“It’s a marathon, not a sprint”

How many times do we hear this phrase made in comparison to the quest for a cure? After two decades of existence, the CSRO has grown in leaps and bounds, with a continued focus on a cure for paralysis.

In this issue, we once again report a great advancement in our research coming out of McMaster University under the guidance of Dr. Michel Rathbone. There are few research-based not-for-profits that consistently announce advancements in research, and we are proud of our record in this area.

We are also proud of the ongoing support that we receive from the hockey community. In this magazine, we have reprinted a recent informational piece unveiling Play It CoolTM, a CSRO program designed to prevent spinal cord injuries among children participating in minor hockey. A great deal of hard work was involved in the development of Play It CoolTM, and we’re pleased to see the
program, which is viewed in a positive light by the hockey community, gaining rapid acceptance.

With our research continuing to show advancement and the steady development of our awareness and prevention programs, we are also seeing an increase in partnerships with the corporate community. It is with this forward momentum that we invite you to join our team. Help us continue to raise funds which will inevitably lead to a more significant investment in CSRO research and programs. These initiatives prevent and will eventually find a cure for paralysis.

Thank you for your support.

Barry Munro, BA, LLB
President
The Canadian Spinal Research Organization

Most hockey coaches will tell you that skating is the number one skill, followed by passing and shooting. In recent years, however, body checking has been the focus of increasing attention – much of it negative – in response to concerns about injuries.

That emphasis is about to change, thanks to a new sensible, comprehensive awareness and prevention program from the Canadian Spinal Research Organization (CSRO). Play It Cool™ is an initiative designed to take a proactive approach to serious injuries sustained in recreational hockey – by teaching players to become better hockey players.

“The philosophy is really about skill enhancement as opposed to a prevention program,” says Barry Munro, CSRO president.

With the help of NHL players such as Brad May, chairman of the CSRO’s Shoot for a Cure spinal cord research campaign, and Mitron Sports Enterprises Inc. of Toronto, Play It Cool™ offers a series of printed materials, videos, CD-ROMs and other materials for players and coaches.

The program is a natural extension of the Shoot for a Cure campaign, launched in early 2001 to raise funds for spinal cord research.

Play It Cool™ places special emphasis on trying to prevent spinal cord injuries in hockey.

“There seemed to be enough incidents (of injury) to warrant some type of program,” says Munro. “We felt that it was a way the players could get involved, to send a message to children and help change the way they played to reduce incidents.

“There have been other programs out there, like the Stop sign initiative, but we felt there was more we could do.”

Certainly, the effort is well timed with concern about body checking in minor hockey in Canada growing significantly. Some groups, citing recent studies that show serious injuries occur when body checking is introduced to minor hockey, are calling for an outright ban on hitting in the sport where youth is concerned.

Accordingly, Hockey Canada, the sport’s governing body in Canada, decided this past May to increase the age for body checking in minor hockey to 11 from 9, striking a heated debate. The Canada Safety Council was among groups calling for a complete ban on checking, saying “If we don’t ban body checking, minor hockey as we know it in Canada will come to an end,” citing statistics that almost 8,000 people were treated for hockey-related injuries in Ontario alone last year. These figures, if accurate, would equate to a Canada-wide number of about 25,000 injuries.

Importantly, the CSRO’s position is not to ban checking, stressing that it should remain in the game with more focus placed on hitting as a skill.

“We take the approach, not of prohibition, but to consider checking as a skill or bundle of skills that allow you to be a better player.”

According to statistics provided by ThinkFirst Canada, almost every week during the regular hockey season a player (amateur or professional) suffers a serious spinal injury. From1982 to1996, Canada reported 252 hockey-related major spinal cord injuries. Most were sustained by players 16 to 20 years of age in supervised games, reinforcing the necessity to target the minor hockey community with the message of skilled, respectful play.

Enter the CSRO and its partners such as the Mitron group, which has been training players in all aspects of the game for about 30 years.

Play It Cool™ targets youth and minor hockey players at the Atom/Squirt level; the age at which checking was first introduced in competitive minor hockey prior to Hockey Canada's decision to raise the age for checking. Proper skills are essential for players to avoid serious injuries, including spinal cord and neck injuries. Play It Cool™ provides these skills in a format that young players can easily follow.

The teaching format of Play It Cool™ involves emphasis on interactivity, direct email, Internet, video and personal interaction with minor hockey coaches and NHL and American Hockey League teams and players. Through partnerships with minor hockey associations and Mitron, Atom level coaches will distribute program materials to their teams, incorporate Play It Cool™ skills and drills into their practices, and encourage players to sign up for the direct email campaign.

Filming of seven Play It Cool™ skills has been in the works for over a year with many current and former NHLers volunteering their time for the video clips. The goal is for the email-based program to reach an estimated 20,000 Atom-level players across Canada in the program’s first year, while also targeting a secondary demographic of minor hockey players at all age levels.

With the help of pro players such as May, Play it Cool™ demonstrates these seven skills and a series of ten game-specific drills to help coaches teach their application.

“The idea is to get more pro players involved on film, demonstrating the seven skills,” says Munro.

“The skills are all common sense ideas that have been kicking around for years. We’ve just repackaged it and put it together in a more cohesive form, but with pro hockey players.”

Adds Mitron president Mike Ciavarella: “We tried to put the skills in more applicable terms. Instead of negative terms like ‘Don’t do this or don’t do that,’ we put it in a positive light, ‘Do this, do that,’ that young players understand.”

Mitron drew from its own resources to develop a series of drills coaches can use to teach checking in game-specific situations. Unlike other coaching manuals, Ciavarella says Mitron’s manuals are designed in a curriculum process to guide coaches through appropriate levels of instruction as players advance through the levels of the game. The model is used extensively by youth hockey organizations
across North America and Europe, the company says.

“We’re really considered a benchmark program,” he says. “What our books do differently is provide curriculum – like a teacher’s math curriculum from grades one through nine – which is annually updated with information based on research and studies on cognizant skills of different age groups.” The creator of the Mitron concept is Ron Dussiaume, former draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks.

This is the approach Mitron and the CSRO used in designing the Play It Cool™drills. A key program element is the pocket-sized booklet for coaches, which outlines the seven core skills. It’s an important tool coaches can carry in practice, the partners say.

Coaches can also acess resources like the website www.hockeyinjuries.com, dedicated to educating coaches, players and even parents about injuries, prevention and essential return-to-play guidelines. The site is staffed by a number of professional organizations and experienced personnel such as Dr. Willem Meeuwisse, former head physician of the Calgary Flames and past chairman of the NHL Team Physicians Society Injury Committee, as well as Terry Kane, consultant to the NHL’s injury analysis panel and former head therapist for the Flames.

Simultaneously with the launch of Play it Cool™, Hockey Canada is releasing a DVD, called Check it Out, a four-step approach to teaching players proper body checking. The DVD suggests teaching the skills in progression, saying that each skill contributes to the larger overall skill of proper checking.

While this initiative may offer a slightly different view than the Play it Cool™program, Munro stresses that the importance of the issue merits additional information and programs. CSRO, in fact, consulted with Hockey Canada to ensure commonality between the two efforts and avoid confusion in the hockey community.

With the obvious difference of an emphasis on spinal cord injuries, the Play it Cool™ campaign has the advantage of NHL and other pro players delivering the message. It’s a key distinction that CSRO hopes catches the attention of young players and coaches.

“It’s a start, it brings notice to the issue,” he says. “We really have change the whole style of play of our kids. We hope this is the way to do it.”


PLAY IT COOL™ Eight Core Guidelines

The CSRO, and its US counterpart the American Spinal Research Organization, have identified eight key skills to help minor hockey players avoid spinal cord injuries and become better hockey players.

1. Avoid hitting another player from behind: Respect the safety of everyone on the ice; avoid hitting a player from behind anywhere along the boards; and never hit to the head.
2. Be aware of the checking perimeter: Know the location of the checking perimeter, which is about three feet from the boards; be alert in or near the perimeter and do not concentrate only on the puck; be cautious at all times and make sure you can see everyone around you.
3. Be ready to take a hit: Communicate with your teammates at all times so they are ready to take a hit; be ready to take a hit, keep your legs moving, drive through a check and don’t slow down; when going into the boards, look over your shoulders and make sure you know where everyone is.
4. Keep your arms up when going into the boards: Get your arms up going into the boards to absorb the impact; keep two hands on your stick and absorb the hit with your shoulders and legs; avoid going headfirst into the boards and keep your chin up.
5. Always approach the boards at an angle: Avoid skating straight towards the boards; look over your shoulder; retrieve the puck by approaching from an angle; keep moving and do not stand still.
6. Keep your head up while handling the puck: Always keep your head up while skating and stick handling; avoid making a bad pass; create optimum passing angles so your teammates always keep their heads up; control your stick responsibly, even when you don’t have the puck.
7. Be the best skater that you can be: Aim towards developing a strong skating stride, with much focus on good acceleration; constantly work on backward skating skills; increase your balance and agility to improve your turning and pivoting skills.
8. Like shooting, stick handling and passing, body checking is an essential skill that is acquired through practice. Proper skills are essential for players to avoid serious injuries, including spinal cord and neck injuries. Play It Cool™ provides these skills in a format that young players can easily follow.

Prevent Spinal Injuries Before You Play

The following spine strengthening exercises were developed for ThinkFirst Canada – a national brain & spinal cord injury prevention foundation – by the orthopaedic physiotherapists at Toronto Western Hospital assisted by Terry Kane.

Range of Motion Exercises

• A. Right Side Flexion: Bring your right ear to your shoulder. For left side Flexion, do the same on the opposite side.
• B. Right Side Rotation: Look over your right sholder. Keep your eyes level. For left side rotation, do the same on the opposite side.
• C. Chin Retraction: Keeping your eyes level, tuck your chin in toward your Adam’s apple.

• A. Left Side Flexion: Put your left hand against the side of your head. Drop your head to the left but resist with your left hand. For Right Side Flexion, do the same on the opposite side.
• B. Right Rotation: Put your right hand against the side of your head. Turn your head to the right but resist with your right hand. For Left Rotation, do the same on the opposite side.

• A. Pectorals: Stand against a corner. Tighten your abdominals and keep your back straight. Lean into the corner to feel the stretch in your chest muscles.
• B. Inner Thigh Stretch: Stand with your feet apart and trunk facing forward. Bend your right knee and shift your weight to the right. Keep your left leg straight. Repeat with the other leg.

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