Jan 6 – Armchair Quarterbacks

Jan 6 – Armchair Quarterbacks and Harvard Review Case Writers are / can / will have a field day with last night’s game. It is not the end of the world although the suggestion is that we are teetering on the brink. Russia won – because they deserved to! In my role as TSN wannabe analyst, (anyone has to be better than Bob MacKenzie – I like Pierre, for his comprehensive knowledge of the game and players, but he can be a master of the obvious) some disjointed thoughts

Russia played their game for 60 minutes – Canada did not, Midway through the second and on, they gave up the aggressive physical game they were playing and what got them there and just lost their focus. The too many men call at the end of the second was just an indication of that and I don’t recall one good “hit” in the third. Almost all tournament and for half of the game they smothered the opposition and owned the boards. Not so in the end. Were they tired, complacent, or did nerves catch up?

Let’s not forget or downplay that Russia has a good team that does not quit, that proved before that they could come back and that they beat Sweden (who beat Canada).

Russia – good move in switching goalies. I don’t know their coaches style or mindset but to me this was less of a goalie issue than it was a message to the team that we have to do something different.

Time Out – Time outs are precious – you only get one, but as a coach, I would absolutely have used mine when Russia scored the 3 – 2 goal 11 seconds after they potted their first one. I yelled these instructions to the TV but they were ignored. My additional call at that time that “next goal wins” was also right and part of the reason for a “take a break – reorg.” Need after the second goal. However, Cameron is a pro coach and I am just a former minor hockey has been so what do I know.

Injuries – waiting to hear about “injuries” as I think a few of the Canadian key drivers got racked pretty good and that may have helped “blunt” their focus. Ellis, Schenn and Johansen were on my list.

Stretch passes are what I call “goal sucks” but that was a key part of the Russian game that I think they exploited more as the game went on and it seemed to cause Canada trouble with their game plan.

Five Goal Meltdown in one period – they lost it – The Russians “smelt blood” and went after it. It looked like everyone was waiting for someone else to make the “big play” to save the game and it never happened.

But let’s remember, these young men are essentially 18 years old (kids – sort of), with high expectations for themselves and from others, lots of pressure in a game where they are bombarded with the fact that they are representing their country in a world forum and need to get back to the Gold. Full house all for them and a global TV audience. They had an exceptionally bad period – shit happens – get over it and move on.

Kicked off flight – and just to prove they are kids – the Russian Champs got kicked off of their Delta flight for being too exuberant and creating a potential safety hazard.

FSMT – enough on the Juniors. I have an FSMT meeting tonight as the tournament is coming up quickly. Starts a week from tomorrow! Yikes! Glad everyone else is organized!! Looking forward to some good hockey and even better fun. Check the site for the schedule www.fsmt.ca and come out and watch a few games. We have some great prizes and the skill competition on Saturday is always fun to watch.

Jan 5 – Second day “back”

Jan 5 – Second day “back” – the first was too busy and painful to write about. That is the worst thing about holidays like that – the pain of returning.

Juniors – played a great game against the U.S. as they simply blanketed the US with “in your face” hockey, relentless pressure. Every time the US got near the puck there seemed to be a red sweater all over him or laying on the body. It took the US until mid way in the third to make any headway and that may have been more a function of a) a “we have it in the bag” mindset creeping into the Canadians’ heads and, or b) a bit of fatigue catching up from two high pressure “must win” games in two days. The sea of red in the stands and turning the rink into a Canadian – Buffalo, Ontario has also been impressive as where else and for what else could one “major” country’s home game be so dominated by foreigners. And this is with the “home” team, a tournament favourite playing!

Canada and Hockey – you have to love it.

Or at least until tonight’s game is over and we see what happens – Of course we are going to win! The question is only by how many! Think positive, especially with a former Halton hills goalie in net.

Go! Canada! Go!

Thumbs up or down!

Down – to the Windsor school and school board who suspended for a day a number of young ladies for wearing duct Tape shirts with letters promoting their school team to a major annual event. Yeas they were warned, but they promised (and delivered on) nothing revealing or provocative and got suspended anyway. Can kids not do anything anymore to have fun that is not either fully scripted, supervised or robotic? Everyone knows Duct Tape is a National Treasure – just ask Red Green. How can you penalize anyone for its creative use – this was also part of a school tradition – Way to go Grinches!!

Up – to the young ladies!

Down – to the American Airlines pilot who allegedly caused first a hijack ID Squawk and then an emergency landing at Pearson Airport by spilling his coffee on some communication equipment. That will turn out to be one expensive cup of Java. Not to mention the hassle of the incident report, the obligatory involvement of the CATSB and FAA plus the internal “performance” review!

Down – to lottery pool mooches. Apparently the payout to the Bell group that won the $50 Lotto Max is delayed and under review based on some “additional” group members coming forward with a claim for a piece of the pie. Nice play – were they in or out, on this or other tickets, did they pay etc, etc, etc. take note for pool play in the future, pay, sign, and get a copy to avoid the thieving, greedy hordes.

Down – to the US Navy and the FORMER Captain of the USS Enterprise nuclear carrier on both the production and display of “stupid” videos and the fact that the big Brass did not act on them for three years. In fact it seems like the promoted the guy from XO to captain during the time. What does it say about the US Navy if they promote an alleged porno producer and distributor using the ship’s internal systems to be the head honcho. It is not like the Captain of one of the most powerful ships afloat, complete with his own air force and nuclear weapons needs to be somewhat sensible!

Two Thumbs Down – Not a fan – While he may have been an exceptional baseball player, Roberto Alomar would not have received my vote for the hall of fame. While Toronto fans and media appear to be all agog over Alomar’s election and the likelihood of a “Blue Jay Lid” being on a Hall of Fame bust, I think it is a bust. It seems too many people have forgotten some of the less favourable aspects of Mr. Alomar’s time here and elsewhere. Maybe they don’t even know about some of them! If the argument is that what you do on the field is what matters and not that “other stuff” – give Pete Rose a call.

Jan 1 – A whole new year

Jan 1 – A whole new year. A chance to start over. A clean slate – yadda, yadda, yadda. If 2011 goes as fast as 2010, it will only seem like tomorrow when we start talking about 2012!

New Year’s Eve – was very low key at Chez Moorehead’s. After a rousing round of “Stick and Puck” at Ice Sports with “the boys” – more on that later, it was home to watch the Canadian Junior try unsuccessfully to overcome less than stellar netminding to beat the Swedes – did not happen. Sweden was full value for the win and deserved it. Especially after the talking heads confidently reminded viewers that Canada (Juniors) had never lost in a shoot-out! Right – until yesterday that is. Hopefully the loss simply means we get to see another game due to the quarter final game against Switzerland – which they better win.

BTW – I am sick of seeing/hearing the Schenn brothers ad – so TSN – get some new creative.

Post the Junior Game, I had to don my Chef’s hat to create another double batch of my world famous Caramel Popcorn. It seems the last two double batches evaporated. By then it was after eight and time to crank up the WII.

WII – did I mention that a family gift this year was a WII console and remotes. I recognize that we were probably the last WII-less household in Oakville (maybe Ontario), but with all the other electronic entertainment we had under the roof it was not really a priority. However, we finally knuckled under and went with the full monty – console, four remotes, numchuks (or whatever they are) and games. While we are still working our way through the Olympics and the basic sports game that comes with the unit, a few observations.

• The games are a lot of fun and some are very realistic in terms of interpreting your actions relative to the “real” thing.
• It takes time to build the coordination and figure out all the controls – some of us are “controller challenged”.
• Archery – I suck!
• Frisbee Golf – working on it but fun
• Bowling – Current expertise – The Champ has the current High Score (which is bugging certain individuals)
• 100 Pin bowling – weird
• Sore back – sore legs – sore shoulder

There are a lot of other games and activities for the WII that I have not tried yet but look like they are really “fitness” oriented. Andrew has the NFL Training Camp game that looks like a cardiac arrest opportunity for us old guys.

Stick and Puck – I go out for some exercise and how can it be bad to be out on the ice with a hockey stick in hand. Friday (New Year’s Eve) we thought might be good as everyone would be somewhere else! WRONG! The joint was crowded, they opened a second sheet and it was crowded too. Not only was it crowded, but the ice was terrible, pitted and rough almost like pebbled curling ice plus rough spots.

I think I have mentioned the one rule at S&P is don’t loiter in front of the net. This is where the little guys that are there drive me nuts. They don’t seem to “know” this and “Dad” does not seem to know enough to tell them. You go in for a shot and suddenly a herd of ankle biters wanders in front of the net and starts playing there – MOVE!.

That brings up the other rule which is “take a look”! On Friday, some moron must have had his head stuck well up his lower back as in the first five minutes I am skating in the high slot angling in on the net when CLANG! Some idiot pranged one off my lid when I was not even near the net. I turned around to see who it was but could not tell with the herd that was there. Apparently Shaun saw who it was but wouldn’t tell me – I guess he through I was going to throw down on the guy. Fortunately I was wearing my super duper new Bauer Brain Bucket that Andrew got me for Christmas and did not feel a thing. However, the gutless wonder did not even have the stones to step up and simply apologize. Smarten up folks.

What I will say from what I have seen so far is some of the “best behaved” guys on the ice are the older teens / recent minor hockey grad types who know the drill. Good for them.

Rangers & Wolves – Interesting approach being taken in KW with the planned “merger” of four levels at AAA with the Kitchener MHA, Waterloo MHA and the KW Rangers OHL club all in the mix. Instead of separate Kitchener and Waterloo clubs at MB, B, MM and M AAA (8 teams) the plan is to cut it in half and go to four.

The MB and MM become “Rangers” and the B and M become Wolves. One might say that Kitchener wins as they control the “draft year”.

The other challenge is that in the name of being “more competitive”, four teams of young players are losing their opportunity to play AAA in their home centre. Shades of “Winning isn’t something, winning is everything”.

Here is a Record article on it.

Dec 30 – As I wait for the last two RBMT games to complete

Dec 30 - As I wait for the last two RBMT games to complete and the scores get posted – Oakville Rangers are done as they are not participating in either of the last two games – The MM A and MM AA Championships. The Minor Midget division did not look favourably on the local boys as earlier, the MM AE squad lost 4 – 0 to Georgetown.

Despite that, the local guys “done good”. Of the 15 divisions, Ranger teams made it to the finals in 9 and won 5 of them.

Championships go to MA A, MP A, MP AE, MB A and MB AE. No doubles or triples brought home the bacon which is a typical Oakville performance where typically the number of titles has an inverse relationship to the number of letters.

Here is a listing of the division championship games. I may update the two missing midget games later.

Division
Home
Visitor

Minor Atom AAA
Detroit Little Caesars – 1
Burlington Eagles – 4

Minor Atom AA
Mississauga Braves – 1
Flamborough Sabres – 5

Minor Atom A
Oakville Rangers – 5
Meadowvale Mohawks – 0

Minor Atom AE
Oakville Rangers – 1
Barrie Colts – 4

Minor Peewee AAA
Toronto Marlboros – 0
Ajax Pickering Raiders – 1

Minor Peewee AA
Mississauga Braves – 2
Oakville Rangers – 0

Minor Peewee A
Oakville Rangers – 3
Whitby Wildcats – 0

Minor Peewee AE
Oakville Rangers – 7
Georgetown Raiders – 4

Minor Bantam AAA
York Simcoe Express – 0
Detroit Little Caesars – 2

Minor Bantam AA
Mississauga Terriers – 2
Oakville Rangers – 1

Minor Bantam A
Ajax Knights – 0
Oakville Rangers – 3

Minor Bantam AE
Oakville Rangers – 3
Hamilton Phantoms – 1

Minor Midget AA-A
West Mall Lightning – 0
Kanata Blazers – 2

Minor Midget A-A
Welland Tigers – 4
Hasle Loeren Furuset – 0

Minor Midget AE
Oakville Rangers – 0
Georgetown Raiders – 4

As an add to earlier goodies, I have posted a second page of photos from two games Thursday see RBMT Photo 2 to go with RBMT Photo 1 in the Nav bar or from the links.

(Photo pages must be accessed from Web Site www.minorhockeyfan.com

I have also posted a spreadsheet that has all the game scores. I did not get all fancy with this one as I could not be bothered doing someone else’s job again. It also has a tab for just the Championship games. RBMT Spreadsheet. (Last two game scores are still pending – I may update later).

Tomorrow it is off to a rare Friday appearance at Stick and Puck and it looks like I will have both of my Wingmen there as we seem to have talked Shaun out of retirement. PLEASE – everyone else – STAY AWAY – We could be dangerous.

OOPS – scores are up – tournament over – To the good guys – well done – now go rest up and have a wee nip!

Dec 28 – It is technically the 29th (12:30 AM)

Dec 28 - It is technically the 29th (12:30 AM) but I am calling it the 28th as today’s post is simply a direction to a photo gallery of shots I took this afternoon and tonight at the Richard Bell tournament. I went to watch games with the three overseas teams (all Minor Midget – 1 AA, 2 A).

Link is on the Nav Bar on the left or here is the page. (Need to go to my web for the pictures)

They are unlabelled but cover the three games in order – so check the uniforms.

The first shots are the 3:00 PM MM A game between Gota Traneberg (White) and Cooksville Phantoms – Gota won 4 – 1.

The second shots are the 5:00 PM MM AA game between Turun Palloseura (White) and North London Nationals – Nats won 4 – 1.

The third was the 8:30 PM MM A game between Oakville Rangers and Hasle Loeren Furuset. – Hasle won 7 – 6 with a mad flurry of goals after Oakville was up three zip and some “stupid” penalties including three Rangers tossed!

Enjoy – I particularly like the one I call the “mismatch”! See if you can spot it?

Dec 27 – Tis two days post Xmas

Dec 27 – Tis two days post Xmas and all through the town, there is a loosening of tension as the shopping dies down. Santa was good to the Mooreheads and to me specifically although I had to go out post the 25th and help out a little.

Since Andrew “stole” my projector for his Man Cave Multi-Screen extravaganza I have had to share time on Jane’s TV which is just not acceptable. So – I was minding my own business on Xmas day, checking my email when I saw that Staples had an HD projector on as a door crasher for $249. While this unit would not cut it at the CinePlex Odeon, its capabilities were just fine for me, so with a 20 minute line-up pre 9:00 AM opening on the 26th (a civilized hour) I snagged one of these and Cavette #2 is now resupplied with big screen wall TV. Now I just have to steal back a cable feed to go with my DVDs.

Xmas – 2 – A second self purchased gift item was an external Disk dock for Sata drives via USB or eSata. Loyal readers will recall that several months ago I had some severe computer stress and nearly “lost” the contents of my internal hard drive. Fortunately, most of th data was backed up an I was able to perform open drive surgery and resuscitate the drive. It has been sitting inside my PC disconnected ever since as I had put in a new drive. Now with my new external plug and play toy, I pulled the drive out of my computer, popped it into the Dock and Zesto / Presto, up pups Drive letter “F” in “My Computer with the entire drive contacts intact and ready to go (via USB of course – slower than internal but still there).

The Letter - Where this is going is that in scouting through and deleting redundant data to clear space on the old drive, I ran across a letter I wrote over 13 years ago! September 25, 1997. It is reproduced below word for word.

The topic was then, as now, my point of view on the local Minor Hockey Administration. For those who wonder why I do what I do (and sometimes that includes me), give the letter a read. Ergo -  as Popeve says “I Yam What I Yam”.

For those of you who have been around for a while (maybe quite a while), it is interesting how some things never really change. It is also interesting how a common denominator / key protagonist was / is central to the then and now.

September 25, 1997

An open letter to all hockey parents, players and concerned members
of the Oakville minor hockey community.

As we begin another hockey season I have personally reached the point where I am no longer prepared to sit back and quietly accept what I consider as unacceptable behaviour by members of the Oakville Minor Oaks Hockey Association (MOHA).

I feel that my point of view on a number of key issues has once again lead the MOHA to decline to offer me a coach’s position in my son’s level. This is despite the fact that I have been active in the system and have invested both my time and dollars to continue to develop my qualifications. While personal disappointment and “ego” are always at play in any situation like this, and it is easy to shrug this off as “sour grapes”, many of you know me from my past involvement in both Oakville minor hockey and baseball. Based on that knowledge, I would ask that you give my request serious consideration.

Specifically, I am requesting that the  MOHA executive and coaches selection committee publicly justify their selection process, evaluation criteria and the qualifications of the “successful” candidates versus my own.

I would ask that you consider my “qualifications” in the context of an equitable coaches selection process, Please keep them in mind when considering both the comments I am making about the organization and the standards you should expect and demand from the organization and individual(s) entrusted with coaching your sons or daughters this year.

Personal Qualifications:

· Canadian Hockey Association National Coaches Certification Program

Coach and Intermediate level certification

· 4 years of hockey coaching experience as an assistant or head coach (reaching the final twice, winning once)

· Assisted in convening 1996/97 Atom and kept league statistics

· Son selected as alternate to Minor “A” peewee team and  therefore is a qualified “red” level player I was not applying to coach “red” just so my son can play there

· Arranged for sponsorship for the 97/98 season (in excess of minimum sponsorship fee)

· I had identified an individual to assist as a trainer and have always successfully recruited “parents” into the system as volunteers with my teams.

· My wife has been an active volunteer for the Hockey M.O.M.S. organization

· Eight years of minor baseball coaching experience, tournament organization and management as well as extensive additional volunteer support for the OMBA by both my wife and myself.

· Willing to have any parent or child on any team I have coached contacted for evaluation as well as to provide references from opposing coaches in either sport.

At this point I have not been given a team.  Moreover, I have not had the courtesy of contact by the MOHA to notify me of their decision, nor even to ask if I would consider working with someone.

Last year the MOHA’s excuse when I was not given a team was that they “lost my application/card” and “didn’t know I wanted to coach”. After that it was too late because “all spots were filled” – I teamed up with another coach and we won the division championship. I am not prepared to accept that type of story this year.

Perhaps the real reasons that I am not being considered are my criticisms of MOHA management attitudes as opposed to my coaching qualifications. These concerns can be broadly summarized as follows:

First:

My philosophy on coaching, which apparently differs from that practiced by the MOHA, is that House League hockey is for the kids, not the league, not the coaches and not even for the parents. The primary objectives are for the kids to have fun, be provided with an opportunity to learn individual and team skills and develop sportsmanship and values that will contribute to their personal growth and development through life. While winning is important to all of us and is part of the competitive nature of sport, it is not and should not be the only or primary objective.

Second:

In my opinion, the treatment of “red” versus “white” house league kids in the MOHA system has been unacceptable and for me is a particular concern this year. It is also a position I expressed to the organization at the end of last year. My concern this year is that my son’s age group are now moving up to minor peewee. At this age level, “red” teams have body contact, “white” do not. Most kids want to play contact hockey because to them that is part of “real” hockey. A number of them are going to be disappointed this year because according to an arbitrary decision they “aren’t good enough to play red”. Last year there were 6 “red” and  8 “white” atom teams because there were only “enough red caliber players” for six teams.

I have been informed that the 6 / 8 team division would likely be in place again this year for minor peewee. While I personally disagree with this concept, it is also my understanding that it is contrary to the regulations of the MOHA (Section D, Subsection 1, Rule 12 Team Strength/Drop-Outs) that stipulates that “red” teams will be at least one half the players assigned to the combined “red” and “white” leagues. Unless this regulation has been changed it has been ignored in the past to provide better “red” teams.

I would much rather challenge the intermediate level kids to play “up” and develop their skills than require them to play in the lower tier where they will not have the same competitive environment to develop. The additional risk is that we turn them off of a great game and lose them for future years to other potentially less constructive activities.

When this point of view was expressed to the level convenor, he first indicated that he was unaware of this requirement and then that the MOHA was going 6 / 8 because our “red” teams were no longer competitive – “we don’t even bother challenging Brampton any more because we aren’t good enough”. Tournament or outside games are a nice benefit for the players and I wholeheartedly support participation. However, let’s remember that these are house league, not travel teams and that overall competitiveness within any league can easily be achieved by properly rating the players and balancing the teams. There are many tournaments and teams available at all levels for coaches to find suitable opportunities for their “red” or “white” teams to have enjoyable and competitive outside opportunities. How will you or your son or daughter feel if he or she is one of the players relegated to “white” so that a “red” coach can have a better road team.

Third:

Another area of concern that I have raised with MOHA members is that all kids should receive equitable treatment within the system for the same dues. Equitable scheduling of practice times (e.g., 6:00 am), equal amounts of ice time, full sheet or half ice, numbers of games and or access to facilities and equipment. Rep or travel teams that use or require incremental support should pay for it. House league dollars should not support rep or travel teams the way they do today. An example of this even within house league was the attempt last year to have atom “white” teams share ice for practice while red teams had full ice because of a scheduling problem. Appropriate ice was found only after the “white” teams’ coaches, players and parents started a petition against the league.

Fourth:

A final area that I am not going to comment on in detail is financial. This year’s fee increase versus what we receive for it relative to other jurisdictions is a concern for all of us. The circumstances that have lead up to it and the financial position of the MOHA. Are issues that you may draw your own conclusions on or ask for a personal explanation from the MOHA executive or directors.

In summary, many of you may have wondered why so many of our kids have quit hockey or have left the MOHA ranks to play elsewhere. You may also wonder why there are so many coaching problems and difficulties in attracting “good” people. Perhaps these comments may help you understand some of the reasons and frustrations.

Going public with this letter means that I will likely be permanently “black listed” by the current MOHA organization and never offered a team. It may also impact the treatment my son receives within the system. It is a decision I have struggled with because I love the game, I enjoy the opportunity and privilege of working with the kids, and I am concerned about the potential backlash to my own son from my speaking out. However, there comes a time when you can not remain silent and accept the abuses of the system or individuals within it. Once again I challenge the MOHA to defend their actions. To publicly identify the selection process, the individuals, the criteria they used to determine their coaches, and their rationale in declining to offer me a team versus their “successful” candidates. I would also challenge them to defend their treatment of the house league system in general, and the “red” versus “white” distribution practices specifically.

As an individual who has invested both the hours and dollars to develop my personal qualifications and spent the time with the kids over the years, I believe I am entitled to that explanation. As a parent with a child in the system, I would also expect an explanation and I would encourage all of you to ask for it as well.

If this appears to be a blanket condemnation of everyone within the organization, it is not! There are many excellent coaches within the system who are volunteering their time and working hard with the best interests of the kids at heart. My compliments to those individuals and I hope your son or daughter is fortunate enough to end up on one of their teams. My concerns and frustrations are directed at those individuals within the MOHA who have the  position and power to put their own interests, egos and personal agendas ahead of the welfare of the kids and the members they are supposed to serve.

If we all sit back and accept it, these practices will continue. However, if you share my concerns or want an explanation of the issues I have raised, I would encourage you to contact the MOHA office and ask for answers. If you are not satisfied with their response or want to let someone else know how you feel, I would urge you to contact the mayor’s office to voice your concern. If you are reluctant to express your views this way, please feel free to give me a call with your opinions. Most importantly, I would also ask that you raise these questions or remember these concerns when it is time to elect next year’s slate.

Sincerely,

Wayne Moorehead

1305 Greeniaus Road

Oakville, Ontario         L6J 6Y3           Telephone                   (905) 829-1551

Just as an FYI – Andrew did “suffer” because of me – Despite being the last cut from the single A team that year and being promised an “AP” position on the team (before this surfaced), he never heard from that coach again and never tried out for Rep again.

Looks like I just can’t play nice with some people or maybe . . .

Dec 24 – Christmas Eve Morning

Sort of a post.

Sitting at home trouble shooting site issues. It seems that posting that big mother of a RBMT schedule with all of it’s embedded links done “blowed up” something in FrontPage that killed the links on the whole internal blog table. Not good.

So, being in the Xmas spirit, figuratively, not literally (yet) I am including a link that lets you download the actual Excel file that you can then mix and match to your heart’s content. I am too lazy to segment it and insert and recreate new links. Someone else should have already done that but you can print separate divisions if you want or the whole enchilada from the file if you want.

Remember my caveat – this is not my data! Excel RBMT Schedule

Merry Christmas