"You can get there from here."
Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 1:48 pm
A few years ago, I invited Don MacAdam to speak to my professional group about team building. Don was part owner of the Dayton Bombers hockey team that played in the ECHC.
Don talked about how he had to rebuild his roster every year due to league rules. He’d call a potential player, introduce himself, and the he either hear the words “Not interested” or a click as the other end of the line went dead. No one wanted to come to Dayton and play for the hapless Bombers.
The former player and coach was not discouraged. He knew what he had to do. He had to create an environment that would attract quality players that would help his organization grow and succeed. As he stated, he had to convince players, “They could get there from here.”
BGSU Hockey has been downtrodden for a number of years and for a number of reasons. Those reasons don’t matter. We have a new coach. The powers that be who selected Chris Bergeron to lead us out of the desert and back to the land of milk and honey saw something in the former Miamian. He was a great recruiter. The questions remained. Would he be able to convince high quality recruits to come to “lowly” BGSU.
FIrst, lets get this out of the way. BGSU hockey is not an upstart team. That term implies we just started our program. We’ve been playing Division I Hockey for over 40 years. We have won conference titles, conference tournaments, a National Championship, and have sent players to win Olympic Gold and Stanley Cup Silver. We played a ton of young men into the professional ranks as players, coaches, and management. We have had two players win the Hobey Baker. We are not an upstart team.
Opponents and fans from other schools want to discount our 1984 National Championship as ancient history. Not worth of mention when discussing Falcon hockey compared to their players in red and white. But what they don’t understand..... rebuilding a traditional powerhouse such as BGSU is not as hard as building a contender out of the ether. We even have self-loathing alumni who say.... "All that was 20 plus years ago..... we will never be a hockey power house again".
If this were football and not hockey.... then people should have been saying the same about the 34 years between Ohio State’s last two national championships (1968 and 2002). Or Michigan’s lack of a title between 1948 and 1997. The Buckeyes and Wolverines had a few lean years and certainly were not considered serious contenders in the intervening years. No one considered their past Championships as meaningless. They were not considered upstarts in their down years. No one called Miami an upstart when they went from last place to MAC Champions in one year. But I guess we're suppose to downplay BGSU’s 1984 National Championship. Its insignificant.
But I believe differently and with good reason. We have a history that allows us to have pride in our past and hope for our future. The reason is simple and clear. Chris Bergeron and his staff can recruit quality players because...... “They can get there from here.”
The Miracle on Ice is still relevant to hockey fans and players. (Why would they play clips from that game at Miami if it wasn’t) Two Hobey Baker winners is still relevant to players looking to succeed. Not every school locker room gets visits from alumni who are golden Olympians, NHL champions, Hall of Fame Players, NHL coaches and know the experience of lifting Lord Stanley’s cup above their heads. These things are relevant to players and their parents. Tradition and history does have meaning. “(If those great players) can get there from here, so can I".
Bowling Green is a hockey community. The town is rabid for its ice sports. From youth hockey to high school to Falcons. From little kids taking skating lessons to Alissa Czisny. The ice arena has been the center of the community since its opening. There isn’t another town in Ohio that can claim that type of commitment and support. (I know - I went to Miami. I have followed hockey for the last 30 plus years. Oxford is not a hockey town. And a college hockey program doesn’t make it one). Let me be as clear as I can.... the town of Bowling Green itself makes it a place where people like Chris Bergeron want coach and players want to play. ITS A HOCKEY TOWN AND PROUD OF IT!!!!
So scoff all you want. The last couple of months are not a fluke. I know journey isn’t over and we have only begun. But the sun seems brighter today. The air smells crisp and clean. We will be there shortly. And the milk will be cool and thirst-quenching, the honey will be sweet. My faith has never been shaken. I believe and I will follow. I know we can get there from here.
Don talked about how he had to rebuild his roster every year due to league rules. He’d call a potential player, introduce himself, and the he either hear the words “Not interested” or a click as the other end of the line went dead. No one wanted to come to Dayton and play for the hapless Bombers.
The former player and coach was not discouraged. He knew what he had to do. He had to create an environment that would attract quality players that would help his organization grow and succeed. As he stated, he had to convince players, “They could get there from here.”
BGSU Hockey has been downtrodden for a number of years and for a number of reasons. Those reasons don’t matter. We have a new coach. The powers that be who selected Chris Bergeron to lead us out of the desert and back to the land of milk and honey saw something in the former Miamian. He was a great recruiter. The questions remained. Would he be able to convince high quality recruits to come to “lowly” BGSU.
FIrst, lets get this out of the way. BGSU hockey is not an upstart team. That term implies we just started our program. We’ve been playing Division I Hockey for over 40 years. We have won conference titles, conference tournaments, a National Championship, and have sent players to win Olympic Gold and Stanley Cup Silver. We played a ton of young men into the professional ranks as players, coaches, and management. We have had two players win the Hobey Baker. We are not an upstart team.
Opponents and fans from other schools want to discount our 1984 National Championship as ancient history. Not worth of mention when discussing Falcon hockey compared to their players in red and white. But what they don’t understand..... rebuilding a traditional powerhouse such as BGSU is not as hard as building a contender out of the ether. We even have self-loathing alumni who say.... "All that was 20 plus years ago..... we will never be a hockey power house again".
If this were football and not hockey.... then people should have been saying the same about the 34 years between Ohio State’s last two national championships (1968 and 2002). Or Michigan’s lack of a title between 1948 and 1997. The Buckeyes and Wolverines had a few lean years and certainly were not considered serious contenders in the intervening years. No one considered their past Championships as meaningless. They were not considered upstarts in their down years. No one called Miami an upstart when they went from last place to MAC Champions in one year. But I guess we're suppose to downplay BGSU’s 1984 National Championship. Its insignificant.
But I believe differently and with good reason. We have a history that allows us to have pride in our past and hope for our future. The reason is simple and clear. Chris Bergeron and his staff can recruit quality players because...... “They can get there from here.”
The Miracle on Ice is still relevant to hockey fans and players. (Why would they play clips from that game at Miami if it wasn’t) Two Hobey Baker winners is still relevant to players looking to succeed. Not every school locker room gets visits from alumni who are golden Olympians, NHL champions, Hall of Fame Players, NHL coaches and know the experience of lifting Lord Stanley’s cup above their heads. These things are relevant to players and their parents. Tradition and history does have meaning. “(If those great players) can get there from here, so can I".
Bowling Green is a hockey community. The town is rabid for its ice sports. From youth hockey to high school to Falcons. From little kids taking skating lessons to Alissa Czisny. The ice arena has been the center of the community since its opening. There isn’t another town in Ohio that can claim that type of commitment and support. (I know - I went to Miami. I have followed hockey for the last 30 plus years. Oxford is not a hockey town. And a college hockey program doesn’t make it one). Let me be as clear as I can.... the town of Bowling Green itself makes it a place where people like Chris Bergeron want coach and players want to play. ITS A HOCKEY TOWN AND PROUD OF IT!!!!
So scoff all you want. The last couple of months are not a fluke. I know journey isn’t over and we have only begun. But the sun seems brighter today. The air smells crisp and clean. We will be there shortly. And the milk will be cool and thirst-quenching, the honey will be sweet. My faith has never been shaken. I believe and I will follow. I know we can get there from here.
