| The
following letter was written immediately following the historic and
dramatic victory by Team Canada over the United States to claim the
Olympic gold medal in Vancouver.
Hello,
enjoyed reading your literature and
responding on this quite ironic day
- an American writing to
a group in
Canada
after watching a most
exciting (yet disappointing) Olympic game!
I stumbled upon your website
(www.afterthewhistle.com
)as I was perusing the web looking for some effective face-off
drills that I could run at Wednesday's practice.
I was drawn into the
coach's "stuff," as we suffered quite a loss last evening,
and I am contemplating writing
to "the board" that runs our scholastic
league.
The opposing team basically ran the
score board, talked smack,
cursed at our players on the ice, taunted, and, pretty much
took pleasure in tatooing every player on our team to the
boards throughout the game.
Their coaching staff allowed this.
The hand-shakes at the end of the game were a farce, as these
other players joked with each
other about the dirty and negative comments they made
to members of my team. And
then the fight happened in the hallway
outside of the locker rooms... all under the
"discretion" of one of their
coaches.
Having played this game on a competitive
level since I was ten, I am becoming
appalled at how some individuals and teams stoop to being
negative. Why has
good sportsmanship gone out the window?
After another recent
game, which, yes, we lost (again),
I took the time, during the handshake line,
to pass along a compliment to a player on
the opposing team who really racked up the points on us.
His last goal, though,
was something else, a quick snap-shot over the shoulder
of our goalie, just under the cross-bar, real demonstration of
skill. The
compliment was well received, and why shouldn't it have
been?
Thank you, through your literature, for
reestablishing my passion and love
of this game. The staff
who represent USA Hockey and lead us through
our coaching certification and courses each year strive to
make us believe in leading and aspiring the youth that we
mentor on the ice each winter.
I leave you this thought; recently I
stood with
a very new member to our team...actually, I was skating short, tight
circles before him, trying to impress upon him how to hold
the stick, position of the
head, face the puck at all times, etc.
This player just shook
his head and bemoaned that there was SO MUCH to remember
about the game. I
relaxed, smiled, stood upright and said to him,
"Yeah, but are you learning?" to which he nodded,
and then I said, "...and
more importantly, are you having fun?" to which he smiled.
We can't all be Sidney Crosby, but we
CAN enjoy the greatest game.
Sincerely,
John C. Snyder
Dear Mr. Snyder:
It is too bad that hockey has developed to
the point where "winning at all costs" includes
"trash-talk" and "intimidation". I've listened
to some coaches during their "pep talks" and it makes me
ill to hear what they have to say in the name of motivating their
players. They often get them worked up into a frenzy and then these
emotions come out on the ice. Unfortunately hockey cannot survive in
a "vacuum" and will always reflect the "mood of
society" on the ice. This type of behaviour has been
popularized on television and in the media, so it is no wonder that
we see it spilling onto the ice.
There will always be good things that
happen which will keep people like yourself behind the bench, so at
least there is hope.
Even during the "big game" last
night, I felt sorry for Sidney Crosby as I watched him sitting on
the bench listening to his coach talk to the players on the ice
about how he wanted them to play the final minute of regulation
time. I thought to myself, "Here is the best player in the
world, basically being humiliated by being made to sit on the bench
when all of his life when involved in a tight game like this he
would have been one of the key players on the ice. Now he isn't even
being considered by the coach." AND THEN the United States tied
it up and sent the game into overtime. When Crosby scored the
"gold medal winning" goal in overtime, I really felt a
kind of "in your face" moment for him. I thought,
"Good for you, Sidney. You are a player of destiny. You
deserved to get the goal."
And then, even in the midst of all this
happiness, my wife and I sat watching the medals being placed around
the player's necks and couldn't help but notice that the public
address announcer was calling out the individual players' names as
the medals were being given to Canada, but had not done so when the
players from the United States had received theirs. Once again, an
act of sportsmanship that was lost in the moment.
The game is bigger than any one era, Mr.
Snyder. It will survive.
Thank you for your letter.
|
|
AFTER THE
WHISTLE
Minor Hockey Web Site
Valley East Today invites all hockey
enthusiasts to take time to visit our
amazing minor hockey web site at www.afterthewhistle.com.
It is filled with hundreds of pages of
special editorials and features designed to
provide readers with a unique look at the
game of hockey. This is a must read for all
young hockey players as well as parents,
coaches, referees and fans in general. For
more>>>>> |
|
