If you can't beat them on the scoreboard...

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From Toronto Star :

Young hockey players in Toronto are engaging in a uniquely dangerous pre-game workout: Locker-room boxing.

Disturbing video recently shot inside the dressing room of 15-year-old Vaughan Panthers reveals testosterone-fuelled teens hammering each other with punches to the head.

Despite an avowed crackdown on locker-room boxing by the Greater Toronto Hockey League nearly three years ago, the practice continues as many parents call for a more vigorous response from the league.

Wearing hockey gloves and helmets, several Panther players organized structured fights in the centre of the dressing room as teammates – and coaches – watched the proceedings, some capturing the moment on cellphone cameras.

...

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

What the hell is wrong with locker boxing?

We did that all the time in high-school. Nobody got hurt, and it was a good bonding experience.

Besides, helmets are supposed to protect the head anyway, so I bet Bauer, RBK, CCM, and Nike all appreciate the research done by these amateur athletes.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Doc Holliday

[action jackson 6]

The first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club

[Rice 42]

Big deal. I did this when I was younger too.

[Zetts 236]

Meh. I'm pretty sure that the majority of people who have every been around hockey have done it. And we're all fine.

[Original-Six 254]

Pssh...please. Locker room boxing has been around forever. Its practically a rite of passage.

"Disturbing video recently shot inside the dressing room of 15-year-old Vaughan Panthers reveals testosterone-fuelled teens hammering each other with punches to the head."

They make it sound like they are having bare knuckle street fights. Why are people so anal about everything these days. Let kids be kids.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Original-Six

[Konnan511 1,736]

The first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club

Pretty much sums it up Haha!

[MCleveland89 122]

I don't see anything wrong with it. They're using helmets and gloves. Big deal.

[redwingfan19 293]

i don't have a problem with it but it's dumb. They should use that aggression towards the other team. We didn't do that stuff when I played, we beat up on the other team instead of each other. Thats more fun than locker room boxing

Edited February 20, 2010 by redwingfan19

[jollymania 162]

locker boxing, I never participated it but i found it funny when the 5'4" 115 lb guy went up against the 6'2 280 lb guy

[wingsdiehard13 33]

I used to do it as well. The last time we did it was when one of my teammates chin split open, but it's still something that happens all over high school aged locker rooms.

[Original-Six 254]

I used to do it as well. The last time we did it was when one of my teammates chin split open...

lol same here

[toby91_ca 620]

At first I was thinking this was a really old article because I remember reading almost the exact thing maybe 4 or 5 years ago. Perhaps they are just recycling the story?

For the record, I started playing hockey when I was 5 and played at a highly competitive level until my early 20s. I'm 33 now and still play, but now it's only once a week. Point being, I've never been in a locker room where this has been happening. That said, I don't see it as a massive problem.

[cjm502 165]

We all locker boxed. It was always fun. The only kids that didnt do it were the ones with braces. Who ever wrote this obviously never played hockey.

[wings1110 184]

this makes me sick. not the fact that there doing it, but the fact that people have a problem with it. locker boxing is a tradition its been around for many years and is always a good bonding experience. and those parents that are callin in with a problem are the same parents that put there kids on a leash at the mall haha.

Edited February 20, 2010 by wings1110

[Carman 387]

What the hell is wrong with locker boxing?

We did that all the time in high-school. Nobody got hurt, and it was a good bonding experience.

Besides, helmets are supposed to protect the head anyway, so I bet Bauer, RBK, CCM, and Nike all appreciate the research done by these amateur athletes.

Exactly what I was going to post.

Locker boxing is fine.

Just another reason to hate the media

[Barrie 900]

Whenever you get a bunch of guys together they always box or wrestle. I didn't play hockey in my teens, but a bunch of us used to do our own WWE style matches and filmed it. It was fun, and none of us got too badly hurt.

Boys will be boys.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Barrie

[tonyfranks16 0]

this makes me sick. not the fact that there doing it, but the fact that people have a problem with it. locker boxing is a tradition its been around for many years and is always a good bonding experience. and those parents that are callin in with a problem are the same parents that put there kids on a leash at the mall haha.

i don't think its a large issue with it, but as a high school hockey coach, we do not allow it. the thought being that on ice fighting in our league is prohibited by a state issued 2 game suspension and our district athletic director let it be known he would tact on an additional 3 games. in my experience, alot of "fighting" in our league is "on ice locker boxing": they don't drop the gloves and bucket, but punch each other with the gloves and helmets on.... its pointless and embarrassing, especially if your gonna sit 5 games because of it. it accomplishes nothing. we feel as a coaching staff, locker boxing kind of reinforces that behavior on the ice. in addition, we don't want to take the risk of losing any players, our season is brief.

we have strict rules on fighting on our team.

1. avoid fighting at all costs, the only time its acceptable is if your safety is on the line

2. you never start it

3. you always finish it

4. you drop the gloves and the helmet

5. when its over, its over. go to the locker room

with that being said, in a league where the rules of fighting are more relaxed, im not against it. hell, when i played midget major, we had two kids that were not putting in the effort necessary and the coach brought them to center ice and asked us, "who wants to fight these kids". everyone raised their hands. he picked two kids out of the bunch, and told the kids, "to stay and play on this team, you have to fight them."

fighting ensued, we went to state finals, with a whole new respect for those guys, and they had more respect for the team and game. say what you want about it, but fighting does have a place in the sport, and on the team.

[cupforwings 138]

some parents are nuts... Locker-boxing is a part of hockey locker rooms. Nobody is looking to kill the other person, just to put up a decent fight with another teammate.

[esteef 2,679]

Why can't they just kick a soccer ball around like the euros?!

esteef

[pirateasaurus 0]

The writer of this article either never played hockey or is trying to get a public reaction to his work. "Disturbing"? That quote about testosterone is rediculous too. We all used to locker box and it was great. Bantams-Midgets was the climax of every one's locker boxing career and every one had a good time.

[edicius 3,269]

I'm actually shocked that this is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing. Is this a more "inside" kind of ritual that people outside the sport (such as me, a fan, whose only real-life exposure to playing has been street hockey) just aren't regularly familiar with or am I way out of the loop?

[DatsyukownzU13 1]

This reminds me of a great story.

My friend and high school hockey teammate (a poster on this site), was locker-boxing the day of a college interview (want to say it was Stanford?) and he somehow managed to chip a front tooth or two and had to go to the interview like that right after. Not sure if that's the way you want to present yourself to an elite school, unless you were going on a hockey (or maybe an agricultural) scholarship, haha.

I'll keep his anonymity in tact for the time being, but let's see if he want's to own up!

[seeinred 1,488]

What the hell is wrong with locker boxing?

We did that all the time in high-school. Nobody got hurt, and it was a good bonding experience.

Besides, helmets are supposed to protect the head anyway, so I bet Bauer, RBK, CCM, and Nike all appreciate the research done by these amateur athletes.

Every team I've been on has locker boxed too. Do you really mean "Nobody got hurt," or "Nobody got seriously hurt," though ? Because especially in high school, guys came out bleeding every now and then. I even lost a good part of my 2 front teeth. It was still fun as hell though.

Edit:

This reminds me of a great story.

My friend and high school hockey teammate (a poster on this site), was locker-boxing the day of a college interview (want to say it was Stanford?) and he somehow managed to chip a front tooth or two and had to go to the interview like that right after. Not sure if that's the way you want to present yourself to an elite school, unless you were going on a hockey (or maybe an agricultural) scholarship, haha.

I'll keep his anonymity in tact for the time being, but let's see if he want's to own up!

Haha, nice timing. It was my Stanford interview actually. I felt like an idiot then, but now I think it's pretty damn hilarious. Maybe that's the reason I got wait-listed there, haha?

Edited February 20, 2010 by SeeinRed

[Marty Barry 230]

The first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club

This.