August 11, 2004 at 7:25 p.m.
X’s and O’s with the new head coach
X’s and O’s with the new head coach
Q): What’s your impression of Chisago Lakes hockey so far?
A:) “I think it’s at a pivotal stage. There is a lot of potential from what I’ve seen in the last few years. Where it’s going to be in the future, it’s going down the right road. Being accepted to the North Suburban conference, with the community growing as much as it is, the numbers going up, I think there are a lot of positives with this program. For myself, I just feel so fortunate having the opportunity to come here.”
Q): What have been some of your early goals to this point?
A): “Try to get moved over and ingrained into the community. But, even with just the ice time summer, allowing some of the kids to get on the ice has been great. I know the sign of a good program is that they have a good summer program. I think that’s phase one of it.”
Q): Going back to last year with Mora (Rum River conference champions), talk about that experience and how it’s going to carry over here.
A): “I’d like to carry that over, that’s my goal, but this is also a different program, it’s totally different than Mora.
I think the keys for us last year were our practices. We had a really vigorous schedule, we ran the kids really hard, we had high expectations, and in the end, we prepared them for it at the beginning. We told them that this was our opportunity to do something and the kids just took that and ran with it. It was just a lot of hard work and the kids followed through with it.
When I first got there, people told me I was going to have my hands full, they said basically good luck. But I took that as, we have nowhere to go but up. My first year we were 13-9-2 and last year we were 20-2-4. Kids are resilient, they like to be pushed, you just have to know how to push them. That’s my goal with these guys. It’s not necessarily to treat them like last year because they are different, but it’s finding out what works for them.”
Q): That type of success, did that create new expectations for you?
A): “Oh yah, for me personally, it showed me that one it works and two, I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I don’t look at is as personal success for me, I look at it as a learning opportunity for the kids. Even beyond the game of hockey, for them to see that they set goals, that they worked extremely hard and accomplished them. Going to graduation this past spring, I heard kids say that they did that, that they carried that over in trying to get into college or that they did something they didn’t expect to do. That to me is what it’s about- the game of life.”
Q): When you look at this upcoming season, with your knowledge of Chisago Lakes, what comes to mind?
A): “For me, I set high expectations and those expectations will be to win the conference. There is no question. I see this program having that opportunity. I mean Chisago was the team that beat Princeton last year and that allowed us to win the conference. We finished 9-1 (in conference). Had Princeton won that game, they would’ve finished 9-1 and finished in a tie with us and we would’ve had to share the title. But Chisago won that game and really, they have a lot of the same kids back. I think there’s a great opportunity here and I’m looking forward to it for sure.”
Q): Talk about what types of systems you bring to the ice.
A): “There are things that you change to adapt to the kids depending on what type of team they are. If they’re a bigger group and not real fast, then I will have them play a physical brand of hockey, if they’re really creative and quick and handle the puck, then I play that style.
I like to have the puck on our sticks. If we have the puck then they can’t score. We will focus a lot on puck handling, a lot of team puck handling, moving it and give and go’s. But in saying that, it doesn’t matter what team you’re on or what system you run, team defense will be the number one priority.”
Q): There is no secret, what happened off the ice last year here at Chisago overshadowed what they were able to do on the ice What are your feelings on that?
A): “It’s interesting because, coming from Mora and I’m not going to compare the two situations. I didn’t have any parent problems, and that’s not a credit to me, that’s a credit to the parents up there. But also, I’m going to do my best to inform everyone as early about everything as possible. What my guidelines are, what my rules are, what my expectations are, how I do things. I’m going to let the parents know that ahead of time.
Basically, I want to let them know that I have an open door policy. I like to discuss things with parents. I think with parents, the more they know about things in advance, the better things are. Plus, I always give them everything is writing so they know what’s going on. Communication is the bottom line and I’m going to try and keep that line of communication open.
I think a lot if times in high school sports, people think it’s you against the parents, and a lot if times that happens. But I think you can actually create a system, and that’s what I’ve tried to do over the last couple of years where you can feel like you’re on the same team as them because really, we are all apart of the same program.”
Q): Finally, not only is this a time of change for you, but also for the program. In your last year in the Rum River, plus taking in account your section, if it hasn’t been raised already, the bar is moving up at a pretty good rate.
A): “Well, for Chisago, I think it’s going to be nothing by positives. Becoming a metro school finally, getting publicity in the metro paper, that’s where the long process comes into play; using this year as preparation for next year. Being able to play at that higher level.
As far as the section goes, granted it’s going to be hard to advance to the state tournament, but it’s not impossible. In this game, any team can beat any team. That’s where you throw in the three months of preparation. If we’re going to compete with the Brecks and Blakes, we have to play at that level for three months. In this game, I’ve seen it time and time again where the more prepared team wins.”
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