MAHA rule change aimed toward growing girls’ hockey

KV_girls
Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey

 

By @StefanKubus –

BELLAIRE – The annual Michigan Amateur Hockey Association summer meeting brought a number of rule changes to youth hockey.

But one proposal in particular was passed that should prove beneficial in growing girls’ hockey.

Per the rule, coaches and/or managers that leave for a different association can take no more than half of its players with them from the previous team. This is designed to prevent teams from folding and thus giving girls more opportunities to play the game.

Effective April 1, 2017, Rule No. VI. L. 5. officially states that “any Association or Club team with a head coach, assistant coach, or manager that formerly coached or managed in another Association or Club shall not have a team with more than 50-percent of its players who played on a team coached or managed by one or more of those individuals during the preceding regular or post season.”

The reason for change, as laid out by MAHA, reads: “This is similar to the current rule in Youth House/Rec Category, B and BB divisions and the intent is to allow girls associations the opportunity to grow. History has shown that when a coach and group of players changes associations in mass, the team at the previous association folds which means less places for girls to play. Coaches moving whole teams or the majority of a team or players from association to association does not serve to grow the game.”