Jabs #13: Making Youth Hockey Safer In Wake of Jablonski Tragedy

Submitted by Hal Tearse on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 01:27. | comments

While Jablonski's injury was, of course, his parent's worst nightmare, and will change his life forever, such injuries are fortunately quite rare in ice hockey but the publicity, in this instance, has prompted calls for the leaders of youth and high school hockey in Minnesota to demand stricter rule enforcement, better coaching, and more severe penalties for dangerous and illegal "hits" that lead to hockey being a sport with one of the highest rates of concussion.

Longtime Minnesota ice hockey coach Hal Tearse talks about how the catastrophic injury suffered by high school hockey player Jack "Jabs" Jablonski and suggests ways to make the sport safer.

Protective Cups, Jock Straps, Supporters: Essential Equipment for Contact and Collision Sports

When your son plays contact or collision sports, there is always the risk of testicular injury. To protect against such injury, boys need to wear a cup.

Angela Ruggiero Remembers Winning Gold

Four-time Olympic women's ice hockey medalist, Angela Ruggiero, tells MomsTeam's Brooke de Lench that the best part of winning gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan was seeing the American flag raised at the medal ceremony.

Brooke de Lench

Angela Ruggiero: My Personal Reflections On Her Retirement

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Fri, 12/30/2011 - 17:55. | comments

This is a success story virtually without equal in women's sports in the post-Title IX era. A story not only about the success of one remarkable young woman, but about her parents and those, like me, who were privileged to watch her grow from a starry-eyed and talented teenager to the mature, self-assured woman she is today; a story which should serve, not only as an inspiration to any youth athlete who wants to reach the elite level in their sport, but for their parents as well.

Two days ago, Angela Ruggiero held a press conference to announce her retirement from women's ice hockey, two weeks after she told me of her decision.

The story of Angela Ruggiero is virtually without equal in women's sports in the post-Title IX era. It is a story not only about the success of one remarkable young woman, but about her parents and those, like me, who were privileged to watch her grow from a starry-eyed and talented teenager to the mature, self-assured woman she is today.

Starting Ice Hockey At Age 10: Too Late To Reach Olympics?

Four-time Olympic women's ice hockey medalist Angela Ruggiero says that starting ice hockey at age 10 is not too late to become an Olympian; that some of her Olympic teammates, in fact, didn't start until age 12 or 13. What she reminds parents is that their child will only achieve athletic success if they love their sport, so it is critical to find one they love to play.

Girl's or Boy's Hockey? Up to The Athlete To Decide

Four-time Olympic women's ice hockey medalist Angela Ruggiero says the decision on whether to play girl's or boy's hockey is up to the athlete and her parents after weighing the pluses and minuses.

Goalie Competition and Celebration

Unmarked Detour: Unprepared Despite Multiple Concussion History

Although her daughter Heidi had suffered multiple concussions in the past (one in second grade during recreational skating, the second more serious concussion in a collision with a softball teammate in ninth grade), and despite thinking she was "concussion savvy," Dorothy Bedford says that, three to four weeks after Heidi suffered a third concussion warming up for an ice hockey game during her junior year in high school, she was unprepared for the "mysterious journey" that lay ahead for both of them.

Unmarked Detour: Long Concussion Journey Begins Before Puck Even Drops

After sustaining a series of hits to her head during the previous week's training, Heidi Taggart asked her ice hockey coach to be excused from goaltending during a game in February 2010 when she began experiencing "flu-like" symptoms. He told her to "suck it up" and take the ice. During pre-game warm-ups, a teammate's stick hit Heidi in the head during the follow-through from a wrist shot. She immediately began experiencing concussion symptoms (headache, disorientation, drowsiness), but the injury was not initially thought to be too serious. It was anything but. As her mom, Dorothy Bedford, now recalls, the road Heidi travelled from that Friday night on the way to recovery from post-concussion syndrome would be marked by a long series of "unmarked detours" taking fourteen months and requiring treatment from more than 10 different medical specialists.

Shockbox Helmet Sensor Warns Of Possible Concussion

A revolutionary new product called Shockbox^TM triggers an alarm on a smart-phone whenever an athlete suffered a blow to the head hard enough to cause possible concussion so the player can be immediately removed from the game or practice for a sideline assessment.

Hockey - Ice