Just Win? Maybe...
Yesterday's Strib had an in depth story on the controversy surrounding the Duluth school district's decision to not renew the contract of Duluth East high school hockey coach Mike Randolph.
Randolph developed Duluth East's hockey program into one of the best in the state:
In Randolph's 15 years as head coach at Duluth East High School, his teams won more than 300 games, two state championships, the respect of rivals and the awe of hockey fans.
However not everyone was enamored with his methods:
But critics contend Randolph is an intense coach so consumed by winning that he was undone by his ambition to establish a high school hockey powerhouse. They point to fundraising that skirted school district policies, favored treatment of some players and humiliation of others.
They see that as evidence that the culture of a program built on the skills and emotions of teenage boys had become unhealthy.
Leaving aside the fundraising issue, examples of Randolph's mistreatment of players include:
Andy Messer, a goaltender who left East and transferred to a neighboring school last winter, said that after a loss at Hastings a few years ago, Randolph kept players in the dressing room for more than an hour, criticizing many and reducing one to tears.
And:
Another goalie, Brent Mathison, said that Randolph told him before an early-season game last season that the game was a "must win" for Mathison if he hoped to stay on the varsity. East lost, and Mathison was later demoted.
Finally:
Kenny Beck, who played for Randolph in 1990-93 and went on to play small-college hockey, said those tactics took the fun out of the game. In hopes of recapturing it, Beck would sneak out of his house at night to shoot pucks at a nearby outdoor rink.
"I cried a lot," Beck said, noting that he was shuffled to the junior varsity during his career without any explanation.
"I've played hockey since I was 4 years old. I'd always been kind of a superstar. Then you go to this level, and you're not told whether you're playing good or bad. It was all mind games with this guy. I'm not going to say he's a bad coach. But I think what he did was say, 'We're out to win; it's not supposed to be fun anymore.' "
I don't want to come off sounding like a cold hearted ogre but my response is, "Welcome to the world of competitive sports boys".
And there's no crying in hockey. That's an important one to remember.
It might not always be pretty and certainly is not fair but the reality is if you want to compete at the top level of sports these days, even at the high school level, you have to focus on winning. If you want to play hockey just to have fun then you probably don't want to be in an elite program like Duluth East. With open enrollment it's easy enough to attend a school that doesn't place such a strong emphasis on fielding a winning hockey team. Or maybe you can just join the cross country team. (I can almost feel the imminent avalanche of pro-cross country e-mails on the way)
High school hockey in Minnesota is big time. Some of the luster has been taken off the state tournament since it went to two classes but it still draws large crowds (at least for Class AA) and is televised throughout the state. Top end players compete for lucrative Division One scholarships and a few even have a shot at playing professional hockey. It might still be a game but it has become a very important game, especially for the schools that seek to excel in it.
I find it hard to blame Randolph for pushing his kids to win. While it might have been a heart warming, Disneyish gesture for him to tell the goalie, "It doesn't matter how you do. Just have fun.", if he had behaved in this manner he likely would have been relieved of his coaching duties long ago for failing to win. Duluth East's trips to the state tournament and two championships were important to the school, to the district, and to the city of Duluth for that matter. They all wanted him to win and relished his success when he did. If he had failed he likely would have been run out of town on a rail.
Randolph appears to have fallen into the paradox best described by Bart Simpson as:
Damned if you do. Damned if you don't.
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