Girls Participating in Boy AAA Tourneys

[new2coachin]

And the Worst Post of the Year award goes to ilike2score.

These girls are "not trying to be boys"...they're trying to become better hockey players. And the best way for them to do that is to play against the best competition they can play against within their abilities. If that means they play with and against only girls, fine. But if that means they have to play against the boys, that should be fine as well.

So, state your reasons why we even have "Girls" hockey.

We have girls hockey because most girls don't have the ability to play traveling youth hockey. Notice I said "most", not all. Some girls are simply too good to play with only girls, and not all associations have enough girls registered to put any decent girls teams on the ice.

Boys and Girls hockey are not "separate but equal". Girls "A" level is played at a much lower calibre of play than the youth "A" level. When you have an exceptionaly gifted girl player, many times the only option she has of playing up is to play with the boys.

Is that so wrong?
You need to remember that we're not talking about a huge number of girls players here. I'd like to see an official number, but my guess is that there isn't more than 20-30 girls in the state playing PW A....and maybe only 5-10 that are playing Bantam A, if that.

Just a note: One of the top PW A goalies last year was the girl from Andover. In fact, she was so heads and shoulders above the other boys goalies trying out that she was the ONLY goalie they took on that team and they finished in 3rd place at the State Tournament. If you were to ask the boys on that team if they were happy to have her as a teammate....my guess their answer would be a resounding "YES!". But in ilike2score's world, she wouldn't have even been permitted to TRYOUT for the PW A team.[/quote]

What does your local school district do with other youth teams such as basktetball as it pertains to boys & girls? Do they have a girls team & a youth team, or do they have a girls team & a boys team with no option of girls playing on the boys team unless there is not a girls team for them to play on? Or do they, like you are stating, allow the exceptionally gifted girl play with the boys team, even though there is a girls team for her to play on?

[muckandgrind]

And the Worst Post of the Year award goes to ilike2score.

These girls are "not trying to be boys"...they're trying to become better hockey players. And the best way for them to do that is to play against the best competition they can play against within their abilities. If that means they play with and against only girls, fine. But if that means they have to play against the boys, that should be fine as well.

So, state your reasons why we even have "Girls" hockey.

We have girls hockey because most girls don't have the ability to play traveling youth hockey. Notice I said "most", not all. Some girls are simply too good to play with only girls, and not all associations have enough girls registered to put any decent girls teams on the ice.

Boys and Girls hockey are not "separate but equal". Girls "A" level is played at a much lower calibre of play than the youth "A" level. When you have an exceptionaly gifted girl player, many times the only option she has of playing up is to play with the boys.

Is that so wrong?
You need to remember that we're not talking about a huge number of girls players here. I'd like to see an official number, but my guess is that there isn't more than 20-30 girls in the state playing PW A....and maybe only 5-10 that are playing Bantam A, if that.

Just a note: One of the top PW A goalies last year was the girl from Andover. In fact, she was so heads and shoulders above the other boys goalies trying out that she was the ONLY goalie they took on that team and they finished in 3rd place at the State Tournament. If you were to ask the boys on that team if they were happy to have her as a teammate....my guess their answer would be a resounding "YES!". But in ilike2score's world, she wouldn't have even been permitted to TRYOUT for the PW A team.

What does your local school district do with other youth teams such as basktetball as it pertains to boys & girls? Do they have a girls team & a youth team, or do they have a girls team & a boys team with no option of girls playing on the boys team unless there is not a girls team for them to play on? Or do they, like you are stating, allow the exceptionally gifted girl play with the boys team, even though there is a girls team for her to play on?

I don't know about basketball, and really don't care. However, I would think that if a girl who played basketball was good enough to compete for a top boys team and there wasn't a girls team that would provide her with enough competition to develop to the fullest of her ability, then she should be able to play with the boys.

We're not talking about HS sports anyways. We're talking youth hockey. By the time these kids reach that age of physical maturity, the girls and boys can't play together.

But when you talking about 11-13 year old kids, you're not talking about a size difference. If anything, girls grow earlier than boys and some of them will be bigger than many of the boys are.

Again, I don't know why anyone would care or complain about this. I'm truly amazed....I'm not saying that girls should be "entitled" to a spot on the A team. They should have to go through the same tryout process and make the team on their ability alone.

[new2coachin]

So, state your reasons why we even have "Girls" hockey.

We have girls hockey because most girls don't have the ability to play traveling youth hockey. Notice I said "most", not all. Some girls are simply too good to play with only girls, and not all associations have enough girls registered to put any decent girls teams on the ice.

Boys and Girls hockey are not "separate but equal". Girls "A" level is played at a much lower calibre of play than the youth "A" level. When you have an exceptionaly gifted girl player, many times the only option she has of playing up is to play with the boys.

Is that so wrong?
You need to remember that we're not talking about a huge number of girls players here. I'd like to see an official number, but my guess is that there isn't more than 20-30 girls in the state playing PW A....and maybe only 5-10 that are playing Bantam A, if that.

Just a note: One of the top PW A goalies last year was the girl from Andover. In fact, she was so heads and shoulders above the other boys goalies trying out that she was the ONLY goalie they took on that team and they finished in 3rd place at the State Tournament. If you were to ask the boys on that team if they were happy to have her as a teammate....my guess their answer would be a resounding "YES!". But in ilike2score's world, she wouldn't have even been permitted to TRYOUT for the PW A team.

What does your local school district do with other youth teams such as basktetball as it pertains to boys & girls? Do they have a girls team & a youth team, or do they have a girls team & a boys team with no option of girls playing on the boys team unless there is not a girls team for them to play on? Or do they, like you are stating, allow the exceptionally gifted girl play with the boys team, even though there is a girls team for her to play on?

I don't know about basketball, and really don't care. However, I would think that if a girl who played basketball was good enough to compete for a top boys team and there wasn't a girls team that would provide her with enough competition to develop to the fullest of her ability, then she should be able to play with the boys.

We're not talking about HS sports anyways. We're talking youth hockey. By the time these kids reach that age of physical maturity, the girls and boys can't play together.

But when you talking about 11-13 year old kids, you're not talking about a size difference. If anything, girls grow earlier than boys and some of them will be bigger than many of the boys are.

Again, I don't know why anyone would care or complain about this. I'm truly amazed....I'm not saying that girls should be "entitled" to a spot on the A team. They should have to go through the same tryout process and make the team on their ability alone.

Read my question a little closer, I stated Youth teams, I was not referring to HS.

So how many girls would you estimate are playing "Youth" hockey instead of playing on the "Girls" team that are really there because, as you stated "girls grow earlier than boys and some of them will be bigger than many of the boys are" instead of being an "exceptionally gifted player"?

[muckandgrind]

We have girls hockey because most girls don't have the ability to play traveling youth hockey. Notice I said "most", not all. Some girls are simply too good to play with only girls, and not all associations have enough girls registered to put any decent girls teams on the ice.

Boys and Girls hockey are not "separate but equal". Girls "A" level is played at a much lower calibre of play than the youth "A" level. When you have an exceptionaly gifted girl player, many times the only option she has of playing up is to play with the boys.

Is that so wrong?
You need to remember that we're not talking about a huge number of girls players here. I'd like to see an official number, but my guess is that there isn't more than 20-30 girls in the state playing PW A....and maybe only 5-10 that are playing Bantam A, if that.

Just a note: One of the top PW A goalies last year was the girl from Andover. In fact, she was so heads and shoulders above the other boys goalies trying out that she was the ONLY goalie they took on that team and they finished in 3rd place at the State Tournament. If you were to ask the boys on that team if they were happy to have her as a teammate....my guess their answer would be a resounding "YES!". But in ilike2score's world, she wouldn't have even been permitted to TRYOUT for the PW A team.

What does your local school district do with other youth teams such as basktetball as it pertains to boys & girls? Do they have a girls team & a youth team, or do they have a girls team & a boys team with no option of girls playing on the boys team unless there is not a girls team for them to play on? Or do they, like you are stating, allow the exceptionally gifted girl play with the boys team, even though there is a girls team for her to play on?

I don't know about basketball, and really don't care. However, I would think that if a girl who played basketball was good enough to compete for a top boys team and there wasn't a girls team that would provide her with enough competition to develop to the fullest of her ability, then she should be able to play with the boys.

We're not talking about HS sports anyways. We're talking youth hockey. By the time these kids reach that age of physical maturity, the girls and boys can't play together.

But when you talking about 11-13 year old kids, you're not talking about a size difference. If anything, girls grow earlier than boys and some of them will be bigger than many of the boys are.

Again, I don't know why anyone would care or complain about this. I'm truly amazed....I'm not saying that girls should be "entitled" to a spot on the A team. They should have to go through the same tryout process and make the team on their ability alone.

Read my question a little closer, I stated Youth teams, I was not referring to HS.

So how many girls would you estimate are playing "Youth" hockey instead of playing on the "Girls" team that are really there because, as you stated "girls grow earlier than boys and some of them will be bigger than many of the boys are" instead of being an "exceptionally gifted player"?

Like I stated in a previous post.....I don't know the exact number of girls playing at the youth A level, but my guess is between 20-30 statewide at the PW A level and much fewer at that Bantam A level.

And you're twisting my words, I never said girls should be or are playing youth hockey because they are bigger than the boys (I was merely pointing out this fact that girls tend to hit their growth spurt faster than boys do), but they should only be playing with the boys if they are exceptionally gifted enough to play on a youth A team.

[new2coachin]

But when you talking about 11-13 year old kids, you're not talking about a size difference. If anything, girls grow earlier than boys and some of them will be bigger than many of the boys are.

Again, I don't know why anyone would care or complain about this. I'm truly amazed....I'm not saying that girls should be "entitled" to a spot on the A team. They should have to go through the same tryout process and make the team on their ability alone.[/quote]

Read my question a little closer, I stated Youth teams, I was not referring to HS.

So how many girls would you estimate are playing "Youth" hockey instead of playing on the "Girls" team that are really there because, as you stated "girls grow earlier than boys and some of them will be bigger than many of the boys are" instead of being an "exceptionally gifted player"?[/quote]

Like I stated in a previous post.....I don't know the exact number of girls playing at the youth A level, but my guess is between 20-30 statewide at the PW A level and much fewer at that Bantam A level.

And you're twisting my words, I never said girls should be or are playing youth hockey because they are bigger than the boys (I was merely pointing out this fact that girls tend to hit their growth spurt faster than boys do), but they should only be playing with the boys if they are exceptionally gifted enough to play on a youth A team.[/quote]

I'm not twisting anything, just bringing out that you yourself understand what is really going on. Most girls are not playing with the boys because they are exceptionally gifted, it is because they mature earlier than boys giving them a physical advantage, then when the boys finally hit their growth spurt, the girls start playing on the girls team. In my opinion, this is time that some boys could have been developing and training with their future team mates. The schools know what they are doing.

[Night Train]

A bunch of misguided posters here but let me add a little something.

I have a son that was a Bantam A. Very skilled, top 20 team.

I have a daughter that was a PeeWee A and is two years younger. When she was a PeeWee A she was bigger, stronger and faster than her Bantam A brother that is two years older. She grew almost 3 years before him and with maturity came the speed and strength.

I will also add, which has been stated many times but a few aren't listening, stop generalizing. Every single situation is different. Six years ago our association didn't have a girls program. Now they have a very successful, and growing, one. Now our mites are separate too. When my kids came through the mites were all together. So, my daughter's Mite A and Squirt A team mates were several of the same boys she came all the way up, through PeeWee A, with. Those are her friends and team mates that she's skated with for 6 or 7 years. All the players, coaches and families were very supportive of my daughter and her accomplishments. There are some unbelievably undereducated posts on this topic. Are you serious?

[Benito Juarez]

There are some unbelievably undereducated posts on this topic. Are you serious?

Just peoples opinions.....In my opinion, on this opinionated message board.

[new2coachin]

A bunch of misguided posters here but let me add a little something.

I have a son that was a Bantam A. Very skilled, top 20 team.

I have a daughter that was a PeeWee A and is two years younger. When she was a PeeWee A she was bigger, stronger and faster than her Bantam A brother that is two years older. She grew almost 3 years before him and with maturity came the speed and strength.

I will also add, which has been stated many times but a few aren't listening, stop generalizing. Every single situation is different. Six years ago our association didn't have a girls program. Now they have a very successful, and growing, one. Now our mites are separate too. When my kids came through the mites were all together. So, my daughter's Mite A and Squirt A team mates were several of the same boys she came all the way up, through PeeWee A, with. Those are her friends and team mates that she's skated with for 6 or 7 years. All the players, coaches and families were very supportive of my daughter and her accomplishments. There are some unbelievably undereducated posts on this topic. Are you serious?

If there was not a girls team for your daughter to play on from mites through peewee, I agree with you!

[murray]

interesting article in USA hockey bout women's hockey

more fuel. enjoy.

[muckandgrind]

A bunch of misguided posters here but let me add a little something.

I have a son that was a Bantam A. Very skilled, top 20 team.

I have a daughter that was a PeeWee A and is two years younger. When she was a PeeWee A she was bigger, stronger and faster than her Bantam A brother that is two years older. She grew almost 3 years before him and with maturity came the speed and strength.

I will also add, which has been stated many times but a few aren't listening, stop generalizing. Every single situation is different. Six years ago our association didn't have a girls program. Now they have a very successful, and growing, one. Now our mites are separate too. When my kids came through the mites were all together. So, my daughter's Mite A and Squirt A team mates were several of the same boys she came all the way up, through PeeWee A, with. Those are her friends and team mates that she's skated with for 6 or 7 years. All the players, coaches and families were very supportive of my daughter and her accomplishments. There are some unbelievably undereducated posts on this topic. Are you serious?

If there was not a girls team for your daughter to play on from mites through peewee, I agree with you!

What if there are teams, but only have enough girls to put out a B team?

[HockeyDad41]

A bunch of misguided posters here but let me add a little something.

I have a son that was a Bantam A. Very skilled, top 20 team.

I have a daughter that was a PeeWee A and is two years younger. When she was a PeeWee A she was bigger, stronger and faster than her Bantam A brother that is two years older. She grew almost 3 years before him and with maturity came the speed and strength.

I will also add, which has been stated many times but a few aren't listening, stop generalizing. Every single situation is different. Six years ago our association didn't have a girls program. Now they have a very successful, and growing, one. Now our mites are separate too. When my kids came through the mites were all together. So, my daughter's Mite A and Squirt A team mates were several of the same boys she came all the way up, through PeeWee A, with. Those are her friends and team mates that she's skated with for 6 or 7 years. All the players, coaches and families were very supportive of my daughter and her accomplishments. There are some unbelievably undereducated posts on this topic. Are you serious?

This is true, but people are entitled to their opinions. If muck doesn't think girls should play on boys youth hockey teams then gosh gol darn it that's his god given right.

[new2coachin]

A bunch of misguided posters here but let me add a little something.

I have a son that was a Bantam A. Very skilled, top 20 team.

I have a daughter that was a PeeWee A and is two years younger. When she was a PeeWee A she was bigger, stronger and faster than her Bantam A brother that is two years older. She grew almost 3 years before him and with maturity came the speed and strength.

I will also add, which has been stated many times but a few aren't listening, stop generalizing. Every single situation is different. Six years ago our association didn't have a girls program. Now they have a very successful, and growing, one. Now our mites are separate too. When my kids came through the mites were all together. So, my daughter's Mite A and Squirt A team mates were several of the same boys she came all the way up, through PeeWee A, with. Those are her friends and team mates that she's skated with for 6 or 7 years. All the players, coaches and families were very supportive of my daughter and her accomplishments. There are some unbelievably undereducated posts on this topic. Are you serious?

If there was not a girls team for your daughter to play on from mites through peewee, I agree with you!

What if there are teams, but only have enough girls to put out a B team?

Then she plays with the girls team & challenges & motivates her fellow girl teammates to improve throughout the season so they can hopefully field an A team the next year. Then if she still needs to be challenged, she participates in pond hockey games with & against the boys, and continues to hone her skills at home or with clinics in the off-season.

[spin-o-rama]

Then she plays with the girls team & challenges & motivates her fellow girl teammates to improve throughout the season so they can hopefully field an A team the next year. Then if she still needs to be challenged, she participates in pond hockey games with & against the boys, and continues to hone her skills at home or with clinics in the off-season.

Why is it not ok to play winter hockey with the boys, but pond hockey is ok?
Tell us more about your Solomonic wisdom that knows exactly where the line should be drawn.

[spin-o-rama]

Like I stated in a previous post.....I don't know the exact number of girls playing at the youth A level, but my guess is between 20-30 statewide at the PW A level and much fewer at that Bantam A level.

Muck, here are rough numbers from my association. In the last 5 years, 8 girls have played on a Squirt team, with 3 playing squirt A. 3 girls have played on a PW team with 1 playing PWA. None at Bantams. And this is a large association with 60-80 girls/level.
The common thread on the girls is they mostly have ex-college/pro parents.

[new2coachin]

Then she plays with the girls team & challenges & motivates her fellow girl teammates to improve throughout the season so they can hopefully field an A team the next year. Then if she still needs to be challenged, she participates in pond hockey games with & against the boys, and continues to hone her skills at home or with clinics in the off-season.

Why is it not ok to play winter hockey with the boys, but pond hockey is ok?
Tell us more about your Solomonic wisdom that knows exactly where the line should be drawn.

Go back and re-read some of the reasons why not winter hockey, posters keep giving their opinions, and some are met with demeaning comments as replies, saddening to see some have not matured past their juvenile years of name calling. As for pond hockey, well, you can probably look up the benefits of that yourself too, there is a difference.

[spin-o-rama]

Then she plays with the girls team & challenges & motivates her fellow girl teammates to improve throughout the season so they can hopefully field an A team the next year. Then if she still needs to be challenged, she participates in pond hockey games with & against the boys, and continues to hone her skills at home or with clinics in the off-season.

Why is it not ok to play winter hockey with the boys, but pond hockey is ok?
Tell us more about your Solomonic wisdom that knows exactly where the line should be drawn.

Go back and re-read some of the reasons why not winter hockey, posters keep giving their opinions, and some are met with demeaning comments as replies, saddening to see some have not matured past their juvenile years of name calling. As for pond hockey, well, you can probably look up the benefits of that yourself too, there is a difference.

You mean like the girl is stealing a spot from the boy and similar nonsense arguments? You people must think that MH is subject to affirmative action and that there must be X girls on each youth team, irregardless of skill.
Do explain how you came to the conclusion for everyone of which hockey activities can be coed and which can't. You didn't clarify the clinics and home practice. Does the girl need to practice separate from her brother at her house?

[My_Kid_Loves_Hockey]

As a coach, I could care less if my team is made up of boys or a mix of boys and girls. I want the best players at that level on my team giving them a chance to be successful.

I think the bigger question is why does MN (and USA) hockey classify the programs as Youth and Girls?

For those with kids in other sports, do they classify it as boys______ and girls________ or is it like hockey and it's youth hockey and girls hockey?

I know our football is youth football and baseball is youth baseball.

[new2coachin]

Why is it not ok to play winter hockey with the boys, but pond hockey is ok?
Tell us more about your Solomonic wisdom that knows exactly where the line should be drawn.

Go back and re-read some of the reasons why not winter hockey, posters keep giving their opinions, and some are met with demeaning comments as replies, saddening to see some have not matured past their juvenile years of name calling. As for pond hockey, well, you can probably look up the benefits of that yourself too, there is a difference.

You mean like the girl is stealing a spot from the boy and similar nonsense arguments? You people must think that MH is subject to affirmative action and that there must be X girls on each youth team, irregardless of skill.
Do explain how you came to the conclusion for everyone of which hockey activities can be coed and which can't. You didn't clarify the clinics and home practice. Does the girl need to practice separate from her brother at her house?

Nice childish reply!

Good to see you have blown this subject out of proportion!

[new2coachin]

As a coach, I could care less if my team is made up of boys or a mix of boys and girls. I want the best players at that level on my team giving them a chance to be successful.

I think the bigger question is why does MN (and USA) hockey classify the programs as Youth and Girls?

For those with kids in other sports, do they classify it as boys______ and girls________ or is it like hockey and it's youth hockey and girls hockey?

I know our football is youth football and baseball is youth baseball.

From my experience, if a sport is offered in my area, if there is not enough for a girls team, all kids play together. If there are enough to make teams based on gender, that is done and boys play on the boys team, girls play on the girls team. Hockey is the only sport I am involved with that allows girls to play on the girls team or on the youth team.

[ilike2score]

Thank you for my most Preposterous statement of the year nominee...I earned it. I would like to relate a real life situation that I just witnessed two weeks ago regarding Girls playing with Boys. Little league Baseball is a little different than Hockey, as Baseball is not a sport played by girls...so If a girl wants to play Baseball she must play with the boys. In our District Little League 12 year old playoffs there was a couple teams with girls. In one of these games the girl came into Pitch at the end of the game. The boys on my kids team all got really weird and starting teasing each other they better not strike out. Well guess what? One of the boys struck out against the girl. This boy is devastated and has vowed to not play baseball again. I am not trying to make a point like girls should not play baseball, but rather just relating a real life scenario. And, no, the kid who struck out was not mine. My kid walked on four pitches.

[Pens4]

As a relatively recent advocate of girls hockey....it makes me smile to read the controversy and fear created by the increasing talent of the girls playing hockey. The games-a-changing and the dump n' chase era that has existed in Men/boys hockey for a century is coming to an end in girls hockey.

Guess what? The puck is your friend and the team with it scores. Girls are being coached to hold onto the puck and make plays. Boys are being taught to not make mistakes and to "dump and chase." Physically aside...The skill gap between the boys and girls is closing faster than some like.

[new2coachin]

As a relatively recent advocate of girls hockey....it makes me smile to read the controversy and fear created by the increasing talent of the girls playing hockey. The games-a-changing and the dump n' chase era that has existed in Men/boys hockey for a century is coming to an end in girls hockey.

Guess what? The puck is your friend and the team with it scores. Girls are being coached to hold onto the puck and make plays. Boys are being taught to not make mistakes and to "dump and chase." Physically aside...The skill gap between the boys and girls is closing faster than some like.

Wouldn't this statement make it more beneficial for the girls to stay with the girls team? I mean otherwise the more talented girls that are playing with the boys team are going to learn dump & chase instead of creativity .

Also, I for one like it that more girls are playing hockey & that the level of the girls game is improving, we have a philisophical difference in how this needs to be accomplished though. Controversial yes, but I can guarantee you that its not fear. I have seen which side of the discussion is resorting to the name calling.

[spin-o-rama]

As a relatively recent advocate of girls hockey....it makes me smile to read the controversy and fear created by the increasing talent of the girls playing hockey. The games-a-changing and the dump n' chase era that has existed in Men/boys hockey for a century is coming to an end in girls hockey.

Guess what? The puck is your friend and the team with it scores. Girls are being coached to hold onto the puck and make plays. Boys are being taught to not make mistakes and to "dump and chase." Physically aside...The skill gap between the boys and girls is closing faster than some like.

Wouldn't this statement make it more beneficial for the girls to stay with the girls team? I mean otherwise the more talented girls that are playing with the boys team are going to learn dump & chase instead of creativity .

Also, I for one like it that more girls are playing hockey & that the level of the girls game is improving, we have a philisophical difference in how this needs to be accomplished though. Controversial yes, but I can guarantee you that its not fear. I have seen which side of the discussion is resorting to the name calling.

FYI, Pens4's daughter does play with the girls and he knows more about the game that just about anyone on the board.

Hockey has come a long way from when a girl's only option was to play with the boys. As the skill gap on the girls side narrows, I believe fewer girls will choose to play youth. MN, especially in the metro, is probably closer to that point than any other region in the US. However, USA hockey mandates the youth/girls divisions. MH can't change that. The option to play with the boys is going to be around for quite awhile.

It's pretty saddening to see how many people are down on girls for playing with the boys. The thread started with complaints about girls who beat the boys in a tournament. Now we have stories of girls who strike out boys. It's not the girls that have a problem.

BTW, if you are trying to keep score, there has been plenty of name calling by the supporters of your viewpoint. You might want to recount. You can start with your eyeroll emoticon.

[muckandgrind]

Thank you for my most Preposterous statement of the year nominee...I earned it. I would like to relate a real life situation that I just witnessed two weeks ago regarding Girls playing with Boys. Little league Baseball is a little different than Hockey, as Baseball is not a sport played by girls...so If a girl wants to play Baseball she must play with the boys. In our District Little League 12 year old playoffs there was a couple teams with girls. In one of these games the girl came into Pitch at the end of the game. The boys on my kids team all got really weird and starting teasing each other they better not strike out. Well guess what? One of the boys struck out against the girl. This boy is devastated and has vowed to not play baseball again. I am not trying to make a point like girls should not play baseball, but rather just relating a real life scenario. And, no, the kid who struck out was not mine. My kid walked on four pitches.

Again, not the fault of the girl. The boy (and his parents) are the one with the problem here. Better that they figure out how to deal with this problem now rather than later.

[endtoend]

Thank you for my most Preposterous statement of the year nominee...I earned it. I would like to relate a real life situation that I just witnessed two weeks ago regarding Girls playing with Boys. Little league Baseball is a little different than Hockey, as Baseball is not a sport played by girls...so If a girl wants to play Baseball she must play with the boys. In our District Little League 12 year old playoffs there was a couple teams with girls. In one of these games the girl came into Pitch at the end of the game. The boys on my kids team all got really weird and starting teasing each other they better not strike out. Well guess what? One of the boys struck out against the girl. This boy is devastated and has vowed to not play baseball again. I am not trying to make a point like girls should not play baseball, but rather just relating a real life scenario. And, no, the kid who struck out was not mine. My kid walked on four pitches.

Sounds to me that the boy is being taught, along with the other teasing boys on the team, that boys are better than girls. Come on people, the real deal is that some girls can compete with boys in several sports, not a lot of girls, but some. What is so wrong when they can. If she is the better of the players and a boy happend to get beat by her, so what, SHE IS AN ATHLETE BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE. I am not reading any problems from the boys that did get beat in the tournament in Breezy. They aren't quiting or crying, just the parents are.

The games-a-changing and the dump n' chase era that has existed in Men/boys hockey for a century is coming to an end in girls hockey.

Guess what? The puck is your friend and the team with it scores. Girls are being coached to hold onto the puck and make plays. Boys are being taught to not make mistakes and to "dump and chase." Physically aside...The skill gap between the boys and girls is closing faster than some like.

Could not agree more!!!