The Moose Jaw Minor Hockey Association (MJMHA) was one of those — but at least in their case, it was a matter of the situation remaining static as opposed to something that could have been far worse.
“It’s unfortunate news but I wouldn’t say it’s bad news,” said MJMHA president Chris Flanagan. “Bad news would be no hockey at all. We just have to keep going along like we are with the groups of eight and the two coaches and just focus on our skill and player development. We’re just lucky to keep the kids on the ice.”
As Flanagan mentioned, the current format sees teams in a practice-only format with eight players and two coaches allowed on the ice at any time during their hour-and-a-half ice slot. Player groups rotate through according to the coach’s practice plan.
Coaches and players alike must also wear masks when on the ice and maintain social distancing as much as possible, in addition to a limited number of fans allowed in the building.
That plan has been in place for over a month now, and has received positive reviews given the situation and the alternative.
“We’re really happy with the way practices are going, the coaches are doing a fantastic job and our COVID reps are doing a fantastic job keeping track of everybody, making sure everybody is safe in the rinks, following all the protocols and guidelines and restrictions that are in place right now,” Flanagan said.
“It’s a tough time for these coaches, they kind of have to learn on the fly how to coach eight kids and keep them socially distanced out there.”
The format has even had its bonuses, especially for the younger age groups.
“Some of these kids never get full-ice practices and this works out to be a huge advantage,” Flanagan said. “There’s only eight kids on the ice the entire time and that’s a huge positive, especially for some of the younger kids. So it’s going well, especially that way.”
The best news of all is how the entire situation has paid off — as of yet, no teams have reported a COVID case, even if there have been a pause or two due to proximity.
“We’ve had no issues,” Flanagan reported. “Maybe the odd time of somebody’s sibling being in close contact with someone else, that sort of thing, but we approach those as they come at us and if we end up pausing a team for a day or two until we get a test result, nobody is complaining about that. We’re just happy we’re being safe moving forward and everyone has been fantastic.”
It all means that, for the foreseeable future, it’s just keeping on keeping on.
“We’re kind of looking at our season right now two weeks at a time,” Flanagan said. “We’re committed to looking forward, we’re just going to keep moving forward and eventually hockey will end. We’ll just wait and see how the restrictions and guidelines are changing, we’re at the mercy of them, we’ll just stay positive and move forward.”
