Free ice hockey template, no account
Free Ice Hockey Code of Conduct Template
An ice hockey code of conduct for the places hockey behavior goes wrong: protective equipment, contact and retaliation, penalties, officials, the dressing room, a player who has hit their head, and parents at the glass. Players and parents each get their own commitments, on one page, with one place to sign.
What an ice hockey code of conduct needs that a general one does not
A general code covers respect, effort and turning up, and the document above already carries those: how players treat teammates, opponents, coaches and officials, and how they behave in team group chats and on social media. These are the hockey rules it adds for players, each one there because it is the thing that actually goes wrong at a rink. Equipment and contact rules are set by your league and governing body, so edit these to match what yours requires.
- Required equipment. Which protective equipment is required is set by the league and governing body, and a player who is missing a piece or wearing a damaged one is at risk. The rule asks players to wear what the league requires, fitted properly, and to check it themselves before stepping on the ice. The document says: “I will wear all the protective equipment my league requires, fitted properly, at every practice and game, and check it before I step on the ice.”
- Contact and fighting. Whether body checking is allowed, and at what age, is set by the league. The rule asks players to keep within it, never to hit from behind or toward the head, and never to fight or retaliate, which is where a hard game turns into a suspension. The document says: “I will keep my contact within my league's rules, never hit a player from behind or toward the head, and never fight or retaliate.”
- Penalties. A penalty is a call a team has to live with, and a player who argues it or slams a stick makes it worse. The rule asks players to accept it and serve the time quietly. The document says: “I will accept a penalty without complaint, serve my time quietly, and never slam my stick or hit the boards in anger.”
- Officials. Youth hockey officials may be young or relatively inexperienced, which makes respectful communication especially important. The rule asks players to leave anything that needs saying to the captain or the coach. The document says: “I will not argue with an official. If something needs saying, my captain or my coach will say it.”
- Bench and ice. An open bench door and a player stepping on early are how a team ends up with too many men on the ice. The rule asks players to stay on the bench, keep the door closed and go on only when sent. The document says: “I will stay on the bench when I am not on the ice, keep the bench door closed, and step onto the ice only when my coach sends me.”
- Dressing room. The dressing room is part of the team and the place where players are least supervised. The rule asks players to respect it, keep phones away and take no photos or video, and to tell an adult they trust if anything makes them uncomfortable. The document says: “I will treat the dressing room with respect, keep my phone away and take no photos or video in it, and tell a coach or another adult I trust if anything there makes me uncomfortable.”
- Head injuries. A player who has hit their head often wants to stay in the game, and the symptoms are easy to hide. The rule asks the player to say so straight away and to stay out until cleared as the league requires, and it treats saying so as the right thing to do. The document says: “I will tell a coach right away if I have hit my head or feel dizzy, foggy or unwell, and I will not return until I have been cleared as my league requires.”
Parents and the rink
The code above also carries a section for parents and spectators, signed by the same page. These are the commitments in it, and what each one is for.
- Glass and boards. Banging on the glass startles players, hurts ears and puts a parent's voice into the game. The rule asks parents to stay off the glass and the boards and not to lean over them to talk to players. The document says: “I will not bang on the glass or the boards, and I will not lean over them to speak to players.”
- Bench and penalty box. The benches and the penalty box are working spaces, and a parent leaning in to speak to a player is a distraction at best. The rule asks parents to keep away from both during a game. The document says: “I will stay away from the team benches and the penalty box during a game.”
- Officials. Many leagues have rules about parents who abuse officials, and officials who are young or still learning deserve the same respect as anyone else at the rink. The rule asks parents to say nothing about calls and to remember that many officials are still learning. The document says: “I will not criticize or comment on an official's call, and I will remember that many officials are young and still learning.”
- Waiting before raising a concern. A concern about ice time or lines raised in the lobby after a loss is rarely raised well. The rule asks parents to wait at least a day and to raise it privately with the coach, which gets both of them a better conversation. The document says: “I will wait at least twenty-four hours before raising a concern about ice time, lines or a call, and I will raise it with the coach privately.”
- Dressing room. The dressing room is a space where children change. The rule asks parents to stay out unless the program has approved them, which is also how a program keeps track of who is with its players. The document says: “I will stay out of the dressing room unless my program has approved me for it, and follow its rules on who may be there.”
- Rough play. A parent who cheers a hit or a fight tells a child what is wanted, and a parent who offers money for goals or hits has added a reason to play recklessly. The rule asks parents not to do either. The document says: “I will not encourage fighting, hitting or retaliation, and I will not offer money or prizes for goals or hits.”
- Removal from play. When a player is removed for a suspected head injury, the pressure to put them back comes from the bench, the team and often a parent. The rule asks parents to support the decision and not to ask for the player to be returned. The document says: “If my child is removed from play for a suspected head injury, I will support that decision and not ask for them to be returned.”
Safety rules belong to the league, not the code
A code of conduct states what people promise to do. It is not the document that sets which equipment is required, when body checking is allowed or how a head injury is handled, and it should not try to be.
- Protective equipment. Which pieces are required, whether a neck guard, face protection or a mouthguard is mandatory, and what certification a helmet carries are set by your league and governing body. Point to yours in the team rules section rather than copying it, because it changes.
- Contact. Whether body checking is allowed and at which age or level is set by the league. The code asks players to keep within it.
- Head injuries. Many leagues, states and provinces require a separate sign-off before a player steps on the ice, and have a protocol for removal and return. The concussion acknowledgment generator makes one, and the code of conduct sits beside it.
- The dressing room and child safety. Many programs have a rule that no adult is alone with a child, a screening requirement for anyone who works with players, and a policy on dressing rooms and online contact. Write yours down and give families a copy, separately from the code. The background check consent generator covers the screening.
- Suspensions and fines. The league sets penalties for fighting, abuse of officials and the like, and they apply whatever the code says. The code is your team's promise and not a replacement for the league's discipline.
Ice hockey player code of conduct versus parent code of conduct
The document above carries both and is signed once: the player's commitments and the parent's, on one page. That is the simplest thing to hand out and the hardest to lose. Some programs prefer two pages, because the player code gets read aloud in the dressing room at the first practice while the parent one goes home with the family. If yours does, the general player code of conduct and parent and spectator code of conduct generators each make one on its own, and you can carry the ice hockey lines from this page into either.
How to write ice hockey code of conduct consequences
The weakest sentence in most codes of conduct is the last one. "May result in consequences" is true and enforces nothing. Hockey gives you a ladder most sports do not, because a coach controls shifts, lines and ice time, and because the league's own penalties sit on top of it.
- A conversation first. After the practice or the game, with the player, and with a parent if it was bigger than a late arrival.
- Missing a shift or a period. For an on-ice matter such as a penalty taken in anger, and explained to the player, not announced to the bench.
- Sitting out a game. For repeated or serious conduct, after a conversation with the family.
- A meeting with the director. For anything involving safety, harassment, the dressing room or an adult.
Consequences should follow your league's rules and your organization's policies, so check them before you promise a removal, and remember that the league may impose its own on top. Consequences for a safety matter are for the coach and the director to decide and should not be handled in public. Write the ladder into the team rules section of the document, in your own words.
Getting it signed, and getting it read
A code nobody has read changes nothing. Three habits make the difference.
- Hand it out with registration. Families who agree before the first practice are far easier than families asked after the first incident. It travels well with the ice hockey registration form.
- Read the safety rules aloud at the first practice. Two minutes, in the dressing room, with the players. They hear it from you, and they hear that it applies to everyone, including the captain.
- Keep one copy and give one copy. A signed page in the file is what makes a later conversation short.
Other sports, and the general version
This is the ice hockey version. The general player code of conduct works for any sport, and the ice hockey forms and templates page lists the other 5 ice hockey documents.
Playbook Logix provides customizable templates for informational and administrative use. They are not legal advice and will not meet the requirements of every organization, sport or jurisdiction. Review anything you intend to rely on with your own attorney or your insurance carrier, and check your league and state requirements.
Common questions
Who should sign an ice hockey code of conduct?
The player and a parent or guardian, on the same page. An eight-year-old can promise to wear the equipment the league requires and to keep the bench door closed, but it is the parent who promises to stay off the glass and wait a day before raising a concern, and a code only one of them has signed covers half the problem. The signature block on this one has both.
Does the code say what equipment is required or when checking is allowed?
No. It asks a player to wear the protective equipment their league requires and to keep their contact within the league's rules. Which equipment is required and whether body checking is allowed at an age are set by your league and governing body and change, so the code points to them rather than copying them.
What should an ice hockey code say about the dressing room?
That players treat it with respect, take no photos or video in it, and tell a coach or another adult they trust if something makes them uncomfortable. Who may be in the room, and how many adults, is a safeguarding policy for your organization to write, and the code is not that policy.
What is the twenty-four hour rule and should we use it?
Many hockey programs ask parents to wait a day before raising a concern about ice time, lines or a call, and to raise it with the coach privately. It stops a decision made in the lobby on the worst night of the season. The code asks parents to do it, and you can change the wait to suit your program.
What should we do when a parent breaks the code?
Speak to them privately and soon, with the page in your hand, and do it as a person with authority rather than as a coach in the middle of a game. A written code does most of its work here: you are pointing at a line they signed, not offering an opinion.
Can I use it for house league, travel or an adult team?
Yes. Edit the sections to match your program, change the examples in the team rules section, and delete the parent section if your program does not ask parents to sign. Choosing the Adult participants option removes the parent and guardian wording.
More ice hockey tools
The rest of the ice hockey toolkit
Ice Hockey Registration Form
Positions, shooting hand, level, equipment owned and goalie gear needs, and injury questions, on a form for registration night.
Open the generatorIce Hockey Tryout Evaluation Form
A scoring grid for skating, puck skills, shooting, positioning and hockey sense, a table for lap times and shots, and sections for each position.
Open the generatorIce Hockey Player Evaluation Form
A mid-season report for a parent: ice hockey skills against the age group, rows for each position, and room for words.
Open the generatorIce Hockey Tryouts & Evaluation Guide
A 60-minute run of show, seven stations from skating to scrimmage, a staffing plan, goalies, how to form lines and pairs, and a safety plan.
Read the guideIce Hockey Equipment & Jersey Checkout
Numbered jerseys, socks and goalie gear, with number, size, condition and replacement cost, and a return date.
Open the generatorOnce you have filled it in
Playbook Logix
Collect the ice hockey code of conduct online
Playbook Logix is registration, rosters, payments, schedules and team messaging for youth and adult sports, in one place. A signed page is only useful if you can find it again. This is how Playbook Logix collects the same agreement without a folder.
Make it part of registering
Add an Agreement question to the registration form and a parent has to check it before the form will submit. It works on every plan, including the free one.
How it worksOr collect a typed signature
On the Coach plan and above, upload the code once and each parent signs on their phone by typing their name. The date and the child it covers are recorded, a list shows who has signed, and families with something unsigned are reminded automatically. A signed paper copy can be marked as received.
How it worksPost it where it cannot be buried
Pin the code to the team message board and ask parents to tap Acknowledge, so you can see who has read it and who has not, instead of hoping forty people read a group text.
How it worksThe Starter plan is free, and the iPhone and Android app is free on every plan. Anything described above as Coach plan and above needs a paid plan. See the plans or the mobile app. Nothing you type into the template above is sent to us, whether or not you ever sign up.
Get every family to sign before the first game
Playbook Logix collects signed documents with registration, so the code of conduct is on file before the first practice and not in a folder in somebody's truck.