School districts might ice floor hockey in gym class

Despite its popularity among students, floor hockey in gym class could soon be eliminated at a handful of Northwest suburban high schools.

Officials from Districts 211 and 207 are weighing their options after the Secondary School Cooperative Risk Management Program, a risk-sharing insurance pool they govern along with Districts 214 and 225, declared floor hockey without proper gear and equipment a risk to student safety.

The insurance cooperative recommends that the schools purchase additional safety gear, such as helmets or goggles, if they want to keep floor hockey in their physical education curriculum.

Dave Torres, District 211's associate superintendent for business, said the recommendation stems from the Illinois High School Association requirement that lacrosse players wear helmets.

“We think it's important to provide the equipment for the sport (lacrosse), so why not for P.E.?” said Torres, who also serves as chairman of the insurance cooperative.

District 211 will be making a decision in the near future about whether or not to buy additional gear, but Torres said money probably will be a deciding factor.

“Right now, we're looking at it primarily from a budget standpoint,” he said.

Mary Kalou, District 207's assistant superintendent for business, said floor hockey at Maine West and Maine East high schools has been discontinued until officials make a decision concerning the purchase of more safety gear. She, like Torres, was unsure about the exact date that a decision would be made.

“We were taking safety measures already, but this is one of many (risks) they come across each year,” Kalou said.

Students currently play with soft balls, plastic hockey sticks and are not allowed to “high stick” shots, but aren't provided head or eye protection, she added.

Officials from District 211 and District 207 say that if they discontinue floor hockey permanently students will still have plenty of choices of what sports to play in gym.

“We're just saying, ‘Are there other activities that could replace (floor hockey)?'” Torres said.

The cooperative's remaining members, Districts 214 and 207, both offer the sport, but officials at both say they either were not notified of any risk or have no plans to make changes to their current floor hockey program.

“We haven't received those recommendations,” said Venetia Miles, director of community relations at District 214.

She said students are given the opportunity to wear goggles at the schools that offer the sport, including Prospect High School, Rolling Meadows High School and Wheeling High School. They also use plastic hockey sticks and either a ball or plastic puck. An advanced physical education class at John Hersey High School provides additional equipment, like shin guards and a goalie's mask. Hillarie Siena, assistant superintendent for business affairs at District 225, said there are no changes planned this year for floor hockey, which is only played at Glenbrook North. Safety precautions already include playing with a plastic ball and goggles, and restricting the sport from freshman and sophomores.Nearby Barrington High School has similar rules. Barrington District 220 spokesman Jeff Arnett said the safety guidelines in place #8220;are based on best practice and what (the school has) learned from other high schools, not from an incident or from recommendations from their insurance.#8221;The sport is only available to juniors and seniors #8220;with the belief that older, more mature students will make safer decisions in playing the sport,#8221; he added. Other rules including limiting a team to seven players and giving students the option to wear face masks provided by the school.