A free-of-charge clinic offered by Okotoks Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) last week, was aimed at helping female players stay safe in the game.

OMHA Operations Coordinator Jamie Steer says there was a growing realization of the need for skills instruction on proper body contact in light of some injuries to players last season. A similar clinic was also offered halfway through the hockey season last year.

"We were finding that a lot of our bantam and midget girls were getting hurt because of the contact in hockey," Steer explains. "We had a few concussions and we noticed it was a concern."

Although there's no body checking allowed in female hockey, body contact is part of the game and Steer says that's why it's important to ensure female players are equipped with knowledge about proper positioning to help them avoid injuries, such as concussions.

"If you don't think that there's contact in female minor hockey, you need to go watch it," he says. "There is a lot of it. You've just got to make sure that if you're playing on the ice at any time and you're close to the boards or you're skating with your head down anywhere, that you're aware that someone could run into you or you could be knocked into the boards."

Steer notes that many female players start hockey at the older age levels of atom, peewee and bantam. He adds it's important these players don't miss out on being taught the skills needed to properly position themselves for body contact to ensure they stay safe on the ice.

"If I relate it back to the male program, the first thing we teach in checking is safety, putting yourself in a safe spot, so that when you do get hit, you're not getting hurt," Steer says. "I think what we probably overlooked is, because we assumed that females aren't going to be body checking, we didn't teach them at the right time the safety part of being in the right spot so you don't get hurt."

The clinic consisted of three on-ice sessions, held last Saturday and Sunday at the Okotoks Recreation Centre.

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