After The Whistle: Outrageous - That's Outrageous, or is it the way of the future!!!

THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!!
Or Is It Simply The Way Of The Future?????

There was a time not so long ago when it was considered outrageous to even think that a human being could walk on the moon. Today, most people look for much more difficult challenges than just a simple moon walk. As you read some of the items that follow, instead of just laughing out loud, remember those people who thought it was impossible to walk on the moon. Perhaps the ideas and suggestions will soon be common place among minor hockey....

Robert Kirwan
Publisher, After The Whistle

What about schools that offer hockey as part of the curriculum?

It's time to have more scrimmages during practices?

We must stop wasting so much ice time.

How about changing goalies on the fly?

If you don't have the puck, you shouldn't have to worry about being checked!

How about giving four minute penalties without making the team shorthanded?

What about a penalty shot every 3rd penalty instead of sitting out in the box?

More Outrageous Thoughts to Ponder....

Players should only be allowed to change on the fly or after a goal in order to get the most use out of the ice time available. Too much time is wasted during an hour and a half watching players skate back and forth to the bench to change lines.

Penalize a team for deliberate icing by turning over possession in the neutral zone. Instead of lining up for a face off, you could send all of the players from the offending team into their zone and then give possession to the other team in the centre ice zone so they can start another attack.

Get rid of stop time and go back to straight time only! Stop time is a terrible waste of ice time and in many arenas it is difficult to complete the full game before the teams run out of rented ice. Go straight time and teach the players to get on and off the ice quickly.

Allow a losing coach to concede the game with less than five minutes remaining. This would eliminate any negative incidents that often blow up towards the end of a heated contest.

How about giving penalties to parents and fans? This would help reduce the abusive comments that are sent towards the officials.

Let's see more practices away from the arena and in the school gym. Dryland practicing is something that more coaches should consider. The cost is much less and you can develop a lot of strategies using a floor hockey game.

Let's put a surtax on professional hockey players to help fund minor hockey.

Let's pay more for referee supervisors and mentors to make it worth their while. The only way to improve the quality of officials is to provide them with mentors who will be able to watch them play and give them helpful "coaching". However, it must be made worthwhile for supervisors, otherwise the supervisors will simply referee other games.

We should put a limit on the number of games we allow minor teams to play. Games are fun, but during games players seldom touch the puck. Practices are where players get to handle the puck and practice their skills.