The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

For a mere $40, hockey players between the ages of 12-18 years old can learn how to drop 'em while on the ice.

Derek "The Boogeyman" Boogaard and his younger brother, Aaron, both NHL enforcers, claim they teach kids safety if they end up having to engage in a fight during the course of a game. In the two-hour session, kids watch a Boogaard fight tape to observe the "science" of an on-ice brawl. Each participant is given a full-face shield and one boxing glove to practice proper technique.

Boogaard also lets kids in on the "code" of fighting if it wasn't already clear. No kicking, no punches when the linesmen are in-between breaking it up...stuff of that nature.

The camp organizers claim they are not trying to promote fighting, but since it is allowed at the NHL level, it does make sense to show kids how to properly protect themselves if they get in that situation.

Hockey Canada isn't impressed and wants to see the camp stopped.

Myself, it was alarming to hear about it at first, but then again, it probably shouldn't come as a surprise. If fighting is allowed, every team has someone who can be counted on to do it. Those hired by the NHL, like Boogaard, are the best at it and earn tremendous salaries. There is a level of skill and technique involved, even if it isn't so obvious to the audience. You do need to know what you're doing if you're going to make a living out of it, so why not get it right when you're young?

Maybe this camp makes perfect sense.