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Safety First For Other Youth Hockey Ice Hockey

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Safety First For Those In Youth Hockey Ice hockey has been around since the late eighteen hundreds, and it has developed tremendously from then to the present. Hockey is played by almost everyone; young, old, big, small, boys, girls. The age group that has been under major controversy is the young players, aging between twelve and fourteen years old. Prior to 2008 kids ranging in this age were able to engage in full body contact and body checking, however; the rule was changed so that kids cannot begin body checking until the age of fifteen. This rule change was ignited by both doctors and parents that were watching their young players get sidelined by both major and minor, head and back injuries. The rule change has caused much controversy on whether it was effective or just another rule in place to please the crowd. A strenuous research study was conducted by Carolyn Emery of the University of Calgary, Alberta, says that it does in fact lessen the possibility for injury when hitting is introduced at a slightly later age (qtd. in Marcus). Body checking is a large part of hockey and one of the reasons why an immense number of people participate in the sport, but USA Hockey made the correct decision when looking to protect its players by waiting to introduce body checking. Safety should be the number one concern in any sport; protecting today 's players for tomorrow. Hockey is known for the fast pace and potential for hard hits, but now many are asking if that is what

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