Learning from Eachother...

Situation-Error

Handshake lines are an important part of the game, showing sportsmanship and a conclusion to a game. Handshake lines have changed in recent memory. Previously, handshake lines were focused on the two teams with the officials not being included. However, the culture has shifted to entire teams shaking hands with the officials. To put it simply: this is a wonderful display of sportsmanship. In a recent game, the two teams went to shake hands with the officials who all became focused on shaking hands. During this time, two players near the end of the handshake line threw punches and the officials were late getting involved as they were shaking hands with the rest of the players.

What we Learned

Remember that your #1 job during handshakes is to have your head on a swivel and creating presence amongst the players. Therefore, you need strategies to both shake hands and maintain awareness. Here are two strategies: 1) shake hands but do not make eye contact with the players (because your eyes are looking else where on the ice) & 2) use a “fist pound” rather than a handshake as “fist pounds” require less focus than a hand shake.

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