I’ll be the first to admit that what I know about coaching junior age, kiddee type hockey players wouldn’t fill up one of their cups, but this decision by the CHA to allow little kids to start whacking each other seems to be born from someone suffering from post-concussion syndrome.

And I base that only on what the CHA has said in the past. The CHA’s mandate is the advancement of the game of hockey in Canada. But at first glance, this decision runs counterintuitive to the key points talked about at what was supposed to be the CHA’s operating blueprint – the Open Ice summit.

Remember when Gretzky and his pals got together and came up with a series of recommendations that were supposed to drive forward the development of skilled players in this country after the failure of our teams in Nagano?

That national panic session produced an overall philosophy that because European nations were producing more skilled players per capita than Canada – our developmental methods needed to be addressed – and changed.

Stuff like an adjustment to the practice-to-game ratio so that the number of games does not exceed the number of practices. And cut back on the number of games children play. During a season, a 10-year-old may compete in as many as 140 games, counting weekend tournaments. If you’re not sure – that’s simply nuts.

The other on-the-ice issue they recommended was to raise awareness of the importance of skill development and establish a system to measure and celebrate those skills. Instead of playing year-round, borrow from the Europeans. Use the off-season for dryland sports other than hockey to improve a player’s athleticism – and to avoid the dreaded burnout. And forget about the coaches and parents obsession with winning. Play fewer games, practice more and make it for the kids – as whacky as this may sound – fun.

Now – I just reviewed all the recommendations and nowhere that I could see did they say bodychecking should be thrown back into the mix – after it was thrown out almost 20-years ago.

Yet that is precisely what has occurred.

As far as I can tell this harkens back to a philosophy that got us in trouble in the first place – an accent on the physical play. For years the only Canadians drafted early on were the oversized defencemen types who could play a role. Way too few Canadian players with skill were going early because no one believed we were capable of developing any, us included.

Refreshingly in recent years that belief has changed – and is it just a co-inky-dink all those skilled players drafted early of late – like Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, Stephen Weiss, Joe Thornton and Vincent LeCavalier played in a junior environment where there was no hitting before kids were 12?

According to the CHA, apparently so.

Now as I said, I’m not a hockey coach and these guys know more about this sport than I ever will.

But ignorant as I am about this – I do know one thing for certain: Little kids who are in the process of learning how to skate, and handle their sticks are going to get hurt on a fairly regular basis while trying to play a game that is supposed to be simply fun.

And I have one question that I’d like the CHA to answer:

What is the fun in that?