guys hcokey is only 1. You wonder why there is so much fighting in guys hockey, they barley get punished for it.