Friday, November 18, 2011

Heads Up...

Now I'm sure everyone is aware by now, but concussions in hockey are increasing. Now as a referee I see many hits that result in head injuries. Now everyone seems to have differing opinions on why concussions in hockey are on the rise. I got into a conversations with some of my officiating colleagues about it and one of them said to me "I don't understand how these kids get injured today with all this great equipment they where now." Now I did agree with him on the face that the equipment today is better. For example the Cascade M-11 helmet is said to the the VERY BEST helmet to wear against preventing concussions. And I think that's great and a bad thing all at the same time.

Now I don't play much anymore but I walk into pro shops such as Hockeygear.com and see the shoulder and elbow pads these players wear now and the first thing I say to myself is "this stuff is like body Armour" but that might not exactly be what's best for the game. Now "contact to the head" is a HUGE issue in hockey. They've even went as far as making harsher penalties for contact to the head at all levels of hockey. The NHL has it's new "rule 48" which makes any hit to the head a penalty. The NCAA has also changed the rule on hits to the head making it an automatic major plus game or major plus DQ penalty. Now I realize what they're trying to do, but at the same time as an on ice official I see a lot of these hits to be incidental, and not targeted head hits. ( the hits that really need to get out of hockey ) So it is of my opinion ( along with many others ) that most of these head injuries are a result of all this new "hi-tech" equipment that the players wear now.

Now when you're on the ice playing hockey, what's the most important thing your coaches tell you while you're on the ice? "KEEP YOUR HEAD UP" But as an official I'm seeing a very discouraging trend. While refereeing I see many of these players who pick the puck up and they have no awareness what so ever. No awareness of where they are on the ice, where their teammates are, and MOST IMPORTANTLY where the opposing team players are on the ice. Then there's a big hit, and there's an injury. All because the player never picked his head up. When I played hockey years ago, ( and I'm sure most people would agree with  me on this ) when I had the puck on my stick, not only did I know where I was on the ice, but I also new WHERE I was on the ice as well. Now I'm not saying I never got hit, but I never left myself open to get my head taken off the way players do now. Now as an official player safety is our number 1 priority, but how are we suppose to protect the players when they don't protect themselves?

I think this is all because of the equipment they wear now a days. They feel like they're super protected when in fact they're not protected at all. Hockey is a fast physical sport, injuries are going to happen and there's nothing you can do to change that. But when you put out a helmet that is said to "prevent" concussions, along with these new body Armour like shoulder and elbow pads players get a sense of invincibility while they're on the ice playing resulting in more injuries I think. USA hockey even went as far as taking checking out of the pee-wee age group because of all the injuries. My solution to this, cut down on all the body armour like equipment and you'll see the injuries scale back. The first thing I say to myself when I look at some of this equipment is "can you imagine getting hit in the head with this?" Even if it's only incidental, a blow to the head is a blow to the head. Another solution, how about educating the players of today to keep their heads up on the ice. I was refereeing a game a few weeks ago, and 2 players collided with each other. Just RAN INTO EACH OTHER with the puck being a good 40 feet away. Each player had no idea that each other was there and they collided resulting in one of them getting a concussion.

The thing that I don't like about the new rule concerning contact to the head is the fact that all the responsibility is on the player delivering the hit to NOT make contact with the opponents head. There is now ZERO responsibility on the player with the puck. When I used to play when I got hit I'd get yelled at for not having my head up, now the players with the puck have a free pass. This is not a good thing, and I feel that this will only result in more head injuries as we go down the road unless something changes. I'm aware that concussions are a big deal, and we know more about them now then we EVER did before, but the players do need to take some responsibility as well. Before each of my games, when we have our pre-game meeting with coaches and team captains I always say "make sure your players protect themselves at all times" hoping that maybe the message gets across. Concussions in hockey ( and the cause of them ) seem to be a heavy debate amongst our sport, but these are my opinions as to why we've had more and more as of late. What do you think? I think the only way to minimize them is to get the players to be more aware and to protect themselves but keeping their heads up while they're on the ice. Players put themselves in more vulnerable positions now than they EVER did before, and if it dosn't stop more of these injuries will occur. I feel that players read all this stuff about the great equipment and how "protective" it is, and feel they no longer need to protect themselves on the ice anymore. Hopefully they'll figure it out before it's to late that it dosn't matter how much, and what kind of equipment you wear, but if you don't protect yourself out there you'll get hurt no matter what.

Let me know your thoughts...

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Notes From The Referee

You ever wonder what it's like to be a referee? Or what it takes to referee some of today's BEST hockey games? Or maybe why or why not certain rules are applied? If you answered yes to any of those questions be sure to check back the hockeygear.com blog as I will be posting about my game experiences.

You  may know what it's like to be a player, but do you truly know what it takes to officiate some of today's most competitive hockey games? This season I will be refereeing a full slate of games from the youth hockey level, hockey school, prep school, and division 1 college hockey. I travel all over the state of CT, as well as all over the East Coast to officiate games for the ECAC hockey conference. Now just like most players, officials have a pre-game routine as well. For most contests we have to arrive an hour before the game, we stretch, usual have a small bite to eat, and as a crew we talk about any situations that may arise during the game.

We check our rulebooks to make sure we know any rule we may not know about. During pre-game warmups we check the rink to make sure it's a safe playing environment for all players and officials. ( because believe it or not, as an official our # 1 thing is SAFETY ) So once we're sure that everything is safe, and both teams are ready to go, I lace up my Bauer Total 1 skates and we drop the puck. As an official we MUST be ready to deal with any situations that arise during the game ( I.E. penalty situations, goals, and on occasion a screaming coaches and players ) but as officials we must keep our cool at all times, and be professional.

This is where my previous player experience comes handy because I know how emotional the games can get sometime so it helps me deal with it a little better. I also observe what equipment players wear. I must say at the MANY levels I'm seeing more teams with the Cascade M-11 Helmet. When they first came out I didn't see many of them, but as time went on I saw more and more ENTIRE TEAMS at all levels ( high school, college, ect. ) and I remember saying to myself  "well that didn't take long" but player wise I see a lot of the new Bauer skates. ( APX and Total 1 ) I also see Graf Skatess and CCM Hockey Skates as well. And I must admit I'm also starting to see the Easton skates again as well.

Before I got my total 1s I would see a kid on the ice wearing them, and I'd ask him "hey how are those skates? You like them? Were they hard to break in? And are they comfortable?" As you would imagine being an on ice official you would want to have comfortable skates. Another piece of equipment I notice is gloves. I see a pretty good mixture of Bauer, CCM, and Warrior gloves. I see a few pairs of Eagles now and then, but I'm starting to see less of those so I would imagine that Eagle gloves are on the decline.

When I was officiating a college women's game at Quinnipiac a few weeks  back I noticed that EVERY girl on the ice for BOTH teams had the Bauer 4 Roll Gloves. Every player on both teams also had on the Bauer APX skates or the Bauer Total 1s. As far as sticks go the Easton One Piece Sticks to me is STILL the dominant stick on the ice with Bauer being RIGHT BEHIND them with the release of their new Total One stick.

Now I'm sure you're wondering what kind of equipment I wear while officiating. As mentioned before I'm currently skating in Bauer Total One skates. I wear currently wear a Bauer 4500 Helmet with an Itech 1/2 shield. I also wear a Reebok 7k padded shirt under my referee uniform for a little extra protection. ( with the players and puck moving as fast as they do we need all the protection we can get while on the ice ).

  Well that's all for now as tomorrow my weekend on the ice starts as I have a full slate of games Friday thru Sunday. Be sure to check back as I will be posting on my game experiences and with any equipment analysis I have as I continue to talk to the players on the ice, and equipment mangers at the colleges I go to. If you have any questions or comments be sure to leave them here. I look forward to hearing from you all through out the season...

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness Month

When it comes to diagnosing breast cancer,
women and their doctors have some options,
with new research.

Please show your support
PINK FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Stay Informed

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