Best coaches to play for

[MELIN27]

Can anyone provide opinions on coaches, specifically which ones are recognized as "players coaches." Which are the ones players like playing for the most? Are there any to avoid (aka Torterella types)?

[Old Rook NU'66]

Re: Best coaches to play for

Interesting question. As a Norwich fan...of course I think Mike McShare is the best coach...and he has 716 wins and is ranked #7th among all coaches to back it up. Is he a "players coach?" I have no idea...because even with Mikes record I am not sure what being "a players coach" really means?

Is a player's coach someone everyone loves playing for...or is it someone who by hook or crook guides a winning team while at the same time recognizing and then drawing on the best from each player's own specific reservoir of talent? And sometimes that includes doses of --"tough love." Ask a former Marine who he hated most in the Corp...then ask him who in the Corp taught him the most and instilled in him...a life long pride in having been a Marine. In most instances the answer is the same: His Drill Instructor.

[OSU2010]

Re: Best coaches to play for

alot of coaches are different, I'm sure everyone will say their teams coach is the best. The most well respected coaches are those from the perennial power houses.

Coach Ed Gosek - Oswego
Coach Bob Emery -Plattsburgh
Coach Mike McShane - Norwich
Tim Coghlin - St. Norbert

All four are constantly in the playoffs vying for a national championship. I can really only speak for Oswego, I used to have roomates that played for Oswego and I know they loved playing for Gosek. I've heard Emery from Plattsburgh can be hard on his players "tough love" if you will, but he gets results. I hear Heenan from Utica is kind of a dick to play for, but take it with a grain of salt, I've never met the guy.

[sshablak]

Re: Best coaches to play for

Gary Heenan

[PSUChamps2001]

Re: Best coaches to play for

alot of coaches are different, I'm sure everyone will say their teams coach is the best. The most well respected coaches are those from the perennial power houses.

Coach Mike McShane - Norwich

Absolutely! He will even teach you how to pull your goalie down 4 goals with under a minute left in the game to break up a shut out! (tic still one of the best around)

I've heard Emery from Plattsburgh can be hard on his players "tough love" if you will, but he gets results.

It's a dying style. Even with my 8U team, we don't go Emery on them, but we're not the "good game Bobby, you're a superstar", on the bench either. We've played nearly 50 games this season with our 8U team, and that's one of the main things I see with "coaching". Too much "superstar" praise, and not enough coaching. Coaches are afraid today (IMO) to tell a kid (no matter what age) they did something wrong. After years and years of doing this, they get to an old school coach like Bob and clash. You don't have to bury kids into the ground and you don't need to keep their heads so high in the sky they can't see the ground. The best coach (IMO) are the ones that keep them walking right on the ground. Stable foundation. Again, it's something some kids just can't handle in today's world. Then again I also have a team who enjoys doing suicides and crab walks across the ice.

I will say this tho, having watched Bob from Day 1 at Plattsburgh to now, the whole "tough guy" coach has really really mellowed. Especially since his kids.

[Russell Jaslow]

I will say this tho, having watched Bob from Day 1 at Plattsburgh to now, the whole "tough guy" coach has really really mellowed. Especially since his kids.

That is so true!

[NUProf]

Re: Best coaches to play for

I know a lot of the Norwich kids would run through a wall for Mike. He's tough but fair. He also really makes them academically accountable - get in trouble in class, and he will come down on anybody on the roster. By reputation, I think that Emery has some of the same qualities, and I think that Bill Beaney used to have the same reputation until things seemed to go south at Middlebury - I don't know if it starting to lose or what. This also suggests that players will put up with a certain amount of tough love if it gets them lots of Ws, but maybe if they start losing, the bloom fades.

I know the math teacher I hated most in my undergraduate experience also was the one who taught me more than I realized by the time I got to grad school. It was like because of that guy I had a leg up in my first year grad statistics course.

[d3hockey57]

Are there any to avoid (aka Torterella types)?

What is this garbage? Avoid? Yeah I guess being on a winning team isn't fun, and best to not play for a coach because feelings may get hurt...

[MELIN27]

Re: Best coaches to play for

Thanks for the replies. Should probably clarify: by "players coach" I mean one that players will go through the wall for. One that has the respect of all his players. This means being fair, upfront and honest. Not by any means soft. I've experienced coaches who get in players faces, drop F bombs on them etc. but there are coaches that can do that for the right reasons and players know it. It's not personal, it's not meant to break the player down, it builds them up. It's an intangible in coaching and any player looking at schools should consider the coach's style as much as the academics and win-loss record. If you're going to be at a school for four years you better make sure the most important hockey relationship you have (with your coach) is a good one.

[eddieshack23]

Re: Best coaches to play for

Jack Arena and staff

[joecct]

Re: Best coaches to play for

If you're on a D-III board, it's obvious that making the NHL and even the AHL is a long shot, at best.

Pick the school where you'll get the best education that will prepare you to enter your chosen field. Hockey should not be the primary reason you attend a particular school.

[MELIN27]

Re: Best coaches to play for

If you're on a D-III board, it's obvious that making the NHL and even the AHL is a long shot, at best.

Pick the school where you'll get the best education that will prepare you to enter your chosen field. Hockey should not be the primary reason you attend a particular school.

Agreed. Academics first, but if hockey is going to be a big part of the college experience, "do your homework" applies to the hockey portion too. Try for a best fit all around.