Hockey Canada in the Government Crosshairs

[QV]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-police-news-conference-hockey-sexual-assault-case-1.7105197

Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann of the LPS's force's sexual assault and child abuse unit also addressed the news conference, where reporters also were given time to ask questions.

She was not involved in the initial investigation, and spoke about circumstances surrounding police reopening the case.

"It was determined there were additional steps that could advance the investigation."

Dann said a new team of investigators was assigned after the case was reopened.

"Additional witnesses were spoken to and we collected more evidence," she said. "Some of this information was not available when the investigation concluded in 2018. This was one investigation, not two."

I wonder what the new information and evidence is.

 

[KevinB]

Also, a bit of analysis from a former Canadian Olympic/Commonewealth Games gold-medal rowing team member ...

Hockey Canada’s issues go beyond a few bad apples — the entire system needs to be re-engineered

Hockey Canada has a new board and CEO, but it won’t make a difference unless the systemic issues are addressed through our sport leadership and governance structures.

theconversation.com

I take a bit of issue with some of the comments in that article.

Greater transparency needed​

Too often, coaches and organizational leaders obscure criteria and procedures to allow for subjective decision-making. An excellent coach posts performance targets, criteria and measures early and often, and athlete performance outcomes daily and publicly.

This approach can be scaled to fit any kind of sport organization or group. Sport Canada must ensure evaluation criteria are comprehensive, public, objective and grounded within standards of practice.

All well and good, for certain sports, but sports like Hockey, Soccer, and Football don’t really fit into a single category type of evaluation. I’m sure it works for rowing or other A to B timed sports, but not dynamic team sports.

I played hockey for many years, now coach and Ref, and while doing evaluations for teams, yes you can put a bunch of metrics on a board (we do that) but you also need to see how they actually play on the ice, how they can read and react to plays and how potential teammates gel together on the ice.

Can you be transparent about that, sure, however some players and parents still won’t like it.

 

[SupersonicMax]

I coach competitive U11 and U13. We rarely bench players on performance (we will cut the bench in situations that would allow us to play an extra game, in the third period of a tournament for example), but we do bench players for attitude. You may be the best player on the team, if you have a terrible attitude or show a lack of respect for teammates, coaches, parents, refs or the other team, we’ll bench you. Most likely, none of the player I coach will ever make it to pro-level. Our aim is to develop quality humans in a framework that they love.

 

[KevinB]

I coach competitive U11 and U13. We rarely bench players on performance (we will cut the bench in situations that would allow us to play an extra game, in the third period of a tournament for example), but we do bench players for attitude. You may be the best player on the team, if you have a terrible attitude or show a lack of respect for teammates, coaches, parents, refs or the other team, we’ll bench you. Most likely, none of the player I coach will ever make it to pro-level. Our aim is to develop quality humans in a framework that they love.

I coach Varsity HS as well as 14 and 16U Travel (competitive down here), I will bench for performance, and attitude. I agree with the aim, but I also want to reward performance, so folks who help the team get more ice time.

As a Ref I just kick people off the bench for attitude

 

[The Bread Guy]

... I played hockey for many years, now coach and Ref, and while doing evaluations for teams, yes you can put a bunch of metrics on a board (we do that) but you also need to see how they actually play on the ice, how they can read and react to plays and how potential teammates gel together on the ice.

Can you be transparent about that, sure, however some players and parents still won’t like it.

Seen re: some stuff being subjective, but like with any group that has discretion taken away, the keeners like you & so many others (the vast majority) are suffering for the few weiners who used discretion in a bad way - such is the way of SO many new rules everywhere, right?

 

[OldSolduer]

I take a bit of issue with some of the comments in that article.

Greater transparency needed​

Too often, coaches and organizational leaders obscure criteria and procedures to allow for subjective decision-making. An excellent coach posts performance targets, criteria and measures early and often, and athlete performance outcomes daily and publicly.

This approach can be scaled to fit any kind of sport organization or group. Sport Canada must ensure evaluation criteria are comprehensive, public, objective and grounded within standards of practice.

All well and good, for certain sports, but sports like Hockey, Soccer, and Football don’t really fit into a single category type of evaluation. I’m sure it works for rowing or other A to B timed sports, but not dynamic team sports.

I played hockey for many years, now coach and Ref, and while doing evaluations for teams, yes you can put a bunch of metrics on a board (we do that) but you also need to see how they actually play on the ice, how they can read and react to plays and how potential teammates gel together on the ice.

Can you be transparent about that, sure, however some players and parents still won’t like it.

The reaction from some is to "always burn it to the ground and reinvent the system, and if good people get caught up in it too bad"

I watched some talking head last night and that is the impression I got from her.

 

[KevinB]

Seen re: some stuff being subjective, but like with any group that has discretion taken away, the keeners like you & so many others (the vast majority) are suffering for the few weiners who used discretion in a bad way - such is the way of SO many new rules everywhere, right?

I’m not suggesting there not be rules, but that transparency in team selection for dynamic team sports isn’t as cut and dried as the rowing guy suggests.

 

[OldSolduer]

I’m not suggesting there not be rules, but that transparency in team selection for dynamic team sports isn’t as cut and dried as the rowing guy suggests.

Case in point:

When Carson played AA one of the teammates looked really good in the drills but was a terrible game time guy. Zero Hockey Sense and he always knew better than the coaches and teammates. People wondered why he was chosen and it was "he looked good in practice and drills".