Danger Within: What's lurking in your kids' hockey bags?

When you think of the dangers associated with playing hockey, what comes to mind? You’d probably think of concussions and hits from behind first since there’s been such a spotlight on those subjects lately. There have been more injuries caused by errant skate blades recently too, and there’s always the stick fouls and knee injuries.

Did you even consider the possibility of losing a limb?

King for a day

This will be my first blog post from the air as I travel to St. Louis for work for a couple of days. I haven't posted from a mobile device before this so I apologize if anything is off - call it an experiment. I'll be back in Philly tomorrow night, ready for practice on Wednesday night. VFC Peewee AA is getting ready for a preseason tuneup against the Jr. Flyers Peewee Minor team on Friday night. Looking forward to some game action instead of practice.

I came across a couple of posts over on Mihockeykid.com that I really enjoyed. The subject is "If I were king," and the author goes on to list 20 things he'd change if he were given free reign over youth hockey. Definitely worthy of a read if you have a few minutes. More after the jump.

O Captain! My Captain!

Great advice here on what it takes to be a good team captain! We see it all the time in hockey where the player who puts up the most points -  or *gasp* the coach's kid - gets to wear the "C".

Now don't get me wrong - sometimes it's deserved. But sometimes it's not, and if that's the case it can be bad for the whole team.

To most (not all, but most) of the kids I've coached or been around, having a letter on their jersey is a thrill. So players, take note - start to show these qualities and you might just get that "C" or "A". No matter what, if you do these things in hockey and in life, you'll be a great leader!

My favorites:

1. Always put the team in front of yourself

4. Lead by example and be a good role model (responsibility, integrity, and willingness)

6. No matter what, stay positive. 

10. Be willing to take the blame 

Here's the link to the full post. What do you think, readers? Do you agree with this list? Which ones are your favorites? Would you add anything else?

 

What not to do!

While you eagerly await the rest of the survey results, here's something else for you to chew on. I posted this article on Facebook awhile back so I thought I'd share it here too. It's called Older and Wiser: Hockey Parent Don'ts. It's a handy list of all the things we parents shouldn't be doing or worrying about, based on the experiences of a father of "three boys and 16 years as a hockey Dad." The website is geared toward hockey parents, and while I've only quickly scanned the rest of the site it looks like a lot of good content there.