Debate erupts after video surfaces of coach showing eight-year-old hockey players how to fight

This is always a topic that is bound to spark debate among hockey parents, players and fans alike. A video has surfaced out of Russian this week that shows a coach teaching eight-year-old players how to properly handle themselves in a hockey fight. The video, which we'll post below, shows six children in pairs of two practising how to grab on to an opponent in the event of a scrap and how to properly throw a punch. At one point, the coach stops two of the kids and gives a demonstration of how to grab on to a jersey near the neck and hit someone in the face, using one of the children as a prop. Check it out. The fight instructions last for the first minute of the video.

Alexey Shevchenko, a reporter with Sport-express.ru, referred to the video as "scandalous" in an article and expressed surprise that some parents are defending the coach.

"How sorry I felt for these children who have such parents," wrote Shevchenko. "What are you talking about? Your children are 7-8 years old, they should play hockey, get enjoyment from it, tinker with the puck, learn to skate properly."

"There are fights, in hockey anything can happen, but this does not mean that this is correct."

Shevchenko mentions that the Russian Hockey Federation has told him it is conducting an investigation and "perhaps" the coach would be punished.

These types of videos have surfaced before and are always bound to have people firmly on both sides of the issue. Yes, if the hope is that your child will play professional hockey at some point, they will definitely need to learn to defend themselves somewhere along the way. Eight years old does seem awfully young for this type of instruction, though. At that age, many are still learning the very basics of the sport and should be playing more for fun than anything else. It's not often you'd see fights break out among eight-year-olds at a hockey game in North America. At the same time, it isn't entirely unheard of.

At the end of the day, there's no real right or wrong answer here, just a matter of opinion. Many will say the kids are receiving valuable instructions, while just as many will take the other side, saying the children are way too young at this point. Let us know your thoughts in the poll below.

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