Vital Hockey Skills Jim Vitale Adds to Hockey Canada Body Contact Rule Change Debate

TORONTO, CANADA, June 05, 2013

"It's imperative that the national winter sport stops glorifying the act of "hurting a guy to get the puck." In thestar.com "Sports" section Saturday June 1st, 2013.

Vital Hockey Skills has prided itself in quality body contact clinics over the last decade or so. Delivering camps that not only teach technique on how to give and receive checks, but emphasizing how to angle, take away space and use various forms of stick checking. "We always aim to emphasize that body contact should be a last resource to separate the man from the puck" says Jim Vitale, owner and president of the Toronto based company. "Angling and stick checking to shut down skating lanes and strip players of the puck with speed have become obsolete in most teams seasonal planning. It's scary to think that the onus is on parents (most of which have never played the game) to assure their kids are learning these skills away from the rink." After 15 years of coaching minor hockey to the National level, Vitale was featured in The Toronto Star (Link: http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2013/05/31/bodychecking_debate_rages_on_in_minor_hockey_feschuk.html ) on Saturday June 1st, 2013 in an article focusing on the recent Hockey Canada rule changes which pushes the legal age for body contact in minor hockey from minor PeeWee to minor Bantam. "It is nice to be recognized as having a valid opinion" added Vitale about his reaction to being called by the Star for an interview late Thursday afternoon. "I've spoken to a lot of parents and coaches about the implications of the rule change since the news came out. It's nice to be able to reach out to a bigger audience". The debate is far from over, but Vitale says he hopes to continue to be a big part of it "If we are all truly involved to develop players, we all need to keep their safety and enjoyment at the forefront of our coaching philosophy's. We all need to develop and share resources to make this all possible."

Jim Vitale is Owner and President of Vital Hockey Skills, Toronto based hockey skills school that operated globally to bring parents, players, coaches and fans the best in hockey development. Vital Hockey Skills has recently branched into specializing in goaltending and girls hockey!

Jim Vitale
http://vitalhockeyskills.com/
https://plus.google.com/101328984122475457797/posts

Since 1994 Vital Hockey has provided quality instruction to players of all ages through our innovative skills systems that focus on weight transfer, development of stabilizers and extreme use of edges which make our skating systems come second to none!