Re: “Island hockey parents must take ‘respect’ training,” April 14.
I was a volunteer hockey coach governed by the Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association for 12 years. In order for me to be a volunteer hockey coach, I had to attend many mandatory clinics.
Speak Out, a one-time course, was good for all the years I coached. The coach-conduct form had to be filled out each year. The police check had to filled out each year. Coaching clinics, depending on what level you were coaching, had to be upgraded and there were many coach clinics. If any of these items were not completed, I was not allowed to be a hockey coach.
I give kudos to VIAHA for finally making Island hockey parents take this training, but there are always some drawbacks. Over the 12 years that I was a minor hockey coach, I was surrounded by many awesome hockey parents. Now, these awesome hockey parents are getting painted with the same brush as the abusive hockey parents who probably represent a small percentage of all the hockey parents involved with minor hockey on Vancouver Island.
Andy Dennett
Saanich
