Quebec minor hockey coach will sit out season after punishing kids with pushups

A Montreal-area minor league hockey coach who ordered his team to do pushups after a loss will sit out the rest of the season, the hockey association's president said Thursday.

Jean-Pierre Fortier said the disciplinary committee of Hockey Lac St-Louis recently decided to suspend Louis Isabella after learning he ordered his 11- and 12 year-old peewee AAA players to do pushups following a 7-2 loss on Sept. 18.

"The committee said it was not the right thing to do, and it was a punishment, and that's why they decided to suspend Mr. Isabella,'' Fortier said.

The suspension is in place until May 2017.

Although media reports said the children were assigned hundreds of pushups, Fortier said he was told the number was between 50 and 100.

He said the organization learned about the allegations through a report in Montreal La Presse.

Isabella had been previously removed from his functions until the committee could hold a disciplinary hearing.

Fortier said the organization isn't necessarily against pushups but it believes they shouldn't be inflicted as a penalty.

"It's appropriate as part of a training session, not as a punishment after a win or a loss,'' he said.

The Lac St-Louis Lions are currently looking for another coach for the rest of the season.