Friday, February 11, 2011

Opening up Hockey, eh?

1 - how do you open up hockey? Support adult rec league programs. Without those, the kids won't be as interested.

2 - drop the checking penalty from the womens game. Yes, I said it. Most of the women grow up playing with the boys anyway. And the penalty? Slows the game down.

3 - Do not market those pink jerseys as much. And open up the sizing because not all women are stick figures.

Note: These are all strictly my opinion.

1 comment:

TDH said...

3 comments for your three points about growing the game.

1) The kids who are really interested in the game will see that there are no places to play after they graduate from the younger level programs and yeah, the interest won't be there. And there are the parents to keep in mind who shuttle them back and forth. Who may also play, and would be less likely to enroll their kids in a program that has proven to not have a place for them in the system.

Because not everyone goes on to play professionally, and not everyone is good enough for their college teams, but they still love the game. What do you tell those people?

2) The checking penalty has been said to be one of the things that holds the women's game back. I have read comparisons between the women's game and the games where the kids have stop signs on the backs of their jerseys. In order to get to a level of competitiveness so that co-ed leagues are even contemplated (or the women's league drawing more attention than it currently does), you either have to allow for the same rules that the men play under, or the men have to include that rule in their play as well.

The double-standard leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

3) Pink jerseys = ew. Silver jerseys are better, and I'd like to see their sizes more opened up. And I would like to see the sizing opened up, but at the same time, I think I look better in the men's jersey anyway. :p