A young boy starting high school in a specialized hockey program in the greater Quebec City region could give up his sport because he doesn’t want to shower naked with his entire team.
“It makes me uncomfortable to get naked in front of other people,” he said at the microphone of Qub radio.
The 12-year-old explains that he was not the only one to experience this discomfort when the coaches of the program explained to the young people that they would have to wash every day after training.
“It felt that everyone was quite stressed, he confided. We all went back to the room and got dressed in silence.”
His mother, who does not want to be named, said her son came home crying and told him he doesn’t want to have to choose between his dream and the shower.
“I’m not opposed to showering teenagers who have sweated playing hockey for an hour before going back to class,” she says with a smile. Apart from wet ones or a washcloth, I don’t know what we could have as a solution…”
“It’s not that complicated to put on separators, I don’t even understand the basic concept of taking a shower in a group, I would never do that,” she said.
She explains that she is also concerned about the possible problems of intimidation that this type of situation could cause.
“I’m a mother hen, but for me it’s still children.”
She hopes to have answers and that solutions are put in place so that her son can pursue his dream.
“Of course it discourages me a little bit, but I’ve always liked hockey,” said the young boy. I don’t really know what I will do. I think that could make me lean towards the decision to stop.