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Just thought I'd give you an update on Koyde.
The Burlington Minor Bantam Bulldogs Rep team hired a new coach who made
a his stamp on the team. He cut any kid that he thought could
disrupt the team or had a negative influence, he's
trying to put fun and skill back into the team. He did card Koyde
for the team. 2 days after Coach Doug
Naturally Koyde can't wait to get on the ice
and show his new coach that he appreciates being carded.
This is Koyde's update and maybe at
Christmas we'll give you a team update.
Jim Lowes
The end of an era.
In Burlington an era is over for Paul Hobley and his son. Paul Hobley's
son Brad Holey has played rep hockey all his life. Brad Hobley has been
with the Burlington Bulldogs for approx. six years. The coach for the
minor bantam Bulldogs (a new coach yet again,5 coaches in 5 years.) cut
young Brad Hobley because the team was going in a different direction,
not because Brad Hobley was not good enough to be on the team.
Burlington Executive would not let the coach ( the coach was also afraid
of Paul Hobley); thus Brad Hobley was cut from the team. The politics in
Burlington are a disgrace to hockey . The rep teams in Burlington
do not care about kids and teaching them about the game of hockey; but
the only thing they want from the parents of all these kids is their
hard earned money. Paul Hobley's only crime as a coach is that he
cares about the kids he coaches. He does not care about the money at
all. My son played under him and feels that Mr Hobley is the best coach
that he has ever had. Mr Hobley's dedication to kids and their fun is
great.The rep teams in Burlington have missed the boat went not
hiring Mr Hobley to coach one of their teams; but they do not care
for the kids and their fun and development.
A parent from Burlington
Please do not use my name if you publish this e-mail.
I know exactly how Koyde feels. This year I
am playing Bantam and we have not won a game all season, and our coach
(Terry Berg) is a great guy. My experiences,as well as my coach and
team's this season are exactly the same as Koyde's. I hope I can play
for my coach next season. If not, I will always remember what he taught
me and how he made me a better person. He doesn't care if we win or
lose, he says he only cares about how much effort we put in to the game.
If I do not make the NHL as an adult, I hope I can at least coach minor
hockey the same way he did.
This is a story my whole team can relate to.
We all hope we can play for him next year.
Aaron Singleton
#7 for the Millwoods Snipers
Thank you very much for your comments,
Aaron.
Winning is always an important
priority, and it should be something that we all strive for in
competitive sports, but it is still a game and there are much more
valuable things to learn about life through hockey. Congratulations on
demonstrating wisdom and insight that is far beyond your age.
Robert Kirwan
Publisher
After The Whistle
Hi there,
I have just finished reading the articles on
Paul Hobley written by Koyde Lowes and am deeply sadened that someone
who cares this much about his kids was removed as their coach. I
would have hoped after the organization lost the replacement coach due
to commitments, they could have gane the extra mile and
offered Paul Hobley his spot back. Having pride is a bad thing
if it prevents the correct action from being taken. The organization
should have made a call and put differences aside, and let the team be
reunited for the right reasons.
My son has just turned 9 and will be playing
AAA hockey this september, I can only hope we can be as fortunate as
Koyde has been, and be influenced in such a positive manner by a coach I would
call a gentleman. Real values are what we strive to teach our kids with
respect, working hard and community pride being on our list. It's very
unfortunate the organization couldn't see what obviously was a
very positive environment for everyone.
Thank you for writing the story, if it
influences just one person in what life is really about then I
could find that redeeming.
Glen Whittaker.
About the Paul
Hobly story. This touches the heart to myself as well. I am
a head coach for a Minor Bantam AA team in the Ottawa area. Our
record at this time is 2-7-2 I am under a lot of pressure for the
parents because our season is not going well. I am working hard
with the kids and having fun even though we are not winning. We
just came back from a tournament in Kitchener and we did not do well.
I am the type of coach that does not yell at players. I think we
should reinforce all the positives and encourage as much as we can.
I try to make the practices fun and at the same time try to improve
their skills. Well guess what? Because I don't yell at the
kids and push them real hard, the parents have asked me to resign.
If I do not they will go to the association and have me removed. I
don't need this stress on me and my family. I am a non parent
coach and I am here for the kids and not the parents. The
association totally agrees with me and said that I do not deserve this.
I will be assigned to another team (Major Bantam AA) and they will look
for another coach to take over.
I strongly
believe that the kids are the ones that suffer. There is so much
pressure put on those kids from the parents. Where does the love
of the game come in. All parents think there sons/daughters will
make pro and make millions of dollars. Well, they better wake up
and smell the coffee because the percentage of kids that make it are
really low. I tell the kids to focus on school and try the
scholarship route. I make sure their schoolwork is not neglected,
if so, they will not play a game but will go to practice. I don't
understand today the mentality of the parents, and I think I don't want
to. I will keep teaching the kids what I know and will not change
the way I approach the way I coach. To all the parents that read
this, I tell you, let you kids enjoy the game and encourage them as much
as you can. You will definitely see a difference not only at the
rink but at home and school.
Have a nice day
Pierre Menard, Ottawa
Hello I am a first year referee at 34 years
of age who has played senior hockey in the past and still could
play and I am really enjoying reffing, i have also completed the
coaching initiation program and I am thinking of becoming a first year
coach next year, this story is very disturbing to me, how can a
coach be let go when his team shows so much respect for him, the people
who are responsible for him not coming back should be told that it is
not whether you win or lose but how you play the game, shame shame Neil MacLellan, Brandon MB
I am on the board of directors for the North
Toronto Hockey Association and I have 2 sons who have been playing minor
hockey for the past 11 years, Time and time again when we are faced with
decisions related to minor hockey we always defer to the most important
criteria, what is best for the kids. It is the kids who play the game as
a recreational sport. They should play it for the pure enjoyment of
being involved in a great sport.
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!!!!!!!!!!
Evan Wittrup
TEAM COACH OF THE YEAR HEADED FOR EARLY RETIREMENT
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.
Publisher's Comments:
I want to thank the "Deeply Concerned Hockey Parent" for
sending in this letter. It contains several indications that all
is not well with at least one team in the BLOMHA. However, it also
points out something which is currently going in many other hockey
associations in the country. The coaching selection process is
admittedly a difficult one for league executives. There are so
many "qualified" people who want to offer their
services. Nevertheless, as hockey consultants, we try to advise
league administrators to be aware of "perceptions" which
will result from their decisions. A coach with the caring attitude
like Mr. Paul Hobly is not necessarily rare in Canadian hockey,
but it is rare to find someone like Paul who also develops a
positive relationship with his players and parents. We know that
it isn't healthy to allow one coach to stay with a team for much
more than two or three years. You want to give the children a
variety of teaching styles and experiences. But when things blend
so well in one year, there is usually no reason why the person
can't be given at least one more year to continue the development
process. In this case, it would appear as if a
"qualified" replacement has been found, but it will be a
difficult fit for the new coach to step in and deal with the
comparisons which will undoubtedly crop up in September and
October. Our advice to Board which like to change coaches each
year is to put it in the constitution in order to avoid the
problems which have arisen in the BLOMHA. If it isn't a written
policy, and if other coaches have been allowed to remain with the
same team for more than one year in the past, then I am afraid the
BLOMHA executive has dug themselves a hole out of which it will be
hard to escape unscathed. Robert Kirwan
Publisher - After The Whistle
It is pretty sad to see that hockey
organizations are teaching our kids that if you don't win, you will not
be with our team. The fun is gone out of hockey for organizations
Burlington, who it sounds like that want a winning team if their going
on their 4th coach in 4 years. Sounds like Hobly was great leader to the
kids. All we read about is kids getting assaulted, sexually abused,
verbally abused hockey. It was so nice to hear about a coach who
respected the players and made losing fun. I coached house league for a
few years and nothing was harder than keeping the kids happy when we
keep losing. I have 2 boys that play hockey in and I only wish we had a
coach Hobly here.
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.
Paul
Wilson
Winnipeg.Man.
Advice From Vancouver Island
The terrible story told in Koyde Lowes' most recent letter is exactly the problem with Rep
Hockey. Over the last two or three years, as I have studied
kinesiology, my opinion of the competitive hockey system has gradually degraded. All of the problems that seem to
have become
apparent in Minor Hockey are rooted in the Rep system. I have spent a lot
of
time mulling the issue and the conclusion I have come to is that the rep system
needs to be overhauled. The most exciting hockey players to watch
are those who learned their skills in a fun setting, a recreational setting.
Wayne Gretzky learned his in the back yard. Maurice Richard learned his on
the outdoor rinks of Quebec. The Sutter's learned theirs in a barn.
All of these places have one thing in common: winning does not matter.
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
