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What is it?
Advantages
Disadvantages
Who should participate?
Learning to play ice hockey
Guidelines
Gear
Glossary of terms
What is it?
Ice hockey is a fast-paced, competitive sport involving two teams fielding up to six players--two defensemen, three forwards and one goalie--on the ice at a time. Using long curved sticks, the well-padded players try to seize or maintain control of a hard rubber disc, or puck, and hit it into the opposing team's goal cage, which is guarded by a goalie.
According to USA Hockey Inc., the national governing body for the sport, participation in ice hockey of children and adolescents younger than 19 has increased almost sixfold during the past 25 years. About 260,000 kids younger than 19 years old play hockey under the auspices of USA Hockey.
Advantages
Ice hockey has enormous appeal for children and adolescents. For one thing, the equipment used by youth leagues is virtually identical to that worn by the pros. Ice hockey enables children to skate fast but challenges them to stay in control. The sport also provides a constructive means of channeling their energy. Like other sports, children learn about teamwork and get many opportunities to succeed. Because only a handful of players are on the ice at any given time, each skater must play a very active and important role.
Ice hockey also offers many health benefits. Drills, scrimmages and games provide aerobic as well as anaerobic training. Playing ice hockey also tones and strengthens every major muscle group. As a recreational sport, ice hockey is something children can carry into their adult lives.
Disadvantages
Common injuries
Ice hockey players travel at high rates of speed on a slippery surface that is ringed by unyielding boards. They use sticks made mostly of wood and shoot pucks composed of vulcanized rubber. To make matters worse, some children play hockey as a collision sport. It is no wonder that the greatest concern about hockey is its risk for injury.
Most ice-hockey injuries are minor: Contusions and lacerations are typical. But fractures and other more serious injuries can and do occur.
According to a report from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, ice hockey and gymnastics were associated with the highest injury rates among winter sports at the high school and college levels during a 16-year study period lasting from 1982 to 1998. During the study period, 12 high school ice hockey players sustained catastrophic injuries, two of which were fatal.
"A high percentage of the ice-hockey injuries involve a player being hit by an opposing player, usually from behind, and striking the skate rink boards with the top of his or her head," the report states.
According to the Allina Foundation, a health care organization that funds the Center for Violence Prevention and Control in Minnesota, Canadian researchers have documented an "alarming increase" in cervical spine (neck) injuries caused by ice hockey. They found an average of fewer than one injury per year from 1966 to 1979 but 13 injuries per year from 1982 to 1986, with 64 percent of all injuries occurring in male players ages 11 and 20.
Injuries often stem from the legal or illegal use of body checking, in which a player bumps or slams into an opponent with either the hip or shoulder to block the opponent's progress or to throw them off-balance. Body checking is allowed only against an opponent who is controlling the puck or against the last player to control it.
Serious commitment required
Learning to play hockey safely and proficiently requires a serious commitment on the part of a child and the parents. It usually takes about one-and-a-half years on average for most children to complete an initiation program that consists of weekly skating and hockey lessons.
Expensive
Parents also must make a financial commitment. League fees generally range from $250 to more than $2,000, depending on whether your child's team plays in-house or travels to other venues. It costs another $300 to outfit your child for hockey, but it is easy to spend far more than that. A pair of high-quality hockey skates can cost $150 to $250 or more, for example, and you'll probably need to buy several pairs as your child's feet grow.
You needn't buy the most expensive equipment available. You also can save money by purchasing used equipment through hockey swaps, used sporting goods retailers and word-of-mouth. If you choose the secondhand route, make sure everything is in good condition before buying.
Who should participate?
Any able-bodied child, adolescent or teen who expresses interest can participate in ice hockey. Of course, check with your doctor first to make sure it's safe for you to start playing. Some hockey programs accept children as young as 4 or 5. Predominately a male sport, more and more girls are getting involved. According to USA Hockey, the number of female hockey players in the United States rose by 50 percent between 1988 and 1993.
Youngsters most likely to excel at hockey are relatively athletic, agile, coordinated and have good balance. If, however, your child is lacking in any of these areas, playing hockey may lead to improvements. Playing hockey can also instill a sense of confidence, pride and accomplishment.
Learning to play ice hockey
Most public skating rinks offer youth hockey programs, including lessons, drills, organized team play and tournaments. Many high schools, particularly those in northern states where ice hockey is very popular, have hockey teams. According to the 1997 High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations, 1,037 schools sponsor boys' ice hockey programs and 144 schools sponsor ice hockey programs for girls.
Ice hockey guidelines
The first mission for any new ice hockey player is to learn and follow the myriad official rules of the game. Many, if not most, rules are designed to keep the game as safe and enjoyable as possible. There are also rules aimed at young players only, such as shortened periods of play.
Two optional rules are designed to reduce the injury rate among young hockey players:
- Ban body-checking for players age 15 and younger. In adopting this policy, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) cited recent youth hockey studies showing that "high-speed collisions, size disparities within age groups, and a false sense of security due to protective equipment have all contributed to an increase in checking-related injuries." In a press release, the AAP points to one national study of injuries among 9- to 15-year-olds in which researchers found that 86 percent of all ice hockey injuries were linked to checking.
- Adopt "fair-play rules." According to fair-play rules, points are awarded for playing without excessive penalties. This approach is supported by a study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. For the study, certified athletic trainers tallied penalties and injuries that occurred during portions of a Junior Gold ice hockey tournament. Researchers found that penalties related to rough play and injury occurred four times more frequently during games with regular rules than those with fair-play rules.
Gear
According to the U.S. Olympic Committee, ice hockey players need the following equipment:
- Skates: Skates should provide good protection of the ankle, toes and instep. They should fit well, with no more than a half-inch of space in the toe.
- Helmet: Buy a helmet approved by the Hockey Equipment Certification Council (HECC). Bring your child to the store so the helmet can be properly fitted. Be sure your child keeps the chin strap fastened.
- Facemask: The facemask should also be HECC-approved.
- Mouthpiece: USA Hockey urges players of all ages and ability levels to wear a mouthpiece to protect the teeth and soft tissue of the mouth.
- Puck: Made of vulcanized rubber, an official puck is 3 inches in diameter, 1-inch thick and weighs about 6 ounces.
- Stick: Have your child put on skates and hold the stick. It should reach from the ice (floor) to the child's chin.
- Shin pads: These should be long enough to completely protect the knee and shin.
- Supporter and cup: These essential items protect the groin area.
- Gloves: Your child should be able to move fingers and hands fairly easily while wearing hockey gloves.
- Shoulder pads: Like the helmet, shoulder pads should be custom fitted to the child at the time of purchase.
- Pants: Held in position by suspenders, hockey pants protect the lower spine, hips and thighs.
- Elbow pads: These must be fitted so that they do not slide.
- Goaltending gear: Goalies need to wear special gloves, chest and stomach protector, goalie skates, leg pads, and shoulder and arm protectors.
Glossary of Terms
Assist: Pass or passes that immediately precede a successful scoring attempt
Attacking zone: Area between the opposing team's blue line and their goal
Backhand shot: Shot or pass made with the stick from the left side by a right-handed player or from the right side by a left-handed player
Blind pass: Transferring the puck to a teammate without looking
Blue lines: Two blue, foot-wide lines that run parallel across the ice, each 60 feet from the goal
Boards: A 3-1/2- to 4-foot-high wall of wood and shatterproof glass around the rink's perimeter to prevent the puck and players from accidentally leaving the rink and injuring spectators
Carom: When the puck rebounds off the boards or any other object
Center ice: The area, or "neutral zone," between the two blue lines
Center line: A red, foot-wide line across the ice midway between the two goals
Checking: A defensive or guarding tactic in which the players move their body or hockey stick against an opponent in order to gain control of the puck
Clearing the puck: When a player gets the puck out of his own defensive zone
Dead puck: A puck that flies out of the rink or is caught in a player's hand
Defensemen: Two players who help the goalie guard against attack; usually stationed in or near their defensive zone, defensemen sometimes they lead an attack
Deking: A fake-out motion made by the puck-carrier's shoulder, stick or head to lead an opponent to think the player is about to pass or skate in one direction when the player is planning to move in another direction
Drop pass: Leaving the puck behind for a teammate to pick up
Face-off: When the referee drops the puck between two opposing players in order to initiate play at the beginning of each period or to resume play after it has stopped for another reason
Forwards: Three players - the center and the right and left wings - who comprise the team's attacking line
Goalkeeper: The heavily padded player who tries to prevent opponents from scoring by stopping the puck any way possible; also known as goalie or goaltender
Interference: A penalty called when a player tries to hinder the motion of another player who is not in possession of the puck
Open ice: A region of ice that is free of opponents
Periods: Three playing intervals separated by two rest intervals; depending on the players' ages, periods may be 10, 12 or 15 minutes long; professional periods are 20 minutes long
Rebound: Occurs when the puck bounces off the goalie's body or equipment
Red line: The line that bisects the length of the ice
Save: When the goalie blocks or stops a shot
Slap shot: Shot in which a player raises his stick in a backswing, then swings the stick down toward the puck while leaning into the stick to put all his power behind the shot
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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