PAUL HOBLY
COACH OF THE YEAR - DONE!

COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS

It appears that the kid's best interests may not have been a major criteria in the decision making process. This appears to be another lost opportunity to improve the game.

It appears that Coach Hobly created a great environment for these kids to play hockey. Coach Hobly, all I can say to you is that where ever you coach next year.....keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!!

First let me reiterate the words and thoughts of the 11 year old hockey player Koyde, who wrote in to tell us why his coach should be coach  of the year. My son also plays on this team and is coached by Coach Hobley  and his staff. He (my son ) is not a first year player like Koyde but is the  first year he has truly enjoyed playing. 

The coach is in his first year  coaching the team , so why is he not returning next year? Is it because he  is not interested? To quote him "he is here for the long hall, win or lose  or until they fire me. Has he made progress? Every player is better then he  was at the start of the season, they have come to benefit from this coach's  experience and knowledge of the game. Do the players enjoy playing for this  coach? If asked every single player thinks of this coach as a friend, mentor  and to some as a surrogate father. Do the parents want this coach back? 

Ask them and you will find that this is the first time in four years the parents  would want the coach back. And the hardest question to ask. Is the coach's  son a strong enough player to play at the rep level? He was voted by his  teammates to be an assistant captain and he is one of the top players on the  team. So I ask you again, why is he not returning? 

We as parents have been  told he is being replaced by someone qualified. Something quite hard to do,  when this coach scores an a+ from all the players and parents. This team has  had five coaches in four years and now according to the powers that may be  we will be on number six. I have always thought that consistency grows  success. I  guess I have a different agenda than the brain child in the big  new offices of the BLOMHA executive. 

It is obvious to myself and everyone  involved that BLOMHA would rather have a coach they can control, like a  puppet rather than someone who put nothing before the young men he is  coaching. 

This coach is one of the most caring and dedicated individual I  have ever met, not only is he at the rink with this team at least four days  a week, he seldom misses his teenaged daughter who plays goal for the Burlington Barracudas, he runs a contracting business, work for a hazardous  material company who also sponsor the team, But he also volunteers countless  hours for the Burlington Fire Department. What a role model. 

The only good  that can come out of this is if Mr.. John Tate (of city rep) or Mr..  Podaluck (of Burlington Girls Hockey) reads this and scoops up  Coach Hobley before the dictatorship at BLOMHA comes to their senses and ask the best thing that ever happened to the team and possibly the organization to come  back.

signed,
Deeply Concerned Hockey Parent

PS I am not using my real name for the reasons that are obvious to most.

I hope that Koyde will continue to play hockey, he sounds like a good kid, who loves the game and had fun playing it.

I think sometimes these organizations think their running NHL teams, their kids, let them have fun and why get rid of a coach who the kids respect  and enjoy playing hockey for.

Due to Koyde's letter I see hockey in a different light, losing can be as much fun as winning if you have a good coach.

Maybe down the road you ( After The Whistle) can get Coach Hobly to write and tell us the secret to good coaching how he feels about hockey in general. Good luck to Koyde, maybe one day I'll hear your name in the hockey circles and I can't wait to hear how next year goes for you Coach Hobly I hope you continue coaching somewhere, We more people like you coaching hockey in Canada.

In the rep hockey system, team success is of paramount importance.  Every player on a team wants to win and in my experience most players are willing to give up some of their own ice time in order that the better players can have a few minutes more or a shift at a crucial time in order to win a game. That kind of team mentality in itself is not a problem; it is wonderful. Learning how to be part of a team is excellent and learning to make compromises and sacrfices for the sake of team success is, too.  Those lessons do not, however, make anyone a better hockey player; they are life lessons.  Another important life lesson is learning how to have fun while losing.  Another still is learning to take advantage of opportunity when it comes your way.  These last two are often unhelped by rep hockey.  House League hockey has much the same problem.  As soon as there are league standings to be kept, the focus is again on team success.  House League kids want to win their league championships just as much as Rep kids.

On Vancouver Island, I see a very promising system.  The form in which it exists is far from perfect, but it is much better than other systems I have seen.  In the BCAHA an association is classified in the AAA, AA or A category.  The category is decided by the number of players from which it draws for its teams.  In each age division it may have one team at AAA, AA or A, depending on the association's category.  Its other rep teams must be B teams.  It is common for a AAA association's B team(s) to function at the same or a better level as a AA or A team.  There is huge disparity among B teams.

The "Island League" that most Vancouver Island rep teams play in has a solution to this.  While playoffs must be played in a team's AAA, AA, A or B category, the Island League structures its regular season differently.  At the beginning of the year, all teams in an age division play each other in a tiering round.  At the end of this tiering round each team's calibre is assessed, mainly using the W-L-T results, and two or more leagues formed in the division.  Each league is formed so that its teams will be closely matched.  This creates competitive games as no teams completley dominate others in the league.  The chief benefit of this tiering system, however, comes in February, when the season ends.  Once the league schedule is complete, teams revert to their by population category for playoffs.  The playoffs consist of a round robin followed by a 1st vs 2nd final series. The league standings are scrapped.  The league champions get a banner.  The only thing those teams are playing for in the season is that banner.  The direct road to the Provincials (and Nationals for Midgets, Westerns for Bantams) does not begin until after the regular season is done.

Obviously, the better each individual player on a team is, the better the team will be as a whole.  This format of "meaningless" regular season games allows coaches to focus on developing each and every player to the best of his ability over the course of the season.  Meaningless, here, simply means that the games have no bearing on playoff qualifications or standings. Prestige is won at BCAHA Championships in March, not in Island League Championships in February.  A coach going 0-16 in the regular season but bringing back  a blue and gold banner from Provincials would certainly be brought back for another year.  So by making the regular season completely insular, the Island League lets coaches create a better team before going into Provincials qualifying games.  Smart coaches will see to it that the focus for the first two-thirds of the year is on making every, single player on his team the best player he can be.

Because losing regular season games does not hurt the team's chances at playoff success, there is no burden of victory on the coach.  He can play every player equally.  He can give all of his players opportunities in pressure situations.  He can give everyone a chance to play on the power play, on the penalty kill and in the last minute of a one-goal game.  The burden of victory is not on the players, either.  They are more free to take chances and to try new things.  They are more free to play creatively.  All of these factors contribute to better hockey players. 

The "Select" system used to develop house league players in many associations is a fantastic one.  If rep teams were formed in this way, and "regular season" house league games were made exhibitions giving them no bearing on the standings, it would benefit all players.  Because the rep players would remain in house league, house league might need to be divided into A and B or even A, B and C divisions in order to ensure that the weakest player are simply not left out of the play.  The better house league players would have stronger opponents to face in the rep players.  This can only help them.  Because the games are meaningless for championship purposes, the burden of victory is gone and all of the above described advantages will be present.  Now let us picture the rep teams in this system.  The rep teams would play an exhibition season and the players would be drawn from house league.  The house league team would be the priority for the players; if a conflict existed, they would play for their house league team.  The rep teams would need to carry larger rosters.  30 players and four goalies would be on the team during the season instead of 15 players and two goalies.  Twice as many players get the opporutnity to play at the higher level.  The rep team's coach has the opportunity to see however many of the house league players he wants to in rep games.  The rep games, too, are meaningless in terms of championship.

Now it comes to February.  The house league season has wrapped up.  Now begins the road to provincials, and other year end tournaments.  There are six or eight weeks left.  12 or 15 weeks were spent developing players individually.  Now it is time for the 17 man roster on the AAA team.  Now it is time to go into games where team success matters.  Now it is time to learn those other lessons and to play for keeps.  The final rep teams are picked and begin their playoffs.  The house league teams are adjusted to be competitive and begin playoffs of their own, or perhaps a tournament season, giving them something to play for, something exciting and challenging. Under such a system, every player would have an entire season to show his capability to the rep coach.  He even has time to improve.  He might not be as good as the rep players at the start of the season, but by February he might even become the captain.  All season long, though there is no championship on the line, there is always this to motivate the players to be better.  There is always the opportunity to advance, to make the team.  Two thirds or more of the season is spent in getting there, with everyone having the same opportunity, receiving constant feedback.  The whole season a player gets to hear what he is doing well and where he can improve and what improvements will help him get to the next level.  The way things are, this happens in the first week of the season or, in some places, even the spring before!

Minor Hockey is not meant to put a product on the ice.  That is what professional hockey is about.  Minor hockey exists for four main reasons:

#4. To help players become the best players that they can be.
T#2. To keep our children fit and teach them to lead healthy lifestyles.
T#2. To teach our children valuable lessons about team-work and sportsmanship and to build character.
#1. To give our kids a whole lot of fun.

Imagine how coaches' foci would change in the kind of system described here. The Paul Hoblies of the world would be the most successful ones!  Our kids would have more fun.  Fewer would burn out.  Our kids woudl have more fun. Fewer would drop out.  Our kids would have more fun.  We would develop better hockey players.  Our kids would have more fun.  We would develop more high calibre hockey players making our Junior, Senior and Pro leagues more exciting.  And do not forget, our kids would have more fun!

Coach Paul, if they will not let you continue to coach rep then please, for the good of the game, continue by coacing house league.  I will always tip my hat to a man who puts the kids and their fun first.  Of course, I will admit that winning is usually more fun than losing, but being part of a hard-fought loss is far more fun than watching most wins from the bench.

Koyde, do not decide what to do next year based on whether or not you think that Burlington Minor Hockey treats people fairly.  Make the decision that means YOU will have the most fun.  If that means trying out for rep again, then try out for rep.  If that means playing house league, then play house league.  If that means playing rugby or learning the piano, then play rugby or learn the piano.  The same sorts of issues almost made me quit refereeing this year and reffing is something I love to do.  I have decided that as long as I still have fun from the drop of the puck to the final buzzer, I will keep putting on the stripes.  I hope you make the same decision.  Do not let grown-ups take away your fun.  Instead, set an example for them to follow.  I could say more, but it's after midnight and my eyelids are telling me it's time for bed.

Yours in Hockey,
Duncan C. Pike, Dip. P.E.
B.A.(Phys. Ed.) Student, Malaspina University
CHCP Intermediate Level Coach
Head Coach, Fuller Lake PeeWee 'D' Capitals,
CHOP Level III Official
Referee, Island League and 2003 BCAHA PeeWee 'A' Championships
Linesman, Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League and Australian Ice Hockey
League
Centre, Nanaimo Juvenile Clippers
Former President, Malaspina University-College Hockey Club