Best assistant coaches

#1hockeymom · Post by **#1hockeymom** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 7:31 pm

There is no I in TEAM and every good coach has several quality assistants in order to have a successful program. Some people may question what I have to say here but Tim Persons of the Crookston Pirates is one such person. While head coach Moe brings stability to the team, Persons brings the fire like him or not. He works the girls relentlessly in practice which carries over into the games. He is a true warrior and instills the winning attitude into his players. Some people may think he is to tough on the girls and maybe even a little cocky, but I feel this is a big part of the teams success. As a hockeymom I have grown to understand that I need to stand back and let the coaches do their job. The results speak for themselves. Go Pirates

ripin' it up · Post by **ripin' it up** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 8:00 pm

As I hear coach Persson really works these girls hard, and from talking to some of his players they really respect this man as a coach and wouldn't be where they are right now if it wasn't for him. The Pirates being only a 4 or 5 year program have come a long ways, thanks in large part to him. It seems like he really loves the game and just wants these girls to give the game everything they have, which must be the case because the Pirates are having a remarkable season. Keep up the good work Tim.

Also another coach I have heard about is Mike Newton from Grand Rapids, from talking to a few of the ladies and area coaches he knows what he is talking about. He pushes them to always get better, which every team wants to do. What better way to spread his knowledge than to coach.

Cowboy1 · Post by **Cowboy1** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 9:14 pm

Tim Persson IS the founding father so to speak of Crx girls hockey. He took over coaching the Park Board girls 6 or 7 years ago in the 2nd year of girls hockey in Crx. He has coached all levels of girls hockey and has had a hand in developing all the girls who have played High School hockey, past, present and has coached girls who will be graduating in the year 2012. So when you talk of girls hockey in Crx, Tim Persson should get a lot of credit for its success, past. present and future.

xwildfan · Post by **xwildfan** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:03 pm

Lance Carlson - HM

boblee · Post by **boblee** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:18 am

Rapids/Greenway Lightning have a good Assistant staff... Chris Granley, Mike Newton, Darrin Illikainen, and of course...GUNDY.

pondhockey · Post by **pondhockey** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:59 am

Any chance Darrin Illikainen is originally from Cloquet?

ice29 · Post by **ice29** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 8:54 am

Best Asst. Coaches are the Youth Coaches that supply the product to the Varsity.
*Hats-off to Hibbing and Silver Bay Coaching Staff - Great A Teams
and GRG, Duluth, CEC - AA

boblee · Post by **boblee** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:39 am

pondhockey wrote:Any chance Darrin Illikainen is originally from Cloquet?

I'm not sure...

Zamman · Post by **Zamman** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:43 am

Kris Sholz from Richfield is a solid Assistant coach.....I believe she won an award last year for all of her work.

boblee · Post by **boblee** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:02 pm

pondhockey wrote:Any chance Darrin Illikainen is originally from Cloquet?

He went to HS in Hermantown

pondhockey · Post by **pondhockey** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:43 pm

boblee wrote:
pondhockey wrote:Any chance Darrin Illikainen is originally from Cloquet?
He went to HS in Hermantown

I appreciate you taking the time to find out and let me know, thanks.

boblee · Post by **boblee** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:56 pm

pondhockey wrote:
boblee wrote:
pondhockey wrote:Any chance Darrin Illikainen is originally from Cloquet?
He went to HS in Hermantown
I appreciate you taking the time to find out and let me know, thanks.

No problem.

Zamboni Guy · Post by **Zamboni Guy** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:01 pm

How about Jim Knapp with the Duluth Northern Stars, he brings with him quite the resume and is more than qualified to pass on his hockey knowledge to the girls in Duluth.

Zamboni Guy · Post by **Zamboni Guy** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:03 pm

boblee wrote:
pondhockey wrote:Any chance Darrin Illikainen is originally from Cloquet?
He went to HS in Hermantown

Yeah, Darrin is from Hermantown and is brothers with Hermantown Boy's Assistant, and Head Football Coach Darryl Illikainen.

lovetopuck · Post by **lovetopuck** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:44 pm

bill mericio- irondale

im not sure how you spell his last name, but he is also the girls varsity soccer coach and i know for a fact because of that a lot of his hockey players decided to play for him in both sports because he was such a good coach (including their star D amy udvig). i also know bill works in the school and is like by the faculty and the students. he is also a very classy man.

on another note this is a good topic, i like giving people recognition that usually dont recieve it.

#1hockeymom · Post by **#1hockeymom** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:52 am

ripin' it up wrote:As I hear coach Persson really works these girls hard, and from talking to some of his players they really respect this man as a coach and wouldn't be where they are right now if it wasn't for him. The Pirates being only a 4 or 5 year program have come a long ways, thanks in large part to him. It seems like he really loves the game and just wants these girls to give the game everything they have, which must be the case because the Pirates are having a remarkable season. Keep up the good work Tim.

Also another coach I have heard about is Mike Newton from Grand Rapids, from talking to a few of the ladies and area coaches he knows what he is talking about. He pushes them to always get better, which every team wants to do. What better way to spread his knowledge than to coach.

As I previously stated there is no "I" in team. Tim Persson does deserve alot of credit however if the girls lose in sections should we credit him with this too?

T + T = a balanced coaching team with each of them bringing different strengths to the table. Hopefully they can get the girls to realize that they need to perform at even a higher level during the playoffs. With hard work and extra effort these girls have a good chance of being the first team to represent Crookston at State in hockey. GO PIRATES

unbelievable · Post by **unbelievable** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:16 pm

xwildfan wrote:Lance Carlson - HM

I wholeheartedly agree... he works wonders with the JV and is a direct correlation to HM's success.

ripin' it up · Post by **ripin' it up** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:35 pm

As I previously stated there is no "I" in team. Tim Persson does deserve alot of credit however if the girls lose in sections should we credit him with this too? T + T = a balanced coaching team with each of them bringing different strengths to the table. Hopefully they can get the girls to realize that they need to perform at even a higher level during the playoffs. With hard work and extra effort these girls have a good chance of being the first team to represent Crookston at State in hockey. GO PIRATES

So are you saying if they lost it would be his fault? b/c i can bet that he's probably getting them into shape right now. And if they happen to lose in playoffs it would be a shame but it just wasnt meant to be and they didnt get the lucky bounces, b/c as you probably know the game comes down to who gets the most bounces. And as for the girls, seeing them play i am pretty sure they know they need to step it up in playoffs. It will be fun to watch them in the next couple games. Good luck to the Pirate girls and their coaching staffs![/quote]

#1hockeymom · Post by **#1hockeymom** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:06 am

I will come down to your level for just one moment ripinitup to clear your mind. Win or lose all coaches are in this thing together, as I said before there is no "I" in team. Based on your previous statements the Pirates only had one coach that should receive the credit for their success. Also as far as your bounce theory teams need to create their own bounces to win. Are you by chance a BB player? GO PIRATES

Melvin44 · Post by **Melvin44** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:02 am

I would have to say Brian Goski from Simley.

My daughter has played for many coaches and had the opportunity last fall to play for him. He was one of the best. Understands the game and can make adjustments. Finds the personalities of the girls and then pushes the right buttons to make them play their best (with confidence) as we know every girl is different. I definitely think he should be a head coach somewhere.

hockeygod · Post by **hockeygod** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:08 am

Lance Carlson at Hill Murray is a class act, he works hard and is appreciated by every girl that plays for him. When graduated players are in town on breaks from college, Lance is the one they come back to say hi to

xwildfan · Post by **xwildfan** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:47 pm

I met Lance Carlson many years ago when he was one of the East Select coaches in St.Cloud. He really stood out by his calm and easygoing demeanor. This was in stark contrast to most of the other coaches and parents who definitely seemed hyper type A. He confided that he was very similar to the others as well; he then related a life-changing experience that totally altered his view of sports. If you know him, you will know what I am talking about; if you don't know him, he would probably tell you about it. He mentioned it to me the very first time I met him. He has had a big influence on me as far as how I view sports. He's a great guy.

finance_gal · Post by **finance_gal** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:19 pm

The varsity coach at HM is a step down from playing for Lance. Every bit of success that program has had is attributable to his style of coaching.

unbelievable · Post by **unbelievable** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:05 pm

xwildfan wrote:I met Lance Carlson many years ago when he was one of the East Select coaches in St.Cloud. He really stood out by his calm and easygoing demeanor. This was in stark contrast to most of the other coaches and parents who definitely seemed hyper type A. He confided that he was very similar to the others as well; he then related a life-changing experience that totally altered his view of sports. If you know him, you will know what I am talking about; if you don't know him, he would probably tell you about it. He mentioned it to me the very first time I met him. He has had a big influence on me as far as how I view sports. He's a great guy.

xwildfan - Well said. Simply put, I'm a better person for knowing Lance.

ghshockeyfan · Post by **ghshockeyfan** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:18 pm

unbelievable wrote:
xwildfan wrote:I met Lance Carlson many years ago when he was one of the East Select coaches in St.Cloud. He really stood out by his calm and easygoing demeanor. This was in stark contrast to most of the other coaches and parents who definitely seemed hyper type A. He confided that he was very similar to the others as well; he then related a life-changing experience that totally altered his view of sports. If you know him, you will know what I am talking about; if you don't know him, he would probably tell you about it. He mentioned it to me the very first time I met him. He has had a big influence on me as far as how I view sports. He's a great guy.
xwildfan - Well said. Simply put, I'm a better person for knowing Lance.

As are we all!!! In life you come across a select few people that are truly amazing in how they impact the lives of those they come into contact with. Lance is one of those people.