Hill Murray losing another D man?

[freestyle]

Agree with noseinbin4me* Lechner's bad decisions he made 2 years ago have come full circle and are now back to bite him hard. Those that actually go to school at Hill know all too well. "You Reap what you Sow" is an understatement this year.

By the way, Lechner is the Hockey Coach, the Baseball coach and the Athletic Director at Hill - he wears way too many hats at that school. I doubt he's going anywhere. The administration has allowed it for many years. It usually brings in the $$$$, but not this year.

[nosinbin4me*]

I know many on this forum seem to think that Coach Lechner is "Above Reproach" when it comes to coaching. Really, he is not. In fact the man is far from it. He made some lousy decisions last year and in recent years regarding some "would be" returning players for this season and now it is coming back to bite. "You Reap what you Sow".

How is it that these long term, very successful coaches like Bill Lechner, Curt Giles and Mike Randolph are such bad human beings and make such horrible decisions?

St Paul, even the best coaches reach their peek and need to be let go sometimes. My time would have been after HM's last state championship, Forest Lake, later that night. If you get the chance ask him about it.
He should have been smart enough to tell his players to keep thier mouth's shut.

St Paul, I commented on Lechner and nobody else so I will stick to commenting on the individual at hand who was spoken about in the original part of the discussion. I too am puzzled at how a long-term, successful coach like Bill Lechner is capable of making such seemingly uneducated and poor decisions regarding his teams best future interest. I additionally, hope they were made in good faith (without politics involved) and if they were not, that would most assuradely put him in the" bad human being category".

[Gems]

St Paul, I commented on Lechner and nobody else so I will stick to commenting on the individual at hand who was spoken about in the original part of the discussion. I too am puzzled at how a long-term, successful coach like Bill Lechner is capable of making such seemingly uneducated and poor decisions regarding his teams best future interest. I additionally, hope they were made in good faith (without politics involved) and if they were not, that would most assuradely put him in the" bad human being category".[/quote]

What are the uneducated and poor decisions?

[BodyShots]

I wish I had the emoticon "eating popcorn" to insert here. This could get interesting....

[stpaul]

There's not exactly a scandal here and it is very similar to the criticisms of Mike Randolph and Curt Giles on this board. The belief is that younger and more talented kids were given preferencial line assignments and playing time over older players. The belief is that they were given promises before coming to HM. Now two of these kids left early - one to go to Ann Arbor and the other to the OHL. Two others transferred elsewhere as seniors because they were dissed last year. Of course this belief is based on the high school/teenager/hockey parent rumor mill - not always the most reliable source for information. The comments that Bill Lechner wears too many hats, that the admin can't do anything about him and the comment about money coming in are absolutely ridiculous. Hockey is not a moneymaker at any high school. He has dedicated his life to HM and to its athletes. He is a great AD and coach. He is a great person who cares about academics, behavior and growth in addition to hockey. HM loves having the hockey coach be a FT staff member who is in the school building every day and has first hand involvement with attendance and academics by his players.

[observer]

For coaches to bow to the pressures brought to them by 8th grade parents is wrong. Even if the 8th or 9th grader is a strong player seniors have worked their whole life to be on these teams as seniors. Some have aspirations to play beyond high school which these coaches, opting for youth over returning long loyal players, kill. I know some are behavior and leadership related but I see several instances where it appears to be coach yielding to new student parental desires. I don't know the types of threats they bring but it seems weird. 8th and 9th graders should be playing bantam in almost all instances.

The same thing has weakened the Elite League as they now have several 10th graders, some never even playing high school hockey before the Elite League season. Seems totally unnecessary and it weakens their own Elite D League which is for 10th and 11th graders. Give the seniors an opportunity, all things being equal, as it's their last chance.

Selfish parents partnering with coaches that have lost the handle on the fairness rudder.

[UntouchableFlow]

Don't put Lechner down for investing ice time into underclassmen. How else do you build a strong program? You play the underclassmen on high lines with experienced players so that they can develop. Last year, Jake Guentzel got to play first line with Bruski and Bahe, and it helped him make significant improvement in his game. If he doesn't play these underclassmen, you get significant growing pains in the years moving forward. Lechner invested into Voltin and Wood, and those players made decisions to go elsewhere, because they thought that their hockey "careers" could benefit the most from the moves that they made. This happens every year, not just at Hill-Murray. What about Walker leaving Edina early, or Ness graduating early, or Bjugstad graduating early? The coaches can only do so much to keep the players there, but in the end, if the player wants to leave, they're going to. Without a doubt in my mind, Lex is the best coach in the state, year in and year out. This year will be a test to that statement, but come March, Hill-Murray is never a team that you want to be playing. Lastly, how many coaches in the State would kick off four of their top players, in a year that they could have repeated as State champs?

[CitiesSpudsGuy]

I wish I had the emoticon "eating popcorn" to insert here. This could get interesting....

Yeah, that would be so cool!

[BodyShots]

For coaches to bow to the pressures brought to them by 8th grade parents is wrong. Even if the 8th or 9th grader is a strong player seniors have worked their whole life to be on these teams as seniors. Some have aspirations to play beyond high school which these coaches, opting for youth over returning long loyal players, kill. I know some are behavior and leadership related but I see several instances where it appears to be coach yielding to new student parental desires. I don't know the types of threats they bring but it seems weird. 8th and 9th graders should be playing bantam in almost all instances.The same thing has weakened the Elite League as they now have several 10th graders, some never even playing high school hockey before the Elite League season. Seems totally unnecessary and it weakens their own Elite D League which is for 10th and 11th graders. Give the seniors an opportunity, all things being equal, as it's their last chance.

Selfish parents partnering with coaches that have lost the handle on the fairness rudder.

I know they have a 9th grader that left the "A" Bantam team at WBL this year. My son went to the BSM/HM game, so I asked him how this individual did. I was shocked to hear his response. "He didn't touch the ice!".

I can say from experience, that my son enjoyed his bantam years the most, and the coach was by far the most intelligent he had throughout his playing career. I sure hope this individual didn't give up the opportunity for 60-70 top end games to sit on a high school bench.

[12to14]

Don't put Lechner down for investing ice time into underclassmen. How else do you build a strong program? You play the underclassmen on high lines with experienced players so that they can develop. Last year, Jake Guentzel got to play first line with Bruski and Bahe, and it helped him make significant improvement in his game. If he doesn't play these underclassmen, you get significant growing pains in the years moving forward. Lechner invested into Voltin and Wood, and those players made decisions to go elsewhere, because they thought that their hockey "careers" could benefit the most from the moves that they made. This happens every year, not just at Hill-Murray. What about Walker leaving Edina early, or Ness graduating early, or Bjugstad graduating early? The coaches can only do so much to keep the players there, but in the end, if the player wants to leave, they're going to. Without a doubt in my mind, Lex is the best coach in the state, year in and year out. This year will be a test to that statement, but come March, Hill-Murray is never a team that you want to be playing. Lastly, how many coaches in the State would kick off four of their top players, in a year that they could have repeated as State champs?

He had to his job was on the line...