Coaches-Time To Strap on the Old Helmet !!!!

Well, tryouts are over, the teams are picked, and the Pittsburgh Hornets AAA Amateur Hockey Association will be gearing up soon to begin its quest at all birth year levels for the USA Hockey National Championships. Congratulations to those players selected for the upcoming season!!

Summertime has now begun, and the hockey news is a bit slow right now while everyone takes a break from hockey, at least for a little bit, to enjoy the summer and the fun it has to offer. But USA Hockey recently held its Annual Congress and certain rules changes will be made for the upcoming year, but perhaps the most interesting change is that now, all coaches when on the ice will have to wear helmets!!! This rule was a long time in coming and will certainly cause a lot of grumbling amongst the old timers, thats for sure. But times change, so perhaps the time has come for coaches to get on board and give this new rule a try. More on all of this per the USA Hockey Press Release reprinted below. Stay tuned for more Hornet Hockey news in the near future, and enjoy the summer while you can!!!


2006 USA Hockey Annual Congress Wrap
June 14, 2006

USA Hockey Board Of Directors Endorses New Standard Of Play And Rule Emphasis At Its Annual Congress; Coaches Use Of Helmets Also Mandated COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- USA Hockey’s four-day Annual Congress concluded last Sunday (June 11) in Colorado Springs, highlighted by its Board of Directors’ unanimous endorsement of a new standard of play and rule emphasis beginning with the 2006-07 season.

“We accomplished a great deal during our Annual Congress,” said Ron DeGregorio, who was unanimously re-elected to another three-year term as president of USA Hockey. “Clearly the most significant step forward came with the adoption of our new standard of play and rule emphasis.”

The policy (which is outlined in its entirety here), focuses on five principles:
* The use of the stick will be limited to only playing the puck.
* The stick will not be allowed to in any way impede a player’s progress.
* The use of a free hand/arm will not be allowed to grab or impede a player’s progress.
* Players who use their physical skills and/or anticipation to gain a positional advantage shall not lose that advantage as a result of illegal acts by the opponent.
* Players will be held accountable for acts of an intimidating or dangerous nature.
“As the leader of amateur hockey in the United States, we continue to focus on growing the game and making the game better,” said DeGregorio. “In mandating the enforcement of rules that particularly deal with the obstruction of a player in any fashion, our game will be better and we’ll attract more players and fans to the game.”

Another significant change came with the Board of Directors’ vote requiring all ice hockey coaches and instructors of registered USA Hockey youth/high school, disabled, girls’/women’s 19 & under and below programs properly wear an ice hockey helmet during all on-ice sessions, including practices, controlled scrimmages and coach and referee clinics (seminars).

“Every year there are injuries to coaches that could have been prevented by wearing a helmet,” said DeGregorio. “This legislation represents a positive step forward for the safety of our coaches.”