Dick Tuthill wrote:
>   There are quite a few of us on this list with kids in hockey,  and we'd
> like to be able to offer them some advice beyond what Dave said about the
> relative dangers of driving and playing at the rink (which I also agree
> with,  btw).
 
I think Mike pretty much duplicated what I was going to say.  Namely, I don't
think that *anything* can be learned from this tragedy.  I don't see that there
was *anything* that could have been done to avoid it.  Which is one of the
things that makes it so horrifying.  Travis had no time with which to react.
No one did anything wrong or missed doing something that could have changed
things.
 
To those who have written me privately and indicated that my attempts to put
hockey risks in perspective were insufficient and that some type of injury-
avoidance training was in order, I disagree.  *No injury-avoidance training
could have changed what happened with Travis.*  I noticed that there were
some parallels between what I said to my eleven year olds and what Jack Parker
said to the BU players.  Not that there's any comparison between Jack Parker
and I.  I'm better looking.  :-)   (Sorry to anyone who is offended at my
attempt at humor here.  I feel very depressed about the whole thing and humor
isn't coming as naturally as usual, but I know that at least I could sure use
a smile or two right now.)
 
Anyways, Jack Parker didn't go into any injury-avoidance talk and neither did
I.  For I suspect the same two reasons.  First, the BU players already knew
how to avoid avoidable neck injuries.  So did my eleven year olds, which may
surprise some people but these kids have been checking for three or four years
and have gotten the scoop on injury-avoidance time and again.  The second
and even more important reason Parker didn't mention injury-avoidance is that
it just didn't apply.  There was no avoiding it.  Leigh's points about avoiding
neck injuries are good points but just don't apply in this case IMO.
 
 
Rick McAdoo wrote:
> I don't know the name of the program, but Channel 2 (PBS) in Boston has a
> late-night news show hosted by Margie Reedy, and I caught a few minutes
> of the broadcast the other night.  They were discussing spinal-cord
> injuries, hockey, and equipment.  They made reference to some study (or
> studies) in Canada that concluded that these types of injuries were
> extremely rare in the old days, when helmets were not worn, but have
> become more frequent since helmets and other protection has been worn.
> The speculation was that the equipment either gave players a sense of
> invulnerability, so that they took less precautions, or that the helmets
> themselves were involved in the injuries (possibly via faulty design or
> construction.)  They mentioned several law suits that have been filed
> against equipment manufacturers, a common occurence for all athletic
> equipment companies these days.
>
 
[Rick went on to share his doubts about this potential connection between
helmets and more injuries.]
 
Is there anyone out there who thinks that Travis Roy would be in better shape
now had he been helmet-less?  Frankly, I believe he would have shattered his
skull and either been a vegetable or would have died.
 
The fact is that statistics from the pre-helmet days aren't comparing apples
with apples.  The game is played at a *much* faster pace now by much bigger
players.  As a result any collisions are more likely to cause injury based on
sheer physics and having nothing to do with helmets.
 
Certainly there is more fearlessness when a player wears a
full cage, and as a result more players are ready to dish out hits.  But was
there anything reckless about Travis's attempted check?  Anything that wouldn't
have happened in pre-helmet days?  I don't think so.  And besides, is there
anyone who believes that the NHL is any less physical than the college hockey
due to their lack of full cages?  IMO the stats are meaningless in this case.
Besides, look at how many players lose an eye (ignoring, of course, teeth -- my
son was once compared to Bobby Clarke and decided he wanted a Bobby Clarke
smile.  Tough luck, kiddo, and scoot off to the orthodontist.)  Jason Arnot,
already this year, came within inches of losing an eye and his career.  The
first teammate who got to him thought he was dead.  No, I feel much more
comfortable watching my son put his cage on.
 
Well, I've rambled on for longer than I intended.
 
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