Snorks

Over the weekend I witnessed the Gladiators coaching staff (and then a specific fan) act with a complete lack of lack of class during the hockey tournament in Boston. It 'started' when the Gladiators scored their 7th goal with 1 minute left to go ahead 7-0. The coaches were on the bench high fiving each other. Yes, that is correct... The Ottawa coach yelled over for the Glads coaches to show some respect.... and that's when it set off one of the Glads coach screaming. Sure enough, the Glads coach continued screaming even in the hallway in front of the kids. A fan then felt the need to start yelling from the stands at the Ottawa coaches. Now, we have played the Wild and got beat 10-1 this year. What did they do... they lined up quietly and continued playing the game. No celebrations were required when they were obviously the better team. The respected us and we respected them for their abilities. Unfortunately I have never seen such poor sportsmanship as I witnessed by the Gladiator coach. Going into the locker room and explaining to 8 and 9 year olds why adults are acting as 2 year olds, should not be required.

I am not sure how our coach preparing our team for the tournament has anything to do with the actions of the Glads coaching staff. With that said, I can see that my initial analysis is pretty accurate based on your response. Petit Blizzard and the Wild are very classy teams... My hat goes off to them for running outstanding programs that develop the kids into respectable young men that play the game as it is suppose to be played. I can definitely see what is wrong with hockey, and it starts at the coaching level of teams. It is obvious that certain coaches teach the kids cheap shots, encourage intimiadation tactics, and do not respect other players or teams. It starts at the top and in this case, that is unfortunate. The one 9 year old boy that received a concussion due to a charge from behind is doing well. He should be ready to play again in a few weeks. At 7-0, I guess celebrating from the coaching staff is encouraged as well.