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sports and recreation One Hundred and Fifth Year Wnlttevfw One Hundred and Fifth Year No 39 Wednesday April 9 1980 Behind the scenes of minor hockey by Diana into the arena mail evenings between October and April and what see A bunch of kids playing hockey half of them sporting the bhit uniform of A And If a kid in blue happens to score a goal what do you see I see Acton potting pocketing clinching collecting connecting counting countering nipping or a lead Aparent sees their son execute a perfect play A coach sees his game plan put Into action A fan only sees that Acton must not lose A player sets everyone else look on In approval What we see a only the surface Acton Acton Minor Hockey Association has been Icing teams since first in tricounty and now In the WaterlooWellington league But what goes on the ice is only the end result of hundreds of local residents working behind the scenes of minor hockey organizing schedules re serving ice time acquiring equipment matching coaches and players appeasing parents and above all managing finances All of them are volunteers Bruce the small soft spoken owner of a garage and motor home sales is this year of the Association He said the only reason he is president is because they couldnt find anyone else to do the job He said he got involved in minor hockey because his sons are and because he wanted to improve the organization and help out any way he Cargill along with Barry past president Herb Dodds first vice president and WW contact Lynn Smith second vice Fran McKnight sec retary Joan treasurer Richard patrick equipment manager and Dave era contact form the nucleus of the AMHA as the executive You may think the hockey season starts In Oct ober but for the newlyelected executive hockey of starts on July when they take charge It ends June DUTIES VARIED The president acts as chairman at the monthly meetings which he schedules appoints an equip ment manager from the ranks of his or her exe cutive or directors forms all the necessary com mittees acts as a representative at Legion hockey meetings refrains from voting unless he needs to a tie signs cheques hopes they wont bounce calls an election at the end of the hockey schedule and acts as spokesman for the Association In short says Cargill make sure all problems are straightened out So what kind of problems does the president of the AMHA run Into Cot three days he asks Problem Money Minor hockey in Acton runs on the same thing everything else in life does fin The budgeted this year up from approximately 18000 spent last year The main villain of course was Ice rental fees They shot up an extra an hour Ice rental took a chunk out of this years budget We the registration price but it doesnt cover one third of the extra cost Cargill said Money for the AMHA is raised primarily through the 500 Ciub lotterywhich is more complex than any lottery the government could but what it boils down to is someone wins a trip to Hawaii and another goes to Florida Financing also comes from sponsorship don ations gatereceipts and registration But Cargill says when you add ail the expenses the money goes quickly The Association supplies sweaters socks and pants for each boy which costs them a year Referees get paid for being bo oedthats another a year There are a lot of other costs as well And since the teams are becoming more com pctitive in the league Cargill adds Its even more expensive because extra ice lime needs to be bought But of course the main objective is to win As the AMHA constitution states one of the purposes of the Assocation is to provide the knowledge motivation and facilities necessary to make our teams more competitive with other towns Problem Trying to get enough ice time The AMHA is competing with several other groups for the arenas Ice time With nine teams playing a home game once a week and at least an hours practice on top of that scheduling which is Herb Dodds job is a nightmare COACHES NEEDED Problem finding enough coaches By some mir acle 14 people have made applications to become coaches for 198081 season Last year we had only four coaches for nine teams Cargill said We had to beg people to coach Cargill says the Association will appoint an tant coach and manager each team has one but theyd prefer a coach who has names submitted Were quite happy with this year choices he commented Weve had some first year coaches but that just means theyll be a good a set for next year Weve never had a serious problem with coaches behaviour towards the kids or anyone else Most of them have indicated they be back for next year But a few arent which leads us to the next pro blem Parents says Cargill with an exasperated sign If they would just sit down watch the game and keep their mouth3 shut One starts talking and idea goes around and pretty soon you have a whole group complaining Oh theyll never be satisfied says Lynn Smith Youre damned if you do and damned if you dont VOLUNTEERS CRUSHED Youre in a voluntary capacity trying to do the best Job you can You have to be tough You can have your confidence totally shattered by com plaints Being a volunteer makes it harder to shrug them off She takes care of equipment sponsors appreciation night and the awards night banquet Parents usually complain about Ice time says and that their little Johnny Isnt getting enough Complaints about ice time are chronic Smith agrees They still think of their kids as children whkhmake3itacoachingprobcm Her husband Cope Smith coach of Eds In Midgets one of the most successful teams this sea son says Parents are telling their kids not to pass the puck to such and so because hes no good and he wont give it back I have one parent whos paying his kid for every goat he gets Naturally hes not going to pass the puck The the other kids are hollering at mc to lake him off and before you know it the guys are fighting between themselves on the bench And I have to wait until between periods before I can undo everything the parents have done For proof Smith points to the teams record In several playoff games the midgets played rather lousy hockey in the first two periods always making a com back In the third I have got the parents in the crowds hollering at the kids The guys dont want to go on the ice be cause theyre afraid of making a mistake I had one boy in tears I had one parent hollering at his kid to get skat ing get a goal while all the time his son was sitting on the bench Its insane PARENT PROBLEMS Smith isnt the only coach with parent problems either but others don like to discuss It There again a few coaches say they have no problems You know muses Mrs Smith you think you have a coaching stall of three but really you have coaching staff of however many parents are in the arena Everyone agreed it s harder when a team begins to win games Now they are expected to win and if they dont it is the coaches fault If they do its the kids says Mrs Smith The AMHA has set up a system Cargill explains whereby each team gets a director The director has no affiliation with the team If a parent has a problem they should first approach the assistant coach or manager If they cant work things out the problem Is handed to the director If the the pro blem still isnt solved It is put in front of the exe GOVERNS Thq Ontario Minor Hockey Association which governs everything the AMHA does was brought in for one problem this year The kids dont pose nearly us many problems Cargill said at least nothing Is serious But four boys did walk off the bench because they werent getting equal ice times Thats the parents talking again But Cargill stressed when the boys were picked for W W they are picked to represent Acton and that means they will NOT get equal ice time At the beg inning of the season we had a meeting with parents We tell them if equal ice time Is what they want they had better withdraw their son and put hlminhousrlficne Im dm Is no gut We feel with the superior coaching and extra Ice time the boys are much further ahead in rep hoc key than in house league he continued The parent problem Is more frustrating for Car gill because volunteers find their work goes unap preciated and consequently they drop out This is my last year says Lynn Smith Its not a thankless job because youre not in It for the thanks You re In it for the kids I enjoyed working with the people involved in minor hockey too WORTH IT I really don t know whether or not 1 coaching next year said Cope Smith You sit there and wonder if it worth it But I also believe there is Of course everyone Is quick to point out not all Only the loud ones We have an awful lot of good parents and good support loo says Mrs Smith The Hockey Moms do a good job Most parents arc cooperative There arc super parents backing us too Cope Smith said I like them all I ve known them for a long time and off the Ice they arc nice people but in a hockey game lookout Herb who has been associated with minor Continued on Pap Coaches say We do it all for the kids Bruce president of Lynn Smith vicepresident of AMHA Herb vicepresident of Moms help the Association When the midget team from Mora Sweden were in town they were wined and dined in a style only the Acton Hock ey Moms could produce The Hockey Moms are just that a group of mothers whose sons are playing on teams Doreen Mitchell is president of the twoyearold group A bunch of us got together last year because we wanted to put funds back Into the Association She said they raise through bake sales and raffles plus the Christmas bazaar They planning to publish a cookbook The Moms ran the booster Club Sabres games as well The Hockey Moms meet periodically usually once a month on a Monday night Thats about the only time most of us arent at a hockey game Mrs Mitchell whos son plays for the minor said the group is large Pretty well everyone gets in volved We have one mother as a for each team plus the executive Baker is the vice- president Fiona Hodgson Secretory and Carol Smith treasurer We just donate time when Its needed The Moms also help with the annual awards banquet this year on April 19 Well be giving trophies and crests to all the players because the WaterlooWellington league cant Individual awards Theyll be giving awards to teams which went the furthest in the playoffs and those which finished first in the league The kids appreciate It Mrs Mitchell stated They enjoy representing Acton and gives them a memento of It This Is just the beginning of the Moms who raised last year and who the minor Atoms We havent done too much this year because most of are al ways on the road travelling to games But being new we still have lots of other projects to do You know Its hard for the league to pay for Ice time We Just want to help the organization Oh adds Mrs Mitchell The Hockey Moms have no dads Men wouldnt be too helpful In a bake sale she chuckled Steelworkers cop WW title Actons Steelworker Major Atoms captured the Wellington Waterloo championship title in style with a win Five Steelworker marksmen netted goals against New Hamburg in the total points series last week Meanwhile at the other end of the rink Actons stopped all shots aimed in his direction Acton mustered five points from two victories and one tie against New Hamburg Except for the game the forwards played sound positional hockey according to coach Danny For the wins the forwards had to backcheck with force The defencemen stood their ground on the blue line And if someone in New Hamburg colors managed to slip through all that there were the goalies Peter set up Mike Baker for the first goal the winning goal of the game Jason bulged the twine next on a solo effort to make the tally for Acton Continued on Page The best part of coaching hockey is watch ing the players develop according to the coaches of Actons minor hockey teams I dont think Ive had a better bunch of guys said Cope Smith coach of Eds In NOut Midgets Just a super group of kids Thats why you want to help them as much as you can I like being with the kids says Dan M coach of the Steelworker Atoms The kids really enjoy it too I really enjoy the hockey said Ron Sal mon He coaches the Alton Mclsaac Concrete Const ruction Novices For mc its working with the boys and seeing them develop as a team I enjoy working with the kids says Jim Hogget who coaches the Lions Club minor peewees The kids need someone to coach them Coaching isnt as easy as It looks as most will tell you Cope Smith said at the beginning of the year his coaching staff of Bill Hodgson and Jamie Vlck had set out several objectives the primary one being attitudes The most important thing i3 at tltude second is skills and third is conditioning But skills worth a dam If the attitude isnt there SPORTSMANSHIP We try to teach them good sportsmanship One of our objectives was to cut down on penalties Besides those two objectives Smith says they wanted to build a balanced team provide a cross section of quality hockey through tournaments international play and go as fur as possible in the playoffs Coaching takes up a lot of time Besides the games twice a week there an average of three tournaments a year countless exhibition games and practice times There are other costs as well Bill Hodgson drove his camper to away games and that costs a tot on gas Smith said But this is the first year the three of us arc ask ing ourselves If it was really worth It he added Coaching becomes difficult says Smith when the parents holier at the boys and when they start fight ing themselves in the crowd READY TO QUIT Smith said the players dont appreciate their par comments either They say theyd like to see their parents on the ice practising what theyre preaching I had one boy ready to quit because of his parents I have another calling mo at least once a week confiding in mc Thats one of the rewards of coaching knowing you can help a kid out Smith started out coaching baseball But he says ho switched to hockey to be closer to his two sons Randy and Rick who both play on the midget squad The Smiths have been involved In sports for years Ron Salmon started coaching in Toronto five years ago Its my way of being involved in the sport I really enjoy the game and the competition Ive always been involved In hockey It a great game And now his Interest has heightened be cause his son has started playing It Salmon unlike Smith and a few other coaches says he has experienced no parent problems It been a very positive year as far as parent support goes I have had no problems whatsoever NO PROBLEMS Dan McGUloway is another coach who hasnt had parent problems The parents have been really co operative There has been no big hassles this year This is McGUloway second year as coach and he says he plans to return to minor next season Its been a good year concludes McGUloway We won the league title this year and the regional silver strike and came close in a couple of tour naments I want to stay In coaching and stay with the kids Jim Is not so sure hes returning At the end of the season you feel kind of fed up but if they next fall I may wind up going back admitted to a few parents complaining about ice time In my view the biggest problem is the attitude that we must win In order to follow that I have to play the best kids especially at play off time CHANGE RULES If minor hockey changed the rules like the government report suggests coaches would be able to give all kids equal time As It is now if I dldn play the lines wed be sitting ducks Its hard to bench a player as a person but as a coach theres Two players quit the Lions this season because they felt they werent gelling equal ice time Still its been a good year I thought we did well said Haggett We were two points out of third spot went oil the way to the quarter finals of the OMHA and went the full round In WW before losing the title in the last game I dont know what the parents think About the only other criticism anyone had of the league Is of the refereeing If there is a place for improvement Smitji said It is in the The quality of hockey has risen but ref3 are static The kids arc getting away with too much spearing and butt ending The refs are paid so there no Herb Dodds vice president of the Association and Bruce Cargill president of the same agree the refereeing needs Improvement But thats about the only thing I really enjoyed meeting everyone through tho Association Smith said I met lot of good poo pie And executive is really working hard There is an awful lot of fan support too Whenever we needed any assistant someone was there And In a smooth running organization of vol unteersthats the name of the game Dan atom coach