The University of Vermont's January 14 decision to cancel the remainder of its men's ice hockey season because of a hazing incident was sobering news to those of us who work closely with student-athletes.

Earlier this academic year, a study on hazing in college athletics released by Alfred University revealed that approximately 70 percent of student-athletes have been victims of some form of hazing. While each of us may have a different answer to the question "Does hazing occur among your athletes?" there is no doubt that most of us have experienced, witnessed or heard about questionable forms of "initiation" or "team bonding."

Many states currently have laws that prohibit hazing in a variety of forms. Actions defined as hazing range from seemingly innocuous initiations involving the wearing of bizarre clothing or public stunts in the dining hall to the more insidious acts of beatings and excessive consumption of alcohol. In the case of the ice hockey team at Vermont, the presence of alcohol was paramount in the emergence of the event as an actual "hazing" incident.

Regardless of the severity of the activity, it is apparent that hazing is as ingrained in our athletics culture as competition and the will to win.

As coaches, we develop a particularly close relationship with our players, and when we hear about these kinds of cases, we are forced to face the uncomfortable truth that our students, many times even our most prolific student leaders -- or even our favorite "good kid" -- may very well have been involved in activities such as these. But good, kind, thoughtful young adults sometimes do questionable things, and the reasons they do so are many and so complex. We are all aware of the culture of peer groups that can transform normally bright individuals into mere parts of a whole that perpetrate socially unacceptable and harmful activities.

But how do we as coaches address these issues and how do we get to the heart of why students do things that we believe are harmful to their welfare?

Sometimes we just don't want to hear the truth. Or we become so consumed with our urgent tasks that "talk to players" never makes the daily to-do list. And sometimes we do try and open up lines of communication with our players, but we aren't met with candid responses.

Camaraderie, loyalty and esprit de corps are notably present on athletics teams, and though they can create unforgettable, positive, bonding experiences for players, they have an evil flip side. At any age, peer pressure is a difficult force to fight. In adolescence and young adulthood, it is a particularly powerful agent of influence.

Challenging student-athletes to develop team-building activities that don't prey on the powerlessness of certain individuals is critical to combating hazing. Additionally, making them aware, in a variety of forums, of federal, state and institutional policies also is vital to the effort. At many schools, this means a meeting of all athletes in order to clearly outline policies regarding hazing. Many schools have their student-athletes read and sign such policies.

However, it is clear that even at Vermont, the school had a sound policy in place and that the athletics department had taken steps to educate their student-athletes about hazing. Passing on information, though, no matter how serious the issue, has not always been a guarantee that behavior will change.

One particularly helpful way of educating student-athletes about hazing is to ask them certain questions about group activities that might be considered hazing. Robert Keith, the former coordinator of Greek affairs at Ohio Wesleyan University, came up with some questions that could be asked about a particular activity. I have altered them to fit the team setting, but they are just as applicable:

* Would you be willing to tell your coach about this activity?

* Would you be willing to send your parents a snap shot of the activity?

* Would you be willing to go to court to defend the merits of this activity?

* Would you be willing to share a written description of this activity for other teams to use?

It also is important to present any policies within the context of teamwork, sportsmanship and group bonding. In other words, instead of presenting your hazing policies as a series of dos and don'ts -- that alone will make student-athletes think you are taking all of their fun away -- talk to your teams about why hazing is uncomfortable for so many people, how it can actually destroy trust among teammates and why group-affirming activities that reinforce everyone's strengths and contributions to the team are much more fun in the end.

Many coaches also have successfully implemented team-building activities such as:

* Ropes courses or day-long or half-day outdoor adventure activities;

* Team dinners;

* Creating a team covenant or pact;

* Creating duty rosters that don't assign everything to rookies but spread the workload across all members of the team;

* Affirmation circles where individuals say something positive about a teammate.

There are countless numbers of great activities that coaches are doing all over the country, and I encourage everyone to continue to share those. If we present hazing to our players as just another thing they are not allowed to do, then we risk having them temporarily obey the rule without ever understanding its intent.

Hazing is illegal in many states, but I think that we would all agree that it is wrong no matter where it occurs. Helping our players to see and believe this will be an important step in combating a problem that is surely not going away overnight.

Sarah Feyerherm is the head field hockey coach and coordinator of student-athlete services at Washington College (Maryland).