Bantams’ dream season rewarding for the parents

by Brent Cooper

Jun 13, 2007

Read any sports section and chances are that you will find some outlandish or disturbing story about the actions of hockey parents.

Take the case of a Boston man who assaulted a 10-year-old this past year after the player had accidentally struck his son in a game. Or the case involving a man who headbutted another parent during a youth game in 2005. Sad, isn’t it? However, with every distressing tale of these ill-behaved brethren there are about five or more stories of teams with parents who see the big picture: that the game is not about them but the experience for their children.

Such was the case this past season with the Huntsville Canusa Bantams, a team that rolled up wins at a dynastic pace – 53 wins, 12 losses and five ties in 70 games. The Blues had an undefeated regular season, won the regional Silver Stick tournament and reached the finals of the International Silver Stick in Michigan just hours after securing a six overtime-period semifinal win.

The team’s trophy collection includes the Muskoka Parry Sound Hockey League playoff championship and the Ontario Minor Hockey Association’s BB title. All these honours and accolades are enough to make even the most humble of heads swell with pride.

However, if you speak to the Blues’ head coach Randy Robinson about the 2006-2007 season, the talk will turn to not only the team he guided on the ice, but the ‘extended teammates’ who could be heard cheering heartily from the stands.

“This kind of season can only happen when you have a committed team of 17 families. This year was not only about the players and coaches, this was a commitment by the families to a concept and a significant investment and sacrifice of time and money.”

Robinson said he has read all the articles about how bad hockey behavior can be amongst the players, coaches and parents. His experience this year with the Blues is the opposite of these stories.

“Individuals never came before the team, and when an individual may not have been happy with something they dealt with it properly, quietly and respectfully. Individual concerns generally never became a sideshow or a team distraction.”

David Percival called the parents the best bunch he has ever been associated with in his years of involvement with his son Jon.

“I have never seen a team where all the parents bought into what was going to happen. My son has been on other teams where the squabbling among parents has been phenomenal. But here, everyone understood the team was going to be a winner, which made it very easy for the coaching staff. It was unbelievable.”

He said that, coupled with the outstanding play of the bantams this season, made for an experience no one associated with the team will soon forget.

“You cannot comprehend what they did unless you were there. It was a phenomenal year and this town may never have another year like this one.” Tracy Muckler’s son Ben was one of the players on the Blues this championship season. She said one reason for the camaraderie could be traced to the team’s roots, which stretch back to the early minor hockey days of many of the players.

“We all felt like we were family. Most of us have been involved with hockey since our kids were young and we travelled together a lot this year, along with brothers and sisters. It was a great feeling and a lot of fun.”

As the players grew up, many of the parents became closer, spending almost every weekend together in a cold arena somewhere for a league game or a tournament. Muckler said times like that only fostered a close-knit feeling between players and parents.

“We would talk about when many of these guys were tykes and novices and they never won a game a game back then. They never got discouraged and just had fun. Now they are a little older, the taste of winning is with them. My son now has this dream of going farther in hockey.”

Robinson remembers that during the regional Silver Stick the Huntsville fans became famous for their overwhelming cheering, support and great sportsmanship in every town and arena where the team played. “Other teams and familes would constantly comment on how much fun the parent group was in the crowd. Our players would often comment on how much energy the families created for them when they were on the ice.”

He said that the Blues paid tribute to their folks for their support after losing in the final of the international tournament. “The players skated to the crowd and gave their families the raised-stick salute. There wasn’t many dry eyed moms and a few dads in the crowd after that.”

Muckler said that the parents enjoyed the entire championship experience as much as their children.

“It was rewarding to see the kids finally reach their goal after all these years. It was an awesome experience,” she said.

So we take a moment to applaud Dan and Glenna Armour; Yvonne and Scott Aubichon; Patti and Don Chadwick; Pat and Randy Clarke; Andy and Laurie Cooke; Mike and Lee Fraser; Duncan and Caroline Heyblom; Cindy Fulton; Lorrie and Dann Morton; Tracy and Bill Muckler; Dave and Michell Percival; Mark and Karen Lawrence; Randy and Tracy Robinson; Ed Ross; Deb Wolfe; Martin and Lisa Roy; Rich and Sue Swift; James and Lorie Treadwell; and Marvin and Linda West for their example of how parents should response in supporting their children in their enjoyment of the games they love.

Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from the bantams’ season. Even with all the championships you can possibly capture, if the experience off the ice is not as enjoyable as the games, everyone – and I mean everyone – loses.

However, that is just my opinion.