SASKATOON – Communication between coaches and players in any game is key. This week in Toronto a girls hockey league, which is no contact, now has a no contact rule between coaches and players. Coaches can’t even tap them on the helmet.
“90 per cent of my job is positive reinforcement,” said Scott Thomas, who is the head coach of the Saskatoon Comets Pee Wee AA team.
Thomas has been around the game of hockey since he was five. He played five years in the WHL and was inducted into the Moose Jaw Warriors Hall of Fame in 2010. The now Edmonton Oil Kings scout has seen his fair share of time behind the bench coaching his son and daughter’s teams.
“It’s picking out what they did good out there trying to get them to do it again and a lot of that is simply, and every person needs it, is a simple touch on the shoulder to say hey that’s a fabulous job.”
It’s a zero tolerance policy doled out following a complaint about a congratulatory gesture made by an adult. That call is raising eyebrows around the country.
READ MORE: Toronto girls hockey league says memo on not touching players is ‘guideline’ only
“I mean your first thought is the world is going to run out of bubble wrap here if we keep doing this to our kids,” said Kelly Boes, the executive director of the Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association.
“I don’t think they realize that sometimes its noisy in the rink, kids can’t hear all the time so sometimes the way to communicate is by touching them on the back.. you’re up next or great job or turnaround I need to talk to you.”
“I think Hockey Canada does a real good job now providing coaches with the tools and courses that they need, the speak out, the respect in sport and ever since everything blew up there in the late 80’s and 90’s over the whole Graham James incident,” said Thomas.
“Every hockey coach now is well educated on what’s acceptable and what isn’t.”
As it stands in Saskatoon, once girls get past atom age level, male coaches aren’t allowed in the dressing room until five minutes before game time. An adult woman is always present.
“When you coach the girls, there’s things that you maybe have to say differently then you can with the boys but as far as the contact part of it goes I can’t imagine having to change what I do because of a statement like that,” said Thomas.
While a no contact ruling wouldn’t stop Thomas from coaching, he hopes it never gets to that point in Saskatoon, saying it not only hurts the coaches but the players as well.
On top of the no touching policy, the Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association has also emailed coaches about restrictions when men can be in dressing rooms, a ban on social media interactions and limited email communications.
The Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association has come out since saying no touching players is a guideline only.
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