Hockey players' perceptions and experiences of aggressive and sportsmanlike behaviour in minor hockey

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to examine minor hockey players' perceptions and experiences of aggressive and sportsmanlike behaviours. In-depth open-ended interviews were conducted with six male minor league hockey players ages 12 to 14. Cote, Salmela, and Russell's (1995) guidelines were used to analyze and interpret the data inductively. Results of the investigation indicated that there were five themes that emerged and were labelled; the aggressive nature of hockey, personal experiences, sportsmanship in minor hockey, experience of sportsmanship, and recommendations for decreasing aggression and increasing sportsmanship. These results provided evidence that players perceived the NHL as being the most influential source of aggressive behaviour, their parents as the most influential source on sportsmanlike behaviour, and retaliation as the main cause of aggressive behaviour. Practically, these findings provide sports administrators, parents, and coaches with information on how to decrease aggressive behaviour and how to increase sportsmanlike behaviour in minor hockey.