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PCA Minnesota and Minnesota Hockey Host 2019 Honor the Game Tournament

12.10.2019


On November 1-3, Positive Coaching Alliance – Minnesota and Minnesota Hockey (www.minnesotahockey.org) collaborated for a unique Honor the Game (HTG) Hockey Tournament. Hosted at the Minnesota Wild’s practice facility, TRIA Rink (www.triarink.com)

The tournament featured eight Peewee ‘A’ hockey teams – Armstrong-Cooper, Anoka, Bloomington Jefferson, Cambridge-Isanti, Le Sueur-St. Peter, New Ulm-Sleepy Eye, St. Michael-Albertville and St. Paul Capitals – in a round robin tournament.

The HTG tournament had a dual focus….competing to win AND sportsmanship/playing the game the “right way” – honoring the game.  The HTG tournament offered a unique twist to the standard youth sports tournament with a focus on sportsmanship and camaraderie practiced by players, coaches, and required spectators to concentrate on respecting and honoring those who make the game possible including the players, coaches and officials.

The focus was not just on the action on the ice, but significant emphasis was placed on the conduct and interaction of the fans in attendance. Some of the distinctive required elements included:

  • Parents/fans hand shake before and after each game with the opposing teams’ parents/fans
  • Parents/fans from opposing teams sat together during their respective games on Saturday
  • Officials introduced themselves to spectators prior to each game, stating why they officiate and asking fans to honor them, players, each other, etc.
  • Parents were encouraged to cheer for BOTH teams during each team’s 3rd pool play game on Saturday
  • Coaches were encouraged to refrain from bench minor penalties
  • PCA-MN & Minnesota Hockey staff addressed each team in locker rooms pregame regarding honoring the game and making themselves, teammates and the game better