OPEN ICE: With Herb Brooks
By Ross Bernstein

On the heels of having won the coveted Lester Patrick Award for service to American hockey, Minnesota Hockey Journal recently sat down with former University of Minnesota, St. Cloud State, North Stars and current U.S. Olympic Hockey Coach Herb Brooks. We got his take on many issues including giving back to the game, the Olympics and what he calls “20-minute players.”

On Giving Back
“I look back and think about my father, who started one of the very first youth hockey associations in the state of Minnesota. From that I saw the spirit of volunteerism on a first-hand basis and I think it is a very powerful and tremendous thing. Now, moving on, I saw that same spirit when I was coaching at the University of Minnesota. One of my mentors was John Mariucci, who told me that I was more than just a coach and that I needed to reach out and help the growth of the game throughout the state. I have always remembered that and, as a result, have always tried to do as much as I could to help the coaches, administrators and volunteers to grow the game.

“Maybe the biggest thing I have done was to take St. Cloud State from a Division III school to Division I. And, hey, look at them now: they’ve got a new arena and are one of college hockey’s best teams. Once again, it was John Mariucci who convinced me to take that job and it is really one of the best things I have ever done in hockey. I made only $15,000 that season, but would do it all over again in a heartbeat. It was a real labor of love and that’s what it’s all about – giving back to the game.”

On Outdoor Rinks
“I think we are doing well to improve our infrastructure to increase the number of rinks in America, but we can do more. Let’s be real, arenas cost a lot of money, and I think there might be some more efficient uses of our hard-earned money to build them. Whenever a new arena is built there are hundreds of thousands of dollars that are appropriated to things that do not affect change or help the athletes or coaches. We need ice sheets, locker rooms and ice resurfacers. We don’t always need, however, weight rooms, restaurants, beautiful lobbies and architectural niceties. Sure, they are nice, but they cost a lot of money.

“We have to ask ourselves, who are we building these for: the fans or the kids? Perhaps instead of building such elaborate indoor facilities, we should go back to constructing more outdoor rinks with artificial ice. This is what baseball, soccer and basketball have over hockey – kids can hone their games virtually anywhere. Hockey is unique: we need ice. Sure, there are thousands of lakes and ponds, but the weather doesn’t always cooperate. So we need more good-quality outdoor ice sheets in order for our kids to get in more practice time.

With girls’ hockey growing in popularity, ice time has never been more scarce. This is another way to help out. So maybe the next time they want to build a community rink on a grand scale, they should look instead to build five to ten outdoor, lighted artificial rinks with warming houses where kids could play consistently for six months out of the year. And while youth associations could have structured practices here, it would also be a great place for kids to learn the game. Often times that is where kids learn their creativity, playing pick-up games against other kids in an unstructured, informal environment with no coaches screaming at them.”
Europeans, Professional Coaches and “20-Minute Players”

“Why are the Europeans producing so much talent these days? Well, in Europe they have a better ratio of games to practices, and in the United States we are turning out a bunch of 20-minute hockey players – that is a serious problem. It takes an hour for kids to get to the rink and get ready. They play one third of the one hour game for a total of 20 minutes, and then it takes another hour to get undressed and go home. That means a kid is only playing 20 minutes of hockey out of a three-hour afternoon.

“The bottom line is that we need more emphasis on development, pure and simple, and one way to achieve that is by hiring professional coaches who can coach other coaches. Sure, we have coaching clinics and certification programs, but is it enough? Now, this is in no way intended to be a back-handed slap at our youth coaches and volunteers who are giving up their time and energy to help teach our kids. Rather, it is something to consider to help our kids get better. If a program were to hire a young professional coach to help teach and train the volunteer coaches at a grass-roots level, wouldn’t that make everyone better? Now, does it cost money? Sure, but that is one area where the Europeans are advancing much quicker than we are and as a result they are producing more talent on the next levels. I think we should open a dialogue and discuss it, that’s all.”

On the Olympic Experience
“The Olympic experience is just unbelievable. To be able to represent your country is a tremendous honor. I have seen it all. I was the last guy cut on the gold-medal winning 1960 team – my dad told me the coach cut the right guy because they won! – but I went on to play on both the 1964 and 1968 teams. Then, to coach the 1980 team was a dream come true, and now to be able to come back and coach again in 2002 is very meaningful. Now, as far as the parallels between 1980 and 2002, it is not even close. The young people we had in 1980 – it was a bunch of college kids. We were trying to take them out of their comfort zone of being college athletes, and play at a certain tempo of world-class competition in the Olympic Games. But this [the NHLers] is a different thing. I’m not going to be introducing a lot of things to these athletes. I’m not going to be telling them things they don’t already know. They all come from good programs and have had excellent coaches. It’s more of a reminder. It’s really their show. The strategy comes down to how well we adapt to the different styles. The Europeans, who play on larger ice sheets, have more finesse players, while the North Americans play a much more physical game.”

High School Hockey in Minnesota
“I think there is a lack of progressive thinking on the part of the Minnesota State High School League. Their mentality is more of a forced mediocrity and I think that there are some things that could be done differently. Most importantly, I think that the kids should be able to play an additional six to eight games throughout the course of the season and those games should be increased to 20-minute periods. That alone would add the equivalent of about six games a year in just ice time alone. And while the tournament is going on in March, the vast majority of kids are standing around in snowbanks by the end of February. So, the season could be extended to mid-March with no problem.

“I think that all the sports should be adjusted to the particular dynamics of that individual sport to make this all work out – so it’s very doable. Even though there are more than 250 Minnesotans playing D-I hockey in our country right now, I think that can still be improved. We have the No.1 high school program in the country here in Minnesota and I never want it to become complacent. Overall, I would like to see more public representation on the MSHSL, though. They make a lot of unilateral, authoritarian decisions without the real debate and discussions that I think are needed.”

The State of the State
“Overall, there has been great progress in American hockey over the past 25 years or so. For us to keep on moving forward, though, we really need to encourage the debate, the dialogue and the discussion for change. We should be respectful of one another, understand differing philosophies and work together to make American hockey better. We have so many great athletes in our country and I think that our future is unbelievable. We just have to work on our developmental programs and keep it going.

“Locally, I think there are too many AAA, showcase and elite camps, etc., for young kids today and as a result we are creating a bunch of robots. We need to make it fun for our kids and let them learn to love this game the way we did. Kids love to play and we need to give this game back to them. Our coaches need to make practices more fun by making drills that are both fun and competitive, that will challenge the kids to find the games within the game. We are doing a great job, though. Our girls’ programs are continually getting better, we’re getting more and more kids onto the next level and the rest will eventually take care of itself.”
What’s Next for Herb Brooks?

“I still have a little boy in me and I still love this game. After the Olympics I will probably take a little time off, but I still want to be a part of hockey. Whether it is in coaching, player personnel, scouting or even with a local program within USA Hockey, I will be doing something.”