N.B. girl speaks out against proposal to end co-ed hockey

[doniceage]

A hockey player in Saint John, N.B., is speaking out against a proposal to eliminate co-ed teams and force girls like her to play on all-female teams, regardless of their skill levels.
Latoya Burbridge, 13, says she doesn’t care who she plays hockey with but she wants to be challenged, which is why she has been playing on mixed-gender teams since age six.
Burbridge plays defence and says she’s good at protecting her goalie.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/n-b-gir...?autoPlay=true

[Craig2]

As a parent of two girls who play hockey, I've got mixed feelings on this one. I also feel like a lot is left out of this story. Is she playing houseleague or travel? Is there a girls' travel team, or is just house as well?

I do think girls should be able to play with boys if they're truly good enough and want to play with them, but I also believe there's a drastic separation that takes place in the tween years where the boys' size, aggression and physicality just gets to be too much for the huge majority of girls. My daughter played boys' AA minor atom, but I know that come peewee playing that same level with be much tougher. There's also a lot to be said to being able to change with other girls instead of by yourself, and the social aspect is much better especially as you get older. We have some friends whose daughters play boys' AAA, and I would argue that they should keep playing that level as long as they can. Once the boys become too big/strong, then they can switch. But if you're talking about house league, I don't see the point.

More power to her if she's good enough to play, especially if we're talking about higher travel levels, but I think she's also missing out. Maybe her area is weak, but there are some great girls' teams out there. And while I think it's great to aspire to some kind of scholarship, I also think many families underestimate the competition...my younger daughter is very good, but when we play against some of these spring teams from the GTA, it gives you some good perspective.

[CasualCollector28]

As a dude I've played with and against some incredible female hockey players in my life... That being said, I don't care how good they are as they advance through the levels they can't beat physics and eventually the guys they are playing against (as a whole) will surpass them in size and strength... By the time I was 18 I was 6'5" 230lbs (certainly not "the average" but its a possibility) and I'm sorry even if you play in leagues that don't allow vicious body checks, its a fast game and there is still that potential for collision. I enjoyed watching them play but always found myself lowering my own intensity a bit out of fear they'd get hurt. Might sound sexist, but it helped me sleep at night knowing I didn't just plow over someone half my size. So up to a certain age I'm fine with it... but by the time adolescence kicks in I'd shy more towards no and encourage them to find more competitive women's leagues.

[doniceage]

As a parent of two girls who play hockey, I've got mixed feelings on this one. I also feel like a lot is left out of this story. Is she playing houseleague or travel? Is there a girls' travel team, or is just house as well?

I do think girls should be able to play with boys if they're truly good enough and want to play with them, but I also believe there's a drastic separation that takes place in the tween years where the boys' size, aggression and physicality just gets to be too much for the huge majority of girls. My daughter played boys' AA minor atom, but I know that come peewee playing that same level with be much tougher. There's also a lot to be said to being able to change with other girls instead of by yourself, and the social aspect is much better especially as you get older. We have some friends whose daughters play boys' AAA, and I would argue that they should keep playing that level as long as they can. Once the boys become too big/strong, then they can switch. But if you're talking about house league, I don't see the point.

More power to her if she's good enough to play, especially if we're talking about higher travel levels, but I think she's also missing out. Maybe her area is weak, but there are some great girls' teams out there. And while I think it's great to aspire to some kind of scholarship, I also think many families underestimate the competition...my younger daughter is very good, but when we play against some of these spring teams from the GTA, it gives you some good perspective.

As a dude I've played with and against some incredible female hockey players in my life... That being said, I don't care how good they are as they advance through the levels they can't beat physics and eventually the guys they are playing against (as a whole) will surpass them in size and strength... By the time I was 18 I was 6'5" 230lbs (certainly not "the average" but its a possibility) and I'm sorry even if you play in leagues that don't allow vicious body checks, its a fast game and there is still that potential for collision. I enjoyed watching them play but always found myself lowering my own intensity a bit out of fear they'd get hurt. Might sound sexist, but it helped me sleep at night knowing I didn't just plow over someone half my size. So up to a certain age I'm fine with it... but by the time adolescence kicks in I'd shy more towards no and encourage them to find more competitive women's leagues.

Totally agree with you about the boys becoming too big.

DON