Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter to point out an error by columnist, Don Windsor, in his recent column "This is madness".
Mr. Windsor has indicated that the "fiasco in Lewisporte" involved AAA Midget teams. This is not the case; the incident in Lewisporte that saw a young player sustain serious injuries was during a house league game between the Lewisporte and Area Minor Hockey Association and the Fogo Island Minor Hockey Association. No AAA Major Midget players were involved.
As a member of a coaching staff that has worked hard to develop a program for young players so that they may develop their skills and be provided opportunity to move on to the junior ranks of hockey, an unsubstantiated comment like this is disappointing. The AAA Major Midget program has seen considerable growth over the last few years. This program could barely find enough interested player just four years ago to ice a team and now have had an abundance of players and plenty of interest, despite the large commitment by players; financially and personally.
Mr. Windsor's comments about fighting in hockey may have merit, but the problems in minor hockey should be addressed by Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador and by Hockey Canada. The negative annotation associated by implicating AAA Midget teams in the Lewisporte incident may have created a setback for the AAA Major Midget IcePak and the league. Continued pointing of fingers at coaches, teams and players does not resolve the issue, it sheds a dark light upon them, even when not warranted.
I am not sure where Mr. Windsor received his information but we "Central IcePak" were not contacted concerning this matter. I have read many of the columns by Mr. Windsor, agreeing with some and disagreeing on others. I take exception to this remark as the program is still developing and negativity such as this does not help.
Todd Clark, Manager
Central IcePak AAA Major Midget Hockey
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