Virginia

Dons · Post by **Dons** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:13 am

Pull your head out of your @ss. smoking a pound of weed each night? are you really taht stupid..I personally know most of the players..and trust me..they arent smoking..anything during the season. and did i read it right..did i really quote someone as saying "I'll say this he's the best coach Eveleth, Hibbing, Mesabi East, Int'l Falls, Greenway, and Hermatown etc. etc.have ever had." I really hope you didnt mean that in the form you put it in. i have also come to notice everyone seems to be an Excellent, heisman nominate, Monday morning quarterback. Theres a reason taht someone with more authority..and knowledge has kept this guy in teh locker room. i do agree that a coach has to be a role model and giving speeches without cussing is not somethin you really look up to. i have heard players say that it got them pumped up, but its not something to look up to. and to give players 2nd and 3rd chances..yea yeah..in the real world ya dont always get them..but these are high school kids..cut em some slack. i know im not going to punish my ten year old and not let him ever play hockey if he messes up once "cuz in the real world son, ya know, you dont get 2nd and 3rd chances"

puck4ever · Post by **puck4ever** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 10:27 pm

dons, i couldn't have said it better myself. you proved evryones point that has said hendrickson shouldn't have let the suspended players come back. anyone would let their 10 year old play again, but do you really think these kids are 10 years old? of course not, so why treat them like that? they are adults that know the consequences of their actions, and know the consequences stretch deeper than just hockey, they need to be held accountable for their actions, not coddled by mother hendrickson. kids want to be treated as adults, they need to act more maturely and think of others rather than of themselves all the time. keith didn't handle the situation ideally, but you cant blame everything on him. the kids put him in a terrible position, he took a stand on it, then backed off his word. no one can deny that, but he shouldn't have been in that position to begin with. this is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with before the snowball effect engulfs the virginia high school program completely. that begins with the coaches, schoolboard, athletic director (chuck klinker, who does everything he can), and the mshsl (possibly making stricter penalties for rules violations). lets hope something gets done. and how can anyone say virginia kids are off smokin pot right now? how assanine is that. yes, some kids on the team do, maybe 2, dont make it sound like the whole team is. and to say gordon and nisky are gettin high, its embarrassing to see anyone say that. if you ever want people to see you as a credible source on here you need to stop that nonsense, i know ill never listen to anything you say anymore, or take it seriously i should say, and no one else should either.

Puckhaug · Post by **Puckhaug** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 11:50 pm

OK...I have listened and have decided some of you don't know what you are talking about. You are providing your opinions as if they are facts. Some of it sounds like sour grapes to me but that is just my opinion. I'm done listening. Here are some facts. 1) No coach made any promises that if you mess up and do an illegal you will not play varsity again. Some of the players may have taken it that way. it was worded for them to take it that way (smart speech that must have worked) but it was not a out right promise. 2) There is no 2nd chances in real life? Are you serious? Like a guy that gets a DUI and gets to drive again in a year? Like a guy at a mining company that gets caught sleeping on the job and gets a verbal warning the 1st time he is caught, a written warning the 2nd time he is caught and reported to the union for a grievance hearing the 3rd time he is caught only to be told if you get caught again you might get fired. All of the people that have gone to prison and released after serving their sentence. The cancer victim that goes into remission. A student that flunks English the 1st quarter but passes the class through hard work in his next 3 chances (2,3,4th quarter). Life is full of 2nd chances my friend. I have been cussed at many times by my boss and co-workers. You must live in a glass palace. Good luck to you in life. 3) He tries to much to be a friend? So your opinion is a coach should not bond with his players and be friends? I have heard many pro coaches and players talk about the friendship and love they have for each other. You are entitled to your opinion. 4) The players he started in the semi finals was a mistake? Hmmmm. Started some of his faster quicker players against the Walters not the slower ones. Got the 1st line out against Hibbings 2nd and 3rd (when they played a 3rd line) ( the first line with 2 of the top 3 scorers in the IRC and 4 of the top 10 scorers in the IRC). Leave 4 of the top 10 scorers in the IRC on the ice the last 4 minutes when you need a goal to win. Time outs, equipment problems.... If the Hedleys were tired they would have taken themselves out. Last 30 seconds. Draw in your end.... I would keep my best face-off guys (7, 8, 16) on the rink..wouldn't you? or would you put out a guy or 2 that won 1 or 2 draws all night? Yup he lost the draw but a guy got a good angle on the shooter and the shot was 5 to 10 feet wide. A Hibbing guy tips it to the far post where Patrick had great position on the a Hibbing guy...boxing him out. The guy made a good play by fighting through one of our biggest, strongest and best D. They scored....thats hockey man. No ones fault...maybe a little luck involved? hey if they would have won the draw, got the puck out and scored the coaches would be....well you know. 4) He can't coach to save his life is only a cliche. Thanks for clearing that up. I think I get it now. Let me try one. Some people are as dumb as a box of rocks? 5) Keith has been involved actively...very actively in youth hockey for at least 10 years. He offers and He goes on the ice for youth practices when asked. He helped a lot on the 1st phase of the 2nd rink. At one time he was on the ice for every youth practice Pops - bantams for 2 straight weeks until he was comfortable and the coaches were comfortable. He worked to surround himself with good coaches and good board members. He holds coaches meetings during the year. Has an open door policy with everyone involved in the youth program, designs drills and practices for coaches who ask. Provides practice ideas and drills for all coaches, Wrote a coaches manual for the coaches.The list is very long. You were way out of line and showed your ignorance by saying he has been involved for 2 years and only became involved when his son became a squirt. I know several High School coaches. Some are active in the youth program some not at all. I know of no other that works with their youth program more than he. Totally inaccurate statement on your part. 6)The Virginia hockey coaches have an open door policy with all of their players. They have one on ones with many of them both about hockey and problems. They have helped players get into treatment for substance abuse, child abuse etc. Here is one Puck4 likes... they try to bond and be friends with their players (funny Puck thinks they talk to them too much and Masked Man thinks the opposite). When lines get changed they have no problem discussing it with the players...sometimes they need to ask but do you really think all coaches should sit with "Johny", hold their hand. Sometimes movement is done for motivational reasons. these are individual coaching decisions that can vary from player to player, coach to coach. 7) You say you have talked to many ex players over the years. I asked you if you talked to 288 of them. Your statement was "At least 80% of the guys that played for him...." So I take it you exaggerated a bit here. Who did you talk to? The guys that were sitting next to you on the bench the whole game? <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... lasses.gif ALT="8)"> out coached. Some of this was addressed above. Again a matter of opinion. Easy to 2nd guess it now but if one of those top scorers in the IRC would have scored it would have been the Hibbing coach getting beat up for not letting his players get into a flow by changing them so much. Hibbing played their best players more than Virginia did during the game...maybe they were tired and needed quick changes? 10 and 11 play power play, penalty kill, and played every other shift in the game. Virgina played 3 lines more, 7 and 8 don't kill penalties (I think we had 3 for 6 minutes in the 3rd) and they can score. Any coach in their right mind is going to play their best players a lot especially when the game and season are on the line. Hibbing did. Hermantown did, I Falls did, Eveleth did, Grand Rapids did, Duluth East did. Your statement is all opinion, and it's easy to be right after the game is over. If he didn't play his best then my friend we would have something to talk about. 9) Sometimes letting other players have an opportunity to play when they have earned it appears to some as punishment for other players. You view it as punishment i view it as an opportunity. If one of these goalies was clearly better than the other they would have been the guy. He passed judgment on Eric? Fact or opinion? Oh yea...I think last year the coach got beat up for playing one goalie almost every game...now it appears to be the opposite? 5) Line adjustments. I saw them. You just listed them all. Your previous statement said "continuously the last 2 - 3 weeks." Continuously? Look in the Webster for that definition. Coucco was hurt and got healed up in time for playoffs... Kovatovich disappeared...some say he quit but only he knows because he didn't tell the coaches. He was on the playoff roster but he disappeared ...opportunity for Coucco, who in my opinion, was the 2nd best D on the rink for the Hibbing game. Grueser disappeared also. He did quit earlier in the year and in fact signed up late (as he did every year for the past 4). The coaches called him in and COMMUNICATED with him. He stayed, worked harder in practice and earned a spot. Then he disappeared without a word. So 2 juggles to replace kids that disappeared. That leaves 2 seniors with skill and good work ethic put into the line up and 2 guys moved to make the team better. Continuous? Bad moves on the coaches part? (look at the score sheets before you answer that one). Couple other tidbits. "The Bantam coaches created 2 great bantam teams with kids no one expected much from." What planet are you on? The kids on those bantam teams have more skill and rink sense as a group than any group of players in Virginia for many years. No offense to the current players and no offense to the bantam coaches. Just a poor statement and observation on you part Puck4. "The High School team is made up of a group of players that has always been talented." Granted there are some talented players on the team but I believe (you experts can correct me if I'm wrong) the Seniors are a group that when they were in Bantams the Youth Hockey Board was put under tremendous pressure form the parents to go from a Bantam "A" schedule to a Bantam "B" schedule because they were getting their buts kicked nearly every game at the "A" level. Could it be they went from Bantam "B" caliber to winning the IRC in 3 years under the coaching direction of the High School coaches? Gosh...Maybe! "The coach punished Eric for mistakes he made 2 years ago." Wasn't Eric ineligible for football this year? that would have been less than 2 years ago. And for you Puck...Eric played in the majority of the hockey games this year....that would be a 2nd or 3rd chance...The Masked Man felt he got punished for not playing more. You people need to get your facts straight so you don't look too much more like a box of rocks!

The Masked Man · Post by **The Masked Man** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 8:46 am

It's obvious to me that you are either "The Lord of the Rinks" himself, his right hand man or a key member of VAHA. When are going to stop looking at the world through rose colored glasses? Many kids are leaving the Virginia program with a bad taste in their mouth. The reasons are obvious. Kovatovich and Grueser disappeared without a word? Did you ever stop to think that maybe they didn't say anything to the coaches because they felt they couldn't approach them. Or maybe they just got fed up with all of their B.S. As for the Bantam fiasco...that whole situation came about because the team was stripped of all of their second year players by coach Hendrickson to fill a void in his JV program. He sacrificed the Bantam program to better himself. As for the board being under tremendous pressure by the Bantam parents...I don't think so. A statement was made at that time that the team could play a "B" schedule but the board wouldn't support them. It was simply put up and shut up...nobody was ever given a choice. Give credit to the kids for sticking it out during such a terrible situation.

puck4ever · Post by **puck4ever** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 3:11 pm

sorry puckhaug, i forgot you are a true example of iron ranger. how silly of me to think that real professionals in their jobs wouldn't swear at fellow employees or customers on the job. maybe thats the way it is for you on the range, but definitely not anything i want myself, or my kids to be involved in. when i was in squirts and peewees, i never saw keith at any practicies or games, simple as that. unless he was the invisible man for the majority of his life, he didn't make his presence felt to the players, who it means most to. i also didn't see him at any bantam games, but wait, i only had a handful of those because i was pulled up to the junior varsity in 8th grade. that sure was a fun season, but anything to make dictator keith happy. no, some coaches are not involved in the youth program, but those that are are very successful. take pat guyer for example, he was at every youth game during his tenure as coach of greenway. i constantly saw him at the rink on the ice with younger kids. when he knew he couldn't or didn't want to fullfill these obligations, he stepped down, like any real coach would do. why dont the hedleys kill penalties? honest question. maybe because their defensive zone covergae isn't as great as other players. maybe becuse their speend isn't as effective as other players. so in your own zone with 30 seconds left in a tie game, wouldn't you try to prevent a goal rather than be concerned with scoring? i would, but thats just me i guess. look at the stat sheets, when the suspended players were in the line up, compared to not in the line up. without--15-2, with--6-5, or something along those lines. yeah, what was i thinking, get them back in there as soon as possible. haha what a joke. coach didn't punish erik for 2 years ago, erik didn't play that well so he got benched. whats so hard to understand about that. what is hard to understand is benching erik, letting antonovich play, antonovich plays well for a few games, then gets pulled to let marwik play again. just waht i noticed fom the stands though, there might have been more to the story, im not sure about that. i just dont think it shows too much faith in the kids that are coming back next year to only play one line the last 4 minutes. if i played all season, and got helped the team become as good as they were, and not play at all the last 4 minutes when everyone could see how tired the hedleys line was. and no, the hedleys would not take themselves off the ice, you moron. they dont like coming off the ice ever, they are great competitors. they feel like they always need to be out there, which is a good thing. their intensity leaves little to be desired and is a great example for younger kids, but they are human, they needed a break somewhere in the 4 minutes. the one-on-one conferences also started only 2 years ago. unless they had them for a while and then stopped, and then began them again 2 years ago. so dont glorify them like you are puckhag. once again i am not sure if they had these conferences years past and then stopped, not, i am admitting i dont know, like you should about some things. i'll admit, you make some valid arguments, but they usually fall short in reasoning. for example, you can find many cases of multiple chances for offenders, but yuo know that you are avoiding the fact that you are wrong and there aren't always second chances. yes i would want the top scorers on the ice at the end of a crucial game, but not for the last 4 minutes! maybe 2 out of the 4, not the entire 4 minutes. tell me, have you ever seen, at the hig school, college, professional level, leave the same line on the ice for the last 4 minutes of the game? and i mean recently, not when there was only 8 kids on a team, because everyone knows there is more depth now, and it was a team effort that got them to that point of the season. if the hedley line was the only line to score all season, and never gave up a goal all year, i would say leave them out however long you want, but everyone knows thats not the case. hows this for a second chance. a high school student is drinking at some party and drives home, but doesn't get home. on the way he hits another car, killing all five passengers, as well as himself. do these people get a second chance at life? didn't think so. but we should let them get away with drinking and other illegal activities as much as they want. thats a great idea puckhaug. you have made it very evident that you are either keith himself, a very close friend of keith, or some bonehead brainwashed player of his, so i see where you are coming from with all of your comments, as im sure you see where im coming from but are too prideful to admit it. did you see miracle? the first thing herb brooks said to his players was that he was not their friend and they need to look elsewhere for friends. and dont say thats just a movie either because we all know thats the way herb was. they have peers to be firends with, the have parents for love they need, they need coaches for teaching life lessons and letting them enjoy the game while they can play it. i never said he talks to them too much, he doesn't talk to them enough actually. sure he tells stories of his glory days, but thats about it. and the players on those bantam teams weren't great players. they had some, like joelson, gruesser, mcgilvery, couco, but the rest were average last year, many of them being only first year players. also the teams were lacking heavily on size, which came in to play against teams like duluth east and rapids. but the coaches stressed moving the puck and positions/systems. the coach turned an average team for the most part into a very good team. so there you have it, i am right again. i am sorry puckhaug that you cannot admit you are a little off on this subject, but it is understandable, im sure you are very close to keith. he is a great guy, but not a good coach, im sorry but those are the facts. time to move on.

Dons · Post by **Dons** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 3:35 pm

Alright alright..if you die you arent getting a second chance.I think that this is sort of going in a circle..and for the most part..puck4ever has pretty valid points..Although i did hear an eyewitness account that one of the suspended players played exceptionally well in their final game. I know teh numbers dont lie..but i dont think taht can really be put on the kids that werent playing at the time. and Keith did this, Keith did that, I dont think anyone can argue hes doin the best job that he knows how to do. and i think that he has a lot more experience than anyone being critical of him. again again..im not standing up neccesarily for him..but more so standing up against all teh people who NOW know wat he did was so stupid against hibbing..or out of line..i mean..had the hedleys scored(and both are VERY high on the points list in the state) Keith looks like a genius...but if it goes down how it did...well..he looks like he made a bad call.. i think rather than saying it was a bad call, accept that it was a coaching risk, and ya gotta be willing to take these kinda risks. "If there were no second chances in life, Lawyers wouldn't drive Porsche's" -Dons

puck4ever · Post by **puck4ever** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 3:37 pm

wow keith was on the ice for a whole 2 weeks at one time with the youth program? what a guy! haha, right. why take pride in what you are supposed to do. thats like saying keith is a great father because he works and provides for his family. dont take credit and make a big deal for what is expected. keith is a great father, dont get me wrong, and a good guy, im just saying he isn't a good coach. i just forgot to mention this earlier. give credit and make examples of deserving people, not those that do what is asked of them and are doing what they are supposed to do (only once in a blue moon for the most part). just somethin to chew on puckhaug, to help keep you from posting pointless comments on here anymore untill you admit how wrong you are. one more question, did you ever play for keith?

puck4ever · Post by **puck4ever** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 3:46 pm

i like that you are starting to come around dons, i think everyone overplayed keiths decision calling right away, but some facts are starting to come about now. keith is doing the best he can, and best he knows, but im not sure if his best is good enough right now, thats all. and im not sure if i could do what he does, but i think others could do better. what you are saying is along the lines of, let those who have not sinned throw the first stone. meaning-those who have never made a mistake be critical of keith. i see what you mean, as well as everyone else. and im sure most people see what i am saying about his coaching and so on, so how about we drop the subject and let those that decide the coach's fate talk about this. and i like that quote dons, about the lawyers, but it kind of shows that the guilty people are getting undeserving second chances, but you are right with the quote.

4Check · Post by **4Check** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 11:59 pm

As a newcomer to this sight, I must admit that I am quite amused....in a good way. I feel compelled to add my two cents in the whole Virginia hockey disaster. As I read what all of you have to say, I have to say that everyone has a valid point or two. Having said that, no matter what Keith has done in the past or is doing now, it would be in the best interests of the program to get some new blood in there with a fresh perspective. What could it possibly hurt? In Keith's tenure as coach, he produced 1 IRC champion. You can't tell me that it is from lack of talent either because there have been some tremendous atheletes that have gone through the program. Some that even left the program to play elsewhere, which also should never happen. Why it happened, I'm not sure but it's not saying a whole lot about the program. I'm also not saying that it is all his fault either. It would be nice to see Virginia hockey with a STRONG hockey tradition like your Greenway's, Rapids, and even Eveleth. With the dissention that is taking place in and around the program, you will NEVER have that tradition. I also believe in all the years I've followed BD hockey that Keith would NEVER admit any of his shortcomings because he seems to have a tad bit of an ego problem. I think he has some of the smartest hockey sense around but that doesn' necessarily make him a good coach. In a perfect world, he would just admit failure and move on to something like being a hockey parent and yelling and screaming from the stands. I believe that Virginia would be doing themselves a big favor by hiring someone with the intensity and enthusiasm of Brent Robillard. If you haven't seen his teams play, you are truly missing out. I had the opportunity to take in the Regional tourney in Eveleth this weekend and what a treat it was to watch. He was constantly in his kids ear firing them up, instead of in the ref's ear for making a bad call. Sound familiar Blue Devil fans?!!! What we really need is for everyone who wants change to voice there opinions publicly via the newspaper, sights like this, school board meetings and the sort instead of bitching to one another behind closed doors. Especially those of us who have kids coming up through the program now or in the near future. I believe that is the only way we can hope to see a long overdue coaching change.

BauerVapor · Post by **BauerVapor** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 1:53 pm

I have been keeping an open eye to this forum ever since Virginia lost out of the tournament to Hibbing. And I can understand the frustration of Virginia hockey players, fans, and parents that want the team to be successful at the highest level possible. But, being successful on the ice is just as important as being successful "off" the ice as well. It seems as though all of these aspects are being covered on this forum. So my 2 cents is that I agree that coaches need to be credible and fair to their players in order to have a successful season (no matter how many wins and losses you attain). Not to say that winning isnt important or anything cause thats what your goal is night in and night out. But at the same time it seems like hendrickson wasnt a very credible coach saying one thing and doing another. Coaches who are on "power trips" all the time do not assess situations very well. They tend to over-react towards the players that are sensitive while being lenient with players who are dickheads. This kind of reverse psychology is not very successful with adolescents if you ask me. Was Hendrickson this kind of coach, well, it seems like it, but I don't know a lot of the specifics (only from what you guys are saying on here). Anyways it sounds like he ruined his credibility and was not fair to one or more of his players. His coaching philosophy and coaching decisions during a game should not be fair game to criticize because his job security doesnt depend on if he wins a state title. This isnt the NHL. These kids are going to school and learning about life's little lessons at the same time. What his job actually depends upon is his relationship with his players, co-coaches, parents, and the school district. If that relationship is constantly tainted because a coach continues to dis-respect it then a change is needed. Each piece of the puzzle needs to be informed of which way the team is going and how they are going to get there. A leader steers the ship one way, but also allows everyone to touch the wheel at some point in time. Was hendrickson successful with most of these variables? I dont know for sure cause I dont know the specifics. But its just a little something to think about when critiquing a coach.

virginia hockey fan no mo · Wed Mar 10, 2004 5:18 pm

Boy are you off the mark. In fact you seem to be the only one sticking up for hendrickson. You would be wise to take your own poll on Hendrickson. Ask 100 people on the street what there opinion of him is ..... if you got the guts. Some of the things you argue don't make much sense, like: How would you know what hendrickson said to these players unless you were there. Also you say the hedleys would take themselves out if they were tired.....get real. They get off when they want to get off. In fact I believe hendrickson doesn't really have the control over his players that some people think. The only players they try to control are the younger ones on the team, ones that were afraid to say anthing because they might not get played. Kieth's active in youth hockey and has spent time on the ice with the youth program? are you kidding? Kieth's motivations are purely selfish self centered. He could care less about the kids, he only wants to win...the problem with that is he just isn't capable of it. They have an open door policy with the players? funny one of the complaints I have heard coming from the kids is that he never talks to them. Cornell's the one that talks to them but he's got the charm of a snake....no people skills on or off the ice....and he's a teacher? If you still think he is so great take a drive to the other schools arenas, you'll see something there you won't see in Virginia. Their winning banners! Virginia would have those too if it wasn't for the Hendrickson clan that the Virginia hockey program has been stuck with for how many years?

hockeyscoop · Post by **hockeyscoop** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 7:31 pm

Well puckhaug, you made a mistake here my friend. Next time you refer to someone as a box of rocks and tell them to get their facts straight,remember this, someone like me is going to read your comments and set YOU straight.I'm only going to refer to your comments you listed in #5, line adjustments. You say Grueser disappeared and quit earlier in the year? I don't know where that came from. He quit with 3 games left before the play-offs. Maybe you could explain what you mean by" disappeared and quit earlier". You say he signed up late(as he did the last 4 years). He NEVER signed up late in any year he played hockey period. You say the coaches called him in and COMMUNICATED with him.Why do you say it like their following some kind of protocal from a high school coaching guide book. All they told him was work harder and we'll move you up. That's some powerfull motivation there boy! Then you say he dissapeared without a word. You're only half right. The without a word part goes to Hendrickson & Cornell. The day he quit I'm sure was not easy for him, but apparently the captain of the team went into Hendrickson's office on that day told Keith that Austin was quitting. Hendrickson didn't say a word to Grueser, he just walked out of his office.....some role model there! Austin then went and told the JV coach, Matt Hill that he was leaving. I don't mind you sticking up for Hendickson, everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but the next time you feel you have to make a point, don't try to bury someone you know absolutely nothing about.

Mucker · Post by **Mucker** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 8:21 pm

You Virginia people crack me up, so quick to blame the coach. Maybe the players could take some respondsibility. You can go on and on about your gaudy record, and about how much better you are than Hibbing, but you know what, you lost, it's over, let it go. It doesn't matter how you play at the start of the year, it's how you play at the end.

changeisgood · Post by **changeisgood** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 10:43 pm

Let's not nit-pick about all the small stuff and just get right to the main issue...it's time for a complete change in the hockey program in Virginia. Many supporters of a change are afraid to confront the issue because of all the "political" favors that go hand-and-hand with this sport and this town. It's well known that if you speak out, your kid will probably be hurt by it. And if you just go along with the supporters of "Hendrickson Hockey", your kid just might have a chance to play for him!!! (lucky them)!!!! You would think that he would just bow out gracefully. Look around at some of the other communities in this area and you will see that a non-winning team for many years can turn around with a change in leadership. And the change needs to start in Virginia from the bottom (pops level) all the way to the top (high school hockey)! I have no personal attack against Keith, but it's time to try SOMETHING and SOMEONE NEW.

thisguy · Post by **thisguy** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:10 pm

wow it really does seem like hendrickson is just a scapegoat on here. gruesser quit plain and simple. the captains and other seniors on the team tried to talk him out of it but he was too stubborn to listen. keith moved him down a line and he pouted the whole day of practice and left his team. kovatavich quit after cucco moved up and started playing more. puck4ever to say that you were forced to play b team and that the seniors this year as bantams had a terrible year because they were stripped of players is a lie too. the year before they didn't have a bantam team so the players were able to move up to b team you didn't have to you could have quit and joined swimming like suiks. so don't run a bunch of trash about how you were forced to play b-team. take some of the blame off keith and cornell the only players who say bad things are the ones who are bitter and trying to settle some personal vendetta with keith, here's a hint he doesn't check this page so go waste your time someplace else

The Masked Man · Post by **The Masked Man** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 4:26 pm

Hello…McFly…what are you smoking? With VAHA drawing for both Virginia and MIB there should have been plenty of players to go around. Why was there a shortage of players? Why did players so many drop out? Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, the reason that there wasn’t a bantam team or that they were short on numbers was because of all the “politics” that go on in VAHA. People just plain get tired of it. Seeing that Hendrickson has the final say on everything within VAHA, he should shoulder the blame on that issue. To say that a kid should quit just because he may not have wanted to move up is ridiculous. Maybe the kid doesn’t feel confident enough with his or her playing ability at that time. Maybe they prefer to stay at the level they are supposed to play at and try to better develop their skills instead of struggling at a higher level. Those situations tend to only develop frustration and bad habits. It should be determined on an individual basis. Everyone is different. When the Head Coach of a varsity team tells you that they need you to help their team what do you think a 14 or 15 year old kid is going to say to them? As for Grueser being to stubborn…was it really that or was it that he just got so fed up with everything that he just lost the desire? Grueser is the only one that can answer that one. The bottom line is that these kinds of problems have been going on for years. Keith was called on the table before and was told to clean up his act. He has to a certain point, but there are issues that come up every year that should be handled better than he has. He continues to use very bad judgement, and it is for these issues that there should be change. I’m sure you will let Keith know about this...since he doesn’t read these threads.

puck4ever · Post by **puck4ever** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 10:20 pm

it is really hard for me to believe what you are saying to me. if anyone has a passion for hockey like i do, they are not going to quit playing hockey, simple as that. every kid's dream, at some point in life, is to play high school hockey, how can they do that if they quit?! honestly, that's just an assinine comment on your part. to be honest with you, i almost quit my senior year of high school, due to the lack of coaching. i stayed for a few reasons. i wanted to be a role model for younger kids, someone on the team needed to be, especially when i had underclassmen say they respected me and was their role model. another reason was one person on the team sttod by me when things got tough, you know who i am tlaking about this guy. i got benched for no reason at the time i was benched. the coaches were able to give me a few reasons a few days later. here was one of them. if i played and made a mistake and gave up a goal, they said i would have pretended to be hurt and made the fans think it was the coaches fault for putting me in the game. nothing like worrying about your personal gain as a coach and putting your ego ahead of what is right for the player, who gave everything he had for you for the past 5 years. just a sample of what was said to me. that lack of communication, along with getting shafted for rules violators, was a probably a good reason for gruesser to quit. i know my kids will never play for keith, God forbid he is still coaching at that time. and people need to continue posting comments on here, to see that there is a multitude of people opposed to keith and his coaching style, maybe that will give people courage to step up and take a public stand. i am offended that you, this guy, are accusing me of taking out frustration on the coaches from past experience. that is childish. i am simply, as you well know, stating facts that many people do not know, and are not aware of. simple as that. take a look in the mirror this guy, find your pride, and admit the truth. i know you have good morals and good opinions because you know everything that has gone on in the program, show your true feelings on here, why do insist on hiding things? the truth always prevails.

hockeyman15 · Post by **hockeyman15** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 11:39 pm

I do not know what you are saying about there was no bantam team . if you happend to watch this year they nearly went to state and got to the championchip game! They played three games to go to state the VFW championchip. Even thopugh they dint win dont you think thats somthing that the y beat the #3 team in state. Then you think grueser quit because he was sick of it. NO WAY He was promissed by keith to stay on that line for the WHOLE year and he moved him down because of his attitude. He did not take it seriously. He thought he could screw off and slide through because his "garanteed spot" what else was keith supose to do? You think as a high school coach you should allow that. when you get moved down to a "less active line" or the b team. I think that would make me work harder to get it back not quit. JUST REMEMBER ATTITUDES ARE CONTAGEOUS

Dons · Post by **Dons** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 1:47 am

may i offer the final nail needed to be put in this coffin? hey..im alll about debating hockey..and all its aspects...but i mean...ENOUGH! its two pages already...and its gone in a circle plenty of times. Im not helping by saying that Keith appears to be some what of a scapegoat. you can only put so much on a coach...players have to perform.

bisketboy · Post by **bisketboy** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:49 am

I CONCUR! WOULDA ,SHOULDA, COULDA ENOUGH ALREADY.

hockeyscoop · Post by **hockeyscoop** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:53 pm

I've never seen a coach generate so much negative activity then Hendrickson, but apparently he deserves it. But as far as stopping any more comments, It's like this....this train will only stop when it runs out of track.

The Masked Man · Post by **The Masked Man** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 1:51 pm

Make sure to read previous threads before flying off the handle. My comments were not directed at this year’s bantam team. This year’s bantam year had a very good year and are to be commended of how far they advanced in the regions. The bantam team we have been talking about was not this year’s team. This situation happened about 5 years ago. As far as Grueser goes, like I said, only he can answer that. You are right about attitudes being contagious. A bad attitude can be a cancer. There is nothing wrong with him being demoted because of a “bad attitude”. But in the same breath there were players, on the team who had great attitudes and work habits, who had very little or no chance to play. One would have to say that the players who were caught with illegals this year presented a bad attitude, yet they were allowed to play. You can’t have it both ways. You do, however, bring up one interesting point. The question is: What was Keith to do??? The answer is: he should not promise a position to any player. For Keith to promise Grueser a position on one of the lines is totally unethical from a coaching prospective. How can he even pretend on being fair to the other players if he is making these kinds of promises to players. How can any kid, who is busting their hump every day, even think that they are going to get a fair shake if these types of practices are taking place? This is one of the things that are meant when people talk about his “politics”. Thanks!!! You just confirmed another reason why he should be replaced! puck4ever...thanks for letting people know, first hand, on what really goes on in devil land.

puck4ever · Post by **puck4ever** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:12 pm

you are exactly right. keith never should have promised anyone a spot on a line permanently. that is TERRIBLE coaching if that is indded what happened. tell the kid what he needs to improve on to better himself so he can move up a line, dont promise him a spot a line. that is no reason for austin to goof around and work less, but knowing gruesser and his attitude for the game, i dont see him letting up and quitting for no reason. unless he has changed greatly in the last year or so. here's the deal with many players, as probably happened with gruesser--when someone, other than nisky basically, the coaches sit them for a period of time without telling the players what happened. the players need to approach them, which is a difficult thing for kids to do after they have been benched for no apparent reason. the coaches need to be there for the kids as positive reinforcement and let the kids know what they need to work on and improve on, not sit them and ignore them. an example was one player this year in the central game got benched for a period of time in the game without a word of why he was benched. when he did confront cornell, gary told him that he let his guy go by and was responsible for a break away, when in fact he shot the puck and wasn't even on the blue line at the time the opposing player went by and got the break away. this player was benched and confused, and rightly so. do you think this was the only incident of this occurring, of course not, just one of many. it's just a good thing this player stepped up to the coach and showed what a mistake he made. with communication gaps like that, it is no wonder why sensible people want a change in virginia high school coaching. im just doing my duty masked man, as any responsible hockey fan should do, keep up the good work

hockeyman15 · Post by **hockeyman15** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:53 pm

I read your response, I think u do have a good point, but im not so sure you are correct. I have played hockey for several years and I remember that through all the years I have played I worked as hard as i could. I remeber that I made some teams that u can say I probably did not belong on there. So you might wonder well how did i make these teams. I have talked to some of my previous coaches about this very fact. They told me that they had picked me because i tried hard i gave it my hardest effort, and yes i did take the place of kids who were better than me but had similar attitudes as grueser. Do not get me wrong but i happen to know him and I think he is a very nice kid. Notice that austin quit at the end of the year... can you tell me who started at the end of the year when we played hibbing? Now u might say those kids did have elligals. that is true but do you think they still did not try hard or harder than austin. I mean every kid makes mistakes you cannot hold them reesponsible for the rest of their life. I also talked to kid from the b team today and he happens to be friends with austin, yet he still agreed with my point, but i cannot say for sure its not like I have been to all of the practices and watched him but this is a point that im sure will be agreed with by people who have seen.

puck4ever · Post by **puck4ever** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 11:06 pm

i agree that hard work and good attitude takes precidence over talent a lot of the time, but i dont think that was the right time of the seaosn to make those adjustments. the kids that were brought back did have experience from previous years, but not recent experience. the team had a chemistry and was playing well. some players were moved around, which caused a loss of trust among the team, and a lack of chemistry. it is just sad to see kids quitting for reasons other than lack of talent. maybe he didn't have a great attitude, i know he can be a loose cannon sometimes, but thats when the coach needs to sit him down and talk to him. if he was promised a spot on the line, he obviously had the necessary talent. the reason he was moved down was most likey because of his attitude and work ethic, which could have easily been changed if the coaches had talked to hiim about it. that is what coaches need to do. establish communication with players, and let them know where they stand. its that simple. a little communication goes a long way.

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