On January 6th, 2022, St. Luke’s School ice hockey player Teddy Balkind died after a tragic accident during a game at the Brunswick School in Connecticut. During a play witnesses described as “normal,” sophomore Teddy naturally fell on the ice when an opponent, unable to stop his momentum and prevent the collision, skated over his neck. Immediately, Teddy was rushed to Greenwich Hospital but unfortunately died in surgery. St. Luke’s School and the Brunswick School continue to mourn the loss of such a young boy. St. Luke’s School Head of School Mr. Mark Davis canceled classes for two days to allow their community to grieve.
The Riverdale Review and Riverdale’s ice hockey team are deeply saddened by this freak incident. Through this panel with members of Riverdale’s ice hockey team, The Review wishes to honor the humanity and legacy of Teddy, overcome the fear that his loss may trigger, and continue moving forward by creating a safer sport. The Review hopes this article will spark conversation in the Riverdale community about safety precautions in all sports, hopefully preventing the loss of another player in a terrible accident.
Eshaan Kothari: “Firstly, can you describe what happened? How did you hear about it?”
Coach Pat Manocchia: “I heard about it immediately that evening from one of our coaches who knew one of the coaches on one of the teams. It makes you feel sick when you hear something like that. Whenever there is a very serious injury, it makes you feel despair and frustrated that you can’t do anything.”
Bowden Beal: “There was an Instagram post by the Brunswick School about a poem about a fallen athlete. I just read it and it didn’t really give any context. I saw a lot of people posting and things like that. Then, I saw another story in another Instagram post talking about the death and the tragic accident.”
Captain Harrison Brown: “I heard through the Brunswick School Instagram page and from a few friends. It is just crazy to see something so violent and sudden happen, especially in a sport that a lot of us hockey players have been playing for the first time in years.”
Maxwell Steinberg: “Can you describe your initial reactions to hearing about the death? How did it make you feel?”
Savy Phillips: “I heard about [the tragic death] through Instagram too. When I heard about it, it was just horrible, and I was shocked that something like that had happened. But also, it did not personally make me feel that nervous to get back on the ice. It definitely affected my mom, however. She was very nervous and would talk to me a lot about the accident. Also, my friend from camp was on the team and on the ice when it happened, so my mom heard a lot. She was really nervous about it. It definitely affected me and made me a little more worried, but I was not that nervous.”
Curt Johnson: “I think my initial reaction was just shock. I was in the car and driving to hockey when I found out. My parents told me. It was just sort of chilling to hear that something that was plausible actually did happen.”
EK: “I know you guys talked about this before, but how do you think this incident affected your confidence as players?”
BB: “For me and my entire team outside of school, everyone started to wear neck guards a lot more. I just remember that I would never wear one and would never think about it. Now, even for practices and stuff, I see almost my entire team wearing one. Our coaches did not say anything, but it was just something that the entire community [understood to do]. I saw, when playing more games, that opponents were wearing [neck guards], and the [referees] would not say anything ever. It is crazy to think about how the accident affected everyone.”
MS: “I know you alluded to this earlier, Savy, but to the rest of you, are you nervous getting back on the ice?”
HB: “An event like that obviously makes you a little nervous, but at the same time, Riverdale has done a great job of providing neck guards and taking the proper steps in order to ensure safety. So, yes and no.”
SP: “Hockey, as a sport, is really one of the most, not violent, but physical sports. There is stuff that happens all the time. I have heard stuff before, and my mom coached hockey, so she definitely has stories. And I think that part of [the game] is pushing aside the fear. It is definitely not easy. I am not that good at it. But, if you want to go out there and do your best, that is something that you have to work on.”
MS: “What were the safety shortcomings in your opinion?”
PM: “I don't think there were any. Risk is inherent in playing ice hockey. It is like asking someone what the safety shortcomings are after a car accident. Given how many hours people dedicate to this playing ice hockey and how much time they spend on the ice, the risk really is minimal. I've been playing for 45 years and there are very few incidents similar to this that I have heard of: one happened at an adjacent rink to where I was on the ice years ago and another happened in the NHL. None have ever resulted in a fatality, so this circumstance is incredibly rare. It is a collision sport, so there is some risk to it. But I think I could only give you an answer if someone was intentionally being negligent.”
“Someone fell and someone else was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pieces of equipment should be utilized to mitigate this. I don’t know about the details of the laceration, so I cannot say that had he been wearing a neck guard, something different would have happened. There are risks in football, soccer, lacrosse, and swimming. It is tragic but very rare so I don't see it as a safety malfeasance. I don't think it's that they were behaving in any way that egregious or deliberately unsafe.”
EK: “Do you think hockey is changing to prevent a horrible accident like this?”
PM: “We can take some measures. I don't know if you can change it. Requiring protective neck gear is one thing that immediately comes to mind, as most leagues do. But wearing a helmet does not eliminate all risk of a concussion, so I don’t know if neck guards can eliminate all risks either. Leagues should step in immediately to require neck guards and it should be done at all levels. On the recreational level, the younger players don’t seem to have as big a problem wearing neck guards. The men's leagues that come on at night seem less concerned in wearing their neck guards.”
CJ: “Unfortunately, I don’t think so. I think right now, neck guards are technically required, but no one enforces it. Maybe the league wants to start enforcing it, but I’m not really sure how much more there is.”
BB: “And, it is also important to talk about mouthguards as well. I think mouthguards are one of the best pieces of equipment that can prevent you from concussions and [other injuries]. But, including me, a good amount of my teammates that are not at Riverdale do not really wear mouthguards at all. And, that is when scarier accidents, like paralysis, can happen as well.”
MS: “What do you hope to see changed or added to in the safety protocols?”
HB: “I’m not really sure that there is anything that can be added or changed. I think the hockey pads are fairly protective of the whole body, but just in general, I think that we should do less checks against the board and less hits from behind because that really causes players to fall down where accidents can happen.”
BB: “Also, maybe more pushing from refs and even giving out penalties if the teams aren’t wearing neck guards because it is something that is very easy and manageable to do. If you aren’t wearing one, like in this case, it can be really bad.”
CJ: “I also think that the league needs to make a point about what the mindset is looking at this. I think the most common analogy is whether you are looking at it from a car perspective or an airplane perspective. There are thousands of car accidents every year, but little gets changed with regulations for safety. But if one airplane crashes, we have massive manufacturing delays and also rigorous safety requirements. I’m not really sure where this falls, but I feel like you would need more immediate action from different leagues or regulations in general.”
MS: “Do you feel that the players on your team wear their neck guards as much as they should?”
PM: “What I can tell you is that I know that they are playing at Riverdale since I require it. No Riverdale player gets on the ice without wearing a neck guard. Outside of the school team, I don’t know how it is enforced.”
EK: “What has been the reaction of your parents and has there been a change of view on whether you should be playing ice hockey?”
SP: “[My mom] was scared to start with because last time I played, I always played with girls so there was no hitting. She asked me about six times before the first practice if I was sure I wanted to play. So, she has always been nervous and I think that this definitely made her scared. I actually always wore a neck guard, stopped wearing a neck guard when I started playing Riverdale hockey, and then started playing it again because [my mom] was like you have to make sure you do that. And also, I think that having someone that we know literally being at that game, literally on the ice when it happened, definitely made her nervous. She checked in with me a lot about it. She played hockey, so she understands, but she’s still nervous about it.”
MS: “What has been the reaction of the parents of the players?”
PM: “There has been a lot of variability in the reaction. They are all saddened and distraught and are afraid, as any parent would be when something happens to a kid like this in a sport. Oftentimes, people get lackadaisical with the risks, though I think obsessing over the risk will only serve to terrify the players. I’ll put it this way: if you were to be told every time you stepped into a car that you could be killed, it would make driving very stressful. There is a point at which the parents are dutifully and rightfully concerned and involved and try to be protective by admonishing their kids to do the right thing with equipment and be careful.”
EK: “Can you talk a little about why some people don’t want to wear neck guards or is it just uncomfortable and restricting?”
BB: “It is a little bit restricting. It is uncomfortable and quite frankly, as funny as it sounds, people don’t wear it because of how it looks. It is pretty big and bulky and also, it is something that you can so easily forget. It is a piece of equipment that if you can’t find it in your bag and you need to go out on the ice, it isn't I need to wear my neck guard like I need to wear my elbow pads or my shin pads. It is something like if you don’t have it, we thought it wasn't the biggest thing. That is why I don’t think a lot of people really care about it.”
CJ: “I also think the risks are relatively low. The only time I’ve ever heard of someone getting cut with a skate critically to the neck region was once before in an NHL game and they rarely wear neck guards in the NHL, so it is not something that is really seen as necessary unless we see some sort of freak accident like this.”
SP: “I agree. The reason I stopped wearing it was that I didn’t like how it felt and I didn’t like how it looked, which is superficial. Now it sounds crazy to say, but I was like ‘Oh nothing’s going to happen-it’s a neck guard. There is so much other stuff that could happen. If I get thrown into the boards, that’ll be the least of my concerns.’”
MS: “How does this change your view about the medical staff or equipment that is needed to be on hand at games on the sidelines at games?”
PM: “It is impossible to account for every possibility. Would I love to have EMTs at every game that has the capacity so they can help deal with something like this? Yes, of course. The practicality of it, though, is that this won’t happen. There is not the kind of resources in youth and high school athletic leagues to have full medical staff at every single practice and game. Maybe they could do it at the games, but this could’ve just as easily happened at a practice.”
“This should have an effect on the training of coaches so they understand the protocol on what to do in cases of severe injury like a neck or head laceration. This way, they will know what to do. At Riverdale, we have medkits and everyone is CPR certified and we have to have basic life support.”
HB: “I think neck guards should be at the forefront of the pads you need to wear. Just thinking about it generally, the neck is the area where you can deal the most damage to someone and to have protection like that is needed. Especially, we need a doctor or a trainer outside of every game to ensure safety, but I think Riverdale does that no matter what, which is great.”
EK: “As Captain, what principles are you trying to enforce more? What are you changing?”
HB: “I think we are trying to enforce safety, especially as a first year hockey team and since we want to continue this hockey team. We don’t want to have any injuries or any silly accidents or horrible accidents. Just as a Riverdale hockey team, we want to ensure safety to ensure fun.”
EK: “Are you seeing this principle of ensuring safety first around the ice hockey community and league too?”
SP: “Yes, the coaches were definitely really vigilant about it. The first time after they told us neck guards were required, they sent people off the ice to go put them on. They had them for everybody if you didn’t have one. Our coach was very specific before the first game about not hitting or doing something that you don’t need to do. I forget who said it, but hitting from behind and stuff like that, which is illegal and is also playing dirty–he really didn’t want us to do that.”
BB: “It’s also not a hard thing to do. At the end of the day, putting on a neck guard may not look the best and may be a little uncomfortable. But, at the same time, although this was such a freak accident and there is such a low chance of it happening, it shows that if it does happen, it can be so tragic: it is not that bad that you can’t just wear it.”
