Last Updated on Thursday, 11 August 2016 10:53
Happy August, fellow amateur coaches. As the season approaches, I suspect you have thought about how you plan to organize your season. There are master plans, goals to accomplish each month, starting with the first two weeks and then monthly after that. This progression gets lots of attention, so I want to address something else – tools for your season.
Last Updated on Thursday, 14 April 2016 09:36
• This was my first year ever working with girls. I cannot thank the White Bear Lake High School girls enough for allowing me to be a part of their journey. As a group, they were thoughtful, coachable and extremely smart. I am expecting big things from them in the nearer future, like a state tournament appearance. Our group of senior girls were among the best and most natural leaders I have been around. I had gone into the season wondering how the “non-college hockey- bound” girls would dedicate themselves to the mission. Some of our better and most dedicated players on our team were those girls not planning on playing college hockey. I learned more than a few things from these young women.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 March 2016 09:47
It is state tournament time. It is our homecoming for the State of Hockey and we have much to be thankful for. I am excited to be back from a trip to Germany and the Czech Republic. I plan to appreciate everything here at home even more, including the anthem we all stand for before our games.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 March 2016 15:37
My first thought for the week is to congratulate and thank Gina Boots for her submission in last week’s edition of Let’s Play Hockey. Her articulation of her perspective was awesome. The issue with parents being too involved or just “too” has always been and always will be. I hope and wish her words will help. But I have my strong reservations.
Last Updated on Thursday, 18 February 2016 10:50
This past fall, I was in line at the local coffee shop when I turned to look behind me at others in line and noticed right behind me a man in full Minesota Wild apparel. I was in the midst of feeling purple myself (in full Viking fan mode). This guy was getting a jump on the season or so it seemed to me.
Last Updated on Thursday, 04 February 2016 11:21
If you watched the NHL All-Star Game, I don’t need to tell you that the NHL hit a “home run” with this event. They needed to change the format and did … and I think it worked as well as anyone could have imagined; certainly that goes for me.
Last Updated on Thursday, 28 January 2016 09:54
This week’s column is motivated totally by the passing of a good friend and most importantly, a good man, Lee B. Otis. I got to know Lee while coaching in Sioux Falls. Lee and his awesome wife, Lynn, were the head of our housing families. Their contributions and the contributions of all host families are a major part of the junior hockey experience.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 06 January 2016 15:47
The 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships has come to an end. I continue to believe that this tournament is the finest tournament of any kind in the world annually. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Masters golf tournament and I love the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as a few others. But the World Juniors Tournament is such a great way to see the world’s best young hockey talent and the different styles of hockey played by different countries. It remains quite the spectacle and a tournament that can be won by any number of countries.
Last Updated on Thursday, 14 January 2016 10:28
I was lucky enough to attend the Minesota Vikings game this past Sunday. As you all know, it was a cold day for football. But Minnesota fans came to support their team dressed like Minnesotans know how to dress. I am happy to have been a part of this great event. In my opinion, it was a great game played by two especially outstanding defenses. In the end, however, what most people were talking about was a missed field goal that would almost assuredly have sent the Vikings onto the next round of the NFL playoffs.
Kevin Hartzell is the director of player development for the NA3HL’s Twin City Steel.
A St. Paul native and forward for the University of Minnesota from 1978-82, Hartzell coached in the USHL from 1983-89 with the St. Paul Vulcans and from 2005-12 with the Sioux Falls Stampede.
He was the head coach of Lillehammer in Norway’s GET-Ligaen from 2012-14. His columns have appeared in Let’s Play Hockey since the late 1980s. His book “Leading From the Ice” is available at amazon.com.
