雙語冰球|如何讓更多的孩子打冰球?

冰球 加拿大 滑雪 朋友圈 GoHockey 2017-05-25

雙語冰球|如何讓更多的孩子打冰球?

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雙語冰球|如何讓更多的孩子打冰球?

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雙語冰球|如何讓更多的孩子打冰球?

不得不承認,花銷大是影響更多人去接觸冰球一個很主要的因素,但是在草根也就是大眾冰球中,更多的關注也可以放在讓冰球變得不那麼消耗體力和具有競爭性上。

Yes, cost is asignificant factor in making hockey accessible to more people, but more focus is also needed on making it less competitive, and less strenuous at the grass-roots level.

在加拿大,我們非常高興的看到像Mark Messier這樣的專家希望更多的孩子去打冰球,甚至這也是Bauer和其他加拿大品牌為銷售更多的冰球裝備而想實現的偉大目標。但在加拿大,也許接下來這個事實很令人驚訝,打野球的孩子們在一定程度上超過了解釋有組織訓練打球的孩子。

It’s great that a luminary such as Mark Messier wants to see more kids playing hockey in Canada, even if it’s part of a greater goal of helping Bauer and Canadian Tire sell more hockey equipment. It might come as a surprise to some people, but the kids who don’t play organized hockey in this country outnumber those who do by a considerable margin.

Messier最近指出,花銷在相對應的等式中佔很大比例,這也不僅是加拿大的問題。當我上週在匹茲堡參加Eastern Conference最後的時候,我看到了電視上一則當地廣告,說一個冰媽為了讓孩子打冰球,不得不賣掉了她以前的珠寶來承擔打冰球昂貴的費用。這是虛構的描述,但我們可以看出些什麼。雖然孩子們打冰球不像是許多人所認為的金錢陷阱,但事實上,像競技類舞蹈、滑雪、高爾夫都像冰球一樣花費不菲。

As Messier pointed out recently, cost is a significant factor in that equation. That’s not just a problem in Canada.While in Pittsburgh for the Eastern Conference final last week, I saw an ad on local television where a hockey mom talked about selling her old jewelry to payfor the ridiculous costs it took to keep her kid in hockey. It was a fictional account, but you get the idea. Even if playing hockey for kids is not the money pit that many think it is – in fact, competitive dance, skiing, golf or just about anything are just as expensive – that’s the narrative that’s out there.

雙語冰球|如何讓更多的孩子打冰球?

花銷大也不是唯一的問題,事實上,冰球通常被認為是花錢很大的投資。如果你只讓你的孩子參加小型冰球聯賽,那麼這樣打冰球的投資就會符合大多數中產階級家庭的預算,也不會讓父母們感到手忙腳亂。冰球能夠很輕鬆的成為留給孩子自己滑雪、彈鋼琴、做作業或者單純作為一個孩子生活經歷的一部分。

Cost is not the only problem, either. The fact remains that hockey is and always will be a costly venture. But cost is also relative. If you limit your kid’s participation to house league hockey, it is a venture that falls nicely into the budget of most middle-class households and is not near as frantic and crazy an endeavor for parents as it’s made out to be. Hockey can quite easily be a part of a child’s experience with lots of time remaining to ski, play piano, do homework and just be a kid.

像許多其他觀察者一樣,Messier將所有的這些都和精英冰球扯上關係,他曾經說道:“如果加拿大想要保持其在國際水平上或奧運會上的統治力,我們必須有一種方式來發覺我們國家冰球天賦的最大可能性。更有遠見的也許是加拿大怎麼才能保持那樣的精英水準?通過創造的更多的天賦,讓更多的孩子打冰球,我認為是一種很好的方式來實現這個願望。”

Like many observers, Messier ties this all into elite hockey, being quoted as saying that, “If Canada is to maintain its superiority – or perceived superiority – at the international level, at the Olympic level, we have to somehow figure out (how) to maximize our talent pool in the country. The bigger vision is how does Canada stay at that elite level? And by creating more talent, introducing more kids (to hockey), I think is one way of doing it.”

雙語冰球|如何讓更多的孩子打冰球?

也許我會反駁他的觀點,加拿大永遠不需要擔心其在世界上的排名或地位,我們有很多貢獻到這項運動上的資源,這項運動已經吸引足夠多天賦異稟的運動員。最重要的是,我們不缺寧願花費、犧牲一切來克服苦難來讓他們孩子成為精英冰球運動員的家庭。問任何一個年齡段打冰球孩子的家長一件他們最擔心的事情就是害怕他們的孩子落後於其他人。人們為此投入已經夠多了,也有足夠多的人加入到為加拿大冰球發展而努力的隊伍中。

Perhaps, but I would argue that’s not the point. Canada is never going to have to worry about its place on the world stage. There are too many players and too many resources devoted to the game for Canada to lag behind. The sport already attracts a lot of the best natural athletes. And, most importantly, there is not shortage of families that will dowhatever it takes – pay any price, make any sacrifice, go through any hardship– to help make their sons and daughters elite hockey players. Ask almost any parent whose child plays hockey all year and he/she will probably tell you the greatest fear is that his/her child will be left behind. There’s too much moneyin this game and too many people willing to help people part with it in the name of hockey development for Canada to stop producing boatloads of elite players.

但對於少年冰球來說這並不是一個危機。去到加拿大任何一個城市去看最頂級賽事水平的孩子打比賽,你將很有機會看到這些孩子們可以做一些讓你下巴都嚇掉的一些技術動作。

That’s not where the crisis is inminor hockey today. Go to any city in Canada and watch the kids who play at the most elite levels. Chances are, your jaw will drop at some of the things these kids can do.

雙語冰球|如何讓更多的孩子打冰球?

不,加拿大的問題是大眾參與的問題。我會說那麼多小孩不繼續打球的部分原因是一些排外的俱樂部在他們很小的時候就關上了他們打球的大門。USA Hockey最近宣稱一個新紀錄,在8歲及以下小孩當中有116000個小孩玩冰球。在那個年齡階段,大多數小孩都只打cross-ice的比賽,因此他們可以獲得更多上場的機會,同時比賽也不會變得過度具有競爭性。這是Hockey Canada強制追求的一種模式。在瑞典,低於12歲的孩子們打這種比賽時並不會有數據記錄在案,也沒有排名分出先後。在加拿大,如果你10歲時不在AAA打球,並且沒有接受陸地訓練和在非賽季期間打球,你就有落後的危險了。

No, the problem in Canada is in mass participation. And I would argue that part of the reason why so many kids don’t pursue hockey is that it’s an exclusive club that shuts them out at too youngan age. USA Hockey recently announced that it had once again broken a recordfor 8-and-under participation with almost 116,000 kids playing in that category. At that age group, the vast majority of the kids play cross-ice games where they get more touches, more opportunity and less of a hyper-competitive atmosphere. It’s a model that Hockey Canada is following and mandated. In Sweden, kids play cross-ice games where there are no standings or statistics kept until the age of 12. In Canada, if you’re not playing AAA hockey by the time you’re 10 and getting off-ice instruction and playing in the off-season, you’re at risk of being left behind.

想要更多的孩子打冰球嗎?考慮下不要為失敗而設置體系吧,考慮下不要讓8歲的小孩就有了AAA的隊伍;考慮下不要有像讓超精英隊伍中的10歲孩子們到處在全世界坐飛機打球的埃德蒙頓Brick Tournament這樣的的夏季聯賽吧;考慮一下多一些春季和夏季聯賽,但僅僅出於讓開私人冰場的人一年12個月每天都能運營,從而賺更多一點錢;也考慮一下不要讓青少年和少兒比賽次數和時間比NHL的球隊還要多吧。

You want more kids playing the game? How about not setting up the system for failure? How about not having AAA teamsfor eight-year-old kids? How about not having summer tournaments such as the Brick Tournament in Edmonton, where 10-year-old kids form super-elite teams and fly in from around the world to play? How about doing something about spring and summer hockey, which is nothing more than a ploy by private rink operators to keep their rinks running 12 months a year so they can make more money? How about not having bantam and midget teams that are on the ice more often than most NHL teams?

雙語冰球|如何讓更多的孩子打冰球?

另外,也許,只是也許,打國球可以被看作是一項關於健康和慈善的事情。想讓人們活動起來,需要現代的公共基礎設施。大多數現在建成的體育場館都太私營化了,那麼就導致冰時的費用大幅上升。當成千上百萬投入到基礎設施當中時,有一些地方也許想建造一些不會花費那麼多超過他們預算來經營的體育場館。但在我們看來,那些風險甚至都可以不出現在室內,室外的仿真冰就花費很少來建造和維護。

And maybe, just maybe, playing the national winter sport could be seen as a health and welfare issue. Getting people active requires up-to-date facilities that are publicly funded. The vast majority of arenas that are built now are done so privately; meaning the cost of ice time has skyrocketed in many places. With the billions of dollars of infrastructure money promised in the last election, some places might want touse it to build arenas that won’t suck huge operating costs out of their budgets. And while we’re at it, those rinks don’t even have to be indoors. Outdoor ice pads cost a fraction to build and maintain.

花銷大對於很多人來說無疑是打冰球的一個障礙。很高興Messier和私人部門能夠意識到這一點。但是,提高可以作為加拿大國家身份的一項運動的參與程度要比讓人們去為此買單要難太多。

Cost is undoubtedly one barrier to playing hockey for a lot of people. And cheers to Messier and the privatesector for recognizing that. But it’s going to take a lot more than easing peoples’ pocketbooks to increase participation in what was once such a large part of Canada’s national identity.

翻譯作者:Tony

原作者:Ken Campbell

*轉發請註明出處*

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