Violence off-ice...

[Hockeylover]

That happened in Toronto, Canada... You can watch the video report.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_3973.aspx

Rink Rage Trial Continues
Thursday September 28, 2006

It goes without saying that Canadians are passionate about hockey, but far too often that passion can boil over into acts of so-called 'rink-rage', where overzealous parents lose control of their emotions while watching their children participate in the sport.

That unfortunate scenario allegedly took place at a minor hockey game in the GTA on Jan, 16, 2005, resulting in charges against Bradley Desrocher, 48, who is accused of assaulting the coach of his eight-year-old son.

Desrocher has pleaded guilty to assault, but not guilty of assault causing bodily harm, a more serious charge.

On Thursday the court heard that Desrocher approached coach Mark Teskey and berated him for benching his son. Teskey claims he was chocked into unconsciousness from behind shortly after.

Assistant coach John Lyons testified that he saw Desrocher rush over and stand behind the bench's glass partition, then use both hands to choke the helpless coach.

Lyons and five or six other men in the stands worked to pry him loose.

"I'm a big guy," said the 6-foot-5 heavy-equipment salesman. "It took everything I had to get his hands off Mark's neck."

"It's a very traumatic event," adds witness Craig Sands. "It's disturbing to see one father on the team, you know, basically assaulting another father and, you know, 9-year-old children.look up and wonder what the heck is going on."

Bradley Desrocher is already banned from his son's games for five years, but his legal penalty could be far more serious.

Click to read more...

 

[BCCHL inactive]

Bradley Desrocher is already banned from his son's games for five years

That's it? What a slap on the wrist, legal penalties aside.

The guy should be banned for life by Hockey Canada, nevermind the GTA, and social services should investigate their home life. That should go for any parent attacking another for something so meaningless (in the big scope of life) as minor hockey.

 

[Greeneye]

He should be banned until that kid turns 18 on top of jail time.

 

[MikeD]

Incredible....From a parent grabbing a kid by the cage to one father beating another to death(literally). How does a person get that enraged over hockey? A lifetime ban for this guy, not just from watching but even setting foot inside a rink would fit the crime(plus courts).

The sad part is the kid will prob have a tough time making a Tier I team with that kind of situation. With luck Coaches will not hold it against the kid.

 

[wolfgaze]

Video won't load for me : (

 

[Hockeylover]

I've talked with a former coach of a team of young kids. He quit coaching because it was too much pressure from the parents. At a few occasions, he was physically threatened by some parents if their kids did not play more...

 

[mac-sniper]

Incredible....From a parent grabbing a kid by the cage to one father beating another to death(literally). How does a person get that enraged over hockey? A lifetime ban for this guy, not just from watching but even setting foot inside a rink would fit the crime(plus courts).

The sad part is the kid will prob have a tough time making a Tier I team with that kind of situation. With luck Coaches will not hold it against the kid.

you're not canadian and you don't understand. as gay as it sounds, hockey is a way of life for canadians. ive seen the same **** happen in american football and soccer in europe. i think some canadians will disagree, but the ones who have been playing hockey since they were very young will agree with me. i'm not saying that he shouldn't walk away without punishment or anything, but i think that this guys not the first to pull a stunt like this, nor will he be the last. in a way, it sucks for him that hes probably going to get the book thrown at him when ive seen this stuff happens like crazy. it doesn't excuse his behaviour, but this article is implying that this kinda stuff doesnt happen every weekend. everyone who played from the time they were 4 and on can remember how hard there old man was on them at one point or other. canadians are just ridiculously passionate about the game, i think a lot of canadians can relate to me.

this guy clearly showed incredibly poor judgement, and he needs to control his emotions much better than he has demonstrated. he should simply go to an anger management class, a fine and some community hours. he shoudlnt' be banned from his sons games.

***sorry thsi is in response to JM47's post, not mikes***

 

[KariyaIsGod*]

The other guy should learn how to fight...

 

[espo*]

you're not canadian and you don't understand. as gay as it sounds, hockey is a way of life for canadians. ive seen the same **** happen in american football and soccer in europe. i think some canadians will disagree, but the ones who have been playing hockey since they were very young will agree with me. i'm not saying that he shouldn't walk away without punishment or anything, but i think that this guys not the first to pull a stunt like this, nor will he be the last. in a way, it sucks for him that hes probably going to get the book thrown at him when ive seen this stuff happens like crazy. it doesn't excuse his behaviour, but this article is implying that this kinda stuff doesnt happen every weekend. everyone who played from the time they were 4 and on can remember how hard there old man was on them at one point or other. canadians are just ridiculously passionate about the game, i think a lot of canadians can relate to me.

this guy clearly showed incredibly poor judgement, and he needs to control his emotions much better than he has demonstrated. he should simply go to an anger management class, a fine and some community hours. he shoudlnt' be banned from his sons games.

***sorry thsi is in response to JM47's post, not mikes***

passion is fine but that's not an excuse for that.It's just kids playing hockey,what are some parents thinking?how many kids will we lose that don't want to play anymore if parents are going on like this?

It's crazy,terrible for hockey in our country.

 

[Transported Upstater]

passion is fine but that's not an excuse for that.It's just kids playing hockey,what are some parents thinking?how many kids will we lose that don't want to play anymore if parents are going on like this?

It's crazy,terrible for hockey in our country.

Couldn't have said it better.

 

[mac-sniper]

i'd also like to know why his son was benched. the guys got a right to be pissed for sure. if hes 8, im gunna take a guess that hes not playin anything except house. who benches an 8 year old in houseleague?

 

[Gino 14]

i'd also like to know why his son was benched. the guys got a right to be pissed for sure. if hes 8, im gunna take a guess that hes not playin anything except house. who benches an 8 year old in houseleague?

The fact that the boy was benched in no way excuses the action of the father. Not only should he get jail time and counseling, but banning him from games seems too little. I know a fair number of folks that live up north and none of them seem to sympathize with you about this guy's actions. The fact that anyone can rationalize this type of behavior is scary.

 

[mac-sniper]

benching doesn't warrant a "choking" but the coach wasn't the brightest guy for benching an 8 year old kid either.

 

[MikeD]

the coach can bench any player he chooses. He's in charge of the team. I ahve seen players as young as 6 benched. Missing gear/jersey, missing practice, poor attitude, excessive penalties, lazy performance...its a long list. We as parents are spectators. Now, that parent could very easily have talked in private with the coach asking what the problem was and helped straighten out "LITTLE JOHNNY'S" issue. the coach has the right to bench ANY player. Many parents today think their kid can do no wrong....everyone is a freaking victim. Kids need to learn to take responsibility for their actions and work thier way through the situations created by their behaviors. For all we know he might have felt the boy was too tired, injured, playing off his game..etc etc etc. Its not our place to second guess let alone physically attack the guy. House league or not the Coach makes the call. I want a Coach willing to put the team first and do what it takes to give them the win(legally and with in the rules). Coaches do not just bench a player on a whim.

MAC,
That was one of the stupidest comments I have ever heard. Because I am not CANADIAN I wouldn't understand? Not all Canadians are totally into hockey, just as not all Americans are into baseball. Save that nationalistic bigotry for someone that will buy it. I have played this great game since I was just under 4. That means I have 44 years of play time and not once have I personaly seen a parent or group of parents do anything more than yell. My father was a goalie, my grandfather was a goalie...two of my three children are goalies. Hockey is a passion and as much as a part of my family history and traditions as ANY Canadians. Dont be such a BIGOT.

The message you send is that its OK to do what he did. Jail, anger management etc etc isn't strong enough. The ultimate penalty is to be banned for LIFE. Do the crime then you had better be able to handle the time. Why should that or any future Coach for that boy have to be subject to this mental case being behind him in the stands? Would YOU want him there behind you after he tried to kill you? Would you be so forgiving? Had no one intervened he could very well have killed the guy. I wouldn't want the guy anywhere near me, my family in the stands or the team.

 

[KariyaIsGod*]

the coach can bench any player he chooses. He's in charge of the team. I ahve seen players as young as 6 benched. Missing gear/jersey, missing practice, poor attitude, excessive penalties, lazy performance...its a long list. We as parents are spectators. Now, that parent could very easily have talked in private with the coach asking what the problem was and helped straighten out "LITTLE JOHNNY'S" issue. the coach has the right to bench ANY player. Many parents today think their kid can do no wrong....everyone is a freaking victim. Kids need to learn to take responsibility for their actions and work thier way through the situations created by their behaviors. For all we know he might have felt the boy was too tired, injured, playing off his game..etc etc etc. Its not our place to second guess let alone physically attack the guy. House league or not the Coach makes the call. I want a Coach willing to put the team first and do what it takes to give them the win(legally and with in the rules). Coaches do not just bench a player on a whim.

MAC,
That was one of the stupidest comments I have ever heard. Because I am not CANADIAN I wouldn't understand? Not all Canadians are totally into hockey, just as not all Americans are into baseball. Save that nationalistic bigotry for someone that will buy it. I have played this great game since I was just under 4. That means I have 44 years of play time and not once have I personaly seen a parent or group of parents do anything more than yell. My father was a goalie, my grandfather was a goalie...two of my three children are goalies. Hockey is a passion and as much as a part of my family history and traditions as ANY Canadians. Dont be such a BIGOT.

The message you send is that its OK to do what he did. Jail, anger management etc etc isn't strong enough. The ultimate penalty is to be banned for LIFE. Do the crime then you had better be able to handle the time. Why should that or any future Coach for that boy have to be subject to this mental case being behind him in the stands? Would YOU want him there behind you after he tried to kill you? Would you be so forgiving? Had no one intervened he could very well have killed the guy. I wouldn't want the guy anywhere near me, my family in the stands or the team.

I agree that there is no excuse for the man's actions but you are messed up.

8 year olds should not be benched. At that stage it's not about making the team win, it's about having fun. If a kid is truly preventing that from happening, maybe they should be have a discussion about it. You don't bench 8 year old house league players. That's idiotic.

 

[espo*]

I agree that there is no excuse for the man's actions but you are messed up.

8 year olds should not be benched. At that stage it's not about making the team win, it's about having fun. If a kid is truly preventing that from happening, maybe they should be have a discussion about it. You don't bench 8 year old house league players. That's idiotic.

i agree,you don't bench 8 year old kids playing minor hockey,at least not because of "mistakes" made on the ice,it should not be about winning or losing at that stage but only about having fun while trying to impart skills development to the kids.It's not the pro leagues and parents pay a lot of money to give their kids an opportunity to play hockey and most importantly the kids can't develop love for playing when sitting on the bench and it should not happen at that stage of minor hockey .However,the way to handle it is to go to the coach in private in a spirit of adult communication and explain the situation to the coach,not lose it and start choking the guy.Everything would get settled if you calmly explained your concerns to the coach.

Beating the snot out of him is not the way to go.

 

[Da Canucks]

the coach can bench any player he chooses. He's in charge of the team. I ahve seen players as young as 6 benched. Missing gear/jersey, missing practice, poor attitude, excessive penalties, lazy performance...its a long list. We as parents are spectators. Now, that parent could very easily have talked in private with the coach asking what the problem was and helped straighten out "LITTLE JOHNNY'S" issue. the coach has the right to bench ANY player. Many parents today think their kid can do no wrong....everyone is a freaking victim. Kids need to learn to take responsibility for their actions and work thier way through the situations created by their behaviors. For all we know he might have felt the boy was too tired, injured, playing off his game..etc etc etc. Its not our place to second guess let alone physically attack the guy. House league or not the Coach makes the call. I want a Coach willing to put the team first and do what it takes to give them the win(legally and with in the rules). Coaches do not just bench a player on a whim.

MAC,
That was one of the stupidest comments I have ever heard. Because I am not CANADIAN I wouldn't understand? Not all Canadians are totally into hockey, just as not all Americans are into baseball. Save that nationalistic bigotry for someone that will buy it. I have played this great game since I was just under 4. That means I have 44 years of play time and not once have I personaly seen a parent or group of parents do anything more than yell. My father was a goalie, my grandfather was a goalie...two of my three children are goalies. Hockey is a passion and as much as a part of my family history and traditions as ANY Canadians. Dont be such a BIGOT.

The message you send is that its OK to do what he did. Jail, anger management etc etc isn't strong enough. The ultimate penalty is to be banned for LIFE. Do the crime then you had better be able to handle the time. Why should that or any future Coach for that boy have to be subject to this mental case being behind him in the stands? Would YOU want him there behind you after he tried to kill you? Would you be so forgiving? Had no one intervened he could very well have killed the guy. I wouldn't want the guy anywhere near me, my family in the stands or the team.

100% agree. Post of the day!

Kariya is God and MAC are absolute morons. Yeah, I agree probably should not have benched an 8 year old, but as an ADULT and parent you have a responsibility to be a roll model for your child. This parent is a jerk.

 

[MikeD]

There are many reasons to bench an 8-9 year old House player. Swinging a stick, checking from behind or other INTENT TO INJURE infractions, Foul language, disrespect to a ref...all of which would get ANY player benched for the remainder of a game. It is possible that the Coach had tried communicating and other corrections with the player. Was the kid benched a puck hog who was TOLD repeatedly to pass? Was he repeatedly leaving his position? Do people honestly think a kid should not be benched just because of their age or skill level?

I have benched a kid in an instructional floor hockey program. We didnt even keep score of the games! The boy simply could not keep his stick below the waist on both his pre shot and post shot. After several Saturdays and at least 10 warnings I had to put him on the bench. Floor(ball) hockey with no head/face protection, even with the plastic franklin sticks, was no place for this. He sat out about 20 minutes of play time. When he came back the following Saturday I asked if he thought he could keep his stick down. He replied that he would try his hardest. The remaining 8 of the 10 week program i did not have to give him another warning. He kept that stick down! Would I have given him another warning? Probably, but in this kids(3rd grade) mind he had sat the pine and might have to again. I found out later from his mom that the benching was a MAJOR factor. I had given the family instruction for a home drill. Hold the stick in a shooting position. Tie a piece of twine from just below his hand to his plant foot ankle so that his stick could only come up to the limit on the shot follow through(no slap shots)....shoot at a wall from close range, catch the rebound and wrist it again. They never tried it. After he got benched, As soon as they got home he had his Dad set him up for the drill and he worked it HARD every day after school for the week. He got pretty good at wristing a shot and not even needing the full length allowed by the restricter.

In any case, considering it said MINOR hockey, from the look of the skills of the players on the ice and uniforms in the video, I dont think this is house league. By age 9 many kids have been playing the game from 3-5 years already. As a mini-mite at age 4.5 is when my youngest started. He was benched for one game in roller hockey at age 7. He hit one of his own team mates with his goalie stick(after the whistle) when the kid made a nasty remark about a goal he had just allowed. Gator knew better and since it was after the whistle and his own team mate the Ref made no call. The coach pulled him from net and put a Defenseman player in goal. You know what....He has NEVER used his stick on another player and that includes hacks or slashes at opponents who try to screen him. He learned very well from that. Had I gone ballistic and undermined the Coach's authority, what lesson would my son have learned? It also allowed me to simply express my displeasure at seeing him do that and NOT discipline him for it. The coach handled it, as he should have. I am just a spectator.

A kids age does not give them a free pass. How much a parent pays has no impact on team discipline. House league or not, regardless of the sport....the bench is a good form of discipline for any age player who doesn't follow the rules or get with the Coach's program. Riding pine SUCKS! Would people rather that Coaches just CUT a player from the team? I know of NO LEAGUE that doesn't reserve the right to release a player. It is a privilege NOT a right and in most cases there is NO REFUND.