Charges have been laid against a 42-year-old Woodstock, Ont., minor hockey coach following a disturbance over the weekend at a game of seven-year-old players.
Woodstock police were called to a municipal arena in that city at around 8:40 a.m. on Saturday after an argument over a referee’s call turned into a heated confrontation.
CBC News has learned the incident took place at Southwood Arena’s green rink during the second period of a game between two Timbits U8/U9 teams.
The coach involved was a member of Tim Hortons Ottawa Black, which was playing against Tim Hortons Boston Gold.
Police say the coach began shouting profanities at the referee, which stopped the game.
“As a result of the verbal outburst, the referee made the decision to eject the coach from the game,” police said in a social media post.
“The coach continued to cause a scene, shouting and refusing to leave the premises, which led to city arena staff contacting police for assistance to have the male removed from the facility.”
When police arrived and escorted the coach to his dressing room to get his things, he continued to be disruptive and yelled at spectators, officers say, and became violent as he was escorted out of the building.
“In a violent outburst, he physically resisted officers and began swinging his arms, leading to a confrontation. Two officers were forced to physically restrain the coach after he assaulted them,” police said.
The accused, whose name was not released by police, was charged with two counts of assault police and one each of causing a disturbance and resisting arrest.
CBC News contacted the Woodstock courthouse, Woodstock police and the Woodstock Minor Hockey Association for comment, but did not receive responses by publication.
London Morning7:09Curbing verbal abuse of refs in minor hockey
Some referees at your next minor league hockey game will be sporting a green armband as part of a new initiative by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association to curb the verbal abuse of refs under 18. Peter Kourtis, the Greater Toronto Hockey League general manager and a former on-ice official, joined London Morning to talk about the initiative.
Unruly conduct in minor hockey, and in other youth sports, is not uncommon and has been a longstanding problem, said Alison Doherty, a professor at Western University’s school of kinesiology, whose research focuses on community sport.
“It has a lot to do with our culture of hockey and the importance of the sport to us, and the importance of competitive sport in our communities and in our families,” she said. “We have lost sight of what the game is really all about, and it’s not just about winning.”
Ongoing verbal abuse directed at minor hockey referees, who are sometimes minors themselves, prompted the Ontario Minor Hockey Association to introduce a green armband initiative for first-year and teenage referees.
Alliance Hockey, of which the Woodstock Minor Hockey Association is a member, rolled out a green armband plan for the 2024-25 season. Neither referee at Saturday’s game were wearing green armbands.
“How important was this call that it did escalate in the context of a very young players’ hockey game?” Doherty said.
“What’s comforting in all this is that all the procedures were followed in terms of the referee being within his capacity to eject the coach, and the arena staff calling the police.”
Doherty is currently looking at maltreatment and safe sport at the community level, and believes what happened with police shouldn’t be seen as a hockey incident.
“That is not the sports story. The sports story is what happened in the arena, on the ice, and it’s important to know that this was dealt with properly by the referee and then by the arena staff.”
