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It's a sad state in the arenas of North America. For nearly a century, since Lord Stanley's Cup became the pinnacle of hockey achievement, uniformed children and young adults, male and female, joined together in a symphony of skates flashing over the ice, whistles from a referee, wooden sticks slapping at a small piece of frozen rubber, and the occasional thud of a player hitting the boards. But in the last 2 decades and growing increasingly more frequent in recent years, several notes of discord drown out the harmonious beauty of the Symphony.

Many of these notes are in the form of words to the referee, sometimes by coaches, who are, after all, supposed to be able to question some of the calls if they see a major problem. But increasingly, these questions and comments, often rude or even vulgar profanities are directed at the referee by spectators, the parents of the children on the ice. I am a great lover of the game, and when I go to see a little league game (usually Minor Bantam, or helping out in the hockey schools provided by Tim Horton's), I hear swearing, cursing, loud questioning of the judgment of the referee, and a general discontent that I would expect to see if the two people involved were in a boxing ring.

Children do not need to be exposed to this type of behavior during a hockey game. Constantly, children are always told not to use these phrases, not to get upset over a small thing, while their major roles models, whom are in their lives every second of every day, scream at a junior referee over something that is completely and utterly trivial, when looked at by outsiders.

The proper environment for a game of hockey is one where these is no conflict between those on and off the ice. Let the children play a child's game, in a child's way. They will encounter the hardships of adulthood soon enough without having it thrust upon them in what is supposed to be an enjoyable sport. My message could not possibly be any simpler. This is a game. Despite all the beauty, all the grace, and all the love that we have for hockey, we must remember, it's all a game. Let the children play their game. Parents, keep your comments to yourselves. Let the symphony that was the great game of hockey return to its rightful place, as the best sport in the world.