Goodbye, So Long, Farewell

Posted on March 28, 2011 by jsacco

Goodbye Hockey Season, I knew You well. The cold breeze of the parking lots of life, the steam as it lifted like a feather from my cup, the yells of the belligerent and clueless beast of the bleachers so early in the morning.
So Long to the “Coach Timmy’s” of the world, screaming out every step that their players should be taking. Why I can hear it now, c’mon Ropespierre get the puck deep, Gretchen get to the net, Colt sprint to the bench, get a drink, then sprint back. So Long to the parents that insist that the house league handbook states that ” only through clear and convincing argument can a parent (mother or father, siblings do not qualify) stand at the glass tapping and giving coaching instructions even though they’re not qualified to.
Farewell to fighting for a parking spot on an early Saturday morning and having to take a bus to get to the rink from my parking spot. You would think that I am actually glad that this season is coming to a close…..but no, I’m actually sad.

What I had this past year was an opportunity to spend more time with my Families, the one at home and the one at the rink. I didn’t have to split my time and was able to enjoy the rink a bit more. I had the opportunity to spend more time with My Brother Coaches and accomplish more in less time. I had more opportunity to spend with the Initiation players, getting to know the families of our “Future” and the players themselves. Having my heart stolen by a little girl with a big smile who would not go onto the ice unless I was out there waiting for her, as if she was the only player on the ice. And for her and the others, I was. I along with Coach Danny, had the pleasure to coach the youngest of the players, the ones that couldn’t skate nor play and were falling all over the ice. Believe me they were skating by the last session and laughing and having fun and making a couple of coaches feel like a million bucks for just being in their presence. If you ever want to remember why you coach, try coaching initiation where the innocence of what our game is all about is evident. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, and those smiles and the laughter. A child’s laughter, it touches the soul.
I will miss My Pee Wee team that had big heart and guts and competed. This is more than you can ask from a team that needed to find themselves and developed into a real strong unit. Sometimes you have a team that just makes it fun for a coach to go to the rink and these guys were it. They won some big games and competed in all.
I will miss my Junior development team who played against bigger and older and sometimes a heck of a lot stronger teams than them and showed that they are here to stay. Won some big games at some big times. Great Bunch of players who made their coaches feel proud.
So where does that leave us, well I can tell you where it leaves me. It puts me in the position to here from my in house critics who will hit me with ” This is what you write after going so long without a snippett!” Well c’mon, give coach a break here it’s been a long year and going to be a long spring as well.
A big Thank You!!! to the parents of all of my players this year for all of your support. (Even those who were critical, at least you said something..) A special Thank You to those folks behind the scenes that worked very hard and truly did not get the credit they deserve. The Managers, Associate Manager (who became a Grandpa this year),The stat Men (great job boys), My Coaches Jimmy, Rob and Danny. With special mention to Eddie,Robo,Billy F. And of course our administrator Chris W who was just the best and so dashing. I also thank My Families, Both at Home and at the Rink, the best people anywhere, truly. So Goodbye, So Long, Farewell last season….Fire Up!! Here We go again!!

next snippett on the way……

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Holiday Greetings

Posted on December 29, 2010 by jsacco

Greetings to all during this Holiday season and again apologies due to the fact that Hockey has again gotten in the way once again since the last snippet. This Holiday Season I have again decided to give many thanks for all of the blessings I have received through this year and of course throughout a life that has been quite an experience and not one for the faint of heart. I am forever thankful for having such a wonderful family, blood related and Hockey, and a family of friends that is just amazing. Than on the other hand there are things or people that I am not so happy about but can only hope that Santa passes their abode on the way to deliver Hockey stuff for all the deserving boys and girls.

I am happy that My Parents supported My Hockey addiction as a child for without them someone else would be writing this. At the beginning of each season My Parents would give me a $20.00 bill to go and buy sticks. The smell of the new equipment would overwhelm me as I would open that door and marvel at all the sticks,gloves,jerseys,helmets….wow, how cool was this. As I searched for the right stick (always a Koho) I would find the number one, a custom pro 221 and hold onto it like there would never be another quite like it or someone else would take this twig away from the home that it really and truly belonged in. Perish the thought, this one is mine! Then the search was on for the number two, a pro hook. One day a player brought a CCM stick to the rink and was the coolest thing since sliced bread, where everybody gathered around him and praised him as if it was going to make him a star in the game. After my mission was complete I was left with enough money to take the bus home and hit the grocery store for a yoohoo and a bag of dipsey doodles. Hockey heaven here. Then there was the issue of my gloves that no longer had any palms in them and my pleading letter to Santa Claus that since Hockey was the only sport I played during the Winter time, I couldn’t live (or play) without a new pair. And since we were on the subject I could use one of those really cool CCM helmets that the older players are wearing. A Hockey Jersey that wasn’t either the Maple Leafs or Canadiens and a Bobby Hull Hockey table Hockey game. Why I was probably one of the only Brooklyn kids that didn’t ask for a BB Gun, a Bicycle (last year’s request) a new Baseball mitt or anything else that had to do with something else beside Hockey. Mind you only my Mother came to watch me play, but Dad was the ride to the hospital a few times. Although they were depression era children they always made sure that their children were always happy around this time of the year. Now I am by no means a Grinch here, but let’s look at what we had here or didn’t have. There was no cable TV, no internet, nothing more than 7 TV channels. Hockey games on channel 9 (NY) in black and white and I believe that there must have been one or two cameras being used to show the game. No, there weren’t any dinosaurs roaming my neighborhood thank you! But we played and played and played and had to be dragged in to the house when the sun went down. I had to go on a mission for the chubby man in the red suit a couple of days ago and had to buy a stick, that cost $150.00 and that was before tax. I bought a couple of pairs of gloves, one pair cost more than 5 times what it had when I was a kid. Well you all know the rest, but for our kids well, they’re priceless. Hockey tends to instill many qualities that you simply do not find in other sports. Most Hockey players that you meet are polite, respectful and mature. This is what our game breeds. For this I am thankful for I have had the opportunity to coach some very good players that are even better people. Families that are every bit of the fabric of all that is good with the world. For this I am thankful. For a sport, a game that has kept My Family together through some very hard times and has been the common denominator to our happiness and well being. For this I am thankful. To have the opportunity to develop young players to move to the next level and for the older ones who always wanted to play the game they love but never had the chance, for this again, I am grateful. A group of coaches that are top notch, an understanding and supportive Hockey Director and a young group of players that make it a pleasure to go to the rink. This has been a great present for me throughout the year, and again I am thankful.

Just in case you are curious, I got the table Hockey set with every team in the NHL at the time (hint, there wasn’t 30) the gloves ( cooper pro, no colors then all tan) and a Cooper Helmet, not a CCM,ugh… a new pair of pants, red like the Rangers, a Ranger hoody and a North Stars Toque, Hockey Heaven.

So another year has run by us like a blinding slap shot from the point and we are all a year older and wiser, I would like to say to you all Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. May all your dreams and wishes come true this Holiday Season and Your Families be safe. Until We meet again in 2011, keep your head up and skate hard!

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Coaches/Parental Stupidity

Posted on October 2, 2010 by jsacco

Hi all!! Sorry it’s been so long. I first of all have to thank all of you who have stopped me or sent an email suggesting what the next snippet should be. I am so glad that there are some who actually read my writings and care about our beloved sport. But a snippet on Hockey BBQ-ing and titles like “Hockey, it’s cold in here”, well thanks anyway. I must say though in the last few months We have been busy coaches, working long hours to get all the players set for the season. Travel, In-House, Learn to Play and rink maintenance have kept us a busy bunch so forgive the lack of timely snippet(s). Here we go, the roller-coaster is on top of the big hill and away we go.

Whenever I go away, yes once in a while I actually leave the rink, I am always reminded by some clown that I am home by the ritual “cut ‘im off” that I get when I cross the city line. It’s as if the dope was waiting and on cue pulls in front of me without signaling as if I am invisible. I hit the brakes, wish them well and off I go squeezing the steering wheel like a tube of toothpaste down to the last drop. If only I wasn’t so cheap and went for the “laser package” that GM offers.  Anyway, I get reminded that I am involved in “Youth Hockey” once in a while as well and have to deal or not with some of the more colorful characters that inhabit but are not always indigenous to rinks all over North America and parts east. Just last week I had another coach, I’ll be kind here, come up to me and introduce himself to me as “Coach Timmy” ( not his real moniker). I said hi Coach Timmy, shook his hand and walked away rolling my eyes. I wondered if he has “Coach Timmy” monogrammed on his Hockey PJ’s. Do you think at the dinner table his kids say, dad, sorry, Coach Timmy would you please pass the butter. Then after going to our respective benches I noticed or should say heard his assistant coach, whom I will call big-mouth yelling at the players from the bench without Coach Timmy telling him to put a sock in it. Not only did this guy yell out coaching directions, he also did play-by-play as well. Oh joy, another guy who slipped through the stringent screening process of his organization. I am sure that they haven’t watched one blessed game with these guys on the bench or paid close attention to what they are teaching the kids that play for them. I have never allowed such a person to coach my own children and cannot believe that anyone would purposely seek out a grown man who introduces himself as Coach Timmy.

Act 3. the game is in full swing, the coaches are doing their best to annoy me into insanity when lo and behold, it gets better. A player from the other team gets a penalty and while junior is sitting in the box, a parent goes over to start coaching the kid in the penalty box. Some Hockey parents should come with warning labels for heaven’s sake. Before I slip into to the twilight zone, My young warriors put the score up to a respectable pre-blowout and Coach Timmy calls a time-out. With the team around me, I tell them “Boys, this is where the stupidity starts and keep your discipline. No more scoring and gain the red line dump it in the corner. If someone gets in your grill skate away because some losers are sore losers. When the final buzzer sounds, no celebrating to embarrass the other team. Act like you’ve won before and shake hands.” They did and I got a second chance to say goodbye to Coach Timmy. I shook his hand and thought to myself, this is not the best representation of our game. Parents, let the coaches coach and stay away from the playing and coaching surface at all costs. If you need to coach so bad, go to the USA Hockey coaches classes and learn something. Watching Hockey on TV your whole life does not make you an expert. Neither does playing NHL 2010 or playing in the street with your friends growing up. It takes years to develop as a coach and learn the game the right and proper way. And to teach this complicated game to a young impressionable mind is an honor that is not for the incompetent who has not learned properly themselves. And of course, having the word “coach” monogrammed on your jacket doesn’t make you one either.

Until we meet again, skate hard and keep your head up!

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Bad Advertising

Posted on July 31, 2010 by jsacco

I cannot believe what I just witnessed played out before my very eyes on TV. an “Aleve” commercial about a Hockey Mom with a bad back. It’s about time that we get some long awaited recognition for all the hard working parents ( Moms and Dads ) but there is something amiss here, something so outrageous that a bead sweat has permeated itself upon my brow. My heart begins to race and my mouth is dry. I look like Fred Flintstone when the steam came out of his ears and the work whistle blew. What horror pray-tell has befallen our Hockey Mom, the woman who arises at 5:00 am to get her son to his game somewhere in frozen North America long before the sun rises. Where the mere exhale becomes crystallized into a sea of frozen morning breath. SHE IS CARRYING HIS BAG!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only is she carrying his bag, but she has a hard time loading it into the SUV while junior and his old man, Joe Equallyuseless, stands by not even looking in her direction. Now, this has nothing to do with chivalry, but there mere fact that if she is wincing while loading this bag,maybe,just maybe someone else should be carrying that bag. At the end of the commercial she is seen with a smile on her face as she now has taken the miracle elixir and can heave that bag of gear right into that car so off to the rink we can go without a care in the world. First of all, she wouldn’t have a bad back if the little brat carried his own bag, and that lovey,her one and only, would do it instead. C’mon lady, get with it, take the pacifier out of his mouth and let him carry it himself. Can you just imagine, let’s take a trip into the future and see what lies ahead for junior…” St.louis is on the power play Ted, but it looks like Junior Jones is having skate problems, not to worry his father is coming out of the stands to tie his skates for him, he’ll be back on the ice for the second half of the power play….” Ridiculous, maybe, but so is letting your child not carry their own bag. Not teach them to tie the skates themselves and certainly not let them play the game without you having to be overly involved. There is always a point when you let the player become somewhat of an individual. Too many instances where I have watched parents that cannot let go in some little way so they feel that they are in control of their players destiny. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. Let the kid be in the care of the coaches that you have entrusted them to in the first place. This past spring season I had to enlighten several parents as to why we do not bang on the glass and coach from behind the boards. Bad parent!! now go into the stands and be a positive force not an annoying disruption. You would think that their kids are not the ones interested in playing, which some are not due to the parental shenanigans, but the parent is, living vicariously through their child. Shame on you, if you were so smart, you wouldn’t be the one in the stands but the one behind the bench. OK ya gotta gimme that one I have been saving it for years. I am very proud of what we are becoming as far as Hockey is concerned. The fact that Americans are in the top draft picks, we are developing excellent athletes and sending them on to bigger and better things, but why can we get parents on board to let them be. So let’s go folks, let them carry their own bags, let them learn to tie their own skates and for heaven sakes, help that poor woman pack that SUV. Looking forward to seeing all of your smiling vacationed faces sooner than later, skate hard and keep your head up!

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Player Recovery

Posted on April 24, 2010 by jsacco

As a coach and fellow parent, I have been fortunate to grow with my children in our beloved sport, the good times and the bad and the infamous. While coaching bantams and midgets last year I had a similar opportunity to correct 2 players ( one forward and one defenseman ) and was able to use a similar approach to the problem. After making a mistake on the ice both players could not recover fast enough to complete their game on a level with which I know both were capable. Let’s look at the defenseman ( sorry to our Canadien Brothers and Sisters,defenceman ). While playing a 2 on 1 this young man made the mistake of going to the puck man close to the net creating what would ultimately be a goal for the opposition. Let the goalie take the shooter was the echo that must have reverberated so hard, it made it’s way in to the family auto and was bouncing around not only his head, but the entire conversation on the way home. He let this get to him and carried that mistake for the rest of the game and believe me it showed. The forward, on the other hand, could just not seem to get that “passing thing” down in crucial situations and was literally choking the crap out of his stick. He then would try to make up for this by holding the biscuit too long and turning it over without too much help. Now as a coach there are a few things that one can do…mmm, a firing squad at dawn,no cigarette due to being an athlete,…what to do. I chose positive reinforcement. I felt that both could use a little less heat,since they were getting beat up on the way home as well as by their peers. Yes a presumption, but after a while you can figure this out. I took both aside during their respective practices and explained how to develop selective amnesia. Yup, you heard it right, selective amnesia. This is an act used by pro’s in different walks of life, that create a “wall” as to shut out that certain mistake and not let it affect the rest of your performance.

Now this is an example of biblical proportions and it makes me squirm repeating it,but here goes. In overtime in  a game 7 of a sectional final in 1986, Edmonton Oilers vs Calgary Flames, a rookie defenseman named Ryan Smith put the puck into his own net on a clearing attempt. He was behind the net facing out and inadvertantly shot it off the goalies heel into his own net. To see this kid ( at the time ) cry like a baby while skating like he was lost and no one to put their arm around to tell him it’s o.k. and on top of that a packed arena in shock and awe,well I believe you get the picture. But the ultimate reward here was he had a whole summer and off season to rid himself of this black cloud, play a great season and be on a Stanley Cup winning team. Wayne Gretzky handed the cup to him first by the way, so his perserverence paid off. He was able to recover his game and his confidence to get back on track. Now while this is a greater analogy than what would be at the travel level, it still stings no matter what. The only difference here was that he probably didn’t have his parents in the car on the ride home telling him such ditties as,” You stink so much,we should open the windows” or “why don’t you just give it up,you’ll never get anywhere playing sports” and so forth and so on. The two players were able to adjust their game after a mistake,recover and move on. Put the miscue away and concentrate on finishing the game as mistake free as possible. Yes mistakes will happen and that’s with even the most talented or seemingly savvy players playing ther game. It’s the ability to let that bad moment go as to not ruin the rest of your performance. Both of these players had outstanding finishes to their season and have been strong performers in games and practices as well. And yes, I spoke to their parents as well…

Parents, a word to the wise. Lay off..don’t let your own pride get in the way of a developing athlete, especially when it’s your kid. This is why we have coaches,let them do their job to get this player(s) on the right track especially with some positive parental help. Nothing gets me more than a parent coaching from the stands not knowing what the coach just told the player. I had an incident while coaching in my first year as a head coach, where the stands were directly behind the players bench and the parents were especially vocal. A father yelled for his son to do something during a power play to which without turning around I said in a loud voice, “that’s enough! You don’t know what I just told him to do and if he makes a mistake here, it’s your fault not his”.. coach 1,parent 0. The other parents chirped him and he apologized afterward. Well enough from me, enjoy the spring and the Hockey that follows. Skate hard and keep your head up!

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