At least three young hockey players and one coach have been booted out of their league because they have also been plying their trade elsewhere.

The Hespeler Minor Hockey Association in Cambridge, Ont., sent emails to parents of affected players last week, telling them their children were no longer allowed to participate in the organization. All of the players are six or seven years old.

At issue, they were told, is that the children were seen playing for rival league The Hockey Loft. Unlike the HMHA, The Hockey Loft is not sanctioned by Hockey Canada.

John Thomas of The Hockey Loft says his league is insured and its young players are given proper coaching and supervision. He claims Hockey Canada is looking to penalize his league to keep its grip on youth hockey intact.

Chris Walsh’s daughter was one of the players told they had to leave the HMHA.

“She cried,” Walsh told CTV Kitchener. “It’s hard to explain to a six-year-old why.”

The penalties didn’t end with Walsh’s daughter having to give back her jersey. Because Walsh coached his son’s HMHA team as well, he was he was no longer welcome behind the bench or on the ice.

The HMHA did not respond to a request for comment from CTV Kitchener before this story was published.