My 9-year-old has been playing hockey since he was 4 years old. Going to hockey games is really the highlight of our weekends during the fall and winter. There is something so special and so Canadian about grabbing a Tim Hortons coffee, driving to the rink and cheering on your child’s hockey team from the stands.

This year, A tried out for rep teams and got so very close but he didn’t make the third cut. But he did earn a spot on the Select team, which is like an all-star House League team that gets to play a few tournaments throughout the season. This weekend, they played a tournament and did quite well.

At this age, the kids are playing minor Atom hockey (9 and 10 year olds) and I’m already starting to see some aggressive behaviour by the kids. Hockey can be a very aggressive sport as you can see when watching the NHL – but those guys are adults! These are just kids.

Well, this is the first year I’ve seen so many penalties for tripping, slashing and crosschecking. I can only imagine how it’s going to be when body-checking starts!

During one game this past weekend, my son was surrounded by his opponents as he was trying to get the puck through their goalie. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a larger boy push my son down on the ice. Thankfully A got right back up but I was angered that the referee didn’t blow the whistle on that intentional aggressive move.

What angered me the most was the opposing team’s moms…  These were not hardcore hockey moms – they were just plain RUDE. They were encouraging dirty playing from their boys and could be heard yelling, “trip him!”. At one point, one of the moms was heard saying, “Who is that *(*&@# with the cowbell?!”

That person she was referring to was me. I won’t even repeat the word she used to describe me but it was beyond rude – it was disgusting.

I love cheering my son’s team on and ringing my cowbell, as do other parents with noisemakers on the opposing teams. It’s to support the teams and the kids love it. Better to ring a bell than to yell out at the kids during every moment of the game.

I didn’t find out about the name-calling until the next day when one parent told my husband what he had overheard. Had I known at that moment – the parent spared me the details during the game because he didn’t want to upset me – I don’t know what I would’ve done. I likely would have had a few choice words to say – but they would’ve been clean and lady-like. Especially at a hockey rink when there are other children around!

Bad sportsmanship looks bad on the kids but even worse when the parents are encouraging bad behaviour and using vulgar language towards other parents. I’m sure she ate her own words after we had won that game.

Is dirty playing OK? Never. Where does it come from? From what I witnessed at that game, it comes from the parents. Bad hockey parents just ruin the entire game for both parents and kids.

Have you ever experienced anything like this at one of your child’s sporting events?