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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-03-11, Page 16by Fred Youngs I used to play minor hockey. Used to be a mediocre to alright player, used to have a good time. I can remember sitting on the bench and watching others play. There are always three or four good ones, with strong legs and slick movements who can play whatever type of game they want and make the play go their way. Strictly another caliber they were and I was sometimes jealous of their ability, mostly I was just resentful that they weren't on my team so I could feel the advantage of their prowess. Most of the parents would come out to our games which were played down by the bay in Hamilton and would watch in quiet pride as their son attempted the fancy moves that he had seen on TV last week and close their eyes in mutual embarrassmentwhen he fell or missed an obvious chance. All the shouting would come from the benches. The coaches were nice men who would slide down the bench and make polite suggestions, or instruct on a basic of the game and give me a pieceof gum, It was always Juicy Fruit and I hate Juicy Fruit. We would talk on the bench, discuss how we were wronged by high sticks that were im- aginery excuses for our ineptitude, point out offsides that were perfectly obvious to us but seemed to escape the sights of the referees, We had a good time. I don't remember any of the other fellow's names, but they were an integral part of my life. I never once felt less important than one of the three or four who were budding superstars when we played, never got shortchanged ice time in favor of them. After the game we would all change in one dressing room, tugging off our skates and pads with our opponents of five minutes ago while parents would warm themselves over coffee and talk of the game in genial, friendly tones that were as evident during the game as they were afterwards, In the years since then there seems to have been changes, changes that have brought parents to the fore in minor hockey with a litany of instructions and verbal abuses for their sons to arouse them to higher heights, in order that they through their children, can capture their lost glory, their dreams of stardom for them. They inject an air of violence into the game that I was unfamiliar with, an air that demeans the game and the meaning of sports. Last Friday night in Huron Park they held the final game of the championship round for the Atom House League. It was the third game, shortened from a five game series. The game was prefaced by instructions from minor hockey president Jack O'Neil that any player receiving a major penalty would cause the game to be suspended im- mediately and rescheduled, with that particular player banished from the rescheduled game. It all came down to the competitive hate of the parents; came from their bellowed instructions and insistence upon their sons winning. The parents of the two teams stood behind the benches and along the sides in smug pride and confidence in their comraderie as they berated the referees and urged their sons to hit, hit and hit. To take players like Bobby Rook and Tony Jones out of the play. They would explode at mistakes, they would scream, they forced their ambitions onto their children to make them come true. Some would surrogate- coach, instructing the coaches on what to do, leaning over the back of the bench to tell the players how to handle the game and making up fictitious strategy that lent them an air of importance. It was strategy that was distinctly useless in a game where eight players would skate into the corner after the puck, where many of them were unfamiliar with the intricacies of offsides and why they had to get out over the blueline when the puck came out. They were the reason behind Jack O'Neil's instructions. Bobby Hull carries a lot of weight when he speaks about hockey. Last week the million dollar Golden Jet said that minor hockey was not teaching the basic fundamentals of the game. Seeing situations like Huron Park, which is not an isolated incident, clearly shows why. + + + Hockey is a game, something for fun and if you are one in a million you can make money at it. Most aren't one in a million, most just have fun at it but it is hard to enjoy the game when you have to win; when things hang in the balance and you are eight years old. Hitting is a part of hockey, as much a part of the game as lacing up skates and pucks are, Checking can be graceful, artful, a beauty in brutality type of thing. It is also a dead- ly serious part of hockey that can go too far and cause injuries. Ask Dave Cann. Dave Cann plays for the Bantam team in Ex- eter and he knows, He was cross checked by an overexuberant player who knew that there was glory to be found in slamming other players around. He slammed Dave and Dave ended up with a concus- sion, spent some time in a hospital and won't be able to return to any physical activity until the summer. Isn't hockey fun? It amazed me to hear parents urge their sons to hit other players Friday night, but what was more amazing was the emotion, the depth of their desire that could be seen in their faces. Men and women leaning over the boards with horrifying looks of violence screeching and shouting. One man stood behind the bench and instructed. At one point this frustrated Toe Blake looked down at two players who had come off the ice. The two were chattering, not listening to him. He told them to shut up. To shut up. Incredible! Here was this man who wanted more than anything to have his team win, more than allowing the boys to have an enjoyable time he wanted a victory. I doubt it was for his son, that he paced about thinking up strategy that was wasted on this team. They don't care about double teaming Bobby Rook or Steve Morrissey, Tony Jones or Trevor Gilchrist, his strategies went for naught except to inflate his opinion of his part in the game. Ego tripping on eight year olds. The essence of the game was lost on these parents, they transmitted this loss to the players who created the sad situation that O'Neil had to remedy by cutting the series short, by threatening suspension. One day we will learn. One day we will see that com- petition does not have to be instilled or driven into our children. Not that they should become laconic and apathetic but that they should understand the value of playing a sport or game purely for the fun and the enjoyment, that it is totally unnecessary to win all the time, and that there is a value and a lesson to be learned in losing . Supporting and cheering for your child is one thing but to transfer your aspirations to that child is another thing all together. Without a doubt minor hockey is nothing to the player if there are no parents at the game to share his experiences. But it becomes questionable however, when the parent takes over those experiences and creates a climate of potential violence and feud that overrides the game and the sport. There is much to be learned from sports, and it seems too few parents have learned and now they are trying to stop their children from learning. Minor hockey has to go back to teaching the basics of the game, as Hull has suggested. One of the basics is that the game itself is fun,win, lose or draw. SHDHS basketball Midgets miss top honors by 7 SORRY! • We can repair it no matter how little (or how great) Is the damage. ASK FOR A FREE ESTIMATE Hunter-Duvar AND SON RANNOCH 229-8945 minwar Did the ice storm damage your TV ANTENNA? A NEW ANTENNA COULD IMPROVE YOUR RECEPTION Call Today for a Free Estimate Radio ihaeli AND TROPHIES DEA ER 411 Main St, Exeter 136-2261 irr A DIVISION OF TANDY LEATHER CO. OF CANADA LIMITED Ld UNE DIVISION DE TANDY LEATHER CO. DU CANADA LIMITEE The Agricultural Department of the Royal Bank cordially invites all Farmers and their Ladies to a Farm Business Meeting in St. Mary's at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 17th Town Hall, Queen St. The idea of this get-together is to discuss farm financing for profitable production. Local Royal Bank Managers will be there to answer your questions. And one of our Agricultural Financial Specialists will be on hand to discuss questions concerning farm production. Do make an effort to attend. It could be a profitable evening for your farming business. ROYAL BAN K serving Agriculture S.W. finds bag of tricks to beat A's in third game South Huron Midget Panthers came within seven points of winning the Huron Perth Title when they lost the championship final 43-36 to Stratford Central March 5 in Stratford. South Huron, using only 8 players because of the storm last week, surprised the first place Listowel Lords in their opening game. South Huron won by a convincing 37-27 score. In physics there is a law: "What goes up must come down." In government there is an exception to the law: taxes. The Panthers who finished eighth in league play got ten points from Ted Triebner. Dale Alexander added seven. In the second round, South Huron revenged an earlier defeat to Stratford Northwestern as they edged Northwestern 40-36 to go on to the final. Dave Atthill lead the way with 17 points and Dave Bogart added six. Northwestern had ended the season in 4th spot in the league standings. After a short rest, the Panthers had to meet Stratford Central, second place finishers in league play, Brian Mercer and Dave Atthill each had nine points to lead South Huron in the 43-36 loss. In spite of the loss, the 8 players had no reason to feel badly as they played exceptionally well in all three games. They lost the final to a better rested Stratford Central team who reached the final after defeating Clinton and Seaforth in their 1st two games. Goderich, third place finishers in league play, won the con- solation final defeating Listowel. South Huron's 8 players were Ted Triebner, Dave Atthill, Dave Bogart, Brian Mercer, Paul Bies, Dale Alexander, Pete Dekoker and Dan Gill. "I don't like to be a crier" said coach Ron Bogart," but they seemed to be coming up with some bottom of the barrel tac- tics." Bogart's bottom of the barrel tactics were debatable points that the Exeter A's most recent opponents, Sandwich West, have been using in their quarter final series in OMHA playoffs, Sandwich West, who tied and lost the first two games, brought into play five things that Bogart felt hurt his team in the third game, which the A's lost 7-3, The game started one and half hours late, at 3:30, although the A's were instructed to arrive at 2:00. Bogart said they knew perfectly well we couldn't start at 2:00" because a Pee Wee game had been scheduled for 1:00, He added that Sandwich West refused to flood the ice before the start of the game and went so far as to protest some of the helmets the A's used, claiming they were not certified. The touchiest point was Sand- wich West's demands of goal judges, which the A's have never used. Bogart questioned their competency when he said "lights were blinking on and off in our end in the third period" but added that this may have been "coin- cidence." The tactics helped Sandwich West as they won the third game, after tying the first one 4-4 in overtime and losing the second 6- 3. The tie was the first game the A's have played since they eliminated St. Marys in three straight games two weeks ago, Bogart said his team was "a bit rusty" and hampered by the absence of three players who were competing in a basketball tournament Friday. The A's carried most of the play, as they fired 44 shots at Chris Muzzin in the Sandwich West net. Doug Hoffman and Steve Wells faced 28 shots in the A's end. Bogart credited the dimunitve Muzzin with keeping Sandwich West in the game. Doug Brooks opened the scoring at 2:10 of the first period when he converted passes from Mark Parsons and Dan Bell. Sandwich West came back to tie the score when Randy. Drouillard put one behind Hoff-i man with the A's Dave Bogart off for interference. Brian Mercer's power play goal at 13:50 put the A's one up again, but less then a minute later Neil Rodgers sashayed in alone on Hoffman and tied the score to send the teams to the dressing room at two apiece. Dave Atthill's hooking penalty in the middle of the second period cost the A's a goal when Hugh Campbell scored from Ron Creaner at 7:25. Atthill made up for it at 9:55 when he picked up a pass from Doug Brooks, skated in on a lone defenceman, went around him and blasted a drive home to tie the score for the A's. The third period remained scoreless, as both Muzzin and Hoffman came up with out- standing saves. Muzzin faced 13 shots in the period, knocking them all out, frustrating the A's forward lines no end. Near the end of the period Hoffman slid from his net and smothered the puck to stop a Sandwich West break away and sent the teams into overtime, Dan Bell put the A's one up early in the overtime period when he drilled a pass from Brian Mercer behind Muzzin, It was the last goal the A's were to get, as Muzzin continued to hold them off, Near the end of the period Mark Parsons banged Brook's rebound towards the unprotected side of the net. Muzzin slid across the crease to deflect the puck wide in a save that Ron Bogart called "almost unbelievable." Ray Bondy finished the scoring in the game when his slapshot from the left circle beat Hoffman. Dan Bell and Dave Bogart each picked up two goals to lead the A's to their 6-4 win Saturday in Huron Park, Bell opened the scoring when he flipped the puck over a sprawled Mike Gerenda in the Sandwich West nets. His goal was the only marker of the first period. Bogart connected on a pass from Brian Mercer at 3:11 of the second. They broke in on a two on one break, Mercer going to the corner and passing to Bogart who reached for the puck and tipped it into the net, Dave Anlin narrowed the gap for Sandwich West before Bell scored an unassisted effort at 11:20. Bell took the puck and skated unmolested into the slot, where he faked a shot and again flipped it over Gerenda who had made his move on the fake. Hugh Campbell and Ron Creanen came back with back to goals in the third period to tie the score before Bogart scored a shorthanded effort. Bogart checked the play at center ice, stole the puck and skated in all alone to deck Gerenda and score, Gerenda was replaced by Muzzin after the goal, Tom Best scored on a power play goal to tie it up with Mercer still off serving his interference call. Mercer scored the winner and at 10:09 and Brooks added the insurance at 14:03 mark of the third. It was the third game of the series, Sunday, and the first in Sandwich West, that raised the ire of Coach Bogart. Bell opened the scoring when he took a pass•from Dave Bogart in the slot and his hard slap shot beat Muzzin to give the A's a 1-0 lead. That lead was short lived however, as Randy Douillard strolled in alone on Hoffman and popped a backhand under him to tie the score 21 seconds later. Bell picked up his second goal of the game at 8:46 when he scored on passes from Mercer and Brooks while the A's had a powerplay going. Ron Creanent came back to tie the score at 10:36 and then put Sandwich West into the lead with a goal with little over a minute left in the period. • GB beats Bayfield The Grand Bend Atom team rolled over their Bayfield op- ponents in minor hockey playoff action this week, as they took the first three games of a best three out of five series. The three wins runs Grand Bend's undefeated streak to seven games in a row, Mercer tied it early in the third on a breakaway goal, but it was the end of the scoring for the A's and Sandwich West was quick to take hold of the lead just five seconds later when Douillard scored on a blooper from the blue line that caught Hoffman off guard, They rolled on to score three more goals in the final period to finish off 7-3, Bogart traced the keys for the loss to the late start, which he claimed deflated his team's spirit and their inability to score on powerplay chances, as they picked up only one goal in 11 opportunities. $3795 $4395 '2195 '2295 $3495 '2495 '2195 '2495 1 295 1 395 U111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111I11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111L 'ONO ON VALUE sNONT ON MILEAGE NIS If you're in the market for a good used car you don't have to look any farther than Don Taylor Motors. These are just a few of the values we have on our lot that will provide you with many miles of trouble-free driving. 1975 RABBIT — this is a demonstrator with only 6,000 miles, Two door custom model. Licence No. JYY435 1975 NOVA one owner sedan with low mileage. V-8 engine, automatic, power steer- ing, power brakes and radio. Dark brown finish with matching beige interior. License No. JNK569 1974 ASTRE two door sedan with automatic transmission. You'll get economical transpor- tation from this low mileage vehicle. License No. HMB004 1974 VEGA two door with three speed transmission. This is a one owner cqr with low mileage. License No. D1)0449 1974 NOVA two door sedan with V-8 engine, automatic transmission and vinyl top. One owner with only 18,000 miles. Serial No. 279906 1973 VW SUPER BEETLE one owner with low mileage. This car has been rustproofed. License No. EZX521 1972 VW 412 SEDAN — this is a one owner car with low mileage. Automatic transmission. Attractive red finish with black leatherette in- terior. License No. DDM697 1972 OLDSMOBILE CONVERTIBLE fully equipped. Buy now and beat the high spring prices on convertibles. License No. CZD749 1971 FIRENZA sedan with automatic transmission. This car has been fully recon- ditioned. License No. FHD509 TWO 1971 VW SUPER BEETLES both com- pletely reconditioned. Take your choice. License Nos. THN344 and DFZ324. =1111111111111111 $$$$$$$ 11111111111111 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 1111111111 iiiiiiii 11111 iiiiii 1111111111111111111111111111111 iiiii 11111 iiiiiiiii YOU COULD WIN AN 18" ADMIRAL PORTABLE TV JUST BY VISITING US AND TEST DRIVING ONE OF THE SENSATIONAL NEW RABBITS No obligation to buy. The winner will be EE announced during our anniversary sale in June. =i111111 iiiiiiiii lllllllllllllll 11111 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 11 iiiiii 111111111 llllllll llllll 1111111111 lllllll 11111 llllllll 1 Don Taylor Motors. Your Volkswagen Dealer EXETER 235-1100