WC - Issue 5 - December 2 2016

December 2, 2016

Issue 5 Volume 1

Windy City Sports

Southern Alberta Sports, All The Time

It takes a lot of work and discipline to be a student athlete, but

many University of Lethbridge athletes are accomplishing that at

the highest level.

The U of L announced 63 student athletes named as Academ-

ic All-Canadians, setting a new high. 46 Pronghorn athletes

achieved the honor last year. Pronghorn Academic All-Canadians

are also recipients of the Deb Steacy AAC Scholarship.

Academic All-Canadians are awarded to CIS athletes who main-

tain a 80 per cent average in their studies. The 63 athletes ac-

count for more than 30 per cent of the school’s eligible athletes.

Women’s hockey led the way with eight All-Canadians, with

men’s soccer and women’s swimming with seven each.

This is no easy accomplishment. U of L swimmer Cole Midtdal

says it takes lots of discipline and work in order to achieve excel-

lence both in the classroom and in the pool.

Continued on Page 2

U of L names

Academic All-Canadians

The Lethbridge Bantam Coyotes tackle the Lloydminster Mustangs in

the Provincial Tier III Championships, Nov 19 at University of Lethbridge

Stadium

Continued from Page 1

“It denitely takes a lot of time and effort,” he said. “There are

many late nights and early mornings.”

Midtdal is taking his major in Social Sciences with a minor in

Philosophy. He is in his fourth year, and says there is denitely a

learning curve for new students in university.

“in your rst year, you’re pretty gung ho and tend to get more

stressed out,” he said. “Now you know it can be fun and you can

get through it.”

Being a member on a team also helps. Midtdal says he and his

teammates push each other to make themselves better and to

succeed.

“We help each other out and try to hold ourselves accountable.”

Jill Tataryn with the women’s rugby program agrees. She says

having teammates to bounce ideas off of for support is a huge

help.

“It can be very stressful so having other people going through the

same things is a big help,” she said.

Tataryn is in her third year, taking Finance and International

Management. She says being recognized for her efforts is hugely

satisfying.

“It truly is an honor,” she said. “In high school I knew that I wanted

to go to university and play rugby and I also knew that I wanted

this honor.”

Midtdal is also proud of what he has accomplished. Being named

an All-Canadian shows him that his hard work is paying off.

“It means a lot to me,” he said. “Sometimes you just want to pull

your hair out, so it’s nice to be recognized when you’re doing

well.”

Windy City Sports

Lethbridge College Kodiaks take on Red Deer College Kings in Men’s

Basketball, Nov 26 at Val Matteotti Gym

Lethbridge will welcome members of the Toronto Maple Leafs to

town in March.

Alberta Sports Development Centre Southwest partnered with the

University of Lethbridge Pronghorns to bring the Leafs’ alumni

to Lethbridge. They will face off against the U of L Pronghorns

alumni March 9.

The event will serve as a fundraiser for ASDC. Funds will support

the Athlete Enhancement Program and other services.

The event includes a luncheon, as well as a post-game meet and

greet with all the players.

ASDC Centre Administrator Neil Fraser says this will be the only

stop outside of Ontario for the Leafs Century Tour, providing a

great opportunity for fans to see some of the greats from the past.

“It will be a unique event with a full day of activities,” said Fraser.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to build in a few surprises.”

The Leafs and Pronghorns gave some links, including current

Leafs coach, Mike Babcock, who led the Horns to a national title.

The Pronghorns alumni will feature some players from that 1994

national championship team. Pronghorns Executive Director, Ken

McInnes says the players he has talked to are looking forward to

the match.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us,” said McInnes. “The guys

are pretty pumped up and excited about it.”

Both rosters are still being nalized, but Fraser says there is likely

to be some big names on the Leafs side.

“I would expect to see a couple of Hall of Famers out there.”

The event will take place at Nicholas Sheran Arena. Tickets can

be purchased online at www.asdcsw.ca. For information about

sponsorship and meet and greet opportunities, visit the website or

call (403)320-5271

Honors worth the hard work say athletes

Leafs alumni to

take on ex-Horns

Windy City Sports

COBS BREAD

LETHBRIDGE

21 Southgate Blvd S

Lethbridge, Alberta

403 393 9286

2482_Lethbridge_Logo.indd 1 2016-09-27 4:12 PM

Lethbridge Soccer Association and Thunder FC Tempest teams were

in action during the annual Stephanie Gruca Memorial Tournament,

Nov 25-27 at Servus Soccer Centre

A local volleyball player is hoping to have the opportunity to play

the game she loves on the courts of Europe.

Molly Petryshyn, a 16-year-old from Raymond High School

received an offer from a U.S club team to play on a tour of Italy,

Austria and Germany, beginning in June.

Petryshyn has played two years on the Comets squad and came

to the attention of U.S. scouts after attending camps at Stanford

and Oregon State in the summer of 2015. They extended the invi-

tation after watching her play in the U.S.

Petryshyn says she’s nervous but looking forward to having the

opportunity to see other countries while honing her volleyball

skills.

“I’m excited to have the chance to play,” she said. “It’s nice to be

out of my comfort zone and see what it’s like not having the same

dynamics.”

Although still a couple years away, Petryshyn is hoping this expe-

rience will help her get her foot in the door for her education once

she’s done high school.

“I denitely want to go to the States,” she said. “I’m really look-

ing at seeing what it’s like over in Europe too. I want to keep my

options open.”

Her mother, Suzanne, says the whole family encourages Molly’s

volleyball experiences. She says everyone is supportive and

cheering her on.

“All her friends and family know how passionate she is about

the sport and how much fun she has,” Suzanne said. “She’s her

toughest critic and has set a high standard for herself.”

For the future, Molly is aiming high. She plans on excelling in the

sport and going as far as it will take her. Of course, that comes

with a price tag. A gofundme account has been set up to try to

offset some of Molly’s expenses, which she says only fuels her

ambition more.

“It’s been great,” she says about the support from the community.”

It just makes me want to work harder.”

Raymond volleyballer

takes aim at Europe

It wasn’t this goalie’s day as local teams took part in Lethbridge

Ringette Association’s Annual Chinook Tournament, Nov 18-20.

Windy City Sports

Both boys and girls rep teams

from G. S. Lakie Middle School

had exceptional volleyball

seasons this year. Volleyball in

middle school starts on the rst

day of school and continues

through city championships in

early November. It was a busy

2 months for the Gators, who

crammed in 6 tournaments in

that time.

The girls nished with an im-

pressive resume.

Finished rst overall in LSAA

Volleyball League Play (Record

11-1)

Third – Gilbert Paterson tourna-

ment

First – Wolverine Classic Tour-

nament

Third- RI Baker Invitational

Tournament

First – Gator Classic Tourna-

ment

Silver Medal – South Zone

Championships

LSAA Volleyball City Champions

Roster:

Kamryn Sawa

Sierra Swartzenberger

Jayla Shield

Grace Glenn

Eva Glenn

Brooke Robinson

Ayden Bach

Emily Miller

Tielle Hagel

Emma Zgurski

Ryann Hagel

Mikayla Miller

Coach: Terry Hagel, Asst. Laura

Muirhead and Jensen Forbes

The boys competed in 6 tourna-

ments, went to 6 nals, and won

5 of them:

Finished rst in LSAA league

play (10-2)

Wolverine Classic Tournament

nalists

Gilbert Paterson tournament

champs.

R. I. Baker tournament champs

Gator Classic tournament

champs

South Zone Champions

LSAA City Volleyball Champs.

Roster:

Logan Christie

Josh Dublanko

Ryan Meroniuk

Nate Kornelsen

Jace Jessen

Aidan Wensman

Logan Hillaby

Jayden Gurney

Jarom Court

Cole Hemmerling

Jacob Sargent

Shaye McTavish

Coached by Rod Kornelsen and

Doug James

G.S. Lakie School

celebrates great season

Courtesy Lethbridge College Kodiaks

The ACAC cross country champion and runner of the

year did not disappoint at the CCAA national champion-

ships in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, as Lethbridge College’s

Rachel McKenzie nished fth in the women’s 5K event.

McKenzie, a fourth-year Nursing student from Nelson,

B.C., had a season to remember in her nal campaign

as a Kodiaks runner. She won every ACAC competition

she entered this season, and was once again the top

ACAC nisher in the 5K race at nationals, improving

from a 15

place nish last year.

“Rachel has been progressing steadily over these last

four years to run an undefeated ACAC season in her

graduating year,” says Bertil Johansson, Kodiaks head

coach. “She topped it off by clawing to a fth place

showing at nationals, which is an inspiration to a young

Kodiaks team on how an athlete can improve with

strong determination and dedication to her goals and a

willingness to aim for excellence. She’s a true champion

on and off the trails.”

McKenzie’s teammate Emily Spencer also had a stellar

showing as she crossed the nish line in eighth place.

Spencer, a rst-year Nursing student from Calgary,

showed great resilience, climbing up from 15

in the

pack earlier in the race. Spencer won a bronze medal at

the ACAC championships and was also named ACAC

rookie of the year. Both McKenzie and Spencer were

named CCAA All-Canadians as they helped the Kodiaks

women’s team nish fth in the CCAA and rst among

ACAC competitors.

On the men’s side, the Kodiaks were led by Alex An-

dres, a third year Criminal Justice – Policing student

from Wetaskiwin, Alta., who nished in 14

place in the

8K race. ACAC silver medalist Boaz Korir, a second

year Therapeutic Recreation – Gerontology student from

Kenya, was hampered by back spasms but still nished

in 20

place. As a team, the Kodiaks men nished in 7

place, and second among ACAC competitors.

This is the fourth straight year that the Kodiaks women’s

team has nished in the top ve at nationals, while the

men’s team has nished in the top ten at the CCAA

championships an incredible 12 years in a row.

Kodiaks runners end

season on high note

windycitysportsab

@windcitysports

@windycitysportslethbridge

Windy City Sports

Trivia Corner

1 Who was the rst U.S. volleyball player to win three Olympic

gold medals?

2 What was the rst sport in which women were invited to com-

pete at the Olympics?

3 The Borg-Warner Trophy is awarded to the winner of which

race?

4 What number lies between 5 and 9 on a British dart board?

5 The San Siro Stadium is in which Italian city?

6 Who is the youngest winner of a Ladies Singles title in the Open

Era?

7 In which athletic event did Bruce Jenner win the gold medal in

the 1976 Summer Olympics?

8 How many players are on the eld for each team in an Austra-

lian rules football match?

9 Wladimir Klitschko is a champion boxer from which country?

10 How many home runs did baseball great Ty Cobb hit in the

three world series in which he played?

1 Karch Kiraly 2 Tennis at the 1900 games in Paris 3 Indianapolis

500 4 12 5 Milan 6 Martina Hingis at 16 years of age 7 Decathlon 8

18 9 Ukraine 10 None

Lethbridge Pee Wee Hurricanes corral a loose puck as they play Medi-

cine Hat, Nov 27 at Adams Ice Centre

Volleyball action was fast and furious as the Southern Alberta 1A/2A

Volleyball Championbships were held Nov 18-20 at Lethbridge College

Val Matteotti Gym

HOLIDAY BOWL – Hi Scores

Nov 13-19/2016

Pepsi Cola Mixed: Bill Blair 251,

Robert Miklos Jr, 327, Mary Henni-

ger 216

Belfor Restoration Mixed: Charlie

Madarasz 243, Brad Peters 319,

Sarah Peters 224, Bill Hamilton 218,

Jenny Lee 227, Kevin Lee Jr. 297,

Crystal Lee 223, Kristy Brown 216

Canadian Tire 55+ : John Kubik

212, Eric Schmidt 247, George

Chmielewski 248, Leona Kempt 222,

Norman Stelter 220, Gladys Larson

241, Mary Shigehiro 203

Holiday Bowl Ladies: Kathy Hnatiuk

236, Tina Sanderson 215

Creative Awards Men: Garrioch

Crites 250, Jerry Kind 318, Brad

Whalen 300, Devin Jones 278, Mike

Hirsche 292, Logan Burrill 272, Bill

Barton 306, Dave Shannon 230,

Tyler Kiefuik 259, Justin Larivier 324

Country Kitchen Ladies: Agnes Wing

220, Bette Bilawey 218, Alma Mc-

Culloch 212, Hilda Walker 240

Visually Impaired Bowlers: Dustin

Smith 238, Bill Brown 188, Kelly

Tower 145, Calvin Dewit 164

Cavendish Farms: Lily Leong 235,

Bill Barton 323, Alex Didyk 272, Na-

than Koch 230, Robynn Sander 246,

Gail Sarka 217, David Steele 251,

James Cazal 331, Ray Cazal 265,

Simon Anderson 262, Dan Murphy

213, Cristy Burris 242, Mark Burris

272, Bob Ogusuko 284,

Meridian Manufacturing/Creative

Awards: Anne Ondrus 273, Gladys

Larson 269, Riet Bouw 205, Louise

Davis 207

Ricky’s Grill 55+: Martin Bock 242,

John Ondrus 230, Bob Holmes 268,

Anne Todd 207, Doug Cole 208

Procee Dairy/ McDonald Nissan:

Edie Cheryk 227, Derek Lewicki

277, Randy Ambrosi 248, Joanne

Hiebert 231, Paul McGowan 202, JP

Ferguson 310, Trevor Bobak 266,

Tracy Shipka 298, Bill Todd 293,

Barrie Ferguson 277, Barb Bennett

207, Shirley Miechkota 239, Bob

Spitzer 256

Maple Ridge Floors Ladies: Elsa

VanDyk 294, Elizabet Tokariuk 264

Joeys Only Seafood 55+: Mary

Ambrosi 209, Sandra Hunt 240,

Stan Dewar 224, John Ondrus 224,

Isabelle Spencer 209, Mary Winkler

215, Liz Riske 250, Bob Pawlowski

293, Jude Hooey 269

Special Olympics: Quinn Grey 119,

Allan Jarvis 141, Megan Fletcher

120, Richard Risling 199, Jenn

Cochrane 125, Elmily Wilms 155,

Raymond Pihlaja 140, Zach Dixon

157, Kenneth Ha 133, Elliott McNab

130, Yvette Shouting 131, Shawn

Musik 130

S.Mellen/Westling Design: Hayley

Thompson 208, Janyce Sudo 210,

Les Thomas 264, Ian Hewitt 250,

Don Genert 222, Rory McKeown

245, Andrew Krysak 286, Jenna

Easter 253

Cash 1 Mixed: Gelein Hart 184, Erin

Armstron 149, Jerry Flickinger 213,

J Beck Shouting 222, Rhonda Gus-

tom 154, Jody Burrows 140, Robert

Nordstrom 150, Ron Bobetti 137

Smitty’s Restaurants 55+: Gwen

Fikus 175, Sharon James 201, Jack

James 244, Judy Workman 213

Cash 2 Mixed: Bill Blair 267, Jake

Tiechroeb 224, Lillian Westling 250,

Burke Babki 148

Liberty Tax Mixed: Brady Orich 302,

Bob Hirsche 307, Michelle Manton

291, Dianne Violini 291, Rob Price

291, Logan Burrill 275, Jason Ives

284, Rich Jones 293

Saturday Youth League(Y-

BC): Jordan Sudo 107, Dallas

Whitten 116, Samantha Easter 98,

Samuel Peters 152

Sunday YBC : Mackenzie Jones

296, Alexandra Symons 266, Tianna

Westling 273, Tyanne Hurst 236,

Kolby Kreutz 228, Kennedy Kreutz

264

Nov 20-27/2016

Pepsi Cola Mixed: Mary Hennigar

217, Gerald Gamracy 238, Robert

Miklos Jr 245, Rob Miklos 210

Belfor Restoration Mixed: Saylor

Lee 253. Kevin Lee Jr, 262, Larry

Gorda 250, Tim Cherniwchan 261,

Chris Terpstra 235

Canadian Tire 55+ : Robin Hyland

244, Bill Oriold 227, Ed Dejong 227,

Gino Mangone 328, Gladys Larson

224, Sumi Tomiyama 200, Tad Saka-

guchi 234, Chiba 203

Holiday Bowl Ladies: Yvonne Rom-

bough 229, Amy Krysak 205, Anne

Ondrus 257

Creative Awards Men: Shawn Hunt

250, Terry Godsalve 245, Duane

Emard 244, Geoff Farn 274, Brad

Whalen 308, Jason Ives 287, An-

drew Krysak 264, Bill Todd 282, Cam

Kahl 246, Jim Malcomson 287, Tony

Savard 288, Mike Metzler 234, Dave

Cervo 287, Rob Price 329, James

Price 271

Country Kitchen Ladies: Bette

Bilawey 226, Frankie Leavitt 187,

Annette Mabin 183, Donna Gillis

190, Marlene Bosch 210

Visually Impaired Bowlers: Grant

Brown 234, Calvin Dewitt 214, Dana

Johnson 177, Dustin Smith 182,

Clarence Jockins 126

Cavendish Farms: Laura McDonald

207, Shirley McKay 210, Paul Terry,

205, Kim Mann 256, Darrel Sander

242, Rich Jones 285, Gino Man-

gone 260, Bill Rothwell 203, Koryn

Murphy 223, Andrea Lippa 215, Bob

Ogusuko 257

Meridian Manufacturing/Creative

Awards: Gladys Larson 336, Anne

Ondrus 228, Lynn Schaaf 197

Ricky’s Grill 55+: John Ondrus 211,

Liz Riske 261, Audrey Mann 216

Procee Dairy/ McDonald Nissan:

Karen Bader 335, Hayley Todd 298,

David LaLonde 226, Bev Ferguson

233, Wade Sears 231, Todd Yates

218, Kelly Prokop 233, Mike Prokop

224, Mark Prodan 259, Alex Seberg

247, Randy Ambrosi 305

Maple Ridge Floors Ladies: Elsa

VanDyk 217, Marilyn Hembroff 217,

Elizabeth Tokariuk 239

Joeys Only Seafood 55+: Bonnie

Johnson 200, Bob Pawlowski 278,

Cy Price 202, Morris Hillstead 230,

Daisy Kinniburgh 207, Larry McCo-

nnell 249, Audrey Mann 201, John

Ondrus 228

Special Olympics:Jean McKay 114,

Quinn Grey 158, Brady Paul 203,

Randy Chandler 212, Emily Wilms

151. Dennis Dietzen 175, Tom

Schopf 176, Jean Delaice 241, Bri-

elle Gauthier 162, Josh Deplancke

199, Elliott McNab 159

S.Mellen/Westling Design: Jan

Johansen 244, Kolby Kreutz 222,

Hayley Thompson 211, Murray

Beazer 200, Bill Blair 277, Mike Cas-

well 205, Andrew Krysak 298, Laura

Pickett 199

Cash 1 Mixed: Kevin Shot Both

Sides 208, Jerry Flickinger 203, Jeff

Heggie 196, Sam Holmes 197, Doug

Bevans 200, Robert Wordstrom 163

Smitty’s Restaurants 55+: Cathy

Jessop 239, Judy Workman 200,

Sharon James 207, Jack James 244

Cash 2 Mixed: Fran Beresnak 208,

Lisa Bauman 152, Lillian Westling

205, Burke Babki 150

Liberty Tax Mixed: Mike Laycock

290, Jerry Kind 329, Kinsey Emard

290, Dave Purcell 286, Dianne

Violini 297

Saturday Youth League(Y-

BC): Mikayla Chase 89, Dallas

Whitten 134, Parker Chase 116,

Riley Frame 147

Windy City Sports

20 teams took part in the Cliff Forry Memorial Senior Open Curling

Classic, Nov 25-27 at Lethbridge Curling Club

Contact

Stories, Results,

Photos, Submissions

info@windycitysports.ca

Advertising/Distribution

doug@windycitysports.ca

Phone (403)892-0853

jason@windycitysports.ca

Windy City Sports

Results

Men’s Hockey

11/18/16-3 vs MRU 2

11/19/16-4 @ MRU 1

11/25/16-3 vs UofA 2

11/26/16-0 vs UofA 5

Women’s Hockey

11/18/16-1 @ MRU2 5

11/19/16-2 vs MRU 4

11/25/16-0 @ UofA 5

11/26/16-1 @ UofA 4

Men’s Bball

11/18/16-58 @ Wpg 73

11/19/16-78 @ Wpg 75

11/24/16-71 vs UofC 95

11/26/16-51 @ UofC 91

Women’s Bball

11/18/16-38 @ Wpg 69

11/19/16-51 @ Wpg 85

11/24/16-57 vs UofC 66

11/26/16-47 @ UofC 72

11/18/16-86 @ StMarys 59

11/19/16-87 @ Ambrose 69

11/25/16-90 vs Olds 67

11/26/16-76 vs RDC 77

Women’s Bball

11/18/16-80 @ StMarys 59

11/19/16-90 @ Ambrose 49

11/25/16-93 vs Olds 65

11/26/16-81 vs RDC 53

11/19/16-9 vs Stettler 1

11/20/16-1 @ Blackfalds 6

11/25/16-7 @ HighRiver 1

11/26/16-3 vs Blackfalds 6

Picture Butte Midget Blades

11/18/6-5 vs Nanton 3

11/19/16-3 vs Warner 8

11/26/16-4 @ Foothills 5

11/27/16 -6 @ Red Cli 9

AAA Midget Hurricanes

11/19/16-3 vs Leduc 1

11/23/16-8 @ Cgy NStars 5

11/26/16-3 vs Fort Sask 2

11/27/16-4 vs SEAC 4

Bantam Val Matteoti

Golden Hawks

11/19/16-5 @ Airdrie 3

11/20/16-7 vs Royals 1

11/23/16-7 vs Southeast 1

11/26/16-3 @ Raiders 2

11/27/16 -9 vs Saints 1

Bantam Hurricanes

11/19/16-4 @ Red Deer 4

11/20/16-4 @ Central AB 3

11/25/16-8 @ Bow Valley 2

Midget Hurricanes

11/19/16-4 vs CBHA 0

11/20/16-5 vs Okotoks 5

11/25/16-4 vs Cranbrook 2

11/26/16-5 @ Foothills 3

Lethbridge Eagles Jr Female

11/20/16-5 vs Calgary 1

11/26/16-7 @ Central AB

Lethbridge Minor Hockey

Pee Wee Hurricanes White

11/18/16-3 vs Wheatland 3

11/20/16-7 @ Okotoks 5

Ringette

11/18/16-4 vs Surge 6

11/19/16-10 vs UofC 3

11/19/16-8 vs South Selects 0

11/20/16-5 vs Surge 4

11/26/16-6 @ UofC 8

11/26/16-5 @ Impact 3

Midget Headwater Hurricanes

11/19/16-4 @ CNHA 1

Like most hockey players, my hockey journey pretty much began

when my life did. My dad being a coach, my childhood colouring

books were often times empty practice sheets. My love for the

sport mixed with the fact that I grew up absorbing hockey culture in

4 different countries before the age of 16 allowed me to develop a

good understanding of the world of hockey.

I have met a ton of people that love the sport. Like anything in life,

if you love something you are bound to give it your full attention. It

is my belief that attention now needs to be paid to the people that

make this sport what it is.

I grew up loving mathematics. It was always my best subject in

school, and continued to study it in college. Because of my mutual

love for numbers and the sport of hockey, I developed a bit of an

attitude towards the usage of statistics in the game.

Early on, I believe it made sense to keep track of who was scor-

ing goals on a team as a means of keeping track of production.

However, as the sports world evolved into better systems, better

equipment, harder shots, faster decisions, more teams etc., we’ve

made little progress in the category of judging players.

You’ll often see statements such as; ‘If you get it off quick, you’ll

score goals’ be backed up with instances where guys shot the

puck quick and got a goal. Although it makes sense to back up the-

ories with evidence, for theories like this to have any meaning, all

instances of players getting a shot off quick (regardless of whether

a player scores or not) would have to be recorded and analyzed

in order to create a valid argument. Simply taking a situation that

happens often, and slapping a degree of importance on it doesn’t

make sense.

Furthermore, take the following situations; a player scores off a

shot that hits him, or a player just happened to be in the right spot

to score after a beautiful set up. How often will these players be

rewarded with rst star honors? How often will it say in the paper

the next day that they are nding their groove?

Continued on Page 8

Pee Wee Hurricanes Red

11/19/16-11 @ Okotoks 2

11/20/16-3 vs West Central 6

Atom Hurricanes Red

11/19/16-7 @ Brooks 4

11/20/16-9 @ Okotoks 4

11/26/16-6 vs Leth White 3

11/27/16-2 @ Strathmore 3

Atom Hurricanes White

11/18/16-5 @ Indus 6

11/19/16-4 vs Chestermere 0

11/26/16-3 vs Leth Red 6

11/27/16-9 vs Okotoks 3

Pee Wee Hurricanes

11/19/16-11 vs Okotoks 8

11/26/16-4 @ Cochrane 2

11/27/16-2 vs Med Hat 4

Coaches Corner

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Continued from Page 7

Attitudes like this are what holds us

back from progressing. Points are

important, but I truly believe they are

indicative of other factors that achieve

this result. Whether someone produces

or not is a result of things that blend

together such as chemistry, talent,

personality, systems, people, etc. It can

also be the result of an abundance of

ice-time, a degree of leniency granted

by the coaching staff, or great defence

that allows for more offensive play.

To me, judging talent based on points

alone is similar to judging a potential

partner based on looks alone. Its not a

sustainable strategy.

We need to start embracing the identity

of each individual athlete, manager,

coach, scout, fan, etc within the sport.

Change is everywhere. Young startups

are stressing the importance of hiring

based on personality, work ethic and

beliefs rather than GPAs. Public

gures like Prince EA are attacking

the current educational system, where

we train people to become robots, not

respecting each individual as being

unique. Todd Rose criticizes old-school

employers that rate their workers in

the form of numbers and whether they

reached their annual quota instead of

recognizing what each individual could

bring to the table with his or her unique

skill set. Derek Jeter started a platform

that gives fans ‘behind the scenes’

coverage on athletes’ stories and

perspectives.

I’m sure many if not all hockey players

have heard the following saying at

some point in their hockey career; ‘The

name on the front is more important

than the name on the back.’ This ide-

ology may hold true for many, but the

collective names on the back of teams’

jerseys are the ingredients for success

to the name on the front. Without the

necessary ingredients, any desired

outcome is impossible.

Within a team Individuals need to

mould and feel wanted. They need to

be compatible and believe in something

bigger than themselves. Otherwise

selshness will take over, which acts

as a default when something bigger to

believe in isn’t offered. Unfortunately

for players, stats are still what puts food

on the table. Other than the occasion-

al phone call between coaches, or

scouts coming to watch a game, it is

our default standard for recruiting. I’m

not saying it’s a bad system, as points

partly reect a players ability on the ice.

I’m suggesting we have outgrown this

system.

We live in a world where digital market-

ers know ourselves better than we do

through analytics. But we are still plac-

ing the most importance on a system

we’ve outgrown.

For hockey, modern stats are making

a push. Time spent in the ozone, times

where players started in the d-zone

and created offensive chances etc. And

that’s great. But they are still results ori-

ented. I’m a big believer in there being

a reason behind great results. We need

to make these reasons come to life.

It is our goal to help people. To help

them create a public prole that shows

who they truly are. For each individual’s

skills, network, and personality to be

illuminated to achieve a more honest

and efcient way of judging and

allocating people. To aim for a world

where sports people are not reduced

down to an arbitrary statistic like goals

or assists.

ShedLight Hockey will start to produce

content in the form of getting to know

people within the game. Their talents,

their story, what motivates them, their

hockey philosophy, etc., to display the

individuals that make this game the

best game in the world.

The EA sports NHL video games

franchise had the right idea. Creating a

player was associated with creating a

unique prole by highlighting some-

one’s strengths and weaknesses. As

unpractical as this may be to implement

in reality, I believe the only way to

create successful teams is to bet on

assets of individuals and make them

believe they are there for a reason.

How you ask? Maybe its implementing

systems based on the personalities of a

line. Maybe its interviewing each player

to see what their goals are in life, and

helping them reach those goals. I have

no idea, but in the words of Todd Rose

“The hardest part of learning something

new is not embracing new ideas, but

letting go of old ones.” Why do you

think championship speeches always

consist of how great the group was and

how it took every individual to achieve

success? Let’s start focusing on what

matters, and let the fantasy hockey

managers worry about points.

Visit my website http://pucksmart.com/

index.html

Steve Mason, Shedlight Hockey

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