Good Coach? Bad Coach? It's easy to tell...

I too frequently think about that movie, Yesterday, where that guy wakes up and remembers all of the Beatles songs but no one else in the world does...so he's performing them as his own and, at the onset, they're not sticking.

You don't even have had to have seen the movie to discern the premise...

Anyway, there's a line in the movie where he says he knows the songs are sound, I mean, he's ripping off the Beatles for heaven's sake, but they're just not connecting with the audience.

I look at it like that constantly for coaching.

There are some amazing coaches out there in youth hockey, countless actually, that just don't have the talent available to put a competitive group out on the ice.

It takes time to build a following and reputation, years often, but it's that one or two skilled players that stick around that make all the difference in that "build up".

My kids aren't those kids.

As I've mentioned before, the youth hockey runway is short and you can't really sacrifice yourself like that if your kid has hockey specific goals...which most of the higher end players often do.

It sucks.

The coach that put my oldest son on a launchpad, lit the fuse, and set him up for success was only his coach for a single season.

We ditched him. *

The team was terrible.

I know I keep track of wins and losses on the kids' individual pages...but I don't even want to look at how awful that team was.

It wasn't a reflection on the coach, though.

Well, for some of the parents, they thought it was.

Very vocally too. Kinda gross, actually.

But, the fact is, it wasn't the coaching that was the problem. We just didn't have the skill or depth to compete at the level we were placed.

The coach was never the issue.

The red asterisk above is because he's one of the coaches that advised us to leave -- he knew.

I've tried to cover my ears and eyes on the details in the years since because we were out the door the instant the season ended but do know the vocal parents kinda got their way and ran him out of Dodge.

They also shot themselves in the foot, deep sixing their children's hockey journeys, at the same time.

See, the team failed to exist the following season. No coach and a short roster always leads to, well, no team. Well done, everyone.

So, yeah, this guy gets a head coach position, his team sucks, they lose almost every game, and he loses his job.

On paper -- he's a bad coach.

Reality, though, his coaching launched two or three players that season.

LAUNCHED.

At some point, I really should do a coach appreciation post and name some names. We've had some really great, high end, coaches over the years spread across all three kids, and nearly all of them have since advanced well beyond the youth levels.

The guy I'm referring to here, included, just came along at the PERFECT time for my oldest. Just had that knack for knowing how to connect with his players and instill confidence...right out of the gate, less than a period into the season.

I'm proud and thankful for where he's coaching now, onward and upward, but sad and embarrassed by what transpired following our one season with him. Youth hockey drama is a real thing and it's so disappointing that so few, in closed minded youth hockey parent circle, could see how great of a coach he was for our team.

On the other hand, the WORST coach we've ever experienced (and there isn't even a close second) is one of those guys that boasts 20+ years of AAA level coaching and his resume name-drops all kinds of NHL players that he claims to have "worked" with or "coached" or, I dunno...bought tickets to "watch" or something.

Parents (and programs) are dazzled with the resume...and his name just keeps popping up every year even though he's never actually made a single player better. He's currently lined himself up as a head coach at a prep school!

Those poor players. Those bamboozled parents. That hoodwinked and misled school.

Voldemort is their hockey coach.

I often say that coaching is the most important thing to look for when choosing a team for your child...and I stand by that.

I'm such a snob, I'm at the point where it's pretty much a requirement that my own kid's coaches have played at the professional level.

That's preposterous on it's own, like, who says something like that?

And then, on top of it, that's not my "only" requirement...but, seriously, be wary of the guys that have been around forever. They're NOT always the best coaches.

Actually, they seldom are...

Ask around and really watch a practice to observe for yourself...and never blindly trust a blurb you see on a tryout flyer or coaching announcement.

I can truthfully say that I've worked in professional hockey for nearly 30 years alongside the likes of Glen Sather, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Bryan Leetch, Pavel Bure, Jaromir Jagr, Eric Lindros, Henrik Lunqvist, all three Hanson brothers, and have two professional league championships to my name.

Sounds pretty amazing, right?

And it's 100% factual.

Not a joke. Not bluffing.

My "hockey resume" is super impressive if you look at it from a very specific angle.

I mean, it even surprises me when I think back on all of the hockey folks I've worked with!

Jim Schoenfeld and his wife were at the same table as my wife and I at a wedding -- like, I wasn't just "in the room", I was "at the table"...literally.

Guess what, though?

It's a deceitful angle.

My skillset is not capable of training your son or daughter to a successful professional hockey career.

On the ice, anyway, especially if you've seen me skate!? Oh, it's ugly...

See what I mean?

I've got some amazing stories to tell, sure, but I can't teach your kid to be anything like those guys I just name-dropped up there.

Ten minutes worth of observation watching that losing season coach work with his players and comparing it to the experience we endured with Voldemort and his bloated hockey resume made it blindingly obvious who the better coach truly was.

I guess what I'm saying is that the "resume" is important, absolutely, but the skillset displayed right in front of you is importanter.

Truly good coaches are very obviously good coaches. They're teachers.

And if you're paying attention from the other side of the glass, it's crystal clear.

Hockey parenting tip -- watch practice. Watch it like a hawk.

Don't sit in the car. Don't hang out in the lobby. Don't stare at your phone. Get in the rink and observe.

Oh, and resist the urge to confront the coach, too.

Movie Review Time!

Oh, and here's my review of the 2019 film titled "Yesterday" staring Himesh Patel, Lily James, and Kate McKinnon.

Quick, easy going, movie where you pretty much know the entire plot within the first 5 minutes. No Marvel style explosions, no machine guns, no jump scares -- just an enjoyable movie to watch...that you'll actually rememeber...unlike all of those dystopian movies Netflix keeps telling me I'll love and that I sit through miserably and then they all blend together to the point I can't even remember which ones I've seen and which ones I haven't...

Actually...I take that back -- Yesterday does have a hint of a "blip" like in the Avengers movies but it never makes that the focus of the plot. So...still kinda science fiction but without lasers and spaceships.

It's even better if you're old enough to be familiar with the Beatles. And there's an extended Ed Sheeran cameo worked in effortlessly too....but it's not a musical. It isn't horrid like 'Mamma Mia!' was.

And there's even a Voldemort reference! Who'd have thought I'd reference Lord Voldemort twice in one article? Didn't see that one coming, did ya?

But, yeah, it's not "Oppenheimer", "Saving Private Ryan", "Titanic", or "The Godfather" or anything -- you're not going to learn anything, it's not a "masterpiece" of theatre, and it'll never be an era defining pop culture reference...

It's also NOT one of those movies with a bunch of complicated story lines all happening at the same time -- it's nice and linear. It won't hurt your brain like Game of Thrones where it was so hard to figure out who each middle aged bearded dude was and which side they were on. Are the Baratheons good guys or bad guys? Oh, wait, that dude is a Targaryen... I thought he was a Stark? Or is that the dude from Lord of the Rings? Or the Mandalorian? I can't keep track...

"Yesterday" a solid 'feel good' movie that, sadly, got less attention than junk like "Beetlejuice" or any of those recent "Planet of the Apes" or "Jurassic Park" movies.

I dunno, I'd put it up there with the "Barbie" movie -- another movie I went in to not expecting much but came out thinking, yeah, that was a solid use of the last two hours... I'm glad I saw it and I'd watch it again.

And I'll admit it -- there's a scene near the end where it got a little dusty... Iron Man dying didn't touch a nerve for me...the scene in this movie did.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know -- I love the feedback from all angles!

Chris Rutsch

Hockey Dad

Year round, I spend a significant amount of time and money transporting my three boys to and from freezing cold ice rinks. Not because I expect them to make it to the NHL but because I know the rigorous youth hockey experience will serve them well in the future.