Bodychecking is simple to explain. The purpose of laying a check in a contact sport such as hockey is to separate an opponent from the puck.
Beyond the definition, bodychecking is much more difficult to teach, practise and eventually master.
Successful body contact demands balance, timing, vision and confidence on the ice, four components of hockey that hinge on strong skating skills. Players' physical abilities increase with experience and age, but the inability to skate will not only increase a player's risk of injury but will also make him or her a liability to the team by getting taken out of the play.
Pressure to secure a role on a team by delivering punishing blows, demanded at the professional level for entertainment value as well as a violent image of hitting and fighting, contribute to hockey's notoriety as a tough sport. At the amateur level, parents and coaches contribute considerable intensity.
In spite of this, skills training can make all the difference for up-and-coming youth players, according to numerous Vancouver minor hockey coaches.
As the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association and its 42 member leagues from Hope to Whistler to Seattle vote on banning bodychecking from house hockey and peewee rep hockey, coaches still must teach the skill.
There is a right and a wrong way to deliver a bodycheck.
Giving a hit Judge your speed and adjust if necessary. At the instance you make contact with the opposing player, your speeds should be the same or you should be going slightly faster. As players skate faster (and as they get bigger, stronger and more muscled), risk of injury increases. "It's physics," said Thunderbirds A1 peewee coach Jeremy Poirer.
Approach at an angle to fence your opponent against the boards, trap them in the corner or close them down in open ice.
Pick your place on the ice and be sure not to check or hit opponents within the "danger zone" two to four feet from the boards where they are unable to protect themselves from a head-first collision with the boards.
Mischa Polzin, the director of hockey operations with Vancouver Minor Hockey, said players must develop a respect for each other and not play with an intent to injure despite whatever competitive advantage may be gained.
Poirer said, "I teach them not to target the head. Where are kids getting hurt? It's when they don't have respect for one another."
Make shoulder-to-shoulder contact by keeping your arms at your sides. This not only prevents you from injuring yourself but also staves off a penalty for high sticking or elbowing.
A new penalty introduced this season targets hits to the head.
"When you see a kid in a vulnerable position, that's where you have to hold up," said Poirer. "If a kid has his head down and you hit him shoulder to shoulder, he's not going to get hurt."
At the moment of contact, drive into your opponent using your lower body strength and by bending your knees. Conserve your energy and focus on rubbing out your opponent, not crushing him through the boards. Kick the puck to your own stick or that of a teammate.
Get yourself back in the play as soon as possible.
Taking a hit Similar to giving a hit, there is a right and wrong way to take a hit.
To protect yourself when you're about to be checked against to boards, get as close as possible to those boards and let them absorb the hit. Pass or dump the puck in first.
"Where more injuries occur is when kids are slowing down and stopping," said Polzin. "A kid is going down the ice and he knows he's going to get hit so what he does, he turns his body into the boards. He automatically gets scared, turns into the boards and now it's a hit from behind."
Properly receiving a hit is an important skill that can help prevent injury, he said.
"This is when you're teaching: you're teaching a child the psychological part of the game. You're going to get hit. You need to get over that factor and get yourself in a safe environment [.] in relation to the boards [where] the board is able to absorb the hit. I don't see enough of that." [email protected]
Twitter: @MHStewart
