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[hockeygod]

Good insights Tom. (I don't think you are full of sh1T!) It would be interesting to talk to the other members of the coaching staff to get their feelings. Did you guys debrief as a group? Do you have any other recollections of why you didn't win with the group at U of C?

What about while at Bemidji? Reasons?

I love the comment about "the whole apple" in relation to the "applesauce." Clarity – define the goals / culture and then hold the team / players / staff accountable to that standard. Attitude is SO important.

I think a quote attributed to Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or can't… you are probably right!"

(Hmmm, this stuff maybe should go under "The Art of Coaching" thread…)

PS Dinner with Olli and his family was very nice. Some good discussion surrounding the teaching systems in Finland, Canada, and abroad.
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Dean in Bemidji Coach Peters started talking about winning the Championship from Day one. At that time hockey didn't start until October and we did 6 weeks of off ice training which consisted of a lot of running intervals. In my first year it finished with a 10 mile run around the lake and after that it was 20 miles, 10 around the lake and 3 times around the golf course. I think the 10 was better because it was doable for hockey players. This set the tone for the entire season. There was clarity in how we played in all situations. By todays standards the practices were primitive and every week was the same sequence as the last. (better than when I played in the AJHL and we would scrimmage while our coach drank a bottle of wiskey with the owner and then stagger onto the ice and bag skate us for 20 or 30 minutes to end practice.) Two of our D played for the silver medal winning USA Olympic team in 72; so that helped as well.

In 90 at U of C we got unlucky. We were leading 4-2 with 2 min. left and 2 players from the Hat wouldn't come off. The winger near the boards changed 3 times. Finally exhausted one of them tried to sit on the puck and they picked it up and bankded it off one of our D with 1:52 left. They got another off two shin pads after Bracko had gone end to end and put it in the far corner only to hit the knob of their goalies stick. We went to OT and they won with a tip in off our D's stick when he tried to block it. Willy was coaching.

In 95 and 96 we played our worst games of the season at the Nationals after sweeping the U of A. The team core was recruited by Willy before he went to Japan to coach. We got about 8 top major junior players in the 93-94 season and enticed them with a 3 week tour of Scandanavia that I arranged. Jason K still holds the record for most pp goals in major junior hockey. I never sensed the same committment to hard work at Calgary as there was and still is at Bemidji.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."