A Hockey Coach to Remember
Twelve of the young men he was considering for the team were from Minnesota, and Brooks had coached nine of them at the University of Minnesota. Four were from Boston University, and Brooks was not sure if they could forget their regional allegiance to play together for the Olympic team as a true team. The Easterners thought that Brooks was especially hard on them, but the men who had skated under Brooks said that his motto was "I'm here to be your coach; I'm not here to be your friend." Brooks was given a whip by the team as a gag gift for Christmas.
To get the team to work together, Brooks had six weeks of training camp, and then sixty-one hockey games played all over Europe and America during a five month period. Brooks ran them ragged, criticized them, and left the morale building to his assistant coaches. During this five month period he went over and over the team plans, looking for how to play the perfect game of hockey. When the team was winning, he congratulated them, but kept working over the plans. When the team tied, as they did in Norway, he was disgusted with the lack of effort. After the game was over, he told his players "If you don't want to skate during the game, then you'll skate after it." And the team did just that, skating line sprints: end line to blue line and back, end line to red line and back, end line to end line and back. The crowd left, the janitors turned out the lights, and still the team skated. The next night, the team won, 9 to 0.
Herbert Brooks died in an automobile accident on August 11, 2003. His Lake Placid team came to pay their respects to a hard taskmaster, but a beloved and respected coach. As they said in the eulogy "Herbie had a dream. And his players had a dream." He pursued that dream to the remarkable gold medal team of Lake Placid in 1980.
Comments
Menu
My Articles
Ice Hockey In Movies, Television, And MusicThe Terminology Used In Hockey
Hockey Players And Charity Causes
Common Problems In Ice Hockey Skating Techniques
How The Game Of Hockey Is Played
Hockey At The International Level
Women In Hockey
The Origin Of Ice Hockey, Skates And Rink Maintenance
Top Attendance Records In Hockey And Number Of Registered Players
When Hockey Players Were Tough
Women's Hockey Teams
Hockey Players Mismanaging Their Money
The History Of Hockey
Common Injuries To Hockey Players
How The Strike Changed National Hockey League Rules
Equipment And Warm-ups For New Hockey Players
A Moment In Hockey History - The Face Mask
Pro Hockey Games That Are Not On Television
Athletes Who Buy Into The NHL Franchise
The Hockey Team Of The Decade
A Hockey Great - Wayne Gretzky
Hockey Players And The Groupies Who Chase Them
African-Americans In The NHL
Using Your Hockey Stick Effectively
My Articles African-Americans In The NHL African-Americans have lost a lot of their history due to slavery and racism.. Athletes Who Buy Into The NHL Franchise In terms of ownership and operation of a team most of the teams in the NHL.. Hockey Players Mismanaging Their Money Athletes make a lot of money playing hockey for the NHL.. When Hockey Players Were Tough To find hockey players that could brave exhaustion, hockey fights, and sleet.. |
|
|
Related News:
|