A coach can never make a great player of a youngster who isn’t potentially great. But a coach can make a great competitor out of any child.

And miraculously, coaches can make adults out of children.

For a coach, the final score doesn’t read so many points for my team; so many points for theirs. Instead it reads: So many men and women out of so many boys and girls.

And this is a score that is never published. And this is a score that coaches read to themselves, and in which they find real joy . . .

When the last game is over.

At one point during a youth hockey game, the coach took one of his 10 year-old hockey players aside on the bench and asked:

“Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?”

The little boy nodded in the affirmative.
“Do you understand that what matters is whether we win or lose together as a team?”

The little boy nodded yes.
“I’m sure you know that when a penalty is called, you shouldn’t argue, curse, attack the referee, or call him an idiot.

“Do you understand all that?”

Again the little boy nodded.

The coach continued: “And when I take you out of the game so another boy gets a chance to play, it’s not good sportsmanship to call your coach ‘a dumb moron’ is it?”

Again the little boy nodded.

“Good,” said the coach.

“Now, go over there and explain all that to your parents.”

The Utah High School Hockey league is holding a contest for creating a new logo.

Its weird to think that the league has been around over 30 years and has never trade marked a logo. With that said they want it created by a student.

Here is your chance to create something that will be part of league history. They will use your logo on banners, team brochures and tee shirts to help promote future hockey.

The grand prize is a pair of high-end Bauer skates.

Please submit as many versions as you would like to Dirk Facer by the end of August.

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to play professional hockey? Sure, the C-Division of the Men’s League thinks you rock but what does it really take to stack up to a team of professionals. Well, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. The Utah Grizzlies is holding amateur tryouts September 17-19 and at least one player will be selected from this camp to attend Grizzlies training camp in October.

Players will participate in a mini-camp conducted by the Grizzlies coaching staff Thursday and Friday, capped off by a scrimmage on Saturday the 19th. Ticket proceeds from the scrimmage will go to support local Utah hockey organizations, who will also have registration tables setup at the game.

Strap on the helmet nice and tight, tape up your shiny new stick and most of all…keep your head up when you go into the corners.

To register or for more information, visit www.utahgrizzlies.com/team/tryout.

Twas the Night Before Playoffs

By Coach Brian Acord

(Dedicated to Bronson Kunzler…who brought the leaves.)

Twas the night before playoffs

And all through the rink

Several players were skating

Their equipment did stink

They worked hard all year long

To improve their game.

Now the stats and the standings

All lauded their fame.

Other teams feared their teamwork,

Their passing and speed;

Which all seemed to strengthen

In this time of great need.

Their coaches worked hard

Through the whole hockey season

To one clear-cut goal,

They all knew the reason.

All throughout warm-ups,

Their focus the same

Coach smiled and felt ready

As he called them by name:

On gold line, on defense,

On goalies, and black

On Smith, Everett, Bailey

One name he did lack.

When up in the stands,

He remembered the reason

His own son, the winger

Who worked hard all season.

Bremen sat among friends,

His family and fans.

The rest of their season

Was out of his hands.

For the night before playoffs

He threw one last great fake.

His skate caught an edge,

His shoulder did break.

Headfirst into the boards

Was what sealed his fate

And now he cheers loudest

For his team to TAKE STATE!!!

Goooooooooooooooooo VIEWMONT!

broken collar bone

We are having problems with the ice at our rink. We have a brand new facility that is only 2 years old but the management team has been around for way too long. The ice is in terrible condition and the puck won’t slide more than a few feet.

Does anyone know where we could find some policies and procedures on managing the ice at public rinks? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My fantasy league team sucks. I got stuck with Toskla as my goalie and he has had a pathetic start to the season. I was finally able to add a decent goalie, Roberto Luongo of Vancouver four whole days before he got injured. They currently estimate that he will now be out for 5 weeks.

I picked up Khabibhulin in the hopes that the Blackhawks might want to offload his large salary to NJ when Brodeur went down for the season but they didn’t. Fortunately, the Bhulin wall has been playing well…until he got injured last week. I picked up Luongo’s replacement Curtis Stanford so I would avoid forfeiting games due to not starting enough goalies and now I have four goalies on my roster. Not one of them is a good starting goaltender.

To make matters worse, Two of my albatrosses of the season are saddled with the “no-drop” clause and since Ollie Jokinen is now injured I won’t be able to unload him or his pathetically puny production. And while we are on the subject, does anyone have a player from St. Louis with a positive +/-? I have Brad Boyes on wing and while I appreciate the fact that his scoring has picked up a bit, his -13 on the +/- scale is doing me no favors.

That’s right, I said 82-0. And we’re not talking the world’s elite vs. a pickup game at a learn-to-play session either. The Slovakia women’s team beat the Bulgarian women’s hockey team by a score of 82-0.

I found the following video clips on YouTube for those of you who just have to slow down and watch the train wreck. Considering all of the high-speed play you might expect, there really doesn’t appear to be much defense . However, some of the best saves were made after Bulgaria decided to make a run for a comeback and actually pulled their goalie after the score hit 77-0.

One quick explanation. If a player covers the puck in the crease when the goalie is off the ice, a penalty shot is awarded. A player (non-goalie) can play the position of goalie but they are not allowed additional equipment and do not have goalie privledges that allow them to freeze the puck in the crease or hold it in their hand.

Of course, after a tight, physical battle of this nature, the last clip does include a little bullying and eventually a match penalty as well. I’m sure that the crowd (which you can’t see a single person in the stands) really enjoyed the contest.

Video One

Video Two

Video Three

WIHOA (Wasatch Ice Hockey Officials Association) is looking for the few, the proud, the on-ice officials. Anyone interested can contact WIHOA or visit their website at www.utahrefs.com for more information.

New officials will be required to register with USA Hockey, pass USA Hockey’s open-book, online exam, pass a written exam and attend a training session. Upcoming training sessions are available this Saturday and again on 9/20, 10/18 and 10/25. Click here for more information or contact us for additional details.

Certified Ice Hockey Officials earn between $18 and $45 per game and must be at least 12 years old. Being an on-ice official is a great way to earn a little extra money and learn even more about the great sport of ice hockey.

Just a few quick announcements. First off, DCYHA wanted me to remind everyone that registration for the upcoming youth hockey season is tonight at the South Davis Recreation Center.

DCYHA provides house teams and travel teams for boys and girls between the ages of 3 and 15 years old.

REGISTRATION is set for Thursday, September 4th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. We will meet upstairs in Meeting Room B at the SDRC.

Complete Registration Details