carroll81

It reminds me of when the new Standard of Play was introduced. It took about 2 months for the "standard" of how to implement the Standard to shake out. The first weekend of games had every game with over 15 penalties per team. It takes time for these things to be introduced, taught, digested and the implemented. Remember, this is not a rule change year. This is a change in how we are supposed to interpret the rules. That is not something that you can just do automatically right away. You have to see the plays, process the plays and then make a determination. It takes time to redevelop the mental memory of what is and what is not a penalty. In the handful of games I have worked, the AA level and above seems to be adjusting very easily. The 16A and 18A are having the most problems. Most coaches know of the changes, a couple had no clue that the changes happened. PuckHead7, anyone can submit and comment on rule changes. Next rule change year is 2021. You can follow the process here: https://www.usahockey.com/rulesandresources

Herein lies the problem that most of us have. AAA is supposed to be the top teams in the country. If you give each USAH District 2 teams and then allow hotbeds and larger metro areas some extra teams, that probably tops at 25-30. For giggles let's say it is 50 teams. Anything beyond that is not AAA hockey. Now, if you want to pay the same amount to play against the next group of 50 teams and justify it by how much the coach costs, and the gym fees are,etc. knock yourself out. Those of us that think it is a money grab figure you could have the same hockey experience for less money, less travel and less stress. It is your money. Unfortunately, this is the state of youth sports today. It is a $15.5 Billion market. Enjoy your sportcation this summer.

I don't want to nitpick, but I think it is important to make sure we are on the same page here. Body Contact is legal in all levels if USA hockey - Mites -> Midget and all Girls levels. Body checking is not allowed below Bantam level or in any Girls classification. Having said that, I have seen squirt and peewee hockey with a tremendous amount of body contact. It's all about angling and trying to take the puck away, not deliver a huge hit. It's really fun to watch. As I have seen this progress through the system in the last few years, it has changed the way Midgets play. You see lots of big hits, but generally they are clean and the players are quickly moving to gain the puck after the hit. Personally, I think bantam is probably the right level to move from body contact to body checking. The bantam level is when the majority have the body awareness, body control, peripheral vision and mental processing ability to handle checking in a safe manner. The key is that the kids have to have good body contact skills taught to them prior to moving to checking. I think the case can be made that checking at the Bantam B and maybe even Midget B should be limited. When I watch those levels, the kids just don't have the skating skills and body control to handle the hitting. I could go either way on this one. Final thought, parents are worried about checking. Now more so than ever before due to all the emphasis on concussions. No way around it. If they are pulling their kids from hockey, football, lacrosse and even soccer when body contact gets "too rough" then the governing bodies need to react to that.

Eddie, you are ahead of the curve again. That is a new emphasis, just added at the Congress a couple weeks ago. My guess is that we will see it added as a situation in the next rulebook in 2021. Is there really that much banging the boards to celebrate aggressive fouls?

What/how does MidAm use the rankings?

It is not a new rule. It has been in the rule book for quite some time. It is under the Abuse of Officials Rule 601. It is meant to be applied to misconduct towards the officials and that is how it is taught to the officials. Can an official misapply it, sure. Just like they can misapply any of the rules.