Respect Not Shown By Coaches – Suspension Or Not??

It shows class when a young Peewee hockey player can outdo his team or his Coaches when the game is over and such was the case of a young player stood alone.

It takes a lot when a young player can pull spectators out of their seats cheering, even crying, but not because of his play in the game, but rather that he stood against the rest of his own team and showed them something about Courage Sportsmanship and Integrity.

A young Matthew Marotta who is only 12 and his fellow teammates called the Cougars from Prince George lost a game at Vernon’s Classic tournament over a somewhat questionable disputed goal.

His teammates followed his Coaches (who are to be the team leaders) and headed straight for the dressing room, and refused to take part in the custom of kneeling at their own blue line before shaking hands with opponents.

Against his Coach’s insistence—Marotta alone skated out to the blue line and took a knee and stayed on the ice, clearly a show of defiance against his Coaches and fellow players.

The team manager for the opposition the Nanaimo Clippers Tia Heslop says she broke down in tears at the sight of this courageous young player.

“All the fans were screaming and cheering and crying for his bravery, his respect for the game, and the true sportsmanship he was showing. We were all standing on our feet cheering for him,” she says. “That’s how you wrap up the game, he knew that. Even when he was being called off the ice by his coach…. He did the right thing, and did what his whole team should have done.”

The Nanaimo team skated over and encircled the lone Marotta, patting his head, the crowd cheering for him as he alone represented his team.

Shocked spectators and parents turned quickly to social media to share the story and in one Facebook post this was shared almost 1,600 times and yet another parent says she could attend 1,000 more hockey games and never see anything like it again.

“In the end, these coaches are here to be leaders for the boys,” Heslop says. “As coaches, parents and players, we’ve all learned from him and will follow suit. His parents should be very proud.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.

Thanks for posting and writing this article. This young player shows a sign for sportsmanship beyond his years.

I want to know what is going to happen to the rest of the team, including the Coaching staff, who clearly should be replaced – immediately if not sooner!

Printed in The Prince George Citizen the following was stated:

Ryan Arnold admits in the heat of moment he had made a grievous mistake as head coach of the Viking Construction peewee Tier 1 Cougars hockey team when he ordered his players off the ice instead of lining up to shake the hands of their Nanaimo opponents after their game.

Arnold’s protest at the Vernon tournament Sunday, prompted by what he saw as an injustice to his team, triggered a flood of hate mail loaded with accusations his players are unsportsmanlike bullies and comments that demonize Arnold and his staff as unworthy of ever being allowed to coach hockey again.

I expected there to be a backlash, but not to the proportions that it’s been,” said Ryan Arnold. “It makes it a better story if it was an adversarial thing between the coach and Matthew, and Matthew and the team, and that’s completely inaccurate.”

PGMHA president Alec Hartney said the discipline committee still has to interview parents and coaches before a final decision is made.

He said that won’t happen until Sunday at the earliest. A 30-day suspension is the maximum the association can impose without the approval of BC Hockey.

You make the call!!!!